The world trembled under the weight of a truth too raw to bear.
Evelyn, now a towering monstrosity of serpents and violet shadow, bent her wings in a grotesque bow before Yurin. Her countless eyes burned with fractured devotion.
Damien's flames howled in protest. His jaw clenched, teeth grinding as the fire at his back grew into a storm. "You… you knew all along. From the second we met her."
Yurin met his glare calmly, almost amused.
"Correct."
The answer was so casual, so precise, that it shattered what little trust remained.
"You think this is a game?!" Damien's voice cracked, rage echoing in the hollow sky. "You used us—you used her!"
His flames surged upward, spiraling into a fiery spear. The heat blistered the earth itself, turning porcelain shards to molten glass.
Clara stumbled back, torn between the two. Her hands trembled over her scripts. "Damien, wait—don't! We don't even know what Yurin is yet—"
But Damien wasn't listening. His eyes locked on Yurin with the fury of a man betrayed one too many times. "You're no ally of mine. From this moment, Crimson… you're just another monster."
He hurled the spear.
The ground split open with its force, a roar of fire swallowing everything.
When the flames cleared, Yurin stood untouched. His crimson aura shimmered like glass, fractal chains forming a dome around him. Evelyn's serpents coiled protectively at his sides, hissing in unison.
Yurin tilted his head, the faintest smirk on his lips.
"Do you ever think before you burn? Or is your head just a candle waiting for a match?"
Damien snarled, igniting once more. "You're mocking me while hiding behind that thing?!" He pointed at Evelyn, who only lowered her monstrous head further in silent acknowledgment of Yurin.
Clara's voice broke, pleading. "Stop! Damien, if you kill him, we lose everything! And Yurin—if you keep pushing us, there'll be nothing left to save!"
Yurin's gaze flicked to Clara, sharper now. "You still don't understand, do you? Saving is just another word for delaying the inevitable."
Damien roared, charging again, fire wings blazing wide. His fists became suns, every punch collapsing air into shockwaves.
Yurin moved with terrifying grace—every step deliberate, every gesture a chain of crimson energy forming shields, whips, and spears in the blink of an eye.
Steel met fire in a storm of light.
Chains lashed and wrapped around Damien's arm—only for his flames to burn them away. A flaming punch shattered one of Yurin's constructs, the explosion echoing through the fractured sky.
Damien's fury was raw, desperate. "You think you're some god pulling strings—but you're just another liar hiding behind masks!"
Yurin caught his fist with one hand. Crimson sparks cascaded around them.
And for the first time, his voice carried venom.
"No. I don't hide behind masks.
I break them."
He twisted Damien's arm, crimson chains lashing into his flames. The fire sputtered as if being suffocated. Damien howled in pain.
Clara screamed, dropping her scripts. She carved letters into the dirt with her bare hands, ink pouring from her fingertips. "Stop it—both of you!"
But the words burned away the moment they touched the ground.
She stared in horror. "My ink… it won't hold them anymore…"
The colossal mask above split wider, porcelain raining like meteors. A single, massive eye glared through the widening fracture in the sky, its pupil contracting as if amused.
Yurin tightened his grip, crimson chains coiling around Damien's chest like a cage. The knight roared in fury, flames fighting desperately against the bind.
Clara sobbed, reaching toward them. "Damien—Yurin—please!"
Evelyn's monstrous wings spread behind Yurin, serpents hissing, her violet eyes locked on Clara now.
And Yurin leaned close to Damien's ear, whispering words that froze him mid-struggle.
"You're not angry because I betrayed you.
You're angry because you recognize me."
Damien's flames faltered. His eyes widened in horror.
"…No. That's impossible."
The colossal eye above blinked.
[Chapter Nine — End]