The night burned.
Daron woke to a vision straight from hell — Neva's body wreathed in fire, her screams lost to the storm.
He lunged forward, his broken scythe trembling in his hands, desperate to reach her. But before he could take another step, Tai's shadow fell over him.
Laughter — low, cruel — filled the air as Tai caught Daron's wrist with effortless strength.
"Pathetic," he muttered, binding him with a flick of dark energy.
Then his eyes shifted to Milia.
"You should be happy," he said softly, almost mockingly. "It's your turn now."
He restored her voice — and she spat in his face.
"You're trash," she hissed. "You don't deserve to live."
For a heartbeat, Tai froze.
A flicker of memory. His mother's voice — cold and venomous:
'You piece of trash… you don't even deserve to live. Your death would be a relief.'
Something inside him snapped.
The air trembled as his aura flared — black, suffocating, alive with rage.
His tone was calm, yet each word dripped with the weight of a storm barely contained.
"Your death will not be like that of any animal, human, beast, or demon. You will die as something unworthy of existence."
He tore her right hand apart with deliberate cruelty.
Her screams broke the silence — until he severed her voice entirely.
"The rain still falls," he whispered. "Let's enjoy the sound."
Daron's voice cracked in desperation. "Stop! Leave her!"
Tai didn't even look at him.
"You're annoying," he said, and in one motion — Daron's life was gone.
Milia's body trembled, her eyes wide with terror. She tried to bite her tongue, to end it herself — but Tai's hand moved faster, shattering her jaw.
"You don't get to choose how you die," he said. "You're my slave now. And you'll die when I say so."
He forced her onto an iron chair, droplets of rain sizzling against the metal.
"Since you're a scientist," he said coldly, "you already know what comes next. It's raining… the chair is iron… and I'm in the mood for lightning."
He leaned close, his voice a whisper that felt like the edge of a blade.
"Only you and I remain."
When the others had all fallen, Tai grew tired of silence.
He healed her — just enough to make her speak again.
"Why?" she cried. "Weren't we your friends?"
"You were," Tai replied. "Until you wrote your own end."
"Don't you know the pain of loss?" she shouted. "Of loneliness—"
Her words cut off as Tai slammed his hand against her throat.
Do you think you know me?" Deep angry breath. "Do you think I've never been killed before?" Do you think I don't know loneliness or betrayal? Do you think I've never missed anyone before? I lost the one who gave me his heart and soul... but I lost them, you lived a soft and happy life, while I thought you were my friends! You betrayed me... And now you beg for mercy? Mercy will only be found on my dead body."
He drenched her in oil. The stench filled the air.
"The iron is ready," he said. "The oil is ready. All that's left is the lightning. If the heavens won't strike you…"
He paused.
"…then I will."
A blinding flash — and her body ignited.
Her screams merged with the thunder as Tai laughed, his voice raw and hateful.
"I'm done with you all."
Through her agony, Milia's voice broke the crackle of fire.
"After killing us… you say that? We'll never forgive you. But maybe it was our fault — we brought the Queen, not knowing your hatred for the Kingdom. Still… there's one thing you must know."
Tai turned, his eyes hollow. "What is it?"
"We're not from this world," she gasped. "We came from another. That's why… we never knew your war."
Then silence.
Tai's voice cracked — not with sadness, but exhaustion.
"And here ends Saven… and those who stood beside him. Perhaps it wasn't betrayal. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding. But it doesn't matter anymore."
He lifted his hand, summoning Diablo and Draculina from the shadows.
"Tell me," he said, his voice low. "What happens in the Kingdom?"
"A ball," they answered. "The nobles gather in the King's palace."
Tai's aura surged — like a storm that had waited too long to be unleashed.
"Then let's attend the ball," he said. "Let the end of humanity begin."
Lightning tore across the heavens as Tai stepped into the darkness, and the sky itself seemed to recoil in fear.
The rain no longer fell — it bowed before him.
(End The Chapter)