CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
(The Evil Ruler Reveals Himself)
The scream of the child did not fade.
It deepened.
It became a growl.
Low. Dangerous. Ancient.
The ground trembled beneath everyone's feet. Warriors from all four clans froze mid-battle as a suffocating darkness spread across the battlefield. The air thickened. Even breathing became heavy.
Then—
He appeared.
Not as a shadow.
Not as a whisper.
But in flesh.
The Evil Ruler stood upon the cracked earth, towering and inhuman. His eyes burned like dying stars, empty yet full of hatred. The land beneath his feet withered instantly, grass turning black, soil splitting open.
The baby in Linah's arms growled again, tiny fingers tightening into fists.
The ruler slowly opened his mouth.
Dark steam poured out, thick and poisonous, rising into the sky like a curse unleashed. The wind howled as if afraid. Even the bravest warriors staggered back.
For the first time, the possessed army saw him.
Their master.
The one they had only heard about in whispers and fear.
They fell to their knees, trembling. Some cried. Some laughed madly. Others bowed their heads in worship.
Then suddenly—
The Evil Ruler vanished.
Just like that.
Silence.
A heavy, dreadful silence.
The possessed army lifted their heads — and something had changed.
Their eyes glowed darker. Their wounds closed. Their strength returned tenfold.
Gasps echoed across the battlefield.
"He has blessed them…" one of the elders whispered.
The water spirits rose from the river like a living storm, their forms shimmering blue and silver. They circled the warriors of the allied clans, touching their foreheads with liquid light.
"Stand," they whispered. "For blood has been shed unjustly."
The death of the mysterious woman weighed heavily on every heart.
Linah stepped forward.
Tears burned in her eyes, but they did not fall.
She lifted her face to the sky and began chanting in the ancient tongue of her ancestors. The air around her shimmered. The ground beneath her feet glowed faintly.
Mako turned sharply.
"Linah—" His voice carried both warning and fear.
If she entered the battle… who would protect the child?
The baby's growls softened as if sensing his father's worry.
Linah opened her eyes — they were no longer just hers. They glowed with ancestral fire.
She walked to her great aunt and gently placed the child into her arms.
"Protect him," she whispered. "No matter what."
Then she turned.
And joined the war.
She did not fight like a queen.
She fought like a leopard defending her cub.
Swift. Precise. Merciless.
Enemies fell before her like dry leaves in a storm.
Mako roared — not as a man, but as the Demon King. His power shook the heavens, flames clashing with dark magic as the battlefield turned into chaos.
But far away…
In a throne room carved from black stone, the Evil Ruler reappeared.
He watched through a swirling mirror of shadow.
His lips curved slowly.
"So… the child senses me."
His long fingers traced the image of the baby.
"That abomination will not live to see the next moon."
He stood from his throne.
The shadows bowed.
"Prepare the gates," he commanded coldly. "I will enter the war myself."
His voice echoed like thunder in a graveyard.
"And when I do… I will end the bloodline with my own hands."
The mirror shattered.
The sky above the battlefield darkened further.
The final war had truly begun.
END OF CHAPTER FORTY FOUR