Lily's breath came in ragged, broken bursts. Her trembling hand, slick with her own blood, reached weakly toward the empty air. Strands of her brown hair clung to her cheek, slowly deepening into crimson as her life drained away.
DeathGod's laughter cut through the chaos — a high, delighted shriek that made the air itself seem to recoil. His shadowed face tilted, eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction as Subaru strained helplessly beneath the crushing weight of his power.
"Can you see, Subaru?" he cooed. "No matter what you or anybody try to do… you can't win."
Subaru's voice cracked. "Stop… please…!" His body twisted against the pressure, every muscle screaming, but he could not move.
DeathGod smiled wider, his tone almost tender. "Watch closely, then. Watch as your precious family dies by my hand."
He began to draw his arm back — the movement deliberate, merciless — and Lily's soft, gasping breaths hitched. Her eyes, once filled with light, were now glassy, losing focus, drifting toward the void.
Then, the world seemed to fracture.
A sudden bloom of frost devoured the air. Pure, glacial light erupted around DeathGod, freezing his form solid in an instant.
Before the echo of the freeze could fade, a silver-blue blur tore through the stillness. Sora, a streak of killing precision, appeared beside the ice-locked figure. Her expression was cold, her body wreathed in crystalline mist.
Without hesitation, she drove Thorn's fallen greatsword — a weapon nearly her size — straight into the frozen shape. The impact shattered the ice in a single thunderclap, shards scattering like glass. She hadn't struck to destroy DeathGod, only to stop him from phasing away.
It worked for the briefest heartbeat. Then came the laugh.
Cracks split through the frozen shell as DeathGod's voice rippled out, mad and gleeful. The shadow peeled apart from within, shimmering as he vanished from the spot entirely.
Sora didn't waste that moment. She darted forward, catching Lily mid-fall. A whisper of frost spiraled from her palm as she pressed her hand to the wound. "Glacial Veil," she murmured. The bleeding slowed, a thin sheet of frozen mana sealing the ruptured flesh — a desperate stopgap.
She landed beside Syl, setting Lily gently in her lap. "Heal her," Sora commanded, breathless but steady.
Syl nodded frantically, her tears falling onto Lily's cold face. But before Sora could pull back, something yanked her hair sharply from behind.
DeathGod had reappeared, his hand tangled in her raven-black strands. His laughter was pure mockery. "Did you think you could run from me?"
Sora didn't even flinch. She conjured a dagger of ice in her free hand and sliced through her own hair. The shadow's grip loosened. She spun on her heel and struck — a condensed punch of frozen mana exploding from her fist.
The blow hit like thunder. DeathGod's body was launched through the air, slamming into the remnants of a shattered building.
Subaru watched through a haze of pain, his body barely able to move. His mind flickered with feverish focus. One second… one second… two seconds… two seconds…
Syl's hand was shaking violently as she pressed them over Lily's wound. "Please, please work…" she sobbed. Her light flickered weakly, fading with her mana. Nothing happened.
Then the ground beneath them pulsed.
From the cracked ground, luminous vines erupted, glowing with vibrant green and gold. They wrapped around Lily's body, weaving themselves over her stomach like threads of life. A powerful surge of mana coursed through them — Morganna's Verdant Aegis.
Syl's tear-streaked face turned toward the distance. Morganna, her palms pressed to the earth, her mana unwavering.
"Thank you, Mother," Syl whispered, her voice breaking.
Lily coughed, a weak, shuddering sound. Her eyes still shut, and faint color began to return to her cheeks.
Then came a piercing sound that split through the chaos — Sora's scream mingled with DeathGod's howling laughter.
Syl's head snapped up. Her heart froze.
DeathGod had both of Sora's hands locked in his grip, crushing them mercilessly. The sound of shattering bone cut through the air like glass breaking underwater. Sora gasped, her body shaking — but instead of falling, she twisted with the motion, using the pain itself as leverage. Her knee drove upward, and her ice-encased kneecap slammed into DeathGod's ribs with the sound of cracking stone.
He staggered slightly, then caught her again before she could follow through. A guttural snarl ripped from him as he brought his hand down with monstrous precision, crushing her second hand in his grip. It was deliberate. Cruel.
Sora's breath trembled. Her face contorted for a heartbeat — and then, shockingly, she smiled. A fierce, almost savage grin.
"You think that'll stop me?" she rasped.
Frost began to bloom across her forearms, crawling down her wrists until her ruined hands were sealed in thick, jagged ice. The air shimmered from the freezing mana. With both arms transformed into solid ice weapons, she struck. Again and again. Each blow landed with a thunderous crack that echoed like falling mountains.
DeathGod took the hits at first, his laughter turning into a grimace. The grin that never left his face finally faltered as Sora's desperate fury drove him backward step by step.
"You whore!" he roared, his composure shattering.
His hand shot out like a serpent, gripping her throat. He slammed her into the ground once, twice, again — the impact throwing up bursts of debris. The earth fractured beneath the blows as he smashed her through the shattered concrete, burying her under the weight of his rage.
Subaru, half-broken and conscious, could only watch. His vision blurred as he whispered hoarsely to himself, his words trembling between breaths. Eight seconds... eight seconds... nine seconds... nine... nine...
From the wreckage nearby, a hand clawed its way out. Kibo.
He dragged himself free from the rubble, coughing blood, his body trembling with exhaustion. Inside his mind, Ignis's voice was a furious snarl.
"Be careful, brat! Don't push your body, or I take control permanently!"
Kibo could barely hear him. His vision swam. The edges of the world pulsed red. His newly regenerated hand still steamed from the strain of Self-Healing, his veins burning with overdrawn mana.
Through the haze, he saw her — Sora — being lifted by the throat, her body limp, her neck caught in DeathGod's grasp.
Aunt Sora...
Ignis's voice cut through his mind, sharp as a blade. "Go! Rescue her!"
But Kibo's knees buckled. His Mana Trackvision was in ruins, his senses blurring into white noise. His gaze slid from Sora's broken form to Syl's hunched figure cradling Lily's unconscious body. The sight pierced through him like a spear.
The fury wasn't only his. It was Ignis's too — a burning, shared wrath.
Something inside him snapped.
A deep, resonant growl tore from his throat.
Just as DeathGod's claws began to tighten around Sora's neck, the air behind him shattered.
A black blur — fast, coiled, and furious — struck like a predator unleashed. A massive scaled tail lashed out, severing DeathGod's arm in a single, brutal strike. The shadowy limb disintegrated into dust before it hit the ground.
DeathGod reeled back, stunned, as a scaled hand — glowing faintly with raw, pulsating mana — caught Sora and flung her backward toward Syl and Lily. She crashed into Syl's side, rolling into the dirt.
Then, that same monstrous hand clenched into a fist. With one mighty swing, it collided with DeathGod's chest. The impact echoed across the battlefield, sending cracks spidering through the ground as DeathGod was hurled across the ruins.
He landed on his feet, laughing. The sound was bright and wild.
His shadowed gaze fixed on the new form standing before him — Kibo, his eyes alight with primal fury, scales glimmering darkly along his arms.
DeathGod smiled wide. "So you can do this!"
Kibo stood still. The ground beneath him trembled as the first black scales broke through his skin like obsidian shards, blood streaking down his arms and face. His body convulsed violently, each breath a choking rasp. His eyes streamed crimson tears as veins of black light pulsed beneath his skin, his humanity being devoured by something far older, far angrier.
A single horn burst from his forehead. The other, fractured and jagged, jutted half-broken, dripping blood. The transformation was excruciatingly slow. He was trapped between man and beast, his flesh caught in the agony of becoming.
"That's it, brat!" Ignis's voice growled from within, no longer taunting but desperate. "Let the rage consume you! Don't die on me!"
Kibo tried to force words past the fire in his throat. "I… I am sorry, Ignis… I have tr—"
"Are you stupid?!" Ignis snapped, his fury cracking through the pain like thunder. "Don't you dare say that! If your rage isn't enough… then let mine consume yours!"
Kibo's pupils bled into nothingness. His eyes turned pure black. The bleeding from his mouth stopped. The shaking ceased. The air grew hot and heavy around him.
The transformation completed.
Two full horns spiraled upward from his skull. His muscles expanded beneath the armor of scaled hide. A scaled tail coiled and struck the ground, cracking the stone beneath his feet.
Kibo was gone. Ignis was in full control.
He threw his head back and roared — a sound that made even the flames recoil. His mouth opened wide, and a column of molten breath erupted from his jaws, cutting the sky in half.
"M-M-MYYYYY RAAAAAAGGGGGEEEEEE!"
The roar rippled through the ruined city, shattering what little still stood.
DeathGod smiled, his eyes glinting with delight. "Ah… good."
He moved.
The clash that followed was apocalyptic.
DeathGod struck first, his hand flashing as they cut through Ignis's arms. Both hands were severed cleanly, dissolving into molten ash — and in the same instant, regenerated. Ignis retaliated with a thunderous punch, a shockwave rolling through the ground like a quake. DeathGod vanished in a blink, reappearing behind him, slashing across his back, only for Ignis's tail to lash out, striking him mid-motion and slamming him into the ground.
The Dragonoid's eyes burned like molten gold. He lifted a clawed hand, driving it into the soil and tearing the terrain apart as he chased the shadow blur that was DeathGod.
DeathGod phased through the assault, his laughter echoing from every direction. He materialized behind Ignis, tearing through his tail with a savage swipe, pinning it into the dirt as he drove a fist into Ignis's gut. The ground buckled from the force.
Ignis roared, his tail already reforming. The newly regrown appendage coiled around DeathGod's neck, yanking him violently into the air and flinging him across the field like a rag doll. DeathGod crashed, skidding through shattered stone before coming to a stop, still laughing.
Ignis's breath came in guttural snarls, smoke hissing from between his teeth. He raised his fist again, drawing on the Dragonoid's strength for one last, annihilating blow. But just as he swung, his own hand burst — muscle and bone rupturing under the sheer pressure of his own mana. The limb reformed instantly, but the hesitation was enough.
DeathGod was already upon him.
He seized Ignis's head in both hands, shadow energy coiling and constricting like a vice. The darkness ate into the Dragonoid's scales, crushing with terrifying force.
Ignis's body strained against the grip, every muscle screaming. Inside, his voice roared in Kibo's fading mind. If I change back now… the boy will die instantly. But if I stay like this… his body will burn out. There is no time left.
DeathGod's laughter slithered through the sound of cracking scales. "Change back… let the boy take control." He squeezed harder, savoring the resistance. "Let me see how long this body lasts."
Barely audible through the chaos, Subaru's voice whispered through his own labored breaths. "...Forty seconds."
The pressure that had been crushing both him and Thorn suddenly vanished, dissolving like mist in wind.
Thorn looked to his side — and froze.
Subaru was gone.
Before the King could speak, Subaru's figure cut through the air, a flash of white motion streaking toward DeathGod. His dagger gleamed in his hand, drawn and poised for the killing strike.
DeathGod reacted instantly, releasing his crushing grip on Ignis. The Dragonoid's massive form staggered backward, smoke rising from his scales. In the same instant, Ignis let go of control. The black scales, tail, and horns began to retract, melting away into fading embers of mana as Kibo's human form resurfaced. His body, now frail and exhausted, fell limp like a puppet with its strings cut.
Subaru caught him before he hit the ground. The boy's weight in his arms was light, but the toll of the battle was heavy. Subaru's expression softened.
A brilliant wave of blue mana burst outward from him, gentle and infinite like the ocean itself. It spread across the battlefield, sweeping through ruin, dust, and blood. The light wrapped around every fallen warrior. Bones cracked and set themselves back into place. Torn flesh knitted seamlessly together. The dying found breath again. The shattered regained strength.
Only Thorn's severed hand remained untouched. The blade that had taken it was too steeped in DeathGod's corruption for even Subaru's energy to cleanse.
Morganna, her face streaked with dirt and sweat, released her hold on the trembling earth. The tremors ceased. She rushed to Thorn, catching him by the shoulder as he tried to rise. His breathing was rough, but when he steadied himself and looked toward Subaru, a slow, knowing smile formed on his lips. It's over.
Sora and Syl, who could also feel the mana, could only stare. The light of Subaru's mana shimmered in their wide eyes. Even DeathGod, mid-laugh, had fallen silent. His grin flickered, replaced by something that looked disturbingly like awe.
Kibo, cradled in Subaru's arms, stirred weakly. His vision blurred as he looked up at his grandfather. The once-white hair of the old man was now streaked with black and glowing veins of electric blue, shifting and flowing like liquid lightning. The sheer pressure of his presence pressed down on everyone's souls.
"Grandpa?" Kibo's voice was barely a whisper.
Ignis spoke inside him, voice rough but reverent. "Brat… you failure of a thing. That—" he paused, a flicker of pride hidden under his usual disdain, "—is what you call the pinnacle of mankind."
Subaru smiled faintly. He set Kibo down gently, as if laying him to rest, and rose to his full height. His aura burned around him, calm yet impossibly powerful. His eyes were still on Kibo, his face softening into a serene expression
"You, Ignis, and the rest of you did good," he said quietly, as though offering a blessing.
DeathGod's laughter erupted again, wild and booming, echoing through the ruins. "YES, SUBARU! THIS IS IT!" he cried, voice trembling with exhilaration. His grin twisted wider, but his tone shifted—low, cutting, curious. "No matter how many times I see it, you never fail to entertain. But why, I wonder? What is all this for? A grand entrance? Or perhaps…" His eyes narrowed. "…was the price of your godhood your lifespan? Hehehe… Subaru, you are one of my proud crea—"
He never finished.
Subaru was gone.
The space between them shattered, air collapsing into silence. Then, in a flash too quick to follow, he reappeared before DeathGod. The dagger in his hand moved once—clean, precise.
DeathGod tilted his head just enough to avoid the strike, but the blade's tip grazed his shadowed chin.
His eyes widened. Huh?
A clone burst from his body in reflex, desperate to absorb the damage. The clone screamed—a raw, horrifying sound—as light consumed it, disintegrating it into cinders of shadow and dust.
When DeathGod rematerialized, his real body intact, his expression had changed. Shock. Unease.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Subaru gave him no time.
"You talk too much," Subaru said softly.
Then he struck.
His dagger slashed once more, meeting DeathGod's materialized twin blades in a burst of radiant sparks. Shadows clashed with light in a rhythm of death and silence.
Each time Subaru's blade cut through DeathGod's form, the god of shadows was forced to split himself—cloning out a fragment of his existence to survive the wound. Each clone screamed as divine light devoured it whole, leaving nothing behind but fading ash.
But Subaru did not rely solely on his weapon. Between each graceful strike, he pummeled DeathGod with his bare hands—each punch a surge of blue mana so dense it warped the air. The impacts cracked the earth, leaving trails of glowing fissures in their wake.
DeathGod's grin was gone. The laughter had faded. Each blow drove him further back, his own shadows fracturing beneath the overwhelming purity of Subaru's power.
For six heartbeats, Subaru reigned unchallenged. Six seconds of absolute dominance.
DeathGod's body was little more than a blur of shadows slammed into the ground, each strike cracking the ruined earth beneath them. Subaru's movements were unhurried yet unstoppable, each blow guided by unrelenting precision and fury contained within divine calm.
DeathGod's laughter echoed through the chaos, raw and unsteady. He tried to slip away, darting toward Kibo like a streak of dark lightning, but Subaru's form flickered before him—too fast, too sharp.
Their blades met once. Subaru parried the shadow slash with effortless grace and answered with a single, concussive strike across DeathGod's face. The sound of that impact rang through the broken city. DeathGod crashed into the earth, a crater swallowing him whole.
Silence followed.
The shadow god lay there, his body twitching as his twin blades dissolved back into his form. For a moment, it seemed he might finally be defeated. Then came the sound of his laughter—low, guttural, maddened joy bubbling up through the pain.
"Is that all?" he rasped, voice trembling between anger and amusement. "Subaru, come on… Is this what you call ending me? I am the end of all mankind! Not even your godhood can stop that!"
Subaru said nothing. He stood over him, calm as still water. His dagger slipped from his grasp, clattering softly against the stone.
DeathGod's grin widened. "Oh… so you want to do it the brawling way?" He rose to his feet, shadow dripping from his form. "Come on then, I'm ready!"
Subaru lifted his palm, his voice quiet yet resonant. "Burn away."
DeathGod froze.
Then it began. A red glow burst from every mark Subaru had left upon him, each wound igniting from within. Fire—pure, divine fire—erupted across his form.
DeathGod screamed, thrashing violently. "Oh, you bastard!" he roared, clawing at his burning skin, his body splitting into clones in a frantic attempt to escape. One by one, they caught flame the instant they appeared, their screams echoing across the battlefield before being devoured by the red inferno.
But the true DeathGod was not spared. The corruption spread faster than his power could split. He convulsed, his voice shifting between laughter and agony, the two indistinguishable until both faded into silence. His last sound was a broken, mad laugh swallowed by fire and light.
Then there was nothing.
The wind returned to the shattered city, soft and heavy with ash.
Subaru exhaled, the light in his eyes dimming. His hair faded from streaks of blue and black back to white, the godly aura dissolving into the exhausted man beneath. His body trembled slightly as he steadied his breath.
I have avoided the first end, he thought quietly, eyes lifting toward the clouded sky. Will I be alive for the second?
"Grandpa!"
Kibo's voice cut through the haze. The boy stumbled forward, tears in his eyes, and threw his arms around Subaru. "How did you do it?"
Subaru looked down at him and chuckled, the sound soft but weary. He pushed the dark thought from his mind and forced a small smile. "If you must know, it takes years to attain this form. Very gruesome training, in fact."
A few steps away, Thorn leaned heavily against Morganna. The king's breathing was rough, his wounds not fully mended, yet his eyes still gleamed with stubborn life.
"Please, Morganna…" Thorn murmured, his tone low. "If I tell you to leave, you leave. I would not want you dying by me."
Morganna steadied him, her expression both tired and proud. "And why would I?" she asked softly. "You are my King, and I am your Queen. I will not abandon you now."
Thorn's gaze drifted across the ruined battlefield. He saw Nina, Mael, Astrid, and Takashi beginning to stir among the wreckage. Nearby, Syl was holding Lily, whispering something with trembling relief as the girl's breathing steadied.
"The kingdom repairing would cost us a lot," Morganna said quietly.
Thorn gave a soft, worn chuckle. "Then let it be cost. We'll still rebuild it."
Subaru turned back to Kibo, smiling faintly. "Let me rest a bit, you know—"
His heart lurched once. A single, violent beat that sounded like thunder inside his chest.
"BRAT! MOVE AWAY FROM HIM!" Ignis's voice roared inside Kibo's head, frantic and raw with panic.
Subaru's eyes widened.
He didn't think. Instinct took control. His trembling hands gripped Kibo's shoulders, shoving him back with every ounce of remaining strength.
The boy was thrown through the air, crashing into the rubble. For everyone else, it felt as though the world had slowed—the movement stretched, every heartbeat a century.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Subaru's scream tore through the storm. It wasn't just pain—it was a sound that split the soul itself.
Vicious, obsidian spikes erupted from his body in a violent bloom, shredding through his clothes and skin. The black tendrils tore outward in every direction, piercing the ground and air alike, each spike carrying the sickly shimmer of shadowed energy.
Kibo's eyes widened in horror. Grandpa!
From within Subaru's writhing form, the shadow began to pull itself free. A dark, dripping silhouette, laughing as it emerged—DeathGod, whole once more. The spikes retreated into his shifting body, drinking the light around them.
Subaru collapsed to the ground, his once-white hair now matted black, his breath ragged and shallow.
How? The thought echoed faintly inside him, already fading with his pulse. How did he survive…?
And then it struck him—a flash of memory, blurred and red. A dungeon soaked in blood. A hand extended from the darkness, the voice that promised power. The shadow's smile.
Aurelia… you were right. Our fate was sealed long ago.
His limbs refused to move. The pain was unbearable, but worse was the clarity—he finally understood the cruel circle that bound them.
DeathGod stood over him, amusement twisting his dark face. "You should know, Subaru. You already know. You can't beat me."
Subaru's lips curled weakly. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as a faint, broken laugh escaped him. "You bastard… you were always ten steps ahead."
DeathGod tilted his head, his grin widening. "I am death, ain't I?" His eyes flared with delight. "Now rest well. Let me help you."
He extended one shadowed hand toward Subaru's chest, its surface rippling with black flame.
Subaru didn't fight. He simply looked up, his faint smile unchanged, his gaze calm and accepting.
So this is how it ends.
Then the silence shattered.
"GET AWAY FROM MY GRANDPA!"
Kibo's cry was raw, feral, filled with every ounce of terror and rage he had left. He came charging from the rubble, Subaru's dagger glowing faintly in his grip.
DeathGod turned, his laughter bubbling back to life. "You never learn, do you?"
Kibo's blades struck true—but DeathGod phased, his body dissolving into smoke before reforming several strides away. The shadow god simply stood there, smiling, watching the boy's futile defiance with cruel amusement.
Kibo dropped the dagger and fell to his knees beside Subaru, his trembling hands pressing against the bleeding wounds. "Come on… come on!" His voice cracked. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his healing light ignited between his palms.
The energy flickered, light and desperate, but the darkness inside Subaru resisted. The shadows hissed, eating the light away.
"No… no, please!" Kibo shouted, pressing harder. "Don't you dare leave me!"
Subaru tried to speak, his breath faltering. "Kibo…"
"Stop talking!" Kibo snapped through sobs. "Save your strength! Just—just let me fix this!"
"Kibo, stop—"
"Shut up!" Kibo shouted, his voice cracking beneath the strain. His eyes were red, wet, trembling.
Subaru turned his head weakly, the corners of his mouth lifting into the faintest smile as he slowly placed his hand on Kibo's head. "It's… okay, Kibo. You've done your best."
Kibo's hands shook violently as healing light pulsed between them. "Please stop talking," he whispered, his tone breaking into a plea. "You're wasting strength."
"You tried," Subaru murmured, each breath shallower than the last. "You really tried, Kibo."
Kibo's healing faltered. His jaw clenched as tears streamed freely down his cheeks. "Stop talking! We can fix this! You can fix this! You always do!"
Subaru let out a small, broken laugh — quiet and filled with sadness. "There's always a way," he said softly. "But not this time… You can't save everyone, Kibo. You can't."
The boy shook his head in disbelief, pressing harder, his hands glowing brighter. "No, no, no! I won't let you! I won't—"
"I'm sorry, Kibo." Subaru's whisper trembled, barely carried by the wind.
"Don't say that! Please don't say that!" Kibo begged, his voice rising, his chest heaving with ragged breaths.
Subaru's gaze softened as his eyes began to glaze, memories flickering behind them like ghosts. "You know… right now, seeing you like this… I remember when I lost someone too. Just like you. My whole world crumbled." His eyes shimmered faintly, a weak tear tracing the scar on his cheek. "I'm sorry you had to feel that same pain."
Kibo pressed his forehead to Subaru's chest, shaking. "Don't talk like that… please…"
Subaru exhaled, the sound thin, fleeting. "Kibo," he said, his tone calm, almost fatherly, "don't try to carry everything alone. The world is too vast for one person to bear. The only gift I can give you… is a family. One that'll be your strength when yours runs out. Lean on them. Don't be like me… Don't be alone."
"Stop it!" Kibo shouted, gripping Subaru's hand tightly. "You can still—"
But Subaru wasn't looking at him anymore. His fading vision had shifted toward DeathGod's distant, grinning silhouette. Past the shadow, his mind painted a final, fading memory — white hair, a gentle smile, the warmth that once anchored his life.
"Thank you," he whispered, his last words trembling like a prayer.
Then the light left his eyes. His hand, once heavy with warmth, slipped slowly from Kibo's head and fell to the bloodstained ground.
For a long, hollow second, there was no sound. Only the wind brushing through rubble, whispering through the ruin of battle.
Kibo stared, unmoving. "Grandpa…?" His voice was a fragile echo. "Grandpa…"
He pressed his hands harder against Subaru's unmoving chest. "No, no, no… you're just tired. Wake up… please wake up…" His breathing grew uneven, shallow, his body trembling as panic devoured him.
"I'm sorry, Kibo," Ignis said softly within his mind, his voice gentler than ever. "He is gone."
Something in Kibo broke.
The boy's scream ripped through the battlefield — raw, echoing, shattering the silence. "AAAHHHHHHHHH!" He clawed at Subaru's chest as tears poured freely, his voice cracking with unbearable grief. "Please! Please come back, Grandpa! Please… come back! GRAAAANNNNDDPAAAA!"
The world itself seemed to recoil from the sound — that desperate, hollow cry that carried both love and ruin.
Sora turned away, her face ashen, her hands trembling as she motioned to protect the girls. The air felt heavy, suffocating.
Thorn stood still. His eyes — wide, haunted — were twin storms of rage and sorrow. He looked past Kibo, straight at DeathGod. His voice came out low, trembling not from fear, but from something far more dangerous.
Thorn's voice broke the silence, rough and quiet. "Morganna… once he makes a move… take everyone away. I will hold him off."
Morganna looked up, her eyes wide and trembling. She saw the pain buried beneath his calm — the knowledge that he had already accepted death. For a heartbeat, she wanted to argue, to refuse. But the light in his eyes silenced her. It was not despair. It was duty.
Slowly, she released his arm. Her trembling hand pressed against the ground, green light radiating outward as she began summoning the Verdant Aegis, its pulse growing, forming a fragile sanctuary meant to protect the last of them.
DeathGod began to laugh — a hollow, chilling sound that filled the silence left by Subaru's death.
"What a show," he said, spreading his arms, his voice echoing through the broken remains of Balmount. "Crying now, because you lost someone? How very foolish!"
His laughter deepened, venom dripping with every word. "In a world where thousands… millions die every single day, you still weep over one? You want to know why your grandfather died today?" His grin widened, jagged and terrible. "IT WAS BECAUSE HE WAS OLD AND WEAK! A USELESS, WITHERED BEING WHO SHOULD HAVE DIED LONG AGO!"
The words tore through the air like blades.
Kibo froze for a moment — then something inside him snapped. The grief inside him burned into something far darker. His eyes widened, glowing faintly through tears. He reached down, snatching Subaru's fallen daggers from the ground.
"SHUT UP!" he screamed, his voice raw and broken, echoing across the battlefield like a wounded animal's cry.
Ignis's voice roared in his mind, desperate. "STOP! KIBO, DON'T DO IT!"
But Kibo didn't hear him. He couldn't. There was only the rage — the blinding, pure rage that drowned reason.
Thorn moved in a flicker of light, Teleportation breaking the tension of the air. One instant he was beside Morganna; the next, he stood at Kibo's side, grabbing his shoulder, his voice thunderous. "ENOUGH!"
But DeathGod was smiling. Calm. Knowing. His eyes followed Thorn's movement as though it were in slow motion.
"So predictable," he murmured.
The world seemed to pause.
DeathGod's gaze dimmed to black emptiness. He lifted one finger to his lips, a gesture almost casual. "Void."
The light vanished.
The world of Balmount plunged into absolute darkness. Every color, every sound, every breath — gone. Even thought seemed to halt. Time itself folded inward.
Then, with a soundless ripple, the void broke.
A pressure, impossible and divine, erupted outward — invisible, infinite. It was not flame or shockwave, but something deeper, crueler. It was a stroke that tore through the soul itself.
The kingdom screamed without sound.
DeathGod whispered, his voice godlike and final. "Requiem."
And then the kingdom ended.
A cataclysm of silent light and obliteration consumed everything — beginning with Kibo. Ignis's scream echoed in his mind, a last desperate roar swallowed by eternity. One moment there was fire, grief, and life. The next — nothing.
When the darkness lifted, it left behind only stillness.
The winds had died. The kingdom was ash and silence. Not a body remained — not a whisper of what once was.
In the heart of the ruin stood DeathGod. Alone.
He looked around the emptiness, the void his own creation. Slowly, he tilted his head to the heavens, and smiled.
"This never gets old," he said softly, almost fondly. His voice carried through the endless quiet, cold and divine.
And then he laughed — a low, resonant sound that filled the hollow kingdom with madness.