Ignis leaned backward, a cold smirk returning to his face. "Listen, Kael. I can track your speed with my own eyes now. Pure speed will not be your victory."
He took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. Standing up straight, he walked confidently toward Kael.
Kael just smirked back. "Really?"
Before Kael could even twitch, Ignis moved. He completely shattered Kael's absolute infinity barrier with a heavy, concussive clash. Then, he delivered a brutal kick right to Kael's ribs.
Kael flew through the air and crashed hard into the dirt. Dust swirled violently around the impact zone. Before Kael could even push himself up, Ignis slammed his foot onto Kael's chest, pinning him down. He pointed the cold tip of his sword straight at Kael's forehead.
As the dust slowly vanished into the air, Ignis looked down at the grounded youth and sneered. "I am the one who slaughtered Renjiro's mother and father. And there was another girl in that family portrait too. Tell me, who was she?"
Kael didn't panic. Instead, a low chuckle escaped his lips. The chuckle quickly turned into mad laughter.
"Now... you are messing with the wrong being."
Kael closed his eyes. Slowly, his massive wings dissolved into light. His sharp horns receded, and the glowing angel halo vanished completely. He was shedding his previous form.
When Kael snapped his eyes open, Ignis felt an instinctive spike of terror. He immediately stepped backward, breaking his stance.
Kael smirked, standing up slowly. "What's the matter? You killed Renjiro's parents, my parents, and you even dared to hurt Sara."
Kael blurred. His movement bypassed the very laws of physics. The wind howled as dust tore backward from his boots. He roared a single word into the void.
"Trinay!"
A blinding light erupted from Kael's palm. A legendary weapon manifested in his grip. The sword possessed a pitch-black blade, a matching black handle, and three crimson rubies that glowed like bleeding eyes.
Kael sprinted toward Ignis. He was moving so fast that his own body could barely handle the strain, and fresh blood began to cover his lips. He closed the distance instantly. Before Ignis could even raise his twin blades, Kael's black sword was already pressing against the Shadow Lord's neck.
Slash.
As the blade sliced cleanly through his throat, Ignis didn't scream. He looked at Kael and smiled weakly. "If this is my true death... then I am happy."
The severed head fell heavily onto the cracked stone. Crimson blood pooled around the corpse. This time, the green lightning did not appear. The regeneration failed completely.
Across the battlefield, the massive Shadow Army let out collective shrieks. One by one, they dissolved into grey dust and vanished into the wind. Only two figures remained standing: Elara and Adrian Redgrave.
The dark corruption faded from their eyes, replaced by a gentle warmth. They stepped forward, smiling softly at their son. Elara reached out and touched Kael's face. She gently placed her fingers on his lips, wiping away the dark blood.
Kael grabbed her hand tightly, his voice breaking instantly. "Mom... please don't leave me!"
Adrian walked over and placed a heavy, comforting hand on Kael's trembling shoulder. He leaned down toward Kael's ear and whispered softly, "Did you burn those ancient books, son?"
A single tear mixed with blood rolled down Kael's cheek. The battlefield was completely silent now, leaving only the dead body of Ignis and the fading shadows of his parents.
Kael nodded, his voice shaking violently. "Yeah. I did."
He dropped down to his knees on the cold dirt. "Are you going to leave me behind again?"
His parents stood still, looking down at him with peaceful expressions. "Kael, a dead person cannot live forever with the living. It is time for us to go."
Kael stood up quickly, aggressively wiping the tears from his eyes. Elara looked at him softly. "I didn't realize you had grown this powerful, Kael. I am sorry for giving you even a single wound earlier."
Kael shook his head fiercely. "No. You are my mother. I don't care about a stupid wound in the end."
His parents turned around, walking slowly up into the empty, dark sky.
As Kael watched their footsteps, he noticed something glistening on the stone. A single droplet of water. He realized his parents didn't want to leave him either, but the situation simply wouldn't allow them to stay.
"Mom! Dad!" Kael screamed into the sky.
They turned back one last time, smiled, and completely vanished into the light.
Kael couldn't hold it in any longer. A violent spasm racked his body, and he vomited a large pool of blood. The legendary sword, *Trinay*, shattered into dark particles and disappeared. Kael collapsed face-first onto the ground, clutching the dust tightly with one hand while holding his neck with the other.
"Sara!" Kael cried out in pure agony. His eyes began to fade into pitch black, and his vision went completely dark.
High above the battlefield, the lingering soul of Ignis hovered in the air one last time, looking down at the unconscious boy.
"Kael Redgrave... I always knew you would be the one who could kill me," the soul murmured, closing its eyes. "But if you can still hear me, listen well. Immortality is not a gift. It is a terrifying curse that no soul should ever receive."
With those final words, the soul dissolved into nothingness. The ruined void world fell completely silent, leaving behind only a collapsed boy and the dead body of the Shadow Lord.
Kael slowly opened his heavy eyelids. The harsh scent of medicine filled his nose. He found himself staring at a plain, white hospital ceiling.
He sat up grooningly. "Where am I?"
He glanced to his sides and paused. Someone was holding his hands from both directions. On his left, Sara was sitting in a chair, her chest still heavily wrapped in white medical bandages. On his right, Renjiro was slumped over. Both of them were fast asleep, completely exhausted from the ordeal.
Kael smiled softly. He lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes to rest.
A moment later, the hospital door clicked open. Rexon walked into the room carrying a basket of fresh fruits. He was wearing a protective medical mask.
Rexon muttered quietly to himself, "Sir needs to take some precautions, or he will end up killing himself from overexertion."
He set the fruits on the bedside table and walked over to Renjiro, gently shaking his shoulder to wake him up. "Sir, please wake up. You should move the young miss to a proper bed. She is still severely wounded."
Renjiro blinked his eyes open and nodded sleepily. He carefully picked Sara up and laid her down on an empty hospital bed nearby.
Kael opened his eyes again, looking silently at his friend. Rexon turned around and noticed the movement, his eyes widening. "Master! You're awake!"
Hearing Rexon's sudden words, Sara snapped her eyes open. She looked straight at Kael, and tears immediately welled up, rolling down her cheeks. Refusing to take any support, she swung her legs out of bed and tried to walk toward him.
After only a few weak steps, her knees buckled. Before she could touch the ground, Renjiro caught her securely. Holding onto Renjiro for support, she dragged herself the rest of the way to Kael's side.
Kael's eyes grew red with emotion. He quickly shifted over, giving Sara space to sit on the edge of his bed. She sat down, and Kael immediately looked at her bandaged chest.
"Did anything serious happen to you?" Kael asked softly.
Both Sara and Renjiro stayed completely silent, looking away.
Rexon sighed from the corner of the room. "Kael... she lost a massive amount of blood. But luckily, her blood group is an exact match to yours—"
Before Rexon could even finish the sentence, Kael shouted in disbelief, "No way!"
He looked back at Sara. She was smiling through her tears, nodding softly to confirm the truth.
Renjiro quickly stepped outside to call the attending doctor. A moment later, a doctor entered the room followed by a few nurses. The doctor looked at Sara sitting up and frowned. "Miss, you need to lie down and rest immediately. Your blood level is critically low."
Kael looked up at the doctor urgently. "Can I donate my blood to her right now?"
The doctor looked at Kael with a deeply serious expression. "I am sorry, sir, but you cannot. You have also lost a massive amount of blood internally. It looks as though an immense force tried to tear your body apart from the inside out just to extract energy. You have no blood to spare."
Kael fell silent, slowly laying his head back onto the pillow.
Meanwhile, high above the mortal realm, the radiant halls of heaven glowed with a divine light. The gods were gathered together, conversing in arrogant tones.
"Humans are truly pathetic creatures," one god sneered, swirling a golden goblet.
The other gods burst into loud laughter. "Yeah, you are absolutely right," another god chimed in. "But we cannot ignore the fact that they possess a strange power to control high-ranking demons and devils."
A third god slammed his fist onto the council table, standing up abruptly. "Then shouldn't we just kill them all right now?"
An elder god walked into the center of the hall, shaking his head. "We can't do that."
Another god stepped forward, frowning. "Why not?"
"Because..." the elder god replied, his eyes narrowing. "Those three ancient, powerful gods are still actively protecting humanity."
At that exact moment, at the edge of the dark cosmos, the colossal obsidian Gates of Death stood silent. Suddenly, the heavy chains rattled violently. The massive doors groaned and swung wide open.
Ignis stepped through the threshold, his dark aura flaring into the underworld. Every single entity guarding the gates froze in absolute shock.