Kaguya stepped from the corner where shadow pooled thickest, as if he had been carved out of it.

  He holstered his knife with a soft click. “That’s everyone.”

  I assessed the field without turning my head. Odina stood slightly behind Zero, posture composed. Zhen flexed his hands slowly, tendons tightening like drawn wire. Borschmack rolled his bruised shoulder once, jaw set. Kaguya’s breathing was calm—too calm. Zero’s eyes were already scanning angles.

  Six of us. An average outcome. Borschmack wasn’t at peak condition. The swelling in his forearm hadn’t faded from the earlier engagement. But the rest were untouched. A favorable distribution of strength.

  I asked, “Is everyone ready?”

  Each gave their signal.

  Good.

  Your history ends today, Sun. I pushed the door inward. It exploded toward us. A fist burst through the reinforced lightsteel frame with a concussive shockwave. The air cracked. Splinters of metal screamed outward.

  Borschmack reacted on instinct, stepping into the trajectory and catching the strike along the inside of his forearm. The sound of impact was like a battering ram striking a fortress gate.

  He reinforced.

  I saw it—dense layering of force beneath the skin.

  And still his forearm bruised instantly.

  The sheer density behind that punch lifted me off my feet and hurled me backward. I twisted midair, catching a glimpse of bulging veins—unnaturally thick, webbing across a forearm that looked ready to rupture through skin.

  I flipped, landed hard, slid across fractured stone, and rose.

  To my right Odina dropped.

  A blur had passed her. A precise hand chop severed consciousness at the carotid before her body even registered the attack. The speed was impossible. I barely caught the afterimage.

  Not the same attacker.

  Zhen reacted without hesitation, scooping Odina and hurling her far across the plaza in a calculated arc—clear of the engagement radius. He would not endanger her further.

  Efficient, but we lost a piece on the board.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  The dust thinned.

  Caleb stepped forward from the ruined doorway.

  His veins were grotesquely pronounced—neck, arms, temples—pulsing as if something inside him strained against containment. His musculature appeared distended beyond natural limits.

  How is he standing?

  Didn’t Borschmack and Hematite finish him?

  Borschmack’s eyes flicked toward me.

  Concern. Confirmation of the same question.

  Zero’s voice cut through the tension. “Finn. Reveal yourself.”

  The air beside Caleb distorted.

  Finn materialized casually, as though the battlefield were a stage and he had merely entered on cue.

  He grinned. “Oh... you all really should’ve stayed home.”

  I stepped forward. “After I spared you? This is how you repay me?”

  Zero flicked a stone that tapped my shoe—sharp, grounding. “You should’ve known. Men like him don’t stay buried.”

  Zhen widened his fingers into hooked claws. “Orders?”

  Caleb’s gaze settled on me. He did not look triumphant. He looked resigned.

  Kaguya’s knife slid free halfway. “I’ll kill them both.”

  Finn tilted his head. “Didn’t we kill you, uncle Kaguya? Isn’t that hypocritical?”

  He vanished and reappeared behind Kaguya.

  His fist drove forward on a lethal trajectory—back of the skull, downward angle, no mercy.

  I moved faster.

  My hand closed around Finn’s wrist mid-strike.

  The shockwave from the halted punch cracked the air.

  It would have killed Kaguya instantly.

  It didn’t bruise me.

  Silence fell. Even Caleb’s breathing seemed to pause.

  Caleb then stomped once.

  The ground fractured beneath his heel.

  We turned to him.

  “I said I wouldn’t return.” he began, voice steady. “But I cannot abandon my duty. My wife is safe. My unborn child is safe. That means I can fight without restraint.”

  The veins along his arms swelled further.

  “We can settle this properly. To the death.”

  “You’re delusional.” I said. “Five against two.”

  He shook his head. “Leo doesn’t want you here. He wants you in the throne room. He has the key.”

  My mind aligned the pieces.

  “The bell room.”

  “Yes.” Caleb confirmed. “Defeat him. Take the key. Ring the bell. That signals surrender. You'd win.”

  Zhen frowned. “Why not breach it?”

  “It’s encased in two meters of lightsteel. One-meter door.” I said. “It would take days. Only someone truly strong can open it.”

  Zero stepped slightly ahead of the line. “Go, Vellin. We’ll handle this.”

  I was already past them. I can't stop now. I wish you luck.

  Inside, the corridors were silent.

  No traps. No ambushes.

  Leo wants this confrontation isolated.

  I moved at full velocity. The Surge bottle felt heavy in my pocket. Kaguya held onto it for me.

  The throne room doors stood open. Leo sat waiting. He clapped slowly.

  “I’m proud of you.” he said. “You’ve grown.”

  “What were my parents’ last words?” I asked.

  He considered. “Your mother was disappointed. She asked why I did it. Your father said I had been bright once.”

  My jaw tightened.

  “What did you tell her?”

  He answered simply. “Patriotism.”

  What a joke.

  I drank the Surge in one motion. The liquid ignited down my throat, spreading cold clarity through my bloodstream.

  “That was all this was?” I asked. “Patriotism? You were trusted. By my parents. By Zero.”

  Leo withdrew a small lightsteel knife from his throne’s armrest.

  “I do not understand personal love.” he said evenly. “But I love my subjects. I killed for them. They needed someone ruthless enough to lift them. Look at what we’ve built.”

  My vision blurred from unmatched anger. “Why are you crying?” he asked. “You were strong moments ago.”

  I stepped forward.

  In less than a blink, I stood before him—close enough to see my reflection in his eyes.

  “I won’t make the same mistake my parents did.”