The doors slammed shut like the jaws of a beast.
The torchlight was fever-bright, bending across the fractured marble floor, catching on the jagged steel edges of abandoned spears and broken shields.
The banners of Veldrith, black and gold, hung tattered above the throne—now claimed by a man who had no right to it.
Naelus sat sprawled in the chair like it had grown beneath him, one gauntleted hand resting lazily on the hilt of his sword. His eyes tracked Cassius and his companions with the same disdain a predator might give to prey that had wandered too willingly into its den.
Naelus: "Seize them."
From side doors and hidden alcoves, armored men surged forward. Shields locked. Boots thundered.
Elric stepped in first, his longsword catching torchlight. Varcen spun his halberd into a low guard. Jorvan's hand went to the worn leather of his sword grip.
Cassius stepped forward, drawing steel without a word.
The impact was instant—steel on steel, a scream of sparks across the marble.
Varcen's first swing knocked a soldier into a pillar; Elric's shield caught a spearhead and slammed it sideways; Cassius's blade drove a man to the ground.
Naelus rose slowly from the throne, watching the chaos.
Naelus: "Yes… entertain me."
Cassius caught Varcen's flank, deflecting a blow meant for him. The air was thick with the clash of weapons and the heat of exertion.
Naelus's eyes fixed suddenly on Jorvan's stance.
Naelus: "That grip… that pivot… So—you're alive, Jorvan Thale."
Jorvan's jaw tightened. His sword cut down another soldier without a pause.
Steel screamed against steel. Sparks leapt like fireflies in the choking haze of the hall. The last cries of Naelus's men echoed through the chamber—cut short one after another, swallowed by the weight of blood and stone.
Cassius's blade dripped crimson, his breath ragged. Elric held his stance, eyes locked forward, ready for more. Jorvan stood behind them, crownless but unbroken, clutching the hilt of his sword with knuckles white.
A spear fell, clattering endlessly across marble. A silence followed—not peace, but the hollow lull before a storm.
Korvek: "It's done."
But it wasn't.
Naelus did not falter. His smirk remained, carved across his face as though none of it mattered. He stepped through the corpses of his men, their blood staining his boots, their loyalty already forgotten.
His eyes locked on Jorvan. The chamber seemed smaller in that moment, walls bending to the will of his words before they were even spoken.
Naelus: "Jorvan Thale… join me."
Jorvan: "What are you plotting now? Turning me on my allies? Or stabbing the Merchant King, like you did the King?"
Naelus's smirk sharpened.
Naelus: "I can't. If I lay so much as a finger on the Merchant, he'll kill me."
Cassius: "Who? The Archon?"
Naelus blinked in mild surprise, then chuckled.
Naelus: "You know? Of course you do. That explains why you're helping Jorvan."
Jorvan: "Why betray the King?"
Naelus: "You know why. He was too naive. Veldrith had power, armies, and gold. We could have dominated all of Genesis, yet that old fool clung to his baseless values."
He spat the next words like venom.
Naelus: "What's the point of an army you never unleash?!"
His voice rose into a roar.
Naelus: "Bastard! That old fool deserved his fate!"
Jorvan: "Did the Archon promise you world domination?"
Naelus: "Something beyond world domination."
Elric: "What's that?"
Naelus: "No point telling the dead."
His gaze locked on Cassius. A cruel grin.
Naelus: "You… the relic bearer. Now, come at me!"
With a sudden roar, he hurled himself forward, marble cracking under his stride. Cassius barely had time to set his stance before Naelus's strike came down like thunder. The floor shook, stone chips spraying as steel met steel.
Elric lunged to flank him, but Naelus twisted, catching his strike on a vambrace and shoving him aside with brutal ease. Korvek thundered in next, axe descending in a heavy cleave. Naelus intercepted, their weapons shrieking, then snapped a knee into Korvek's gut, sending the giant stumbling back.
Cassius charged again, trying to drive him off balance—
Naelus: "Is that it? You're weaker than the old one."
Elric snarled and dove in with a shield bash, ramming the weight of iron into him. Naelus skidded half a step back, his grin widening.
Naelus: "Better… at least you bite."
Varcen's halberd swept low, its edge shrieking against marble as it cut for Naelus's legs. In one impossible motion, Naelus vaulted clean over the strike, cloak flaring. He came down with a brutal slash—steel kissed Elric's pauldron, sparks flaring, the impact jarring Elric to a knee.
Cassius: "You talk too much."
Naelus barked a laugh, blade spinning in a taunting arc.
Naelus: "Talking's all you'll remember of me."
They clashed again. The hall filled with the din of ringing steel, every strike a hammer blows echoing off stone columns. Naelus moved like water, every motion fluid and precise. His parries weren't just defense—they were theater, each block and counter meant to humiliate.
Elric tried to press him with a flurry, but Naelus slipped past and drove a shoulder into his chest, sending him sprawling. Varcen swung again—Naelus caught the halberd's shaft, twisted, and nearly tore it from his grip.
Cassius darted in, blade flashing, and for a breath their swords locked—Naelus's smile inches from his face.
Naelus: "I expected more from the Catalyst."
Cassius's breathing grew ragged, arms trembling under the weight of Naelus's strength. His eyes darted to the relic strapped at his wrist. His heart pounded. Now or never.
He clenched his fist—
The gauntlets blazed to life, runic light crawling up the ancient metal, burning against his skin.
Naelus's grin widened in delight, teeth gleaming red in the torchlight.
Naelus: "Yes… yes! Show me how different you are from him!"
Cassius exploded forward, gauntlets flaring as each strike cracked against Naelus's guard. The blows thundered like war drums, every impact rattling up the traitor's arm and driving him a step backward.
Varcen lunged from the left, halberd carving a crescent through the air. Jorvan struck from the right, blade flashing in vengeful arcs. Naelus twisted, parrying both with frantic precision, but the rhythm of his defense began to fray. His movements slowed, the weight of the three pressing him like a collapsing wall.
Korvek roared, charging with a sweeping strike from his axe. The blow crashed against Naelus's shield with such force it splintered, sending shards scattering across the stone floor. Naelus staggered, exposed for the first time.
For a heartbeat, his eyes widened in disbelief—shock cutting through the arrogance etched on his face. His shield, his strength, shattered by a brute's swing. Then the disbelief twisted, curdling into fury. His lips peeled back in a snarl, teeth bloodied, and his voice thundered like a beast cornered.
Naelus: "You think a pack of strays can bring me down? I am Veldrith's finest—its blade, its bulwark! You are nothing!"
Spittle flew as he roared, lashing out with wild, furious strikes, his movements heavier but more desperate—each swing more rage than precision, his pride bleeding with every step back.
Naelus (snarling, breathless): "The Archon… will break you."
Cassius (driving forward): "Not before we break you."
Cassius slammed a gauntlet into Naelus's ribs, the metal denting with a sickening crunch. The traitor's breath burst out in a ragged gasp, his balance faltering. Varcen's halberd carved across his thigh, forcing him to one knee.
Jorvan's eyes blazed with fury—this was the moment. With a guttural cry, he drove his blade through the gap in Naelus's armor, burying it deep into his chest.
The clangor of battle faded, leaving only the harsh echo of Naelus's body hitting the stone. The Den fell silent. Shackles clinked faintly as the prisoners dared to lift their heads, their hollow eyes fixed on the fallen titan.
Cassius stood frozen, chest heaving, the relic's faint glow reflecting in the pools of blood. Varcen lowered his blade, his grip trembling from both exhaustion and awe. Korvek's axe head smoldered from the force of his strike, and even he did not roar in triumph—only breathed, steady and grim.
Jorvan tore his spear free, Naelus's blood dripping in slow, heavy beads. The mercenary captain's face was carved in stone, yet in his eyes, something flickered—a release, a long-awaited justice.
Naelus froze, blood bubbling at his lips. His gaze didn't break—it stayed locked on Cassius, as if even death could not pry him away.
Naelus (choking, whispering): "Beware… the Archon."
His body collapsed in a heavy clatter of steel.
---
Elsewhere, in the narrow stone tunnels beneath the keep…
Lyra's dagger flashed—one guard fell silently.
Voric's axe split another's shield in half.
Ronan's boot crushed a soldier into the wall.
Lyra: "Hope everything's fine inside the chamber."
They pushed forward
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