Time froze in the grand hall. I stood before Seraphim and Serena, his eyes burning with anger while she watched me cautiously. The air was thick with tension, and everyone in the room knew that the confrontation was imminent.
"Honor?" Seraphim said, his voice a mix of anger and mockery. "You break into my castle, destroy my property, and now you claim you have a right here?"
I smiled, ignoring his tone. "What you possess is not yours, Seraphim. It is a part of me, and I am here to take it back. You will give me what I want, or… I will take it from you."
Serena stepped forward. "You're insane if you think you're leaving this castle alive. No one challenges Seraphim and lives to tell the tale."
I let out a quiet chuckle. "Many have said that, yet here I am. Perhaps that tells you something about me."
Seraphim advanced, his features embodying a specter of rage and power. "You have played your part well so far, but this is where it ends. This castle will be your grave."
I raised my hand, and slowly, the shadows in the hall began to move. The stone walls, the massive pillars, even the ground beneath their feet… everything started to dissolve into a sea of darkness. "You know… maybe this castle will be your grave instead."
With blinding speed, the shadows surged toward them. Seraphim raised his hand, and a burst of golden light exploded from his palm, dispelling the darkness around him. At the same moment, Serena moved her fingers gracefully, pulling threads of magical energy that transformed into glowing swords, slashing through my shadows before they could reach.
"So, you like playing with light?" I said with a smirk. "But light never lasts for long."
I lunged toward Seraphim, using the shadows as wings to propel myself forward at an incredible speed. But he was ready. His glowing fist collided with my dark shield, and the impact echoed through the hall. Retreat was not an option. The shadows coiled around his feet, trying to bind him, but he unleashed a surge of energy that shattered them before they could take hold.
"You won't defeat me with these cheap tricks!" Seraphim shouted, his power surging with every word.
"It's not my tricks that are cheap," I retorted sharply. "It's your overconfidence that will destroy you."
The hall transformed into a battlefield of darkness and light.
From the other side, Serena was not just an observer. She rushed at me with her glowing swords, each strike swift and precise, forcing me to retreat and rethink my strategy. She coordinated her attacks with Seraphim in perfect harmony, as if they shared a single mind.
"Serena, keep him busy. I'll prepare the finale!" Seraphim yelled as he wove a complex spell in the air.
I realized their plan was to overwhelm me with a decisive strike. I had no choice but to change the rules of the game. While dodging Serena's attacks, I guided the shadows to seep slowly into Seraphim's spell. The trick was simple: corrupt his magic from within.
"What are you doing?!" Serena cried, realizing something was wrong.
I didn't answer. Seizing her moment of distraction, I unleashed a blast of shadows that pushed her back a few steps, then focused on Seraphim.
"Your power is great, but you are not invincible, Seraphim," I said as his spell began to warp. The glowing lines he had drawn twisted into distorted runes, and the radiance started to fade.
"This is impossible!" he shouted, but it was too late.
In an instant, I rushed toward him, channeling all my power into his chest. Serena tried to intervene, but I was faster. The shadows seeped into his body, and at last, the light around him vanished.
Seraphim fell to his knees, his eyes filled with shock. "You… were not just an enemy. You were a catastrophe," he said weakly.
"A catastrophe?" I repeated coldly, retracting the shadows around me, leaving the hall engulfed in silence. "Perhaps… but every catastrophe has a purpose."
Seraphim collapsed to the ground, his body slowly fading, yet he was not entirely defeated. With his last breath, he looked at Serena, then at me. "Serena… don't let him… finish what he started…"
Then, he closed his eyes forever.
The silence that followed his death was heavy, but it did not last long. Serena knelt beside him, her eyes filled with tears and rage. "You took everything from me…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
I stood before her, my breath heavy with exhaustion. "His turn is over, Serena. Now… it's yours."
She lifted her eyes to me, the fury in her face hardening into a deadly resolve. But she did not move. She only stared, as if trying to comprehend the disaster that had befallen her.