Miguel stood surrounded, nowhere to run, no one to trust. He wasn't a hero, not even someone important—but he sure as hell wasn't going to die as a sacrifice for someone else's plan.
With a sharp breath, he drew Killing Spree, the odachi sliding from its sheath with a hiss of steel.
Just then, Auro fired an arrow straight at Miguel's head. He barely moved—his blade came up automatically, knocking the arrow away mid-flight with a clean, metallic clang.
Before he could breathe, William lunged at him, a heavy iron mace in hand. Miguel stepped back—just a small shift—and the weapon missed him by inches. With the space created, he twisted his torso and brought the blade upward in a brutal arc.
William's arm was severed cleanly at the elbow.
He didn't even have time to scream before Miguel stepped in and plunged the odachi straight into his chest. With one smooth pull, he dragged the blade across, opening William's ribcage. The man dropped to the floor, dead before he hit the ground.
The storm priest watched silently from a chair, unmoved. Aurora and Auro stood frozen as Miguel calmly turned back to face them, covered in blood, his expression unreadable.
Miguel coughed—blood staining his lips, seems that the blood that got into his mouth was poisoned, That should Explain Why William was unconscious, the bastard poisoned the monsters, The poison had two effects: One seems to be forced hemostasis, and the other adrenaline, forced hemostasis only affected humans and adrenaline only affected monsters, and because monsters had that poison in their blood, and said blood fell into Miguel's mouth, Miguel was being affected by the poison, so he had to be quick.
"The poison finally took effect," Aurora said softly. "Finish him off, Auro."
But Miguel didn't fall.
He moved without hesitation.
In a flash, he hurled Killing Spree across the clearing—no aim, no hesitation.
The blade buried itself in Auro's skull. The boy dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.
Then, without blinking, Miguel raised a hand—and the odachi vanished from Auro's corpse, reappearing instantly in Miguel's grasp.
He exhaled, wiping the blood from his mouth.
"Somehow," he said calmly, "I expected this."
He turned to Aurora. "You should've known your guards were useless. What did you think was going to happen?"
"I saw it coming," Aurora replied, her voice hollow. "What does it matter? Just kill me. Cut my throat. Gut me. Pierce my heart—I don't care how. I was meant to die here. Once my blood spills, this land will drown, and my duty will be fulfilled."
Miguel glanced at the priest for confirmation. The old man simply nodded.
Miguel gave a dry laugh, then smiled—sharp, almost cruel.
"If your fate is to die here," he said, "then I won't kill you."
Aurora blinked.
"In fact," he continued, stepping closer, "I won't let anything kill you. Not here. Not now. How does that sound?"
Panic bloomed in Aurora's eyes. She turned and tried to leap off the edge of the great tree—but Miguel was faster.
He caught her by the neck with one hand, holding her in place with terrifying ease, the girl was extremely light.
His gaze shifted to the priest.
"You're a Transcendent, aren't you?" he asked. "You going to stop me?"
The priest didn't even flinch. "The sacrifice only works if I have no will to interfere. Do as you wish. I will not stop you."
Miguel looked down at the girl struggling in his grip.
"Don't worry," he told her coldly. "You're going to die—but not in this cursed forest."
Aurora screamed, thrashing in desperation, but Miguel didn't even blink. He raised her slightly, then slammed her into the ground with enough force to knock her out cold.
Miguel dragged her through the woods, step by step, until the trees broke apart into a massive clearing.
The sun beat down mercilessly. The heat twisted the air, forming illusions and mirages across the landscape. It was dry, empty, desolate—a far cry from the gloom of the forest.
Miguel dropped Aurora's unconscious body onto the grass. She stirred slowly, her eyes hollow, her strength gone.
"Why...?" she whispered.
Miguel crouched beside her, meeting her gaze.
"You shouldn't have tried to manipulate me," he said simply. "I wasn't going to kill you—not until I figured it out. You were never planning to sacrifice yourself. You wanted me to do it. That way, I'd take the guilt, the responsibility—and your death would fulfill its purpose."
He pointed the tip of the odachi at her chest and Smirked
"But I noticed it. Back at the tree, You had two options, one was to use me as a sacrifice, and the other was to use yourself, before my arrival you seemed to have lost the reason for living, but when I appeared your eyes seemed to shine knowing that you could use me as a sacrifice"
Aurora looked up at him, her mouth trembling, no words left to say.
Miguel's smile faded.
"Now, I'll make your dead a quick and meaningless one," he said, voice cold. "You'll rot here. Unburied. Unremembered. Forgotten."
He pressed the blade into her chest.
There was no struggle. No scream. Just silence.
Her blood spread across the clearing, turning green grass into crimson mud.
[Wake up, Miguel. Your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal...]