As Kael walked toward Isolde—who had just witnessed the terrifying sight of Thomas and Edwin failing and was too frightened to move, convinced it was the end.
In front of Isolde, who was still on the ground, ‘So... how would you like to die?’” Kael said, his voice echoing in the tense silence.
“Kill me, but leave that boy alone… he has nothing to do with you…” Isolde pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper.
“This boy and you… you were all fighting as if trying to kill each other, aren’t you? Now, what happened?” Kael pressed, his tone a mixture of challenge and despair.
“You can interpret it any way you want,” Isolde replied slowly. “I just want others to live their own lives. If it was his killing me, I should have accepted my defeat. But getting killed by you—by you—I don't want that.”
“Shut up!” Kael shouted suddenly, his voice cutting through the air and startling Isolde. “Am I not a living being? No one ever thought about me!” His anger and hurt burst forth as he struggled with the feelings of neglect he’d carried for so long.
“That’s my fault—it was, it is, and I will always bear that fault,” Isolde murmured, regret heavy in her tone.
Before Kael could finish, he suddenly sensed a trembling presence behind him. The temperature in the cave seemed to rise as his heart pounded. He turned around and saw Thomas standing, his form partially engulfed in blue flames that pulsed with an intense, almost supernatural heat.
“Fi...ni...sh her, my foot—I will finish you before you, bastard…” Thomas roared, his voice raw with fury.
“Isolde, go to a safe distance—I will protect you at all cost!” Thomas added urgently, even as his eyes betrayed his internal torment.
Kael smirked darkly. “You… bastard, you are strong indeed. No doubt you’ve been able to withstand me all these years… but I will finish you both!” he shouted, his voice full of defiance.
In that moment, Kael sensed something was amiss. “What’s this? I can’t dodge it—it’s like someone just stopped me. Who… is it? Is it Isolde or Edwin? No, not them… that must mean it’s this child suppressing me—but how? He can’t do it alone,” Kael thought in alarm.
As if to confirm his suspicions, Thomas suddenly surged toward Kael and exploded himself at close range. The resulting blast created a massive hole at the top of the cave, letting in dim sunlight, and left a crater on the ground below.
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Thomas was severely burnt; he almost died, while Kael, though holding Isolde—now unconscious—was also deeply injured. Clutching his bleeding side, Kael muttered between gasps, “If I were not intelligent enough to… (he threw Isolde beside Thomas) …I don’t know who is the bigger fool here: her or Thomas. She tried to protect Thomas.”
Gritting his teeth, Kael summoned his inner resolve. Isolde attempted to protect Thomas, but Kael seized her gently and invoked his most potent ability. “100 Years of Peace,” he declared, channeling the forbidden art to extract her magic and use it as a shield to save himself from Thomas’s relentless attack.
A few moments earlier, Kael had thought, “If he explodes, I could be severely injured. I think Edwin is still alive, so it will be hard for me to win this fight.” But as Thomas advanced toward Kael, Isolde managed to slip past him, reaching for Kael in a desperate bid to join the fray.
A wry smile crossed Kael’s face as he murmured, “I have to time this perfectly.” As Isolde passed Kael, she began chanting a spell to create a protective barrier. At that moment, Kael shouted, “Hey, boy (Thomas)! I’m going to borrow your girl—hope you don’t mind!” In a split second, he intercepted Isolde with his magic. “Forbidden Art: 100 Years of Peace!” he roared, and the power surged as Thomas exploded, unable to control his own energy.
Presently, as Kael was healing, he bent down to survey the aftermath of the battle. “Oh, so you are dead, Van brat…” he sneered, glancing at Thomas. Thomas, now barely clinging to life, lay next to Isolde. His body was completely burnt; his lower half was severed, and tears welled in his eyes as he gazed upon Isolde. “How are you still alive, man? Your lower body is gone—just accept it and die… At least, you should have confessed your feelings to her when you both were still alive… Good night…” Kael’s words were laced with bitter mockery as he started walking toward where Garrick and Victor were stationed.
Thomas’s skin turned pitch black from the burns. His eyes, still moist with tears, attempted to hold onto life. He reached out, his hand trembling, and managed to speak in a broken whisper, “I… S… o… l… d… e…” His vision blurred, his strength waning, and his final words fell from his lips in a pained murmur: “I… have always loved you… and so… sorry I couldn’t protect you…” Tears streamed down his face as he finally succumbed to his injuries. Those were Thomas’s last words.
As Kael continued his trek toward Garrick and Victor, he neared the gate and felt an ominous uneasiness. Suddenly, his vision flickered with worry for a few seconds. “Shit, my time’s over. That last attack did much more damage than it seemed—I can’t control this body anymore,” he thought as a dark, internal voice, his blood beast, bellowed, “Hey, give me back my body! I don’t remember backing off from the right of this body!”
Meanwhile, Edwin slowly got to his feet and, still bleeding, made his way toward Thomas and Isolde. “Thomas, Isolde… you both are my fallen comrades. I respect you both, and I want to fulfill your wishes,” Edwin declared in a pained tone. “That monster inadvertently granted me the power to use my Blood Art one more time. I will absorb your power, and I promise you, I will continue your legacy… My true Blood Art allows me to absorb the power of the dead and wield it myself. Thomas, your power will let me use Blood Art whenever I need it. I’m sorry, my friends…” Edwin’s voice trailed off as his eyes closed, the mark of blood glowing on his skin. “Blood Art: Soul Transfuse!” he chanted, his voice resonating with a raw, ancient power.