A ragged gasp tore from Ryle's throat as he bolted upright on the stone floor of Elden Castle's great hall. His golden eyes—burning with the power of the Dragon Eyes—flashed with hate and clarity.
His muscles tensed. His hands clenched into fists.
He was back.
And he remembered everything.
The nightmare. The false peace. The deaths. Nytheris.
Across from him, the demon general hovered in the air, still grinning, her black wings spread like a goddess of death, savoring her moment of psychological carnage.
"You came back?" she purred. "That's impossible. My illusions—"
"Shut up," Ryle hissed.
He vanished in an instant.
A sonic boom echoed through the castle.
Nytheris barely had time to blink before Ryle's fist smashed into her face, sending her crashing through the stained glass window and into the courtyard beyond.
The impact cratered the marble, dust spiraling around her broken body.
She coughed, blood trailing from her lips. "Tch… so that's the dragon boy everyone whispers about."
Ryle descended from the sky like a vengeful meteor. Twinlight—now glowing with both light and void energy—materialized in his hand. The swords recognized their true master.
"You want fear?" he growled. "Fine."
He slashed once—clean, precise.
Both of Nytheris's arms fell to the ground.
The demon screamed, wings flaring in agony.
Before she could regenerate, Ryle grabbed her by the throat, lifting her into the air with one hand. His claws dug into her neck, and his aura surged—Black Lightning and purple fire colliding.
The nightmare domain around the castle trembled.
"You think fear breaks me?" Ryle snarled, eyes narrowing. "You think trauma wins?"
He tightened his grip.
"I've lived through worse. I am worse."
Nytheris's domain cracked, webs of reality tearing apart.
"You're not even my worst fear."
With a final roar, Ryle crushed her neck in his hand.
The Nightmare Domain shattered, a sound like a thousand mirrors breaking in unison. The fog lifted. The sky cleared. The castle glowed under moonlight once again.
Nytheris coughed violently, barely conscious, her demonic form twitching, armless and bleeding.
But before she could speak—
Tobin stepped forward, his hands glowing with paralyzing flames, emerald-green and red like molten chains.
"Stay down," he said coldly, and unleashed the fire.
The flames wrapped around her like serpents, embedding into her skin and soul, halting her regeneration and freezing her body in a kneeling position.
Nytheris's eyes widened in panic.
Kessia exhaled in relief. "That flame… it freezes her spirit. She's not going anywhere."
Ryle stepped away, breathing hard, flicking blood from Twinlight's edge.
Thea was by his side instantly, hugging him tightly. "You came back…"
He held her briefly, his hands still shaking, but his eyes were focused.
"We're not done," he said.
Hours later, Nytheris—now bound in blessed chains, sealed in a reinforced iron coffin covered with anti-demonic runes—was loaded onto a New Order Church transport. The holy organization, now aligned with Ryle after recent revelations, had agreed to take the demon general into custody.
As the cart rolled away, pulled by silver-armored horses, silence hung heavy in the air.
The transport passed through a quiet, fog-drenched valley, far from the eyes of man.
And then—he appeared.
A man.
Simple black coat. No shoes. Skin pale like chalk.
Two small horns curved subtly from his forehead, nearly invisible.
His left arm—
Covered in blinking eyes, staring in all directions, blinking in eerie unison.
He walked calmly onto the path. The guards froze.
Before anyone could draw a weapon, the air itself distorted.
A single flash.
A beam of pure, luminous ruin.
It erupted from the man's fingertips—no sound, no warning.
The beam pierced through the cart, through the chains, through Nytheris herself.
A perfect hole formed in her chest.
Her eyes widened.
"No—wait—no, I serve the Greater—"
She never finished.
Her body disintegrated.
Ash.
Gone.
The man said nothing.
The guards didn't move.
Not because they were afraid.
But because they were already dead—silently killed the moment he arrived.
The man turned slowly, walking away as if nothing happened.