"Spirit Dive: Flames of eternal darkness." Kirin muttered under her breath, coordinating with Johan, and pushing forward on Radhaan.
Johan flicked his fingers sharply.
Johan, at blinding speeds, escaped a few kilometers back, carrying Marino on his shoulder.
This was Kirin's first time entering full spirit, but the bond she shared with Melodis—always keeping him around from childhood, even though they couldn't talk—had built a strong bond.
Her body glowed brightly, dark black flames, which were surprisingly not hot at all, but just gave off an aura of imminent death.
The flames slowly turned into a full-body armor, similar to her Flame Armor. Her breast and hips were covered with black flames, while the rest of her body was cloaked in red flames.
Radhaan, realizing the danger of the dark flames, instantly crushed Sebastian in his hands with a scoff, his blood flying in all directions like he just exploded from the inside.
Only Sebastian's head remained, still hanging by his moustache in Radhaan's hands.
"One down…" he threw the head away with disgust, grinning arrogantly. His hand started glowing with a bright purple light, even hotter than Kirin's flames.
"What did you do with Acier and the others!?" Kirin yelled through gritted teeth while rushing at blinding speeds.
Radhaan just smiled.
Thammm!
The purple lightning hit Kirin right at the abdomen; the armor instantly broke, her body paralyzing completely.
Radhaan appeared in front of her and raised a finger, pointing sharply at her forehead.
"Two down…"
But suddenly, his hand went flying away, the purple lightning escaping his finger, and bringing the bright sky.
It was Johan. He had instantly traveled here after throwing Marino away.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
He was moving fast, disappearing and appearing in different directions, almost as if he was teleporting, so Radhaan couldn't paralyze him.
Kirin also got up, throwing 10 massive fireballs in an instant, all stopping perfectly in line before Radhaan.
"Ofraan: God of thunder," Radhaan muttered under his breath, calmly absorbing the attack into his bones.
Ofraan, a high-level light magic spell, allowed its user to create an electromagnetic field of defense, but the cost being they could not move.
But Radhaan had already far surpassed such limiters, closing in on Kirin in a single second.
Kirin attacked again, this time covering her fists with fire magic, which still failed to reach Radhaan.
Johan appeared behind Radhaan, his right hand covered in dark slime, bypassing the electromagnetic field but unable to penetrate Radhaan's skin.
'Hmm, this is the God Tree's nullification ability… mixed with traits of gravity magic, but fighting this guy is like… fighting a toddler who has a real sword.'
'Even though the toddler has the potential to harm the adult, the adult would still crush him.'
A sharp burn ripped through Johan's lower back.
There was no pain. Only cold, numb detachment. His vision blurred, tilting sideways.
Then he saw something he couldn't comprehend.
His own legs, still standing. His torso... missing.
He tried to scream, but no sound came.
Radhaan had just blinked, and Johan's body was split in half. Even with all that power, and unnatural levels of regeneration, he was not even worth a second glance.
"Two down. Johan, you're strong… but you lack the desire, the fire, to be strong. If you just could've trained with the God Tree's power a bit more… but maybe not.
I will make sure to tell Acier about your fate, don't worry." Radhaan sighed resignedly.
"Johan!!" Kirin rushed in, trying to close in on the falling Johan's body, but it was already too late.
Boom! Boom!
Radhaan appeared beside the frantic Kirin. In a single touch of his finger, her body burst out in explosions, blood staining the charred ground. Her beautiful body turned as black as the God Tree's wood—as meat overcooked on maximum heat for hours.
She fell to the ground, her ashen body over the torso of Johan.
"Selene… Acier… Kirin… Sebastian, I am sorry…" Radhaan watched as Johan took his last breath, closing his eyes forever.
"...Three down."
Radhaan stared at all three faces with a dazed expression, a strong boner forming, his hair standing on end, feeling excitement all over his body.
'Despair truly is… beautiful…'
With that, he pulled out a red palm-sized gem, still watching the horror on Sebastian's decapitated face looming in the night sky.
The red gem glowed; he brought it close to his mouth.
"Radhaan, Selene is also on the call… How did it go?" Leor's calm, yet anxious voice rang from the ring.
"Master Radhaan, did that… bastard die? Should I come to Vexely too?" Selene spoke through a clenched jaw, her rage barely suppressed.
She wanted to change the kingdom and the commoners' situation with the power of House Matilda. Now, they were all rotting in jails… all because of Johan's betrayal.
She didn't have much attachment to the branch families, but her uncle Theo was the only one who had always looked after her from a young age, and the familial bond was still there. She couldn't just bear her cousins and relatives locked up while she roamed free.
After all, she was their next Matriarch.
With this final straw, her hatred for Johan reached new heights.
'Leor promised that he will try to convince His Majesty to release House Matilda if Johan is caught or killed… I just have to kill him, everything will be back to normal…' her gaze sharpened, staring at the red gem in her hand.
Radhaan didn't waste any time, turning the red gem in his palm towards the three dead bodies.
The red gem glowed ominously, and in front of Selene and Leor, a high-resolution translucent screen materialized.
A head, white moustache, white beard, sharp features, but wrinkled skin. Wearing an expression of pure horror and fear.
Kirin's body, burnt to the bone, dark black. The only way Selene recognized her was because of the curvy shape of the body.
And finally, Johan—cut in half, tears still falling from his shut eyes, his body colder than the cold night.
Selene's heart felt heavy, falling on her knees, breathing raggedly, trying to do the mental gymnastics to morally justify it. But she was breaking.
'It's for the people, I saved so many lives by killing those demons. Yes, they deserve to die. Thank God they died. Thank God…' She fully broke down, her face covered in tears, but a satisfied, confused smile on her face.
[Quest 4: Praise the fool: Completed]