The Thornvyl Commander lay on the floor, blood spreading slowly beneath him.
Kael stood over the body.
His Aeralith sword dissolved into pale particles and vanished from existence.
The Scarred Man remained nearby, breathing heavily, wounded but alive.
Beyond the doorway, Thornvyl soldiers lay scattered across the corridor—the result of the Scarred Man’s brutal counterattack.
Kael stepped closer to the fallen Commander and looked down at him quietly.
Then he spoke.
“Do you know why he died?”
The Scarred Man wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and smirked faintly.
“Because… he tried to kill you.”
Kael’s gaze didn’t change.
“No.”
A pause.
“He died because he became uncautious.”
The word hung heavy in the air.
“Uncautiousness makes the stronger person weaker… than the weak one.”
Slowly, Kael turned toward the Scarred Man.
Before he could react, Kael grabbed his jaw firmly—controlled, precise. Their faces were inches apart.
“And your uncautiousness… is the reason for our retreat.”
The Scarred Man’s smirk faded.
For the first time, doubt appeared in his eyes.
“This is my first… and last mistake.”
Outside, night had fallen.
Wind rose across the House of Evolution as leaves swirled violently across the ground. Dark clouds gathered above the building, rotating slowly in a circular pattern.
Lightning flickered inside the storm—but it wasn’t normal lightning.
It looked like sparks tearing through the sky.
Thornvyl soldiers stopped and looked upward.
The trio outside did the same.
The air had changed.
It felt unnatural.
Inside the upper room, Kael still held the Scarred Man’s jaw.
“Yes,” he said softly.
A faint, cruel smile appeared.
“This is your last mistake.”
Above them, the storm tightened.
Clouds spun faster.
Energy gathered at the center of the sky.
Then—
A massive lightning strike formed.
Not white.
But violent and blinding.
It crashed through the roof.
BOOOOOM.
Wood exploded apart as debris flew everywhere. The lightning tore through the shattered ceiling and struck directly downward—straight into the Scarred Man, still held in Kael’s grip.
Energy erupted violently.
Light filled the entire room.
And when it faded—
The Scarred Man was gone.
Not fallen. Not burned.
Shattered.
Fragments scattered across the floor as smoke slowly rose
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