With a grunt, I hoisted Azaris's lifeless body onto the spear and climbed onto the railing, before proceeding to slam the spear into the concrete, embedding it firmly into the ground. Once checking that it was steady, I pulled out an illumination scroll from my spatial ring and activated it.
A blinding bolt of light erupted, illuminating the night like a second sun. For a moment, the battlefield seemed to freeze—spells fizzled mid-air, swords hung suspended in their arcs, and every eye, ally and enemy alike, turned toward the balcony. There, impaled on the spear, was the gruesome spectacle of Archmage Azaris's corpse.
Silence descended upon the battlefield, as every soldier present whether ally or enemy looked at the corpse, some in shocked awe, while others with visible terror.
It was only a couple of seconds, until-
"YEEEES!!!"
A series of loud cheers reverberated through the battlefield as almost every soldier with our family's crest began shouting at the top of their lungs.
"ARCHMAGE AZARIS IS DEAD!!!"
"THE CASTLE IS UNDEFENDED!!!"
"LORD VAELION HAS KILLED THE ARCHMAGE, THE CASTLE IS OURS!!!"
"FINISH THESE MARENTH BASTARDS!!!"
Cheers of my name began reverberating through the battlefield as I saw our forces begin charging into the castle with a renewed vigor that even left me surprised.
"If this doesn't get us the castle then I don't what will." Chuckling to myself I turned around towards the room. The illumination scroll had already run out, by now the Marenth forces should be trying their best to rush in to take down their lord's corpse. It was best if we escaped this place now.
"Brother, we need to get-"
I had barely taken a couple of steps inside the room, when suddenly—a sharp, searing pain forced me to stop dead in my tracks.
"What—?" The word slipped out before I could process what was happening. I immediately turned to my side, only to come face to face with a fully conscious Saelis, his hand tightly holding one of the ornate swords that were previously lying at the back of the room.
Instincts took over my body as I immediately tried to leap to my side, only to realize that I couldn't.
My body felt like it had been frozen, while my limbs refused to move as if unable to listen to my orders.
"No." A whimper escaped my lips as I heard the sound of footsteps coming from the other side of the room.
There he was. Mar, my father's most loyal retainer and the only person I knew capable of using telepathic magic at such proficiency.
Why was he here? How had he entered the room? Did Father know about this? One by one thousands of questions began running through my head.
Yet all came out of my mouth was a single word.
"Why?" The word came out choked, trembling with a mix of pain and disbelief. My eyes darted between Saelis and Mar, searching for something—anything—that would make sense of this. Saelis's face was unreadable, cold, and detached, while Mar's expression was stoic, almost regretful.
"I am merely fulfilling my lord's wishes," Mar spoke while taking a slow and deliberate step forward.
I struggled once again, trying my best to get out of the binding spell. Shit, if only my mana hadn't been completely spent while fighting against Azaris and his goons.
"So this is my reward?" I spat, my voice rising, with fury and despair. "For dedicating my life to this family? For bleeding for all of you?" My eyes locked onto Saelis, searching for the brother I once knew—the one who had laughed with me fought beside me, and shared secrets in the dark. But there was nothing. No warmth, no kindness. Just a mask, cold and unyielding.
As for Mar, he didn't answer either. He just kept moving, each step measured.
"You were never supposed to survive this far," Saelis spoke finally, his voice flat, almost bored. He twisted the spear slightly, and I bit back a cry, my vision blurring with pain. "Father's plans required sacrifices. You were just… convenient."
The words hit harder than the spear. My mind raced, piecing together the fragments of betrayal. This wasn't some impulsive act. It had been planned, and calculated. My own family—my own brother—had set me up as a pawn in their game.
Mar stopped just a few feet away, For a moment, I thought I saw something—regret, maybe, or pity. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
"Do not take it personally, young master," he said, his voice almost soft, almost kind. "This is not about you. It never was."
And then… there was nothing. The spear in my body penetrated to the other side, causing my body to lose all its feeling, collapsing onto the ground, the same way as Azaris.
"You… I'll never-" I tried to speak, but only whimpers came out. My senses began to fade… one by one as my vision began to darken.
My mind began to slow down as well. And just when the darkness was about to take over, something strange happened.
==
[God of Harvest has been located.]
[All Participants have been accounted for]
[ERROR]
[ERROR]
[ERROR]
==
What was this noise? Was I hallucinating?
==
[Warning: Excessive Karmic Disturbance Detected]
[Analyzing Possible Resolutions...]
[Optimal Solution Identified – Activating Emergency Protocol 17]
[Deploying Hourglass of Time...]
==
And just like that, it finally went dark.