The Death Knight’s massive shadow loomed over Kael, its blade dripping with necrotic aura. The air felt choked, heavy, vibrating with the tension of a kill about to strike.
But Kael didn’t move.
He didn’t flinch.
He only whispered—
“…M’varu.”
The snake coiled around his neck stirred, lifting its head.
Its eyes gleamed with ancient intelligence.
Then its voice brushed his thoughts like a cold wind:
“Hold your left hand out. I will become what you can wield.”
Kael obeyed.
A coil of scales unwound from his shoulder…
…then twisted, folded, and reshaped—
CHAK—
In Kael’s left hand now rested a dagger.
Forged not of metal, but obsidian-black serpent bone and shimmering blue lightning veins.
Its blade curved like a predator’s fang, humming with silent hunger.
Kael gripped it tightly, his left hand vibrating with power.
The Death Knight roared and plunged its massive sword downward.
Kael moved.
He slipped under the blade—just inches from his head—dust exploding behind him as it carved into the stone floor. Kael spun low, lightning sparking around his legs, and slashed the Death Knight’s knee joint with the serpent dagger.
A metallic shriek tore from the Death Knight’s hollow throat.
It staggered.
Kael didn’t give it time.
He dashed forward again, faster than a falling arrow, ducking under a horizontal swing and slicing across the Death Knight’s elbow joint. Sparks of necrotic flame spilled out, but the armored monster didn’t weaken.
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It was regenerating.
And fast.
Kael panted, his injured right arm dangling lifelessly at his side. But his left hand—dagger clenched tight—moved with speed and precision sharpened by desperation.
Another slash.
Another dodge.
Another grazing blow from the Death Knight’s sword that almost cut him in half.
Still—
Kael struck with the serpent dagger, leaving black cracks along the Death Knight’s armor.
But it wasn’t enough.
The snake’s voice hissed urgently in his ear:
“Leave it.”
“It will keep rising. Its core is controlled. You must cut the summoner.”
Kael glanced past the armored monster—
—to the Dark Priest standing in the shadows, calmly watching with a cruel smile.
The snake was right.
Cutting the Death Knight was pointless.
Killing her was the only way.
Kael exhaled sharply and sprinted toward her.
The Dark Priest blinked in surprise, her smirk fading.
The Death Knight reacted instantly.
It lunged after Kael.
Its massive fist shot forward—
WHAM!!!
Kael didn’t dodge in time.
The punch slammed into his back like a collapsing mountain.
His ribs snapped.
His lungs emptied violently.
He flew across the cavern—
CRASH!!!
—and smashed into a stone wall hard enough to crack it.
Rachelle screamed his name.
Lorian yelled something, voice cracking with panic.
Kael’s vision swam…
His hearing rang…
But he still moved.
Because as the Death Knight’s punch was landing—
—Kael had already thrown the dagger.
The serpent blade spiraled through the air—silent, deadly—
SHHHRIP—
The dagger sliced across the Dark Priest’s left cheek.
A thin line of blackened blood glistened down her pale skin.
She froze.
Her eyes widened.
Then her expression twisted—rage, humiliation, disbelief all contorting into something monstrous.
“You… insignificant RAT!!”
Her shriek filled the cavern like a blade scraping bone.
She pointed at Kael, shaking with fury.
“Kill him! Tear him apart!!”
The Death Knight turned toward Kael, sword rising for the execution blow.
But Kael just… smiled.
Barely. Weakly.
But unmistakably.
The Dark Priest saw it.
“…Why are you smiling?” she hissed.
Kael squeezed his left hand tightly.
No dagger.
Nothing in his grip.
But he squeezed anyway—closing his fingers in a silent signal.
The snake whispered in his mind:
“Now.”
The Dark Priest’s body jerked.
Her breath stuttered.
A moment of confusion crossed her face.
Then—
Her left eye ruptured.
A line of dark blood leaked down her cheek.
Then another.
Then her right eye burst as well.
She fell to her knees.
Her veins turned black.
Her throat bulged.
Her skin bubbled, cracking like burning parchment.
“What… did you do… to… me…?” she croaked, voice barely there.
Kael’s faint smile lingered.
Because he felt it—
—the link between him and the serpent dagger.
The dagger that wasn’t thrown at her…
…but inside her.
Not slicing.
Not piercing.
Burrowing.
The snake had told him as it transformed:
“Strike her with me once, even a scratch… and I can crawl.”
“Not outside… but inside.”
She clawed at her chest, choking on black blood.
Her mouth opened to scream—
—but only a wet gurgle came out as her body collapsed forward, twitching violently.
Then she went still.
Completely still.
The Death Knight froze mid-step.
Its sword hung in the air, trembling, its flame flickering weakly.
Then—
THOOOM—
Its helmet dropped.
The necrotic glow in its ribcage dimmed.
The entire monster cracked like old stone, fractures racing across its armor as if its existence was collapsing.
And then—
FWOOOSH—
It dissolved into ash.
No roar.
No struggle.
Just silence as its cursed form evaporated the moment its master died.
Kael exhaled once.
A long, shuddering breath.
Then his knees buckled.
His lungs burned.
His ribs stabbed.
His body felt hollow, drained of everything.
He staggered a step forward—
—but the ground tilted.
Rachelle screamed, “KAIN”
Lorian ran forward, dropping to his knees.
Kael couldn’t hear them clearly anymore.
His vision darkened.
His blood felt heavy.
His right arm hung useless.
His left hand shook violently.
The last thing he heard was the snake’s voice—soft, distant:
“Rest, Kael. You’ve survived.”
His body gave out.
And he fell into darkness.
