The village was no longer burning.
Now, it was only dying slowly.
The flames had turned into embers scattered among the ruins. The sky was covered by thick, gray smoke, too heavy to let any sound escape. Even the wind seemed suffocated there. Every step stirred dust and ash, clinging to the skin like guilt — impossible to ignore, impossible to wash away.
Ray walked in front, dragging the upper half of Kevin's body across the ground with thin red threads, almost too delicate for the brutality of the scene. They sliced through air and stone alike, leaving an uneven trail among broken rocks and charred wood.
Kevin's waist was slowly recreating itself. Flesh closing, bones reforming, all at the cruel pace of advanced regeneration.
But his gaze…
His gaze was lost.
Empty of focus. Filled with something broken inside.
Kevin saw everything in muted tones.
Gray.
Dirty white.
Shadows without depth.
He felt no pain.
He felt no relief either.
The body responded to nothing.
The mind did — too awake, too trapped, with nowhere to run.
—I couldn't do it…
he thought, without even the strength to judge himself properly.
Okay. No one expected anything from me anyway. The important thing is that I didn't die.
Azazel walked a few steps behind, silent. His eyes swept the ruins with constant attention, as if expecting something — or someone — to still be moving among the wreckage. But there was nothing. Only destruction frozen in time.
Leonardo came last.
Calm.
Hands in his pockets, stepping over debris as if that place were just another ordinary path.
— He's still conscious — Ray commented, not even bothering to look back.
— Impressive… does he just not die?
Leonardo smiled faintly, almost bored.
— The only way to kill this kid is to stop his hyper-advanced regeneration. — he shrugged. — And that's way too much work.
Azazel spoke right after, his voice firm:
— Leave him alive. He'll have the mission of telling others what we did today.
Kevin tried to speak.
He really tried.
His mouth opened…
But no sound came out.
The world kept moving forward, indifferent. The ruins stretched to the horizon, and farther ahead, the other half of the village began to appear — more destroyed houses, more battle scars, more silence waiting to swallow everything.
And then Kevin understood, even without words:
The fight was over.
— Why has no one come yet?
he thought.
Is destroying half a village not important?
Ray answered as if he had heard the thought.
— Calm down, Kevin. — he said, without turning around. — Your head must be full of unanswered questions… but relax. One day you'll die too.
Kevin closed his eyes.
He didn't answer.
He didn't even have the strength for that.
They began climbing a hill covered in green grass — alive, intact, almost offensive. Down below, the village was still visible. People went on with their normal lives, walking, talking… as if nothing had happened.
As if the hell down there had never existed.
The sunset lit the three faces ahead: Ray, Azazel, and Leonardo.
Kevin, however, only received their shadows reflected on his own face.
— Ah… — Ray commented. — So that's why he has white hair. Prime must be incredible. Imagine how much power that gives.
Azazel crossed his arms.
— That explains a lot. Tell me… how many people have ever managed to use it?
Leonardo answered without hesitation:
— Excluding me, only one more in the entire history of the DINARKS.
Ray raised an eyebrow.
— So this kid is the third?
— As far as I know… yes. — Leonardo confirmed.
They went down the hill in silence.
Before disappearing for good, they looked one last time at the entire village.
And they felt nothing.
---
They walked through the stone streets of the village.
People stopped.
Stared.
Some with shock.
Others with disgust.
It wasn't every day you saw someone being dragged like that — the body of a young woman, split in half, still slowly regenerating. Flesh closing, bones rebuilding, a spectacle too strange to inspire pity. It frightened them.
Leonardo broke the silence.
— How do we destroy this village in one strike?
Azazel answered without turning his head.
— I don't have enough aura for that. — he paused briefly. — And I know you don't either, Leonardo.
He looked at Ray.
— And you?
Ray gave a half-smile.
— Leave that job to me. — he said. — But I probably won't be able to keep control of this body afterward.
Leonardo clicked his tongue, annoyed.
— It's shit that you two are being suppressed. — he sighed. — Well… then I'll have to look for the rest of the rings alone.
— You will. — Azazel replied dryly.
Ray smiled in a strange way.
Almost amused.
— Things won't go the way you believe.
Leonardo frowned.
— What?
No answer.
They kept walking until they reached a more isolated part of the village. A silent square, few houses around, almost no one nearby. Only the distant sound of wind passing through burned structures.
Ray tied Kevin to a wooden post slightly away from the center of the square. He still hadn't recovered his legs. His body was incomplete, restrained, vulnerable.
— Stay there, little girl. — Ray said, laughing.
He grabbed Kevin's breasts without any care.
Kevin felt his face heat up.
Pure embarrassment.
Contained rage.
Leonardo turned his face away, impatient.
— Let's do this now. — he said. — People are already sleeping. This way, they won't even notice.
The three turned their backs to Kevin and walked a few steps, stopping right in the center of the square.
A faint red light began to cover Ray's body. It pulsed, slowly growing. He began to rise off the ground…
And stopped.
Something restrained him.
A gigantic snake appeared out of nowhere, coiling around his body with absurd strength. At the same instant, when Leonardo and Azazel turned around, they saw more.
Behind them.
A giant dinosaur.
A greenish dragon.
Both emanated aura.
Kevin watched everything from the far end of the square.
Trapped.
Broken.
But smiling.
Leonardo ground his teeth.
— Bastard… — he growled. — Even cut in half, you keep messing with our plans.
Kevin's voice returned.
Not weak.
Not confused.
Firm.
Dry.
— The only way I stop getting in your way… — he said, staring at them. — is if you kill me.
Silence fell heavily over the square.
Restrained by the snake, the red glow around Ray faded.
He forced his body, trying to move despite being crushed.
— It's a T-Rex… — he said with difficulty, his voice nearly failing. — A full-sized T-Rex.
Despite the absurd pressure, his eyes were… alive.
Full of joy.
Leonardo hardened his expression.
— Now I'm going to kill you. — he said coldly. — Even if it's the last thing I do.
— Stop. — Azazel interrupted, raising a hand. — Someone is approaching.
From the side streets, several figures began to appear.
People wearing black uniforms, blue details, and on their chests a red symbol: a star.
Kevin felt something tighten in his chest.
Kevin (thinking):
Finally… help.
The warriors spread out quickly, pulling villagers away from nearby areas. One of them ran to Kevin.
— Man… — the boy said, shocked at the sight. — You're in really bad shape. We're getting you out of here and—
An explosion cut him off.
Kevin took a deep breath.
— Tell me something… — he said quickly. — How many people came with you? And what's your ranking?
— About thirty. — the boy replied. — We're all ranked Light Bearers.
Kevin froze.
Light Bearers?
They didn't see…?
Didn't feel what these guys are capable of?
The boy noticed Kevin's distant stare.
— Hey. — he called. — Relax. Leave it to us. Thirty against three. We win. The focus now is getting you out of here.
He cut the threads holding Kevin and carefully lifted him onto his back.
Just as they were about to leave—
Another explosion.
They both looked toward the battlefield.
Several men lay on the ground. Some dead. Others agonizing.
The greenish dragon Kevin had created dropped to its knees… and turned to dust, dissolving into the air.
Moonlight reflected off Ray, Azazel, and Leonardo.
Azazel and Leonardo had their hands covered in blood.
Ray… looked calm. As if he hadn't even fought.
The three stared at the T-Rex.
Kevin felt despair rise.
— Bro, run! — he shouted. — We have to get out of here!
The boy bolted through the village with Kevin on his back, shouting to everyone.
— Danger! Get out of here! Go to another city!
— This isn't a drill! — Kevin shouted along. — Run!
People didn't believe it.
— Have they gone crazy?
— Danger where? Everything's fine.
— Look at that… that kid's cut in half!
Then the sound came.
A distant explosion.
Right after, a gigantic roar.
The roar of a dinosaur.
Kevin felt his stomach sink.
Kevin (thinking):
I lost control…
— Control of what? — the boy asked, running.
— Of my T-Rex.
Kevin screamed with everything he had:
— RUN! EVERYONE! GET OUT OF HERE!
This time, they listened.
People started running, panic spreading like fire. Wherever they passed, others fled too, screaming, tripping, abandoning everything behind.
Already outside the village, they stopped at the top of a hill.
From there, they saw the entire village catch fire.
People looked small… running desperately among the flames.
Kevin was breathing badly.
— What's your name… kid?
— You can call me Carlos.
— Right, Carlos… — Kevin swallowed hard. — Then tell me… why did the king send warriors with such a low classification to face those demons?
Carlos frowned.
— Send? Nobody sent us. We were just passing through the village… felt an absurd amount of aura and came to see what it was.
Kevin felt the worst confirmed.
Kevin (thinking):
Damn… so the capital doesn't even know about this.
It doesn't matter. The best thing now is to run.
— What's your name? — Carlos asked.
— Sorry… — Kevin replied. — I'm Kevin.
— Kevin… — Carlos said. — Then let's get out of here.
He began to stand.
A black arrow pierced his chest.
Dry. Precise.
Carlos fell dead to the ground.
Blood splashed across Kevin's face.
Kevin turned his head, terrified.
Leonardo and Azazel were climbing the hill, swords in hand.
Kevin summoned a greenish wolf. The creature bit into his clothes and lifted him, starting to run through the forest.
Kevin (thinking):
I can't even heal… I can't even bring back the half of my body that's missing.
Fighting, then… impossible.
Black arrows began to skim past them.
Kevin looked over his shoulder.
Leonardo was behind them, bow in hand, firing nonstop.
Then it happened.
A mistake.
A stumble.
One second.
Several arrows pierced the wolf's body and pinned Kevin hard against a tree, back first.
The wolf fell, lifeless.
Leonardo approached.
— Now we're done. — he said. — Let's end this.
Azazel stood beside him.
— Don't take it personally. — he said. — We don't need you anymore. Witnesses… there are plenty.
Kevin didn't cry.
Didn't scream.
Didn't beg.
He became serious.
Silent.
Like someone accepting the end.
— Tell them that… — he said softly. — that I tried until the very last moment.
Leonardo smiled.
Azazel looked at him… and nodded.
Kevin stopped trying to regenerate.
The process simply ceased, as if the body had given up along with the mind. Blood began to flow freely, running down his torso, his arms, dripping onto the ground in small dark pools.
Leonardo watched closely.
Leonardo (thinking):
He doesn't want to live anymore.
Good.
Better finish this quickly before he becomes a problem… if what Ray said is true.
Without saying a word, Leonardo extended his hand and ripped the sword from Azazel's grip.
Then he started walking.
Step by step.
Slow.
Without any hurry.
Kevin remained there, leaning against the tree, his gaze empty. There was no fear. No regret. Only exhaustion.
Leonardo stopped in front of him.
Raised the sword.
And then—
— Wow, Kevin… — said a voice from the sky. — You're really messed up, huh.
The blade froze in midair.
— It's honestly embarrassing that we're from the same family.
Leonardo and Azazel looked up at the same time.
Above them, floating as if it were the most natural thing in the world, was an ordinary man. Simple clothes. Relaxed posture. No exploding aura. No exaggeration.
Kevin let out a crooked half-smile.
— Shut the fuck up… — he muttered. — You showed up right at my death.
He took a deep breath.
— Still… it's good you're here, cousin.
The man descended slowly, touching the ground in front of Kevin as if stepping down from an invisible stair.
Leonardo frowned.
— Who are you? — he asked coldly. — Have you ever seen this guy before, Azazel?
Azazel analyzed him for a moment, serious.
— No, Leo. Never seen him in my life.
The man smiled widely, carefree. He ran a hand through his hair, almost too cheerful for the situation.
— Me? — he said. — Just a normal guy. Who likes a little party every now and then.
Leonardo felt irritation rise instantly.
Azazel, on the other hand, said nothing. He simply took a combat stance.
— So you're Leonardo Dinark, huh? — the man continued, excited. — Good! Finally.
He opened his arms.
— Let's see if you can really hold your own against the strongest Dinark of this era.
Leonardo narrowed his eyes.
— I see… — he said. — So you're that kid's cousin.
He glanced briefly at Kevin.
— Honestly, he wasn't a big disappointment. But I expected more.
Luís chuckled softly.
— Relax. — he said. — I'm here exactly for that.
He took a few steps forward.
— I'll match your power… and Azazel's too.
A pause.
— Actually… — he added. — I'll reduce mine a bit.
The air grew heavy.
Azazel and Leonardo glared at him.
Luís slipped a hand into his pocket, pulled out a ring, and tossed it toward Leonardo.
— Catch. — he said. — You'll need it… if you want to defeat me.
Leonardo caught the ring.
Instantly, it fused with his hand, as if it had always been part of his body.
Azazel cracked his neck.
— I don't know about you, Leonardo… — he muttered. — But this guy's already pissing me off.
Leonardo smiled coldly.
— Let's finish him. — he said. — Then we finish the job with the kid. That way he stops being so arrogant.
Luís answered with an even bigger smile.
His confidence didn't come from aura.
It came from presence.
— Just so you know… — he said. — My name is Luís Dinark.
He took a step forward.
— Luís Clent Dinark.
The smile widened.
— Remember that name.
— Because maybe… I'll be the last person you ever see.