Sacrifice

Akira and Sylara stood, battered and exhausted.

Sweat and blood mixed on their skin, their bodies barely holding together after the relentless battle. Their breathing was ragged, their limbs screaming from exhaustion. But Akira wasn't done.

His white eyes gleamed as a thought burned in his mind.

"I don't care anymore. I'll use it."

That one skill—the one he had never used before.

The skill he had obtained from clearing the Thermos Dungeon.

He had never activated it before. Not once. Not in training. Not in battle. It was an unknown reason why he didn't use it but...

Now, he had no choice.

Sylara, on the other hand, had started thinking differently. She wasn't just Sylara, the guild master of Silver Aegis. She was a veteran STAR.

Her instincts screamed at her—telling her there was something off.

"Something isn't right."

Then, as Akira stepped forward, ready to unleash his trump card—

Her violet eyes darted to the demonic human.

His movements… they weren't of a man who had just fought a brutal battle. He wasn't retreating in anger or fear.

He was turning away.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

Facing the dungeon portal.

And then, in that casual, taunting voice—

"I made my choice."

Akira's blood boiled at those words.

"A pity, really." The demonic human sighed, his tone almost regretful. "Capturing you would have been a glorious reward. But now… I know who you are."

He smirked.

"And because of that, I won't tell anyone. I'll just come for you myself… next time."

Akira's heart pounded.

The demonic human had the chance to kill them.

And yet—

He was leaving?

Sylara's brows furrowed, her mind racing at breakneck speed.

"Why? Why would he leave now? After all that? What could possibly be more valuable than the reward Nightfall promised him for Akira's capture?"

Her breath hitched.

"Does he gain something even more? Something from this dungeon?"

Her gaze flickered between the demonic human and the portal. He turned fully now—facing the dungeon in the underground parking.

And then, just before stepping forward—

"See you next time, scum."

Akira snapped.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, you bastard?!"

BOOM.

Lightning erupted as Akira burst forward, ignoring his wounds, ignoring his exhaustion—his mind focused on one thing: stopping him.

Sylara's breath caught.

"No… No, no, NO!"

She saw it.

The bait.

The demonic human's stance, the slight shift in his energy—it was intentional.

"He's not retreating. He's luring Akira in."

Her blood ran cold.

"AKIRA, STOP!"

Sylara's voice shredded through the air.

But Akira didn't stop.

He didn't hesitate. He was too close.

Sylara's violet eyes widened in horror.

"No. He's baiting him."

She saw it.

She knew it.

The demonic human had never intended to leave.

He was luring Akira in.

"That's how they are."

"They crave power. Nothing else matters to them."

Sylara felt it in her bones.

"He wants Akira to chase him."

"And the moment he does…"

He'll kill him.

The demonic human, still facing the dungeon, felt Akira approaching.

He heard Sylara's scream.

And then, just as Akira was about to reach him—

A smile curled on his lips.

Akira was close.

So close that he could almost reach out and grab the demonic human's throat—but then…

The demonic human suddenly turned, his mouth curling into a wicked grin.

"Hahaha… to think you'd fall for such a simple thing."

Then—

"Skill: EVOA BLADE."

A dark and blood-red energy crackled into existence, forming a blade in the demonic human's grasp.

Akira's eyes widened.

"Damn it—!"

He barely had time to react before—

SLASH!

A brutal, horizontal cut tore through Akira's chest.

The world tilted.

Pain—**searing, white-hot pain—**erupted from his torso, and a scream tore from his throat

"ARGHHHH!" Akira screamed, staggering back.

Sylara, still sprinting toward him, cried out in horror. "AKIRA!"

She was too late.

The dark blade had already carved into his flesh. The slash was deep, the pain unbearable—but it wasn't fatal yet.

Akira collapsed.

His back hit the cold ground, blood pooling beneath him as his vision blurred. His limbs felt heavy. His strength was fading.

Above him, the demonic human stood like a reaper.

"Interesting."

His crimson eyes gleamed with amusement.

"You still don't show fear. Even after this."

Akira could barely breathe, his body trembling.

"I'm curious…" The demonic human crouched, tilting his head. "What pushes you like this, boy? At such a young age?"

A pause.

Then his smirk deepened.

"But as much as I'm curious—" He stood back up. "That much I also don't care."

"It was fun while it lasted, boy."

Sylara reached them, fury blazing in her eyes.

"YOU BASTARD!"

She swung the Panthosword with every ounce of her strength.

But—

CLANG!

The demonic human countered effortlessly.

His EVOA BLADE met her sword attack head-on.

CRACK! SNAP.

The Pantho Sword—Akira's weapon—shattered.

Sylara's eyes widened in shock. "No—!"

Then—

BAM!

A brutal kick to her stomach sent her flying.

She crashed hard against the ground, coughing blood, pain wracking her body.

Akira lay there, his mind racing.

"Is this it?"

"I'm dying… at the hands of the very kind I swore to destroy."

"All that rage."

"All those vows."

"All the pain I carried, the promises I made… and now, I'm just… rotting here."

He wanted to scream.

A deep, bitter thought echoed in his mind.

"What an existence you are, Akira Shoto."

"An existence that never should have existed at all."

His fingers twitched. His vision darkened.

As the demonic human raised his blade for the final strike, Akira closed his eyes.

Blood pooled beneath Akira. His breath was ragged, his body heavy, and his vision blurred at the edges.

!DING

[ALERT: USER'S HEALTH HAS DROPPED TO CRITICAL LEVELS.]

[ENGAGING IN COMBAT IS NOT ADVISED.]

[SOUL INFUSION: ACTIVE TIME REMAINING – 30 SECONDS.]

The words echoed in his mind, distant and meaningless.

"Shut up... let me die at least."

He lay there, waiting. Waiting for the end.

The demonic human stood above him, the EVOA BLADE humming with dark and crimson energy.

A blade that was about to end him.

It came down—

"Give me a sign after this... that I did the right thing." - A voice was heard.

Third Skill: Petal Leap.

The blade landed.

—But Akira felt nothing.

His white, shining pupils flickered open—dazed.

For a moment, he saw something. A petal.

A beautiful, violet petal.

Then—silver hair.

Violet eyes.

Sylara stood before him.

Between him—and death.

Her slender frame was frozen in place, the dark-red EVOA BLADE piercing through her body.

Blood trickled from her lips.

Her violet eyes—still sharp, still unwavering—flickered toward him.

Akira's breath stopped.

His entire world—stopped.

His mind refused to understand.

His body refused to move.

A cold, suffocating feeling gripped his chest.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

His fingers twitched in the blood-soaked dirt.

His body shook.

His breathing—uneven. His pulse—erratic.

His mind screamed.

"No."

"NO."

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

Sylara—Sylara was—

She tilted her head slightly, her lips curling into a weak, almost mocking smirk.

"Why're you so shocked, fool?"

Her voice was calm—too calm.

Like this was nothing.

Like throwing her life away for him meant nothing.

Akira's pupils shrank.