CHAPTER SIXTY ONE: RESONANCE PTII

The battle had raged on for what felt like an eternity. Dain had thrown everything he had at us—illusions, mirages, tricks meant to disorient and exhaust—but none of it had worked. His desperation was showing.

I moved through the battlefield with an eerie calm, every movement precise, every strike measured. Unlike before, when his illusions had kept me guessing, I could see through them now. I had realized it moments ago—the mirages cast no shadows. The real Dain did. And now, tracking him was effortless.

Ken and Nicole fought beside me, cutting down the false images that swarmed us. Ken moved with his usual efficiency, his bullets finding their mark despite the ever-shifting battlefield. Nicole's whips lashed through the air, striking down illusion after illusion, her movements fluid and controlled. Despite the chaos, I remained nearly untouched, barely a scratch on me while Dain grew more frantic.

"You're all wasting your strength," Dain's voice echoed from all directions. "Why do you serve an evil king when you have the power to bring real change?"

I didn't respond. His words meant nothing to me—just the ramblings of someone who knew he was about to die. I focused instead on his real form, watching the way his shadow flickered when he moved. He was running out of options.

But Nicole hesitated. Her attacks slowed, her grip on her whips tightening. Dain's words gnawed at her, seeding doubt in her mind. She had always followed orders without question, but now, for the first time, she wondered if she was truly on the right side. Was she simply fighting because she was told to, or was there something more she should be considering?

Dain must have sensed her hesitation because he continued, his voice smoother now, almost coaxing. "You're strong, Nicole. All of you are. But strength means nothing if you use it for the wrong cause."

Nicole swallowed hard, her mind warring with itself. But I didn't give Dain the satisfaction of a response. His fate was already sealed, and no amount of words would change that.

I raised Death Scythe, its darkened blades gleaming with crimson lines. The air hummed around me as I prepared to end this fight once and for all.

I slammed the blades of the Death Scythe into the ground, and a surge of power rippled outward. In an instant, jagged shadow spikes erupted from the battlefield, racing toward Dain like a tidal wave of death. They were fast—too fast. The spikes closed in from all angles, an inescapable web of destruction.

Dain barely had time to react before the first spike struck. Then another. And another. Each one exploded on impact, violent shockwaves tearing through the air. The force of the blasts sent him hurtling backward, his body smashing through trees like a ragdoll. Bark splintered. Branches snapped. His flight ended in a sickening crunch as he slammed against the last tree, blood trailing down his face. His body ached, bruises forming beneath torn fabric, but before he could even catch his breath—

I was already there.

A smirk tugged at my lips, my eyes gleaming with predatory amusement. I leaned in slightly, my voice low and mocking.

"Your game of hide and seek ends here."

His eyes widened. "Wait—"

Before the word fully left his lips, I struck.

My fist, shrouded in shadow, crashed into his gut like a sledgehammer. The impact forced the air from his lungs in a choked gasp. Another blow came—a sharp hook to the ribs. Then another. And another. Each strike was precise, ruthless, enhanced by the shadows coiling around my limbs. The force behind them shook the very ground beneath us.

Dain had no chance to counter. No room to breathe. No escape.

I didn't stop. My fists blurred as I delivered a relentless barrage of jabs, each one landing with bone-crushing force. The tree behind him splintered from the sheer power of my assault, and his body convulsed with every impact.

Blow after blow.

Pain after pain.

Until, finally—he slumped, barely conscious, blood dripping from his mouth as he struggled to even lift his head.

As my fists pummeled Dain's body, the battlefield around us shifted. His illusions—the mirages he had so desperately clung to—had long since vanished. There was nothing left to hide behind. Nothing left but the broken man beneath my fists.

Nicole stood frozen in place, horror etched across her face as she watched the relentless beating. Ken, on the other hand, had turned away, his expression unreadable. But the way his fists clenched at his sides told me everything. He wasn't going to stop me. It was almost as if he thought Dain had this coming.

I exhaled sharply, straightening as I towered over Dain's battered form. He barely stirred, blood trailing from his mouth, his breaths ragged and uneven.

This was it. The end of his miserable existence.

The air around me shifted, crackling with unseen energy. I raised a palm, and the shadows in the environment responded instantly. They slithered toward me, crawling up my body like living tendrils, drawn to my power. Darkness coiled around my outstretched hand, condensing, twisting, rattling with raw energy.

It felt vast, boundless—chaotic and pure all at once.

The shadows pulsed as they compressed into a dense, writhing sphere in my palm. A ball of pure shadow energy, unstable yet eager to be released.

I aimed it at Dain, ready to finish what I started.

Then something yanked my arm back.

Nicole's whip wrapped tightly around my wrist, her grip firm as she pulled with all her strength.

"Stop!" she shouted.

I turned to her, anger flaring in my chest. My gaze met hers, my jaw clenched.

"Let go," I growled, my voice low, dangerous.

She swallowed hard but didn't back down. "Liam, don't you think there's more to this?"

Her voice wavered, but her resolve held.

I glared at her, my grip tightening around the shadow sphere. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, my body still buzzing with the intoxicating power flowing through me.

With my voice raw and hoarse, I roared, "Let. Go!"

But Nicole didn't budge. Her grip on the whip tightened, her expression firm with resolve.

"Not until you calm down," she shot back, her voice unwavering.

Her defiance only stoked the fury inside me. My teeth clenched, my body trembling with barely contained rage. I yanked hard on the whip, my eyes burning into hers.

"Are you trying to save the life of the man who killed me?" I spat, my voice laced with disbelief and venom.

Nicole held her ground, her eyes pleading. "Liam, don't let your rage take over you. This isn't who you are—"

I snarled and pulled harder, nearly overpowering her. But just as I was about to break free, Nicole's aura changed. The temperature around us spiked, and suddenly, the air crackled with something dangerous.

Then, flames erupted.

Her whip ignited with an unnatural fire—Hellfire Conjuration. Unlike ordinary flames, this fire burned through magic and shadows alike. It was the ultimate counter to the Tenebri, to me.

The moment her whip flared, the searing heat struck my hand. Spiked flames lanced through my skin, stabbing into my flesh and scorching the shadows that coiled around me.

My energy ball—seconds away from obliterating Dain—vanished, dissipating into nothingness.

A sharp sting shot through my palm, and before I could register the pain, blood dripped from the fresh wound.

I looked down at my injured hand. Then back at Nicole.

My breath came out ragged, my body vibrating with restrained fury.

She just—she actually burned me.

My fists clenched as I met her gaze again, my eyes burning with a new kind of rage.

I took slow, deliberate steps toward her, my eyes burning with unfiltered rage. The sting of my wound was nothing compared to the betrayal clawing at my chest.

Nicole didn't move. She kept her arms up, her expression tense but unwavering. "Before you do anything rash, calm the fuck down, Liam," she said, her voice firm, but there was an underlying plea in it.

Ken, standing off to the side, let out a loud yawn. "Yeah, I'm definitely not getting involved in this," he muttered, clearly uninterested in stepping between us.

But I wasn't paying him any mind. My focus was locked on Nicole—the one person who dared to stand in my way. The one person who burned me.

Nicole's voice was quiet, almost fragile. "Are you really going to hurt me?"

Something in me cracked. The storm raging in my chest stilled, the fire in my veins snuffed out in an instant. My fingers twitched, but I no longer felt the urge to strike.

I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair before muttering, "I hope you're right about this." Without another word, I stepped past her, my anger dissipating like smoke in the wind.

Behind me, Nicole let out a slow breath, almost as if she'd been holding it the entire time. She didn't say anything else—just moved quietly to secure Dain's unconscious body, her movements cautious yet determined.

Dain stirred, groaning as consciousness slowly returned to him. Nicole crouched beside him, her gaze sharp and unrelenting.

"Start talking," she demanded.

Dain exhaled through his nose, shifting slightly against the tree he was slumped against. "Kill me or don't. I have nothing to say to you."

Nicole's jaw clenched. "You've already lost, Dain. Cooperate, and maybe—"

"Maybe what?" he scoffed, voice laced with exhaustion. "You think I'm scared of death?" He smirked through bloodied lips. "Go ahead. Do your worst. I'll die before I betray my honor."

Ken, who had been leaning against a boulder with his arms crossed, finally pushed off it with a sigh. He walked forward, his expression unreadable. "All that talk about honor, yet here you are, beaten and clinging to silence like a coward."

Dain's eyes snapped to him, narrowing. "Watch your tongue, hunter."

Ken crouched in front of him, his gaze unwavering. "Or what? You'll die without saying a word? Is that what you call honor?"

Dain's breath hitched, his bloodied fingers curling into fists. "You don't know anything.

"Then say something," Ken challenged. "Or admit you never had any honor to begin with."

For a moment, silence stretched between them. Then, Dain let out a bitter laugh, his body shaking with it. "You want to talk about honor?" His eyes burned as they locked onto Ken's. "The only one without honor is your precious king."

Nicole's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?" she pressed, her voice laced with suspicion and curiosity. "What did the King do to you?"

Dain exhaled slowly, his head tilting back against the tree trunk. His eyes were distant, not looking at any of them but at something far beyond—something lost in the past.

"He took everything from me," he muttered.

Nicole glanced at Ken, who remained silent, arms still crossed, his face unreadable. I stood a few steps away, merely observed, my expression cold and indifferent.

"Explain," Nicole insisted.

Dain let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "You want to know why I turned against him? Why I did what I did? Fine. I'll tell you."

His fingers curled into fists as he spoke, his voice growing rougher with each word. "I had a son—Mathew. He was ten. A bright, curious boy who wanted to understand the world, who thought knowledge was the greatest power a person could have." He let out a shaky breath. "But knowledge is dangerous when placed in the wrong hands."

Nicole remained quiet, letting him continue.

"One day, Mathew wandered too far within the castle walls," Dain said, his voice hollow. "He stumbled upon something he was never meant to see. A hidden laboratory beneath the throne room, where the King's alchemists were conducting… experiments."

Nicole stiffened. "Experiments?"

Dain's lips pressed into a thin line. "On the villagers—the ones they claim to have gone missing. They weren't missing. They were taken." His voice wavered. "Mathew… he didn't understand. He was just a child. He told me what he saw, excited, thinking he had uncovered some grand secret. He thought I would be proud of him."

His eyes darkened, grief shadowing his features. "I did what I thought was right. I reported it to the King." He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "I was a fool. I thought… I thought he would put an end to it, that he would order an investigation."

Dain clenched his jaw, his entire body trembling with rage and sorrow. "Instead, he ordered me to kill my own son."

The air grew thick with silence. Nicole's breath caught in her throat, her eyes wide with horror. Even my grip on the scythe tightened, though my face betrayed nothing.

"I refused," Dain continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "Of course, I refused. How could I—?" His voice broke, but he forced himself to go on. "But the King… he doesn't like disobedience. If I wouldn't do it, then he would."

His knuckles turned white. "He sent his personal guards. They found Mathew in our quarters. He was alone."

Nicole shook her head slightly, as if denying the words she knew were coming.

"They killed him," Dain whispered. "They murdered my son while I was out, still believing I served a King worth protecting."

A sharp inhale from Nicole was the only sound that followed.

"When I returned, I found his body on the floor," Dain murmured, his eyes glistening. "And my wife… she couldn't bear it. She took her own life days later."

Silence settled over them like a suffocating weight.

"That was the day my loyalty died," Dain said, his voice now cold, empty. "That was the day I vowed to make Maverick feel the same loss I felt. He took my son, so I took his."

Nicole looked down at him, her grip on her whip tightening. "That's why you kidnapped the Prince," she said, more to herself than to him.

Dain laughed dryly. "An eye for an eye, isn't that how justice works?"

Nicole hesitated, her mind racing.

Ken let out a slow breath. "And yet, you still lost," he muttered.

Dain's expression twisted into something unreadable. "Maybe. But at least I tried."

Nicole stared at him, her thoughts swirling. For the first time, she wasn't sure if they were truly fighting on the right side.

My arms folded, I stared down at Dain, my patience running thin. "Where is the brat Prince?"

Dain chuckled, wiping a trickle of blood from his split lip. "He's not far from here. Locked deep inside a room at the outpost."

Nicole stepped forward, tension radiating from her. "Then we can still get to him," she said, her voice sharp with urgency.

Dain smirked, shaking his head. "You don't get it, do you?" His tone dripped with amusement. "He's beyond saving."

Nicole's posture stiffened. "What did you do to him?" she demanded, her voice raised.

I turned to look at her, surprised. I'd never seen her this angry before.

Dain's grin widened, his eyes gleaming with malice. "His mind is a shattered mess," he sneered. "Scrambled so badly, he can't tell what's real and what's not."*

Nicole clenched her fists. "You—"

"He sees nightmares even while he's awake," Dain interrupted, almost gleeful. "Every moment, every breath, is suffering. By now, he probably doesn't even remember his own name."

My jaw tightened. There was no triumph in his words—just cruelty.

Nicole's voice shook. "Why?"

Dain's expression darkened. "Because the King deserves to know what it's like to lose a son. And the boy?" He exhaled, almost wistfully. "He's just collateral."

Just as I tensed, ready to move, a gunshot echoed through the night.

Dain's head snapped back, a clean hole between his eyes. His body slumped lifelessly to the ground. For a moment, no one spoke. The air was thick with the weight of what had just happened.

Ken lowered his gun, his expression unreadable. He had done what we all wanted to do.

I turned to him, fixing him with a glare—one that said he was mine to kill. Ken didn't flinch. He simply holstered his gun, his stance relaxed, as if he had just swatted a fly.

I exhaled sharply, shaking my head.

Nicole stepped toward me hesitantly. I could see it in her eyes—she wanted to apologize. Maybe she regretted stopping me earlier. Maybe she thought this was somehow her fault.

I didn't let her speak. "We need to get to the boy," I said, my voice firm.

She pressed her lips together, then nodded. There was no time for guilt. No time for second-guessing.

We had a prince to save.

**********