So pathetic

These words struck Linfer's heart. He rose unsteadily, gripping his mutilated arm, his teeth clenched against the pain and incomprehension.

"Hey! What are you talking about, man? We'll make it out of this," he said, but his gaze betrayed a growing uncertainty.

Uriel shook his head gently, his expression filled with sadness. "No... If we both stay here, we'll die. But you... you have someone waiting for you."

"What do you mean?" Linfer asked, a dull panic rising within him. He didn't want to understand.

"You have a wife... and a son. Be a good father, Linfer," Uriel replied, his voice filled with a tragic sweetness, as if he had already accepted his own fate.

"But—"

"There are no buts," Uriel cut in firmly. "If you won't do it for yourself, do it for Zitish. Imagine her losing the one she loves and the one who raised her during her childhood. She wouldn't recover."

Uriel's words pierced Linfer's mind like a dagger. He now saw the determination in his ally-friend's eyes. Uriel had never been so sure of himself. His sacrifice was a certainty, an irreversible choice.

Uriel rose slowly, removing a golden chain earring. He offered it to Linfer with a tender expression. "Take this," he murmured. "It's an artifact that will teleport you directly to Iustitia."

Linfer, overcome, let out a sigh of frustration, his hands trembling as he accepted the gift. Tears threatened to blur his vision, but he held them back. Never had someone, even his mother, been so close to him and even willing to sacrifice themselves. When he was just a Blood Devil, he didn't care about dying, but now that he had discovered true happiness, reciprocal love, a child to be born, and a true brother...

Meanwhile, Belzebuth's frigid aura invaded the air, making each second more unbearable. The monsters and skeletons approached inexorably, like an inevitable wave.

"Uriel... thank you, my brother..." Linfer whispered, his throat tight, knowing there was no turning back. Uriel nodded, a sad smile illuminating his tired features.

"Go... and live for them," Uriel replied in a trembling voice.

As Linfer reached for the golden chain, the atmosphere suddenly charged with electric energy, almost suffocating. And as if it were a mask, the face full of sadness smiled, tongue sticking out, showing its three piercings.

"[The Law: Absolute Causality]."

Instantly, the golden chain began to grow, splitting and multiplying at a terrifying speed. Linfer, shocked, did not move, unable to understand what was happening. The chains bound his body, one wrapping around his neck, pulling him back, others immobilizing his ankles, his wrist, and his mutilated arm. A final chain pierced his chest and coiled around his heart, compressing his breath and vital energy.

"What... but... what's happening?" he stuttered, panic rising as his body was inexorably restrained.

The ensuing pain was indescribable. It was as if his very soul was cracking, breaking under the pressure of this invisible force. He felt like he was drowning in a sea of fire, every movement a torture. And worse still, his perception was distorted. Up became down, left became right, and reality itself seemed to twist under the weight of Uriel's law.

"Uriel! What does this mean!?" he screamed, his voice trembling, disoriented, but he received no answer.

Through his heavy eyelids, Linfer could barely make out Uriel's face. He saw him blurred, but the sound of his evil laughter was clear. Each burst of laughter resonated in his mind like a betrayal. That laugh pierced his soul.

"These impious beings are truly idiots, as much as they are despicable," Uriel mocked, shaking his head.

A portal opened immediately, and at the end, Linfer caught sight of Raphaël's silhouette. The look he gave him was filled with disgust.

"TRAITOR! I SWEAR THAT—"

"And what will you do? Die, you hellish scum."

Uriel, without losing a moment, crossed the portal, avoiding the imminent fury of Belzebuth who was approaching. He had abandoned his so-called brother-in-arms to a certain death, leaving Linfer at the mercy of the chains that were slowly crushing him. Linfer, consumed by hatred, clenched his teeth, breaking his jaw. To stay conscious, he pierced his own tongue with his fangs, letting the metallic taste of blood fill his mouth.

He tried to fight back, to regain control. He attempted to invoke his Crimson Flames, but nothing happened.

'While I think about it, I never told Uriel about my law. How did he know? He seemed to know exactly how to counter my powers.' He then thought that the chains were draining his blood, breaking the mana that usually was so present, now completely eluded him. He was cut off from everything.

"Damn... they got me..." he murmured, the reality of his betrayal crashing down on him like a hammer.

He then remembered Zitish, the one he thought he loved. The one who had supported him to become a better person... or so he had believed. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place, each memory becoming an open wound. How she had manipulated him to let her have his wendigos, causing the total destruction of his loyal soldiers? How could she have led him down a path so far from the one he had always followed? The former Blood Devil, sower of terror and chaos, was now paralyzed by a visceral fear of death. Humiliated and betrayed.

"Zitish... she too... so all this was just a trap... even after five years, she never came back..."

The hatred towards himself grew with each passing second. How could he have been so blind, so naive? He had been manipulated and then betrayed. How could he even trust anyone? When had he become weak, so pathetic?

With a last surge of hope, he tried to use his soul energy, a resource he had never dared to tap into, as his law only required his blood. But once again, it was a fatal mistake. The pain that coursed through his body was so brutal that he felt consciousness slipping away. His soul, already cracked, threatened to tear apart.

"Damn..."

Linfer spat blood as his vision became increasingly blurry.

The last thing he saw, before total darkness engulfed him, was the silhouette of a skeletal man descending before him, his amethyst eyes shining with a malicious glow.