In the castle in ruins, Ereon remained seated on the partially destroyed throne, while the Count found himself kneeling before him. The steps began to echo. Caete was motionless, but with a brief smile on his face, in total silence.
Karna was the first to break the silence, his playful and mocking voice cutting the air:"Wow… you really like these monster fantasies. First one who looks like a beast, and the other with a demonic appearance. So scary."
Brianna interrupted him immediately, serious:"Really, I can't find any fun in this your sense of humor."
Kael, with a serene smile, spoke calmly:"Really? I actually find it funny sometimes."
One by one, everyone passed by the kneeling Count, stopping before him to observe the defeated face. Before, that man represented a tremendous threat; now he seemed fragile, as if he could break at any moment.
At last, before the Count returned from yet another of his countless deaths, Isabela appeared. Her expression was serene, the armor was partially destroyed, and the pink hair, slightly messy. She stopped before the four and spoke:"It's over."
The Count opened his eyes, returned to life with a slight sarcastic smile and said:"Last time, it was just the two of us. I thought the party would end like that."
A laugh echoed. His eyes scanned the faces in front of him, until he asked:"Which of you killed Anhanguçu?"
Karna prepared to answer, but Brianna cut him off firmly:"We must not say anything that the Count does not already know."
The Count then turned his attention to her. He noticed the white and wavy hair, the bronzed skin and the clear eyes that shone like the moon. He smiled, malicious:"I understand… so you are a daughter of b—"
The words got lost, as if the air escaped his lungs. Gasping, he managed to resume:"You… the blame for all this is yours!"
Brianna kept the serious gaze."My people had a blood debt with you, Caete, and I am here to collect it. But first, let me ask: how much do you know? You did not hunt us for nothing. And I also found out that you are not the only one."
Silence spread. No one understood exactly where Brianna wanted to get. The Count, with the arrogant look, retorted:"When they find out that you are alive, all the gods will come to hunt you. Too bad I won't be here to see you suffer… just like your people."
His eyes exhaled contempt and rage."Do not forget: your race brought this to all of us."
Brianna took a deep breath. Her eyes began to transform: fine and shining lines moved slowly inside the irises, like a web in constant formation. In the center, a small circle appeared, like the pupil of a needle — the symbol of the weaving. Then, the white eyes shone like the moon, and she pronounced:"Corpus ad terram. Anima ad vacuum. Fractum est. (Body to the earth. Soul to the void. It is broken.)"
The Count howled, each crack of his bones echoing through the castle like hammer strikes. His hands clawed at the floor, trying to support himself, but his body trembled uncontrollably. Blood ran from his mouth as he stared at Brianna, hatred and despair woven into every word:
— Damn you! What have you done?! Come back here! Undo this… or you'll pay with every piece of your body!
Brianna simply turned and walked toward the exit, without looking back.
The others followed her in silence. Only Ereon remained before the Count. His gaze was cold when he declared:"For every innocent life you have taken, I declare you guilty. And your sentence… is death.."
In a quick and clean cut, the Count's head rolled. The last thing that was heard inside that castle was the sound of Ereon's steps, moving away from the lifeless body.
But before that end, outside the marquisate, another clash defined the destiny of all. Kael and Anhanguçu faced each other, and each shock between them made the earth tremble as if the world would collapse.
Outside the marquisate, the ground was already in ruins. The ground trembled, not by magic, but by the impact of the blows they exchanged.
Kael remained firm, feet planted in the cold earth, feeling each vibration as if they were signals. His eyes, blind, did not seek the enemy, but his whole body listened to the language of the ground.
In front of him, Anhanguçu advanced with steps that seemed thunderous. Each movement was brute, each punch or kick made the air explode. There was no delicacy, only raw strength.
Kael smiled lightly, tilting the body in the direction of the opponent."You step too heavy…," he murmured. "It's possible to feel your rage in the ground."
Anhanguçu answered with a roar, striking the air with brutality, a punch that displaced stones. But Kael spun the body, dodging as if he had seen the attack. His feet touched the ground in absolute silence, and before the giant could retreat, Kael struck his shoulder with the open palm, diverting his balance.
Anhanguçu staggered, but only for an instant. His wild smile returned. He spat on the ground and launched himself again, arms open as if to crush Kael whole in a hug of bones and muscles.
The fight was not only of strength against technique — it was of different worlds, confronting under the light of the sunset.
The fight ceased for an instant. The air still vibrated from the last blows exchanged.
Kael kept the firm posture, feet buried in the ground, and said with a light smile:"Finally realized, Anhanguçu? It's been a while since the fight in there stopped."
Anhanguçu clenched the fists, the eyes burning with fury."Insolent brat… you are starting to stress me. If I were with my complete strength, I would have crushed you a long time ago. I don't know what you did… but it is working."
The earth creaked under his feet as he advanced. Without warning, his whole body launched against Kael like a storm of muscles and brutality.
Kael, in a sudden movement, disappeared from the place. The earthly translation took him behind Anhanguçu, as if he had slid through the very ground. His feet touched the earth lightly, and then he began to move in an almost hypnotic rhythm — each step made the ground bend and contort, as if serpents of stone and clay awoke to dance around him.
The waves of earth advanced toward Anhanguçu. He instinctively thought of jumping to escape, but held himself back at the last instant."Damn…," he growled.
He remembered well: if he jumped, he would be exposed to the arrows that could arise from any point. Thus, he decided to face head on. His body stiffened, arms raised like walls, muscles tensed to the maximum. He would use only his own brutality to resist.
The serpents of earth rose and fell upon Anhanguçu with violence. Each attack seemed capable of crushing bones, but he remained firm, the muscles contracted, the arms blocking most of the force.
The ground trembled under his feet. Fragments of stone ricocheted around like shrapnel, raising dense dust. Anhanguçu roared, enduring the pressure, and with a brutal movement pushed the arms apart, making the waves of earth shatter against his body.
"Is that all?" he shouted, with a wild smile. "This dance won't bring me down, brat!"
Taking advantage of the opening, he spun the body and advanced like an enraged bull, the clenched fist coming in a straight line against Kael. The blow was not fast, but the force behind it carried weight enough to open craters in the ground.
Kael, however, already felt the vibration in the ground even before the punch was thrown. His body slid to the side, as if he were in harmony with the very earth, letting the fist pass a few centimeters from his face.
The fist of Anhanguçu tore the air and hit only the void, bursting the ground right behind Kael in an explosion of stones and dust.
The blind man smiled at the corner, the bare feet sliding with precision. Taking advantage of the giant's impulse, Kael moved like water flowing between rocks: grabbed Anhanguçu's arm, spun the body in synchrony and, with a sudden pull, redirected all that brute force against himself.
Anhanguçu was thrown to the side, colliding with a wall in ruins that collapsed with the impact. The crash echoed through the marquisate like thunder.
For an instant, the dust covered everything. Silence reigned.
Kael kept the relaxed posture, breathing deeply. His feet touched the ground firmly, feeling each vibration that spread through the ground."You are strong… but you step too heavy," he murmured. "And I can hear each step of yours."
From inside the dust, a deep laugh echoed, growing in fury.Anhanguçu rose slowly, stones falling from his shoulders as if they were mere grains of sand."Hahahaha… insolent brat… you will regret provoking me."
His eyes burned like embers, and then he advanced once again — even faster, even more violent, like a storm of muscles and hate.
Anhanguçu advanced like an enraged bull. His feet pounded the ground, each step made the earth tremble. Heavy fists came in sequence, punches that tore the air like hammer strikes, kicks that cracked the stones around.
Kael dodged by centimeters, the body light and fluid as if he danced between storms. His feet touched the ground with absolute precision, each vibration revealing to him the trajectory of the blows before they came. Even so, the pressure was crushing — each impact that missed by little left the air heavy as iron.
A punch of Anhanguçu passed close to Kael's chest, opening a crater in the ground. The second punch, Kael blocked with the forearm, but the force was such that it launched him several meters back. He slid through the ground, the feet leaving deep marks in the earth until he stopped.
Anhanguçu laughed, the teeth exposed."I want to see until where your little dance will save you!"
Kael breathed deeply. A serene smile appeared on his face, contrasting with the brutality before him."Dance? No… this is the sound of your defeat."
He stomped the feet on the ground firmly. The soil vibrated in quick waves, serpents of stone emerging once more, but now not only to attack — they spun around Kael like a whirlwind, forming a living wall that moved in synchrony with him.
Anhanguçu did not retreat. Roaring, he dived against the serpents of earth, breaking them with punches, scattering fragments in all directions. Each impact was a thunder.
And in the middle of that chaos, Kael disappeared. His body merged with the ground for an instant, appearing right behind the giant.
"Now," he murmured.
With a clean and precise movement, Kael struck the base of Anhanguçu's spine with the open palm, using not only his strength, but the impulse of the very earth under his feet.
The impact reverberated like a muffled crash. Anhanguçu staggered for the first time, his muscles trembling under the shock.