Chapter 72: The Crimson-Silver Union and the Traitorous Void
The Desperate Rescue
The air in the room was a thick soup of copper and smoke. Diari, despite the jagged chains of 'Accursed Iron' digging into his shoulders, locked eyes with Rina across the chaos. In that silent exchange, a bridge of pure willpower formed between them. Diari let out a guttural roar, burning his own life force to turn his aura into a white-hot furnace. The heat was so intense that the microscopic barbs in his skin began to glow, and for a split second, the chains slackened.
At that exact moment, Rina reached deep into the silver core of her soul. She didn't fight the gravity; she absorbed it. With a scream of defiance, she unleashed a concentrated pulse of silver starlight. This surge traveled through the air, striking the shadow-whip holding her mother. The dark tether shattered like brittle glass. Lady Elara fell, but Diari, using the last of his temporary strength, lunged forward and caught her before her head hit the stones. He dragged her to a corner, placing her slumped, unconscious body behind the ruins of a heavy oak table. Elara was safe for now, but she lay there like a broken doll, her breath shallow and her spirit exhausted.
The Synchronized Spark
Seeing Elara safe, Rina and Diari moved toward each other. The moment their hands met, a shockwave of harmonious energy—crimson and silver—rippled through the room. The dark mists were pushed back, and for a heartbeat, it looked like they had turned the tide. Their combined power felt like the birth of a new sun, a blinding fusion that made the demons hiss and recoil.
"We have to end this now, Diari!" Rina cried, her face streaked with blood but her eyes burning with a celestial fire.
"Together," Diari whispered, his hand gripping hers so tightly their knuckles turned white.
The Twist of the Malicious Trap
But the hope was short-lived. As they prepared to launch a combined strike against the shadow portal, the two demons suddenly abandoned their assault on Elias and Rina's father. They didn't retreat; they vanished into wisps of smoke and reappeared directly behind Rina.
It was a calculated, brutal maneuver. One demon grabbed Rina's hair, yanking her head back, while the other plunged a dagger of pure shadow into the space between her ribs. Rina let out a soundless gasp, the silver light in her eyes flickering violently.
The Voice of the Puppet Master
Malakor's laughter boomed through the house, sounding like mountains grinding together. He didn't manifest physically, but his presence felt like a heavy, cold hand pressing down on the back of Diari's neck.
"Did you truly believe it would be that simple, little King?" Malakor's voice hissed, dripping with mockery. "Every move you made was choreographed by my hand. I let you save the mother to give you a false sense of victory. I let you unite your powers just so I could see the look on your face when I tear them apart."
Malakor's voice grew darker, more intimate. "You haven't been fighting a war, Diari. You've been walking deeper into a cage. By uniting with her, you've shared your life force—and now, through the wound I just gave her, I am draining both of you. You didn't find strength... you fell right into the trap."
Rina collapsed to her knees, the shadow-dagger still protruding from her side, its dark poison spreading like ink through her silver veins. Diari tried to reach her, but the demons held her like a shield, and Malakor's invisible pressure forced him to the ground, helpless to stop the agony beginning to consume his queen.
Written by: Dlin_myth