Chapter 155: The Rain of Soot and the Embodiment of Hatred Within Prostrate Hearts
The darkness had reached a stage where the very air became a cold trap for the lungs. As the Grandmother's curse intensified, two new shadows emerged from the purple mist at the edges of the courtyard. They were neither kin nor held any blood relation to this shattered family; they were two stranger-hunters, sold souls summoned by the Grandmother from the depths of history to complete the brutality Rina had begun. One was named "Zarda," with skin like the rotting leather of a graveyard, and the other "Moran," whose eyes were merely two hollow pits dripping with the venom of death. They were under the Grandmother's command to prove that even strangers, fueled by her malice, could strike at Diyari's "ugliness" and "folly" more fiercely than kin.
The Grandmother shouted with a thrill in her voice: "Bring him forward! This is the worthless beggar who wants to change the world with his fake lights! Rina, look... even these strangers who do not know you understand that this man deserves a most heavy death! Help them! Let the blood of this 'ugly' one be the reward for your loyalty to me!"
Rina, now entirely under the influence of the "Absolute Knot" spell and stripped of all will, raised her purple blade with bloodied hands. Zarda and Moran, with their poisoned daggers, stood on either side of Diyari. Zarda, with a ruthlessness found only in strangers, plunged his dagger into Diyari's left leg and twisted it with force until the bone shattered. Diyari, his body now a mass of torn flesh, only trembled slightly, but his golden eyes still shone toward Rina like two sacred fires. The "imaginary power" he possessed groaned within his veins like a cyclone, but Diyari held it back with a firm grip; he did not want even a stray spark of his light to harm Rina.
Moran, with hands as cold as death itself, grabbed Diyari's hair and pulled his head back to fully expose his throat. Rina, with her dark black eyes, stepped forward. She no longer knew who this was before her; the only thing echoing in her mind was the Grandmother's voice saying: "This is the enemy who stole your beauty!" With her blade, Rina carved another mark across Diyari's neck. Intense, warm golden blood poured over her hands, but instead of stopping, Rina began brutally tearing at the flesh of Diyari's neck with her fingernails.
From the balcony, the Grandmother used the black magic surrounding her hands to make every blow from those two strangers feel like thousands of years of burning to Diyari. Zarda began punching the areas of Diyari's chest that had already been slashed by Rina's blade. Every strike was like an explosion within Diyari's body. Diyari was on the verge of losing his breath, blood streaming from his mouth and nose, yet in his mind he still said: "Continue... I am here so Rina can be free... I will not be the king who breaks the vow of love because of physical pain."
Moran placed his dagger against Diyari's right eye and said in a raspy voice: "Tell me, O beggar... how can you still look at this girl while she is tearing your heart out?" Diyari answered only with a faint smile, a smile full of that "folly" the Grandmother always mocked. At that moment, Rina, with a manic scream, plunged her blade into Diyari's shoulder and dragged it down to the center of his chest. This wound was so deep it felt as if Diyari's soul were about to leave his body. Here, it is seen how love becomes a slaughterhouse and how strangers celebrate in the blood of an innocent man.
The Grandmother used the "Destructive Mirror" spell, making Rina see only a hideous and ugly face within Diyari's eyes. This enraged Rina further; she felt as though Diyari was insulting her. With both hands, she moved to Diyari's throat and began to strangle him. Zarda and Moran kicked at Diyari's body to ensure he couldn't take a single comfortable breath. The courtyard had become a true hell; a place where only the sound of breaking bones and the Grandmother's cold laughter could be heard.
Amidst all this agony, Diyari felt his golden light beginning to fade completely. He knew that if he died, Rina would remain trapped within the Grandmother's curse forever. So, with the last of his strength, he gathered his "imaginary power"—not to strike, but to draw all the pain and venom of Zarda and Moran's daggers into his own heart so those two strangers could no longer provoke Rina with the Grandmother's magic. This was the ultimate sacrifice; a man torn apart not only by his beloved but by strangers as well, yet still only concerned that his beloved not be lost in that darkness.
Seeing this, the Grandmother turned pale. She realized that Diyari's love would not break, not even for Rina, nor for all the magic and shadows. She shouted in rage: "Rina! Tear out his heart! Now! Do not let him live another second with these foolish lights!" Rina, fueled by the demonic strength planted within her, drove her purple blade into Diyari's chest and began cutting in a circular motion around his heart. Blood gushed like a fountain from Diyari's chest, and Diyari, with his weakening eyes, only looked at Rina and said in his heart: "Still... I still love you..."
At the end of this chapter, Diyari is on the brink of a most brutal death. His body has been devastated by Rina and the two strangers (Zarda and Moran), and the Grandmother is ending everything with her final dance of victory. Diyari's silence amidst all the screams and agony is the greatest taunt to the black world the Grandmother has built.
Written by: Dlin_myth