The Leader let out a sharp, cruel laugh. "Surrender?"
He stepped forward, his grin cutting like a blade. "You expect me to kneel before you? Like a dog?"
"We're giving you a choice," another lord countered, her crimson hair gleaming in the dim light. It was Brigid. "Drop your weapon, stand down, and maybe we'll spare you."
The Leader's grin only widened. "Spare me? You must think I'm weak."
His voice dropped lower, sharper. "No… you must think yourselves strong."
A dark aura seeped from his body, thick and suffocating, making the air itself heavy. The ground cracked beneath his feet as his muscles strained, his breathing ragged, every vein along his arms darkening.
"You didn't actually believe I'd surrender without a fight, did you?" he growled. "You never bothered to understand your enemy… and you underestimated the one standing before you."
And then… a low, guttural growl tore through the chamber.
