Chapter 13 – Red Baptism
The ground split again under the weight of Dreadmaul's grip.
For the thirtieth time, Rigorus's body hit the snow with a crack that sent shockwaves through the frozen forest.
Dreadmaul's laughter rumbled above him. He raised Rigorus once more—then stopped.
His massive hand… burned.
Steam hissed against the winter air. The flesh was unmarked, yet the pain was sharp, gnawing, unnatural. He stared at his palm. There was no wound—only the crimson smears of Rigorus's blood.
"What is this…?" Dreadmaul muttered. "Why does it burn?"
The laughter died.
Slowly, Rigorus rose to his feet, head lowered, white hair falling like a curtain over his face. His halo flickered once—then went out entirely. Steam rose from his skin, curling upward into the cold sky. Blood dripped from almost every inch of his body, staining the snow beneath him.
Without a word, he reached for White Fang.
The steel hummed low as he turned the blade inward and, without hesitation, drew it across his own palm. Blood spilled over the sword's edge—thick, glowing faintly like molten metal. Where it fell, the snow hissed and melted away, leaving blackened patches of earth.
Dreadmaul's eyes widened.
"You still can fight, huh?" he said, forcing a grin.
Rigorus lifted his head. His face was a mask of blood and tears, eyes bloodshot and unblinking. With his free hand, he swept his hair back, revealing the cold fire in his gaze.
He took one step forward—
And the world froze.
To the eye, his afterimages were so sharp they seemed real. In the space of a breath, he was gone… and already ten steps behind Dreadmaul, sword hovering near the giant's neck.
"Oh, you're fast—" Dreadmaul began, but the words cut off as his right arm fell away, severed at the shoulder.
A cross-shaped blaze of pain ripped through his torso, the mark of two slashes too quick to see.
"What is this?!" Dreadmaul roared, his brute strength forcing his body to regenerate faster than before. The arm grew back in seconds, muscle knitting together.
He lunged to throw a killing punch—
And fell.
"Huh? Why… am I down?"
Looking down, he saw blood pouring from his thighs. His legs had been cut clean through at the knees.
They grew back again, faster this time. But before he could move or even speak—
The storm began.
One heartbeat, and Rigorus was gone.
In the next, the giant was surrounded. Blades carved through him from all directions, slashes so fast they blurred into walls of steel. In the middle of it all, Dreadmaul staggered under an onslaught no mortal eyes could follow.
Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut.
Blood sprayed in arcs across the snow, staining it red in every direction. Flesh and skin tore open, only to heal and be torn again. The regeneration that once made him untouchable now trapped him in a loop of agony.
It lasted a minute. To Dreadmaul, it was an hour.
And then—silence.
One final slash sang through the air.
Steel met flesh.Shang!
His head flew from his shoulders, spinning once before landing in the snow. His body swayed, regeneration stalling for the first time… then collapsed with a crash.
Dreadmaul's severed head stared at the sky. His lips twisted into a trembling smile.
"Heh… so this is what it feels like… Brother."
Blood leaked from his mouth as he laughed—softly at first, then louder, tears spilling from his eyes.
"I always wanted to play with you… but the others… they said I was too strong." His gaze seemed to look past Rigorus, into the memory of someone long gone. "Finally… I got to play with you. Brother."
His voice cracked.
"Oh, Father… did you see? Your niece is strong too."
In those final moments, memories bled through his mind: the endless experiments, the years of pain, the cold hands forcing him to fight until his body became something no child's should. The locked, lightless room where he spent thirty days for asking one forbidden question:
'Why do you hate the Draevens? Aren't they our family? You share a father with Gavric… so why can't we live together?'
The answer had been silence, hunger, and darkness.
"Oh… Father," he whispered as his voice faded. "I wish you had loved me… for me. Not for the monster you created."
And then, Dreadmaul was gone