Varon's chest seared with every breath, ribs shattered, blood foaming in his throat. But he coaxed himself upright, digging his glaives into the earth to anchor his balance. He would not show weakness—not now, not before them.
His team huddled around him, half-intuition, half-hope. Thalos protected him at once, stumbling but unshattered. Aeloria fitted another arrow to the string, her fingers shaking. Kaelen spoke a healing charm, light pouring from his hands as he laid it across Varon's wound. Selvara bent low, claws extending, golden wolf eyes switching between the beast and her captain.
The S-Rank monstrosity did not stir. It regarded, like a butcher contemplating where to cut into the flesh first.
Varon's gaze fell on it, yet his words were directed at his team. "Hear me. Everyone."
Kaelen's voice broke. "No—don't even suggest it. We're not leaving you—"
"This is not negotiable." Varon's voice was harder now, piercing the desperation. "Look at it. Look!"
They did. The monster twisted again, extending its long neck into a grotesque rolling of joints, cracking as tree branches crack under tension. Its smile never wavered. Its eyes shone with that mocking intelligence, goading them wordlessly.
"That creature isn't here for you," Varon said, voice quiet but firm. "It's here for me. And if you remain, you'll die before you can even scrape it."
Selvara growled, tail bristling. "And what, you'll survive if we do not? Captain, I'm not leaving you—"
He interrupted her with a bellow, sudden and wild, full of the power of command:
"This is not a request."
The words struck them like a fist. Even the beast appeared to hesitate, tilting its head at the command in Varon's voice.
Varon raised his glaives once more, blood streaming down his arm. His tone grew lower, firm as stone.
"It is an order. An order from your captain—Varon Draegus, son of Malrik Draegus, Warlord of the Abyssal Vanguard. And I will not repeat myself.
The confession hung in the square. His heritage had always been rumored, but to have him declare it here, on the brink of death, took away whatever facade remained. He wasn't their captain—he was one of the most feared demon warlord's blood alive.
Aeloria's bow lowered, her eyes wide in horror. "Varon…"
Kaelen's spell broke, his hands falling. "If we go, you'll…"
"I'll purchase you time," Varon spoke bluntly. His voice was firm, as though he had already accepted his own demise. "The city continues to need you. The Academy continues to need you. Don't squander what we've fought for by sacrificing your lives now."
Thalos' voice was gravel, his shield shaking in his hand. "You bloody idiot… you're asking us to survive this. To survive without you."
Varon looked at him, and for one brief, fleeting moment, his lips went into a soft smile. "That's the privilege of survivors, old friend. Better than your graves."
Selvara's claws scrabbled into the cobblestones, her wolf ears pressed flat against her head. Her eyes blazed with rage. "No! I won't go! You always get us all together, you always keep us alive. How dare you presume you can just—
Varon's glare shut her up. Not cruel, but unyielding. "You vowed to obey my commands. You vowed to have faith in me when it counted most. This is that moment, Selvara. If you disobey me now, everything we've created, everything we've suffered—it all dies here."
The monster chuckled low, a horrible sound like bones grinding. It leaned closer, its breath reeking of ash and rot, and whispered, "Yes… run, little ones. Leave him to me. Leave your captain to die."
Aeloria flinched, tears burning her eyes. She aimed at the creature's eye, loosed an arrow, and it clinked uselessly off its stony skin. The monster didn't even blink.
"Go!" Varon snapped, his words startling them back to him.
Kaelen shook his head wildly, tears streaming freely now. "No. Gods damn it, no! We've trained together, we've bled together, I won't leave—"
Varon grabbed his collar, pulling him in until their foreheads met. His voice softened to a whisper Kaelen alone could hear.
"You're stronger than you know. You're the only one who can keep them alive after I'm dead. If you love me as your captain, as your brother, then do this. Take them away."
Kaelen's mouth shook. He wanted to fight, to shout, to remain. But the load in Varon's tone crushed him. Finally, he nodded, crying, and Varon pushed him back towards the others.
Selvara turned aside, biting down hard enough to draw blood. Aeloria lifted her bow once more but her hands trembled too violently to shoot straight. Thalos stood firm, his shield aloft, his tears concealed behind the beard.
Varon stood there a moment longer, looking at them all. His team. His family.
"Live," he told them. "That's my final command."
The grin of the monster grew wider. "Yes. Run. Let me shatter your hope first."
With a final bellow, Varon bore down on the creature, his glaives snapping in the flames. And his company, sundered by pain and rage, followed—staggering back into the smoke, even as their captain's fight commenced.