The plateau was slick with blood. Serena's remains steamed in the sun, Liliana was nothing but a stain in the grass, and only one enemy remained.
Hadrick.
He stood trembling, his blade raised high, his face twisted in rage and disbelief. "You bastards… you worthless mutt! You think this is over? I'll kill you myself!"
But before he could advance, Katie stepped forward, her bare feet pressing softly into the dirt, her vines curling outward from her arms and back like living serpents. Her pink eyes glowed faintly, her sweet smile never faltering.
"No," she said gently. "You've hurt Master enough. It ends with me."
The battle began with a clash of steel against vines.
Hadrick was powerful, his swings heavy enough to slice clean through boulders. Each strike carried raw strength, his sword cleaving apart the first wave of vines with explosive force.
Katie didn't falter. She flowed backward gracefully, her vines lashing out again and again, snapping like whips and coiling like chains. Each strike forced Hadrick back, her range keeping him just out of reach of a killing blow.
"Coward!" he spat, slashing through another wave. "You hide behind weeds!"
Katie giggled softly, her tone light and motherly. "I'm not hiding, dear. I'm protecting. You'll never touch my Master again."
She raised her hands, her magic flaring. Vines erupted from the ground itself, wrapping around her limbs and chest like armor. Green light pulsed over her skin as her buffing magic surged, strengthening her body, healing her small wounds instantly.
Hadrick's strikes slowed. His frustration grew.
And then she found her opening.
Her vines shot forward, dozens at once, wrapping around his arms, his legs, his waist, his neck. He roared, thrashing, his blade swinging desperately. But for every vine he cut, two more replaced it, lashing around him until his body was completely bound.
With a sharp tug, Katie wrenched the sword from his hand. Another lash stripped his armor away piece by piece, the plates clattering to the dirt.
And for the first time, I saw Hadrick without his armor.
His body was pale, scarred, unimpressive. Not ugly, exactly, but ordinary. Fragile compared to the monster he pretended to be.
Katie's smile finally slipped, twisting into a scowl.
"You dare," she whispered, her vines tightening. "You dare call my Master ugly… trash… when you look like this?"
Her voice rose, filled with venom. "You hypocrite!"
The vines constricted, coiling tighter and tighter around his body. The first snap echoed across the plateau as his arm shattered.
He screamed.
Then another snap. His leg bent unnaturally.
Then another. His ribs caved.
Piece by piece, Katie broke him.
The sound of splintering bone filled the air, each one punctuated by his guttural screams. He thrashed weakly, blood dripping from his mouth, but there was no escape. Her vines worked with methodical cruelty, crushing his body inch by inch, savoring every moment of his agony.
I cringed at the sound, but Katie's expression was calm, serene, almost tender.
"This is what happens when you mock him," she whispered, her eyes never leaving Hadrick's broken form.
And then her vines lashed downward.
With a brutal snap, they tore off his manhood in a spray of blood.
Hadrick howled, his voice ragged and raw, tears spilling down his face.
"Pathetic," Katie murmured. "Not even a man after all."
His body sagged, broken and beaten, barely clinging to life.
Katie leaned closer, her smile returning, sweet and maternal. "Don't worry. It will all be over soon."
Her vines split his body apart.
The sound was wet, tearing, final. Blood sprayed across the ground as Hadrick's body was ripped in two, his screams cut short. What remained fell in two halves, twitching briefly before going still.
Silence.
The last of my old party was gone.
Katie walked back to me, her bare feet splashing through the blood. Her vines retracted slowly, curling back around her shoulders like docile pets. She pressed her body against mine, her arms sliding around me, pulling me into the soft, suffocating warmth of her chest.
Her lips brushed my ear as she whispered, "The world will never hurt you again, Master. Not while I'm here. I'll protect you. Cherish you. Always."
Yelena padded closer, licking the blood from her lips as her tail wagged. Drum landed beside me, her feathers still bristling, her emerald eyes gleaming.
Katie's arms tightened, her sweet voice echoing the bond that now tied all three of them to me.
"We're your new party now," she murmured. "Forever."
And as they pressed close from every side, their love suffocating and terrifying, I realized the truth.
This wasn't victory.
This was the beginning of something much darker.