The sun bled slowly beneath the horizon, drowning the world in crimson.
From atop the jagged cliffside, I stared down at the largest city on the planet. Endless lights flickered below like stars trapped beneath glass. Roads twisted between towering structures. Vehicles moved in glowing streams. People laughed. Talked. Lived.
They had no idea they were already dead.
A cold wind brushed against my face, carrying the scent of steel, smoke, and distant rain. Behind me, dark-purple flames spiraled lazily through the air, wrapping around my body like living hatred. Every battle. Every death. Every scream. It all sat inside me now, festering.
And honestly?
I was getting tired of pretending I cared anymore.
Above the city, one of the floating capitals drifted silently through the clouds, massive engines humming beneath its polished white exterior. The people below pointed upward in awe.
Pathetic.
I tilted my head slightly, staring at it.
"So that's where the rich hide," I muttered.
My voice sounded wrong now. Hollow. Like someone speaking from the bottom of a grave.
A slow grin spread across my face.
"Good."
Dark magic exploded outward.
The cliff beneath me shattered instantly as ancient destructive energy flooded the atmosphere. Purple lightning cracked across the clouds while the temperature dropped hard enough to freeze the air itself.
Then I summoned them.
Kyoko emerged first.
Space tore open violently behind me as the dragon forced herself into reality. Her enormous wings unfolded across the sky, scales gleaming like sharpened obsidian soaked in violet fire. Golden eyes locked onto the city below with open hostility.
Unlike before…
she wasn't calm anymore either.
Good.
Sangui crawled upward from my shadow next.
The massive three-headed beast shook violently as dark smoke poured from his body. One head snarled. One laughed quietly. The third simply stared downward at the city like it was deciding where to start eating first.
"Try not to leave scraps this time," I muttered.
The middle head barked happily.
Baal answered my call next.
The mountain itself split apart as the earth demon dragged his gigantic body free from beneath the cliffside. Molten-purple veins pulsed beneath layers of obsidian armor while his breathing alone shook the landscape.
Then finally—
Nocturne.
The sky darkened unnaturally.
At first, the citizens below mistook him for another cloud drifting over the city.
Then his eyes opened.
Panic spread instantly.
The massive serpent descended from the heavens silently, wings eclipsing entire sections of the skyline while void-black scales shimmered beneath the blood-red sunset.
Now they understood.
Now they were afraid.
I inhaled slowly.
The fear tasted amazing.
My beasts gathered around me while destruction magic thickened across the battlefield so heavily that reality itself started distorting around us.
This wasn't war anymore.
It wasn't revenge either.
It was punishment.
I raised my hand casually.
That single movement doomed millions.
Kyoko attacked first.
Her roar split the heavens apart as dark-purple dragonfire rained from the clouds. Entire districts vanished instantly beneath the inferno. Buildings melted. Streets exploded. Human silhouettes burned into the pavement before turning into ash.
The screams finally started.
Music.
Sangui launched himself down the mountainside next, moving like a collapsing avalanche of shadows and teeth. One massive paw erased an entire bridge. His left head swallowed fleeing civilians whole while the right tore through armored vehicles effortlessly.
The center head just laughed.
That deep awful laugh echoed across the city louder than the sirens.
Baal raised both fists slowly.
Then slammed them downward.
The continent shook.
The streets ruptured apart instantly as massive fissures split the city open from beneath. Entire skyscrapers tilted sideways before disappearing into the darkness below.
Purple magma erupted upward afterward.
Anyone who survived the collapse burned alive seconds later.
Then came Nocturne.
The floating city tried escaping.
Too late.
The serpent coiled silently around the airborne capital before tightening slightly.
CRUNCH.
The sound echoed across the horizon.
Its engines shattered instantly.
The floating city tilted violently before beginning its descent.
People screamed from balconies.
Escape pods launched desperately into the sky.
Nocturne opened his mouth.
A beam of black-purple energy erased every single pod midair.
Then the city fell.
The impact was biblical.
The floating capital slammed directly into the city beneath it in a storm of collapsing steel and holy fire. Shockwaves flattened entire districts instantly while debris rained across the skyline like divine judgment.
I watched all of it without blinking.
Without caring.
The destruction reflected beautifully in my purple eyes while flames painted the night sky in shades of black and violet.
Honestly…
it was gorgeous.
Far below, survivors tried fleeing through the ruins.
I sighed.
Still moving?
Annoying.
Zenith shifted instantly into twin submachine guns in my hands.
I aimed downward lazily.
"Smile for me."
Holy magic erupted from both barrels.
Golden-purple bullets rained into the city beneath me, detonating entire streets in chains of divine explosions. Some people vaporized instantly. Others burned screaming beneath holy fire that refused to let them die quickly.
A woman reached toward the sky holding a child.
I shot through both of them without hesitation.
My expression never changed.
Not because I enjoyed it.
Not because I hated it.
But because somewhere along the way…
I stopped feeling anything at all.
When silence finally returned, only fire remained.
The largest city on the planet was gone.
Reduced to a burning skeleton beneath the blood-red moonlight.
Ash drifted through the sky slowly, almost peacefully.
Kyoko landed beside me first.
Sangui returned dragging pieces of armored soldiers between his teeth.
Baal folded his massive arms silently.
Nocturne coiled himself around the cliffside behind us like an ancient god guarding a tomb.
I stared at the ruins one last time.
Then laughed quietly to myself.
"Raiku was right," I murmured.
My smile widened slightly.
"People break way easier than cities."
Behind me, the beasts growled softly in agreement.
Then I turned away from the burning horizon.
And together—
we disappeared into the dark.