Chapter 388: Sorry Kuro
Time seemed to slow.
The axe descended.
Kethran’s eyes widened as he saw death approaching, saw the absolute certainty in that strike, felt the conviction that made it undeniable.
’I’m going to.. die?’
The realization hit him with terrible finality.
’A human... this weak human is going to kill me? A dark elf?’
The blade was inches from his neck.
Inches from ending him.
Inches from–
But just when the elf was about to die, the Domain collapsed.
The pitch-black void dissolved, the corpses disappeared and the pressure vanished.
Damian staggered mid-strike, his Aura completely empty, unable to maintain the Domain any longer.
’No... not now... NOT NOW!’
His wings flickered, dissolved into black mist and the merger broke.
Power fled his body like water through his fingers.
The strike that should have killed Kethran–
Went wide.
SLASH
Missed his neck by a hair’s breadth, only cutting a shallow line across his shoulder instead of decapitating him.
Damian’s transformed body reverted, feathers falling away, claws retracting, crimson eyes fading back to normal.
He hit the ground hard, separated from Kuro.
Both of them broken, both of them bleeding and both of them out of power.
Dust settled across the clearing, thick and choking.
For several long seconds, nothing was visible.
Just silence and the heavy, metallic smell of blood.
Then the dust cleared.
"..."
Damian and Kuro lay on the ground twenty meters apart, both covered in blood.
Damian’s body was broken at wrong angles, ribs caved in, one arm bent backward, legs twisted unnaturally.
Kuro’s raven form was barely breathing, feathers torn away, more blood than black visible on his body.
And Kethran stood barely.
One hand pressed tightly against the wound on his neck, the shallow cut that had come within millimeters of ending him.
Gasp... gasp...
His breathing came in ragged, wet gasps, blood running from dozens of wounds.
His legs shook and his swords trembled in his grip.
But he was standing.
And they weren’t.
Several seconds of silence passed.
Then Kethran spoke, his voice barely more than a whisper, carrying genuine shock.
"You..."
He looked down at Damian’s broken form.
"You caught me off guard and... almost killed me."
His hand moved from his neck, looking at the blood on his fingers.
"One more second. If that domain had lasted one more second..."
He took a shaky step forward.
"I would be dead right now."
Another step, legs barely supporting his weight.
"A human... a human so much weaker than me..."
He raised one sword, the movement agonizingly slow.
"...almost killed me."
The blade angled down toward Damian’s throat.
"Your belief was real... Your conviction was absolute."
His voice carried something that might have been respect, or maybe just exhaustion.
"But belief alone..."
The sword started to descend.
"...isn’t enough."
’Sorry, Kuro.’
Damian’s thought came weak and fading, consciousness slipping away like sand through an hourglass.
’We were... so close...’
Kuro’s mental voice responded, barely a whisper, but filled with something that sounded like peace.
’Kuro fought... with stupid human... That’s all... Kuro wanted...’
The sword descended toward Damian’s throat, ready to end both of them.
The blade cut through air closer and closer.
Then–
Everything stopped.
The sword froze mid-swing, the blade hanging inches from Damian’s throat.
Kethran’s eyes widened.
’W-what?’
He tried to move, tried to push the blade down.
His muscles strained but nothing happened.
The sword wouldn’t budge and his body wouldn’t respond.
Even the air around him felt solid, like reality itself had locked into place.
’What is this?! Some kind of space manipulation? A skill? But from who–’
BOOOOM
A massive paw slammed down on him from above.
The impact cratered the earth and sent shockwaves rippling outward that flattened grass and cracked trees.
Kethran’s body was crushed instantly, his bones pulverized and his organs turned to pulp.
He died... before he could even finish his thoughts.
Where he’d been standing, only a crater remained, and a massive black paw the size of a small house.
’W-what just happened?’
Damian’s vision was fading, his consciousness slipping away, darkness creeping in from all sides.
But through the haze, he saw something.
A large shape that seemed like–
’A dog? No... Too big to be a dog.’
And on top of it, sitting casually–
Something else that was too small to make out clearly through his failing vision.
’What...’
The thought didn’t finish as darkness swallowed him completely.
****
’Stupid human, you are finally awake!’
The voice burst into Damian’s mind, loud and indignant, dragging him out of unconsciousness.
’You were sleeping for so long!’
Damian’s eyes opened slowly, his vision blurry.
Pain radiated from everywhere at once, but it was distant somehow, muted.
His ribs didn’t feel shattered anymore and his arm wasn’t bent wrong.
’How...’
A familiar weight landed on his chest.
Small, feathered and radiating annoyance through their bond.
Kuro.
The raven was back to his normal size, no longer broken and bleeding, just... normal.
His crimson eyes stared down at Damian with what looked like exasperation.
’Stupid human sleeps like dead! Kuro thought you wouldn’t wake up!’
Damian’s hand came up weakly, touching Kuro’s feathers.
’We’re... alive?’
He forced himself to sit up slowly, his body protesting but obeying.
The pain was there, but manageable, like he’d been healing for days rather than... however long he’d been unconscious.
His eyes focused, taking in his surroundings for the first time.
He was in what seemed to be a cave.
But not like any cave he’d seen before in this forest.
It was massive, easily the size of a house, the ceiling high above disappearing into darkness.
But it wasn’t dark or damp or oppressive.
Greenery grew along the walls, vines with luminescent flowers providing soft white light that made everything visible without being harsh.
And the walls themselves weren’t natural.
They were shaped deliberately, with openings that looked like windows letting in shafts of actual sunlight from outside.
Stone benches lined one wall, carved from the cave itself but smoothed to perfection.
A stone table sat in the center, its surface flat and even.
’This... this isn’t a beast’s den.’
Damian’s mind struggled to process what he was seeing.
’This is someone’s home.’
"Kuro..." His voice came out hoarse, rough from disuse. "Where are we?"
