Chapter 360: Playtime Is Over
Thud!
Hagrid came to a stop directly before the throne.
His towering frame cast a long shadow over Clara, swallowing her completely. She instinctively shrank back into the throne Damian had placed her on, but there was nowhere left to retreat. Her breathing became uneven as sweat streamed down her temples. Every instinct screamed at her to run, yet her body refused to obey. She opened her mouth several times, desperately trying to force words out, but terror had locked every muscle in place.
A slow, sinister smile spread across Hagrid’s face as he admired the fear reflected in her eyes.
"Did you really think a mere clone could save you from me?"
His laughter echoed throughout the parish before he casually glanced over his shoulder.
On the lower platform, Damian’s clone was still unleashing one devastating attack after another against empty space. Colossal avatars continued pounding the invisible battlefield while hundreds of divine weapons carved through the air. Every movement was committed with absolute conviction, completely unaware that his true opponent had long since walked away.
Hagrid clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Pathetic."
He returned his attention to Clara and slowly extended his remaining hand toward her.
The closer those clawed fingers came, the harder Clara’s body trembled. Her vision blurred with tears as countless memories flashed through her mind. Every conversation. Every smile. Every ordinary morning she had once shared with Damian suddenly became painfully precious.
She gathered every ounce of strength she had left.
"Damian..."
The name escaped her lips as little more than a broken whisper.
KRASH!!!
The entire world exploded with the deafening sound of shattering mirrors. Both Hagrid and Clara instinctively looked upward.
For Clara the first thing she saw was Damian’s face.
He hovered only inches above her, his face carrying the same warm smile she remembered from years ago. There was no panic. No urgency. Just quiet reassurance.
For Hagrid he saw nothing except countless fragments of broken mirror raining from above.
Then his expression changed as he realized his arm would not move. It felt as though an entire mountain had suddenly fallen onto it.
Slowly lowering his gaze, he finally saw Damian standing between himself and Clara. One hand casually gripped the wrist he had extended toward her.
Damian never even looked at him. His eyes remained fixed on Clara.
"Hey, love."
He smiled gently.
Pffttt!!!
"GAAAAAH!"
Hagrid’s scream tore through the parish. Instinctively he hurled himself backward.
He succeeded in escaping only because his entire right arm remained behind.
Black blood erupted into the air as the severed limb spun once before coming to rest within Damian’s grasp.
Hagrid landed several meters away, clutching the mangled stump while black blood poured endlessly onto the floor.
Damian merely lowered his gaze toward the arm he now held. Then he looked back at Clara. The same small smile never once left his face.
For Clara, everything else faded away. She heard Hagrid screaming and saw black blood staining the floor. Yet none of it mattered.
Looking into Damian’s eyes, she suddenly felt safer than she had in weeks. She honestly believed that even if death came for her at this very moment, she would no longer be afraid.
"Is... is this really you?"
Her voice barely rose above a whisper and Damian nodded without hesitation.
"Of course. You finally called for me, so I came."
His answer came so naturally that not even the slightest hesitation could be heard. Before Clara could respond, a puff of purple smoke appeared upon her lap.
Poof!
Rin materialized, sitting proudly as though he belonged there.
"Hello."
He raised one tiny paw in greeting.
The contrast between the adorable fox and the horrifying battlefield was so absurd that Clara instinctively covered her mouth. A tiny laugh escaped despite the tears still running down her cheeks.
Meanwhile Damian casually walked around the throne, absentmindedly carrying Hagrid’s severed arm as though it were nothing more than a discarded stick.
At the same moment, his clone dissolved into countless violet particles. The shimmering lights flowed across the parish before merging back into Damian’s body.
Instantly, every memory experienced by the clone flooded into his consciousness.
The Mirror World had already shattered. Outside, the familiar sounds of traffic returned. People praying beyond the church walls could once again be heard.
The isolation was gone.
Damian slowly tilted his head from side to side as the flood of memories settled into place. Only then did he finally look toward Hagrid.
"You had quite a lot of fun, didn’t you?"
His voice was empty yet somehow it carried enough weight to make even seasoned warriors instinctively tense.
Hagrid completely ignored the resentment in Damian’s eyes. His own expression was filled with confusion instead.
"How?"
His breathing remained uneven as black blood continued dripping from the torn shoulder.
"How did you escape?"
Damian looked down at the severed arm still lying beside his feet before casually releasing it. It struck the ground with a wet thud.
"The only flaw in your plan was trusting Gods."
Hagrid frowned deeply.
"What?"
Thud!
Rin leapt effortlessly from Clara’s lap onto Damian’s shoulder before glaring coldly at Hagrid.
"It means Wrath and Greed are simple fools who fell for my lord’s rage bait and ended up destroying their own confinement ritual."
A smug grin spread across the little fox’s face.
Damian merely shrugged.
"Gods aren’t that difficult to provoke. You just have to attack their pride and self worth."
The realization slowly dawned upon Hagrid. His expression twisted violently with several emotions.
He had spent months planning this operation. Months studying Damian and manipulating every variable he could find. Yet in the end the very deities who assigned him this mission had become the reason it failed.
For the first time since entering the parish, uncertainty appeared in Hagrid’s eyes.
Thud.
One heavy footstep echoed throughout the room. His attention snapped back toward Damian. Only now did he notice the thick violet mist quietly spreading across every corner of the parish.
The sounds from outside vanished once again.
Rin’s eyes narrowed.
’He has to die.’
The words echoed directly inside Damian’s mind. Damian gave the faintest nod. He agreed completely.
Everything Hagrid had displayed today terrified him. The ability to weave together illusion, deception and overwhelming combat skill into a single flawless assassination attempt. This man possessed no Prince’s inheritance and yet he had cornered Damian more effectively than almost anyone before him.
If someone like this were ever to obtain a complete inheritance Damian didn’t even want to imagine the consequences.
His purple eyes settled upon Hagrid with quiet finality.
"I will admit you have talent. I imagined many possibilities before coming back here..."
A faint smile appeared upon his lips. His smile slowly disappeared.
"...but after witnessing your abilities firsthand, I have reached only one conclusion. You are far too dangerous to be allowed to leave this parish alive."
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