Chapter 69: The Look in His Eyes.

His eyes moved between Jagger and the dead Bloodclaw again.

“I saw it,” he whispered. “You killed him. He was on the ground… unarmed… scared… and you killed him. In cold blood.”

’It is useless,’ Ophilia whispered coldly. ’Kill him.’

“Kid, please,” Jagger said quietly. “You don’t understand.”

“No,” Hikaru said, shaking his head as rain flew from his hair. “No. I think I understand perfectly.”

His voice began rising.

“You’re one of them. One of the ones who wants to keep fighting each other. You’re going to ruin everything.”

“Shhh!” Jagger hissed urgently. “You’ll attract others.”

“Good!” Hikaru shouted.

“Everyone should see what you are! Everyone should know!”

Before Hikaru could yell again, a deep grinding noise echoed from the ruined entrance of Paragon Mall.

The dust shifted.

Something massive stirred beneath the rubble.

“HEL—”

Jagger lunged.

The dagger struck Hikaru’s sword with a sharp metallic clang that cut off the boy’s desperate cry. The force knocked the blade spinning across the wet pavement.

Hikaru stumbled backward but didn’t fall.

Instead, he scrambled desperately toward the fallen weapon.

Jagger was faster.

He tackled Hikaru to the ground, clamping a hand tightly over the boy’s mouth while pressing the dagger against his throat.

“Stop it!” Jagger whispered harshly. “You’ll get us both killed!”

But Hikaru struggled violently beneath him.

And then the Troll King roared.

It wasn’t the furious bellow from earlier.

This sound was lower. Heavier. The sound of something immense dragging itself back into the world.

A colossal hand gripped the edge of the shattered crater.

Stone groaned.

Steel cables snapped.

The Troll King began pulling itself upward.

It rose slowly, like a mountain forcing itself out of the earth. Its single arm bulged with monstrous strength as it hauled its massive torso free from the rubble. Sparks cascaded downward where its claws scraped through buried power conduits.

The wound in its chest poured dark blood into the rain.

And its single yellow eye swept across the battlefield.

Searching.

Hikaru struggled again.

The moment Jagger’s grip loosened even slightly, the boy twisted violently beneath him. His elbow slammed backward into Jagger’s ribs, sending a flash of pain through Jagger’s half-healed body. Jagger hissed and tightened his hold, but Hikaru fought like a cornered animal now. Panic had replaced fear. The kid’s fingers clawed at Jagger’s wrist, nails digging into skin as his boots kicked wildly against the slick pavement. His muffled cries pressed desperately against Jagger’s palm as he tried to scream.

“Stop!” Jagger whispered harshly, his voice shaking. “Stop fighting!”

But Hikaru didn’t stop. With a sudden surge of strength born from pure terror, he twisted his hips and shoved hard. Jagger’s injured arm failed him for a fraction of a second, the weakness sending a sharp pulse of pain up through his shoulder. That single moment of instability was enough. Jagger lost his balance, and the two of them tumbled sideways across the rain-slick asphalt.

Hikaru broke free first.

He scrambled backward on his hands and heels, breath ragged, eyes wide and wild. Rain poured down his face, plastering his hair to his forehead as he turned toward the fallen sword lying several feet away. The blade gleamed faintly on the pavement beneath the flickering firelight. For the first time since the struggle began, hope flashed across Hikaru’s face.

He lunged.

Jagger’s heart dropped.

“No—”

Jagger pushed himself forward despite the screaming pain in his arm. His boots slipped against the rain-slick street as he threw himself after the boy, desperation overriding the agony pulsing through his body.

Hikaru’s fingers closed around the sword’s handle.

For one heartbeat, both of them froze.

The boy looked up.

Jagger saw it clearly now.

Not hatred. Not rage.

Just fear.

Raw, terrified understanding.

“You—”

The word barely formed.

Jagger moved.

The dagger struck before the boy could raise the blade. It slid forward almost on its own, guided by instinct more than conscious thought. Steel entered flesh with sickening ease.

Deep.

Hikaru’s body jerked violently.

The sword fell from his hand with a dull metallic clatter.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Hikaru stared downward slowly as if his mind refused to process what had happened. The dagger protruded from the base of his throat, the blade buried deep beneath trembling fingers. Blood welled instantly around the wound, dark and thick against the rain as it spilled across his collar.

His eyes lifted again.

They found Jagger’s.

Shock filled them first.

Then confusion.

Then something far worse.

Betrayal.

Hikaru’s mouth opened.

He tried to speak.

Only blood came out.

A wet choking sound bubbled from his lips as his strength left him. His knees buckled, and he collapsed forward, crashing into Jagger’s chest.

The impact knocked the breath from Jagger as the boy’s body fell against him. Warm blood spilled across his shirt, soaking through the fabric and running down his chest, mixing with the rainwater that already streamed across his skin.

Jagger froze.

For a moment, he didn’t breathe. He didn’t move.

The boy’s body trembled once in his arms.

Then it went still.

Jagger’s hands began shaking.

Slowly, he shoved Hikaru’s body away from him. The corpse rolled onto the wet pavement with a heavy, lifeless thud. Blood continued spilling from the wound, pooling beneath the boy’s head before being carried away by the rain.

Jagger stared at him.

The dagger remained lodged in Hikaru’s throat.

Jagger’s vision blurred.

“Fuck…” he whispered.

His voice cracked as the word left his mouth.

“Fuck… fuck… no… no…”

His hands trembled violently now, fingers slick with blood and rain. The Bloodclaws had been enemies. Individuals deemed as enemies, hunters that attacked innocent civilians beneath their boots and butchered anyone who stood in their way.

But Hikaru…

Hikaru had been terrified.

Just a kid holding a sword, he barely knew how to use it.

Jagger had seen the fear in his eyes. He had seen the moment the boy understood what was happening. He had seen the betrayal when the blade went in.

And he had still done it.

Rain washed the blood down Jagger’s face.

He didn’t wipe it away.

’You did what had to be done.’

Ophilia’s voice echoed coldly through his thoughts.

Jagger didn’t answer.

He just stared at Hikaru’s lifeless body lying in the rain.

“No…” he whispered hoarsely.

His voice barely carried beyond his lips.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

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