“Okay, little guys, be sure to stay silent, or else I will eat you all… awwww!!” Nightfire groaned in a monstrous voice, her sharp gaze scanning the group of wide-eyed children. They clung to each other, their tiny bodies trembling at her dramatic performance.
“Nooo!!” One of the children suddenly bolted, his small legs moving as fast as they could.
Nightfire’s grin widened with amusement. “Oh-ho! Yeah, baby~ you’re the first on my menu! Hahahaha!” She took exaggerated, clumsy steps after the child, her arms outstretched like claws as she pretended to be some kind of terrifying creature.
“Noo… Please stop… No… sniff, sniff…” The child’s voice wavered, his little hands wiping at the tears streaming down his face.
Nightfire’s wicked grin only grew. “Ah? Are you scared?…” she asked, her voice dripping with malice. She parted her lips wide, revealing her sharp, dangerous fangs as if she were truly about to sink them into the child,
“You look absolutely delicious~ Hahaha—Ouch!”
A sudden impact struck the back of her head, making her flinch. Rubbing the sore spot, she turned around, her eyes landing on an elderly woman standing behind her with an annoyed expression.
“I cannot believe you’re out here scaring the children like this!” the old woman scolded, hands on her hips, her face lined with disapproval.
“MOTHER!!” The terrified child flung himself into the woman’s arms, his sobs shaking his small body. “S-She… she tried to eat me! Sniff, sniff… I was so scared…”
Nightfire, thoroughly enjoying the chaos she had caused, smirked with satisfaction. But before she could revel in it for too long—
Smack!
The woman delivered another slap to Nightfire’s head, making her wince.
“Next time you pull something like this, I swear, I will never allow you to step foot in my orphanage again,” the woman huffed, wrapping her arms protectively around the other children as she led them away.
Nightfire clicked her tongue in annoyance, watching them go. ‘Tch. I was just playing with them… it’s been years since I got to mess around like this.’
Nightfire only shrugged. It had been so long since she had been able to touch others, to play freely without restraint.
Now that she finally had her freedom, how could she possibly just sit still and do nothing?
Of course, she had to make the most of it…. Making the children suffer for what they did to innocent Ashara and making sure to work their bones to treat her like a queen!
A devious smile crept onto her lips, her mind already swirling with ideas of how to torment these innocent little souls.
“!!!”
“Mommy!!”
The children huddled together in fear, their beloved big sister now looking like a demon from their worst nightmares.
Ashara groaned internally, already dreading what was to come. ‘Great. Now they’ll never play with me again!’ she whined.
But Nightfire paid her no mind.
Thud!
She suddenly tensed, her senses picking up a subtle vibration beneath her feet.
Thud!
Clang… Clang…
The cantilever beams above them rattled, the ceiling trembling as if something massive was happening.
THUD!!
“KYAAA!!”
“MOOTHHERRR!!”
“NOOOO!!”
The children’s terrified screams filled the room as the entire orphanage shook violently, as though the earth itself had come alive beneath them.
“Everyone, get under the table!” Nightfire commanded. The old woman wasted no time ushering the children to safety, guiding them beneath the wooden structure as they huddled together in fear.
Nightfire turned her gaze toward the window, her sharp eyes scanning the outside world—only to freeze at what she saw.
It wasn’t just the orphanage shaking. The entire city was trembling. No… the entire Empire was quaking under an unseen force.
Her breath hitched when she caught sight of the horizon. In the far distance, a massive cloud of dust and debris spiralled into the sky, chunks of rock soaring through the air. And at the centre of it all… something was radiating power, something overwhelming, something dangerous.
She swallowed hard, her pulse quickening. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck…!’ her mind screamed. Without wasting another second, she hurried back under the table, settling beside the old woman.
“W-What is it?” the woman asked, her voice laced with fear.
Nightfire forced a shaky smile. “Well, I’d say… suck a dick when it’s big… but I am definitely not into that category.”
“….”
A deep silence followed. Every single person under the table turned to look at her with disturbed expressions.
Ashara nearly choked in Nightfire’s mind, her voice shrill with embarrassment, ‘SHE MEANT WHEN A PROBLEM IS TOO BIG, SHE CAN’T HANDLE IT!! ARRRGHH!! YOU FUCKING IDIOT! Now they all think we’re disgusting!!’ she screeched.
Meanwhile, in the far distance, near the Void’s Cradle…
“That’s all you got? I am disappointed.” Dora’s voice was eerily calm as she stood tall, her blank expression locked onto the man before her.
Master gritted his teeth, his body shuddering as wounds rapidly sealed themselves.
The fight had been going well—at least, he had thought so. It felt like he had the upper hand for a while. But then, out of nowhere, she changed. Her movements, her attacks… they had become completely different. Unpredictable. Unfamiliar.
It was as if she had learned something entirely new right in the middle of their battle.
And that, more than anything, terrified him.
Master gritted his teeth, his mind racing. ‘Looks like I need to change my approach,’ he thought before letting out a sly smirk. His eyes gleamed with amusement as he opened his mouth to speak.
“For someone who just—”
BOOM!!
Before he could even finish his sentence, Dora’s fist connected with his face, the sheer force obliterating his skull in an instant. The shockwave from her punch blasted through the ground beneath them, reducing everything in its wake to dust and rubble.
“I am not here to listen to your games, Snape,” Dora muttered coldly, her sharp eyes locked onto his decapitated body. She knew it would regenerate. It always did.
And the moment his head started to form again—
WHAM!!
She grabbed him by the leg and slammed him down with such brutal force that his barely reformed skull shattered against the cracked earth once more.
CRUNCH!
Master twisted his leg in her grip, using the momentum to swing himself up. In one swift movement, he kicked Dora’s head with enough force to break a normal person’s neck. The impact sent a powerful ripple through the air, allowing him to break free from her grasp.
Landing smoothly a few meters away, his head fully regenerated yet again, he straightened himself, rolling his shoulders with a smirk. “Not bad… You’re really showing what you’re capable of,” he mused, eyes gleaming with amusement. “And yet… for all your strength, you still can’t kill me, can you?” He gestured around them, his grin widening. “Look at your surroundings. Everything is destroyed… except me.”
Dora remained silent, her expression unreadable…. But Master knew.
He could see it in her stance, in the way her fists clenched ever so slightly.
She wanted to end this fight quickly. The sooner she finished him, the sooner she could help Victor, the sooner she could protect the Empire.
And yet—
“You cannot destroy me,” he said, his voice thick with arrogance, “I am… inevitable.”
Dora’s lips curled into a smirk. “Well, we’ll just see about that.”
In the blink of an eye, she closed the distance between them.
BOOM!!
Her fist crashed into his torso, shattering his ribs and tearing his body apart.
BOOM!!
She didn’t stop. Every time his body began to regenerate, she struck again—relentlessly, mercilessly, pounding him into dust before he could fully reform.
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
The very foundations of the Empire trembled under the sheer magnitude of her attacks, the shockwaves spreading like wildfire. The ground beneath them cracked and splintered, splitting open as if the land itself was unable to withstand the battle.
CRACK—!!
The Empire’s ground cracked!!
And then—
“STOP IT, YOU BITCH!!!”
A furious voice rang through the destruction.
Mary appeared out of nowhere, her foot already swinging toward Dora with full force.
THWACK!
But—
“…?”
Dora barely even flinched.
Mary’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh… shit—”
Before she could react, Dora’s hand shot out, gripping her head.
SLAM!!
“MMFFFF!!” Mary’s face was driven straight into the ground with such force that her entire body jolted. Her muffled scream vibrated through the shattered earth, her legs twitching as she remained stuck in the rubble.
“Hmph.” Dora barely spared her another glance.
“Hahaha—” Master’s laughter echoed through the chaos.
BOOM!!
Another punch. His body exploded into a mist of flesh and blood.
Yet, within seconds, he regenerated once more, his laugh growing more manic. “She’s lost it!!—”
BOOM!!
Smashed again.
“Haha—”
BOOM!!
“You think you can—”
BOOM!!
“Save him?”
BOOM!!
“No!! You won’t!!”
BOOM!!
“Unless you become like—”
BOOM!!
“Me!”
BOOOOMMMMM!!!!
Dora finally stopped, panting heavily. Her shoulders rose and fell as she stared down at Master, who once again regenerated, that same smug grin plastered on his face. It was infuriating.
As she continued to punch suddenly,
‘Master, Plan?’ A voice echoed in his mind, snapping Master from whatever he playing. His face turned serious before turning sly,
“You look frustrated?”
She clenched her fists, ready to erase that arrogance once more when—
“You see…” Master raised his hand, his eyes gleaming with something sinister. “I still have tricks up my sleeve.”
A blinding white light erupted from his palm.
Dora’s eyes widened in realization. ‘Holy flames?’
She was just about to leap back when—
CHUCK!!
Pain. A sudden, sharp pain spread through her torso.
Blood splattered the ground.
She gasped, her body tensing as she felt a blade sink deep into her back.
Her breath hitched. ‘H-How…?’
Slowly, she turned her head.
A tiny hooded figure stood behind her, trembling as it gripped the sword embedded in her flesh.
Her mind reeled. She hadn’t sensed them. She hadn’t even noticed their presence.
Master’s grin widened as he watched her stagger, his eyes filled with twisted delight.
“That,” he whispered, his voice low and triumphant, “is my final lesson to you, my dear student—”
His gaze burned into her, relishing in her pain.
“Never let your emotions take control.”
His grin stretched into something monstrous.
“And now… let’s begin the real game, Dora.”
