The slash was cataclysmic.
A force so immense, it split the very air as it struck.
When the arc of Nihil's Cradle carved through the Duke, it didn't stop at flesh.
It tore through stone.
Through sky.
Through the world.
The shockwave detonated outward like a divine hammer—obliterating what was left of the estate.
Nearby houses collapsed in an instant.
Windows shattered across the Duchy.
No one saw the final blow clearly.
Because Kael wasn't watching.
He was busy surviving.
His skull felt like it was on fire—melting from the inside.
Venom had wrapped itself around him once again, forming a cocoon of twitching black tendrils.
It took the brunt of the blast, shielding Kael as they were hurled across the battlefield.
The General collapsed as well—strength gone, blood spilling, body wrecked.
But just before unconsciousness took him, he saw it:
The Duke.
Split cleanly down the middle.
Dead.
A faint, broken smile crept across the General's face.
And then—darkness.
