Firestone was utterly stunned. He couldn’t find the words to describe his shock. Eight Enforcers were dead. Four Grand Lords had fallen. The once-mighty Nightshade was now an empty shell, vulnerable and ripe for destruction.
And then there was this man…
What kind of being was this? How had he broken free from the cage?
As Firestone stood dazed, his vision blurred by disbelief, Kayden’s piercing gaze locked onto him.
“Now, it’s your turn,” Kayden said, a faint smile curling his lips. He looked like the grim reaper himself, a harbinger of death.
Indeed, in this moment, Kayden was death incarnate. He had slaughtered so many, single-handedly annihilating an entire sect. If that wasn’t death itself, what was?
Firestone was a man of iron will, but witnessing the deaths of the Grand Lords and the destruction of the cage sent a chill through his heart. It was the cold realization of impending doom.
His eyes darted toward Wood Faulkner, who lay unconscious beside him. Desperation took hold. Without a second thought, he raised his long spear and pointed it at her throat. Grabbing her limp body, he pulled her in front of him as a shield.
“Before I die, I’ll kill this woman first!” Firestone bellowed. “She brought you here to slaughter us, the Nightshade. So, I’ll take her life!”
With that, he thrust the spear toward her throat. The weapon was razor-sharp, capable of slicing through iron like butter. A simple push was all it would take to end her life.
“Are you trying to threaten me?” Kayden’s voice grew colder, his tone laced with disdain.
“Call it what you want,” Firestone sneered. “It will only take me a second to kill her. Do you think you can be faster than me?”
The words had barely left his mouth when Firestone suddenly cried out in pain. A gush of blood erupted from his lips.
His strength was draining rapidly, the spear in his hands suddenly feeling impossibly heavy. He tried to raise it but found himself powerless. Regret flashed through his mind-why hadn’t he chosen a lighter weapon?
The spear fell to the ground with a clang, and Firestone collapsed to his knees, his body limp and lifeless.
He hadn’t even seen Kayden move. Yet, a blade had pierced his heart.
Turning his head, he saw her-a woman in a red dress, standing behind him with cold, unfeeling eyes.
“Mags…” Firestone muttered, his voice trembling.
She stared at him, her gaze icy. “Master Firestone, don’t blame me. I did this to survive.”
With a swift motion, she pulled the blade from his chest. Firestone gasped in agony, blood spilling from his lips as he crumpled to the ground. He looked up at her in disbelief, his voice barely audible. “You… you…”
Mags paid him no mind. She knelt on one knee, bowing before Kayden, her body trembling with fear and reverence.
“Mags greets the Master Commander,” she said, her tone deferential. “I have long admired your reputation and am willing to serve you with unwavering loyalty.”
“You… Mags, how dare you!” Firestone spat, his voice shaking with fury. To him, this was the ultimate humiliation.
A man like Firestone had always seen himself as a hero. In his mind, he should have died in an epic battle against Kayden, not at the hands of his subordinate.
To be betrayed and killed by someone he had trained himself-it was a disgrace beyond measure. His teeth clenched, eyes bloodshot with rage.
Mags, unfazed, spoke word by word: “The worthy bird chooses its tree, Master Firestone. The Nightshade is finished. I’ve warned you all before not to be so arrogant, but you brought this upon yourselves. You have no one to blame but yourself.”
Firestone’s heart seized with fury, and his body slumped to the ground, lifeless.
He could never have imagined that the very person he had nurtured would kill him to save herself.
“Master Commander! Please, give me a chance to prove myself!” Mags pleaded earnestly. “I am willing to serve as your infiltrator. I know a thing or two about Hellblazer that might be useful.”
Kayden didn’t respond immediately. He took slow, deliberate steps toward her, his expression unreadable.
“Why should I trust you?” he asked coldly.
Before Mags could reply, Lucy rushed forward. “Dr. Scott, you can’t trust her! This woman is as treacherous as they come. She killed Firestone; she’ll betray you the moment she gets the chance!”
Mags quickly raised her head. “Lucy, you must be mistaken about me! Before I knew Master Commander’s true nature, I might have considered such things. But now that I’ve learned of his deeds, I wouldn’t dare. Not even with a hundred lives!”
“Master Commander, please believe me!” she implored. “I swear my allegiance to you from this day forward.”
Lucy opened her mouth to argue further, but Kayden raised a hand, silencing her.
“Very well,” he said. “I’ll give you a chance. Tell me, what do you know about Hellblazer?”
Mags nodded quickly, her voice steady as she began. “Hellblazer… I don’t know much. All I know is that about fifteen years ago, they approached the Nightshade. The one who came to us was a woman dressed in black, always with her back turned to everyone.
“I don’t know what she said to our leader, but from that moment, we began working for Hellblazer. Their power is immense. Compared to them, the Nightshade is insignificant.”
She paused, then added, “Our leader used to say that Hellblazer is the Protector Army of Seclela. They’ve existed for over a thousand years. Every time our nation faced a major crisis, they were the ones who stopped the disaster. Serving them was an honor for the Nightshade-or so our leader believed.”
Kayden’s expression darkened. “The Protector Army… What a noble-sounding name.”
“Do you know they killed my subordinate, Flood?” he asked pointedly.
Mags shook her head. “I didn’t know. All I knew was that we were ordered to capture this woman.” She gestured toward Wood Faulkner. “Their intention was clear-they wanted you to come and destroy the Nightshade.”
Her words struck a nerve. Kayden fell into a deep, contemplative silence.
Seeing this, Mags pressed on. “Even the Five Ghosts were sent out as part of their plan! They wanted to provoke you into killing them, which you did. Then, they had me kidnap your subordinate, pushing you to wipe out the Nightshade. Or perhaps they hoped the Nightshade would kill you instead.”
Her words were a revelation, shaking even Kayden to his core.