Raze could feel the shift immediately. The air, which moments ago vibrated with unstable spirals of light and divine power, had fallen still. The magic that had endlessly coiled around Gizin, rotating, feeding, rebuilding, was gone. Every trace of the overwhelming force that had made him nearly untouchable had vanished.

And Raze, fueled by time magic that restored his stamina, mana, Qi, and even his injuries, stood at full strength.

Gizin, on the other hand, was finished.

There would be no miraculous comeback. No final burst of divine power.

Whatever Gizin had done to his core, whatever experiments he had forced on himself to merge divine Qi with light magic, had warped it to the point of no repair. That twisted core had been the very reason he maintained such impossible levels of energy, but Safa had stripped it nearly bare. Now, with his core hollow and fragile, he was barely more than an ordinary human with a battered shell.

Raze placed a foot forward and exhaled, steadying his emotions.

"Gizin… I've been chasing you for so long. We've crossed paths more times than I can count, but something always interrupted before we could finish things."

He kept part of his attention on Safa. She had closed her eyes, her body settling into a cultivation posture as divine Qi, regular Qi, and stolen light magic swirled violently through her system. The mixture was volatile, potent enough to tear apart an untrained user, but she guided it carefully, harmonizing it with Stoney's inherited energy. This was exactly why she needed stillness, space to stabilize the influx before it destabilized her body.

Thankfully, no more members of Gizin's clan seemed to be around. No stray fighters. No hidden threats.

Raze could afford to handle the final moments while Safa centered herself.

Gizin let out a tired laugh, his body trembling not from fear but from exhaustion.

"The Dark Magus… looks like you really are succeeding," he said with a faint smile. Even now, even on the brink, he managed to sound amused. "In a way, I'm glad it's you. Out of everyone, I didn't expect you to be the one standing over me, but I suppose it's fitting."

Raze frowned, unsettled by how calm Gizin seemed.

"What are you talking about?"

"I always thought it would be one of the other two," Gizin replied softly. "I had dreams, premonitions, even, that either of them would kill me without hesitation. It's ironic, isn't it? All of us, constantly building our power, only to end up fearing each other more than the enemies outside."

Raze exhaled sharply.

"I guess that's what you get. When you claw your way to the top through criminal paths, betrayal becomes the only language you understand. No wonder none of you trust each other."

Gizin chuckled again, a hollow sound.

"I think you're more right than you realize."

Raze's expression hardened. He stepped closer, raising his sword slightly.

"Then answer me this. Why did you do that to Sabrina? Why go so far? You didn't need to take her out. There had to be another way."

Gizin stared directly into Raze's eyes, unblinking.

"Do you think you and her are special? That there was some profound reason we chose her? Don't make this about destiny, Raze. The only reason we removed her was because she knew too much. If it had been anyone else, we would have done the same."

Raze's jaw tensed. His grip on the sword tightened.

Gizin continued without remorse.

"It was just unfortunate luck that she happened to be linked to someone who would one day become the Dark Magus. That's all. No personal grudge. No vendetta. Pure circumstance."

He paused, then added, "Besides… did you really believe the story you told yourself? That I sold illegal substances as a stepping stone to legitimate medicine?" His lips curled into a faint smirk. "You were halfway right. I rose to the top by selling illegal substances in the first place."

Raze stayed silent, letting the words soak into the cold air.

"My fortune came from Alterian's shadows," Gizin said. "Later I built a clean appearance on the surface, but while climbing, I eliminated competitors. Anyone who posed a problem… anyone who threatened the empire I built… I removed. Sabrina was simply another name on that list. Nothing more."

The bluntness struck harder than any spell.

Raze had wondered for years what truth he sought.

Did he want a reason to blame himself?

Did he want a deeper motive from Gizin, a confession of something meaningful?

Or was this exactly what he needed?

The plain answer that Gizin was, and always had been, a monster.

No twisted logic. No tragic justification.

Just a man who killed because it benefited him.

"Aren't you the same?" Gizin added suddenly, forcing Raze's gaze to snap back to him. "Didn't you kill countless people on your path to reach us? Didn't you climb over bodies to get here? Isn't your goal one built on blood and sacrifice as well?"

Raze's expression did not change, but something within him stilled.

"And to reach my position," Gizin continued, "I had to prepare for the worst. For any threat that could come my way. Including her."

Raze had heard enough.

No more explanations.

No more excuses.

No more attempts at moral equivalence.

Silently, he placed his hand on Gizin's chest and began drawing out the last remaining threads of mana and life force. Gizin groaned faintly, but there was no power left to resist. The energy he had once commanded like a storm now trickled out like the final drops of a dying flame.

Raze knew absorbing it would not elevate him to the next stage, there wasn't enough vitality left within Gizin to make such a difference, but that wasn't the point.

Ending one of the Grand Magus with his own hands was its own kind of progression.

As the life faded from Gizin's eyes, his gaze turned upward. Perhaps he saw something in the ceiling above. Perhaps he saw nothing at all.

"I was the one…" Gizin whispered, voice weak and fading, "that was going to save Alterian… the savior of it all… If all of the Grand Magus are gone… then who will save Alterian now?"

His final breath left his body, and his eyes dimmed.

The battlefield fell quiet.

Raze let go of his chest and rose slowly, not feeling triumph, only the heavy, complicated silence of a chapter finally closing.

****

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