Exelia received the body without resistance the moment Kael transferred it, immediately adjusting how she held it, supporting the Queen firmly enough to prevent any sudden movement, but without applying unnecessary pressure. Her eyes remained fixed ahead, on the army occupying the hall, while Kael took a few steps forward, now free, positioning himself as the only point of contact between them and that organized mass of vampires. The difference in his posture was subtle at first glance, but undeniable to anyone paying attention: it was no longer just control or calculation, there was accumulated tension, an irritation that didn’t stem from loss of control, but from the unnecessary repetition of a problem that, for him, should already be solved.

He observed the entire hall once more, not to understand the situation, because that was already clear, but to confirm something that had been forming since they had left the dungeon. The number was large, the formation was disciplined, and the intention was evident. They weren’t there to negotiate, nor to test. They were there to prevent, or at least try to. And that, in itself, was enough to exceed Kael’s tolerance limit.

He slowly exhaled through his nose, running a hand over his face for a brief moment, like someone trying to maintain a stable train of thought before deciding how to act. When he finally spoke, his voice didn’t immediately come out loud, but carried a different weight, a contained tension that made each word heavier than it should be.

"Are you sure about this?" he said, loud enough to echo throughout the hall, without needing to force the projection. His eyes were fixed on the front line, but not on a specific individual, rather on the group, as if he were speaking to everyone at once. "Are you really sure this is worth it?"

He took another step forward, now with a firmer gaze, his voice gaining more intensity not from volume, but from clarity.

"Because, as far as I understand, you and your king invaded an empire, massacred orphaned children..." he paused briefly, not to dramatize, but because the sentence itself demanded a minimum of separation, "...and yet you betrayed your own Queen."

At that moment, he slightly raised his hand and pointed behind him, towards Exelia, who remained motionless, holding the body.

"To the point where she is like this."

There was no need for further detail. The image spoke for itself.

The effect was immediate, but not uniform.

Some of the vampires closest to the front line reacted first, not with attack, nor with advance, but with visible hesitation. Their eyes drifted for an instant towards the Queen’s body, and that was enough to break something that until then seemed solid. Doubt didn’t spread explosively, but it quickly seeped into those who still lacked absolute conviction.

And then it happened.

One of them retreated. It wasn’t a dramatic movement, nor a desperate escape. He simply took a step back, like someone who realizes they’re on the wrong side of a situation they can’t control. Another did the same. And then another.

In a few seconds, the pattern repeated itself.

Some began to move away, first slowly, then more decisively, turning and leaving the hall without trying to hide the act. There was no coordination among them, no order to retreat. It was an individual choice.

They had seen.

And they understood.

Exelia observed this attentively, without moving a muscle, registering exactly who stayed and who left.

Those who remained did not move.

Not an inch.

Their gazes did not waver, their postures did not change, their weapons remained firm. There was no hesitation in them, no doubt, not even after seeing the Queen in that state. This made it clear, without room for interpretation, that this was not merely blind obedience.

It was loyalty.

But not to the Queen.

Kael noticed that too.

His eyes briefly followed those who were leaving, not with genuine interest, but as if confirming that a variable had been eliminated on its own. When he returned his attention to those who remained, his gaze no longer held any trace of patience.

He let out another sigh.

Heavier this time.

"Great," he murmured, almost to himself, but still audible enough to echo in the settling silence. "Now it’s simpler."

He raised his hand.

And tapped once.

The dry sound echoed through the hall with absurd clarity, as if amplified not by volume, but by the surrounding space itself. There was no delay between the gesture and the response.

The sky responded.

Not the ordinary visible sky, but the space above the hall, beyond the structure, as if reality had been opened to allow something greater to manifest. Points of light began to appear, first a few, then dozens, then hundreds, multiplying at a speed that surpassed any natural progression.

Magic circles.

Each perfectly formed, each with unique patterns, aligned with absurd precision. They did not appear as unstable projections, nor as raw energy being forced into existence. They simply appeared, occupying specific positions, forming a network impossible to ignore.

And they kept appearing.

Thousands.

Millions.

Billions.

The entire sky above the hall was filled with that structure, an infinite mesh of overlapping circles of light that didn’t collide, each carrying a specific function, each connected to a larger system that didn’t need explaining to be understood.

Exelia didn’t look away.

She already knew.

The remaining vampires noticed.

And, for the first time since they arrived, there was a collective reaction.

Not of attack.

But of recognition.

Kael took another step forward, now completely aligned with what was above him, as if he were the central point of it all.

"I’m going to make one thing perfectly clear," he said, his voice now completely steady, without apparent tension, but with a weight that traversed space without resistance. "I’m going to engrave this in the minds of this entire region." He paused briefly.

Not for effect.

But because he didn’t need to run.

"I am the strongest." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

There was no arrogance in the way he said it.

It was just... a statement.

The circles began to react.

Not all at once, but in sequence, like a system being activated layer by layer. The light emanating from them was neither soft nor scattered. It was concentrated, directed, carrying a clear intention that left no room for doubt.

Kael raised his hand slightly.

And then concluded, without altering his tone of voice:

"Just as they burned the witches..."

The energy above began to align.

Focusing.

Lowering.

Preparing.

"...I will burn the vampires."

And, in that instant—

It became clear.

That was not a threat.

It was execution.

Kael didn’t move immediately after the first formations of light filled the sky. He remained where he was, his breathing controlled, but now visibly heavier than before. It wasn’t exhaustion. It was restraint. Something within him had surpassed the point of cold analysis and entered a more direct, more brutal state, where decisions no longer needed refinement. He had seen enough. He had already understood the pattern. And, above all, he had already defined what it meant.

The magic circles weren’t just present. They were... aligned.

There was no disorder in the formation. Each structure occupied a specific point, each connected to the other by an invisible logic, forming a mesh that completely covered the sky above the hall and the surrounding areas. It wasn’t an attack yet. It was absolute preparation. A closed system, without apparent flaws, ready to perform a single function.

Eliminate.

The remaining vampires realized this.

Those who were still there, those who hadn’t fled upon seeing the Queen’s state, were not weak. They weren’t indecisive. They were the ones who chose to remain. And, for that reason, they were the first to react.

A wave of movement swept through the hall.

Weapons were raised, auras expanded, individual presences began to stand out within the collective. There was no verbal order. There was no audible central command. But everyone knew what needed to be done.

Advance.

The first row broke formation and charged directly at Kael, traversing the space with abnormal speed, bodies shifting in dark blurs, blades pointed, claws ready to tear.

Kael didn’t move.

He didn’t dodge.

He didn’t raise a defense.

He just... watched.

And then—

He clenched his fist.

The effect was immediate.

The magic circles above didn’t fire in sequence. They responded simultaneously.

The light fell.

Not like single lightning bolts, nor like isolated projectiles. It was a continuous, massive rain, compressed into an absurd density of impact, each beam descending with surgical precision on defined targets, without dispersion, without waste.

The first vampires didn’t even make it halfway.

Their bodies were struck directly, not pushed or destroyed in a conventional way. The light passed through. Burned. Consumed. Where there was matter, it left absence. Where there was structure, it left complete rupture.

There were no explosions.

There were no prolonged screams.

It was instantaneous.

The bodies simply... ceased to exist.

The next line tried to advance over the remains that were no longer there.

And met the same fate.

Kael kept his hand clenched for a few seconds, observing the pattern of reaction, assessing how the rest of the army would reorganize in the face of an attack of this magnitude. There was no surprise in his gaze. Only confirmation.

They continued advancing.

Even seeing.

Even understanding.

Even knowing.

Exelia remained behind him, holding the Queen’s body firmly, without interfering, without moving beyond what was necessary to maintain a safe distance from the direct line of attack. Her eyes were fixed on the scene, not in shock, but with attention. She wasn’t analyzing who was dying. She was observing how Kael was killing.

And that said enough.

The vampires’ offensive shifted.

Realizing that a direct advance was ineffective, part of the group dispersed, attempting to flank, seeking angles where the direct incidence of light was less, trying to exploit possible gaps in the magical formation above.

There were no gaps.

The circles adjusted.

Like an organism.

The mesh of light reorganized itself in real time, redirecting the beams, covering new trajectories, anticipating movements even before they were completed. It wasn’t reaction.

It was total control of space.

One vampire managed to advance further than the others.

Faster.

Stronger.

His aura condensed to the point of distorting the surrounding air, creating a momentary resistance against the descending light. He broke through the first layer, crossed part of the field, approaching Kael dangerously.

For an instant—

It seemed possible.

Kael looked at him.

Just that.

And then he raised two fingers.

The space around the vampire... collapsed.

There was no visible impact.

But his body simply stopped in mid-air, as if he had struck a wall that didn’t exist. The light reached him the next instant.

And he disappeared.

Without a residue.

Without a mark.

Nothing.

The rest hesitated.

It was brief.

But it was real.

And that was enough.

Kael took a step forward.

The light didn’t diminish.

It increased.

The circles in the sky began to spin, not in disorder, but in synchronization, increasing the density of the beams, further compressing the descending energy. The environment began to react, not out of resistance, but out of an inability to sustain that burden.

The ground cracked.

The columns began to crumble.

The air grew heavy.

But none of that mattered.

The remaining vampires were pushed back, not by physical force, but by the impossibility of advancing through what was being imposed. Some tried to retreat. Others persisted.

None of them escaped unscathed.

Those who fled too late were struck by the edges of the field, where the light was no less lethal, only less concentrated. Their bodies were partially consumed, limbs disappearing before they could complete their escape movement.

Those who remained—

Were extinguished.

There was no prolonged struggle.

There was no exchange of blows.

There was no real resistance capable of altering the outcome.

It was a massacre.

Direct.

Quick.

Inevitable.

Kael continued advancing slowly while the light did its work. His eyes didn’t wander, didn’t follow each death individually. He didn’t need to. The system was already set. The result was simply execution.

In a few minutes—

The hall was empty again.

Not because the vampires retreated.

But because there was no one left.

The light ceased.

The circles in the sky began to disappear one by one, dissolving silently, as if they had never existed. The pressure in the environment gradually decreased, allowing the space to... function again.

Silence returned.

Different from before.

Heavier.

More definitive.

Kael stopped.

He looked around one last time, confirming the obvious. There was no relevant residual presence. No remaining threat. No movement.

Resolved.

He exhaled slowly through his nose, the tension in his body lessening, but not disappearing completely. The previous state did not return. He was still... alert.

Exelia approached a few steps.

Still holding the Queen.

She looked around, then at Kael.

"Is it over?"