Deviating from the original plot

Chapter ninety-four

Hesitation flickered across his expression.

"I didn't actually expect it to turn out this way," he muttered.

A tremor ripped through the floor, cracks spiderwebbing around them. The monster's aura surged, warping the air, pulling at the remnants of light like a vacuum.

Victoria dragged in a steadying breath, fury and disbelief tangling in her chest.

"You helped him. You set all of this in motion."

Damien's jaw flexed. "And now I'm going to help stop it."

"How?" she demanded.

A coil of shadow snapped to life behind him-rising, twisting-and then, in a blink, her sword materialised in his grip, pulled straight from the darkness.

"That's my sword!" Victoria sputtered.

"I know." His voice softened-just barely. "And I am...sorry for what I've done."

Before she could answer, he vanished in a burst of shadow.

"Damien!" Victoria shouted.

He was already upon the monster, shadow trailing him like a comet's tail. With a single, vicious arc, he drove her blade across its massive torso. The slash sparked a spray of blackened energy; a chunk of the beast's form tore away, dissolving into smoke.

The monster reeled, then its voice thundered-deep, furious, ancient.

"YOU."

The chamber vibrated with the word.

Its burning eyes fixed on Damien.

"You dare betray me...after I granted you power?"

Damien landed lightly, boots skidding across cracked stone. He didn't flinch.

The beast roared, shadows whipping violently outward as the red glow intensified, the ceremony still feeding it power.

"You will regret this!" The emperor's twisted voice thundered.

A pulse of black energy rippled outward-violent, uncontrolled.

Damien choked on a cry and collapsed instantly, clutching his chest as if something inside him were tearing apart.

"Damien!" Victoria sprinted to his side, dropping to her knees.

His body spasmed, shadows flickering violently beneath his skin like something trying to burst free. The monster's laughter rolled through the chamber-harsh, triumphant.

"He is bound to me," the creature hissed, its voice echoing with layered malice. "His betrayal only hastens his end."

Damien's eyes fluttered open, clouded with agony yet anchored by sheer will. "Victoria..." His voice was thin and strained. "Listen to me."

She leaned closer, gripping his shoulder. "Damien-"

"I can buy you time," he forced out, teeth clenched as another wave of pain tore through him. "I'll hold him down... long enough for you to strike. Go for the orb-the red one on his chest. Destroy it..."

He gasped again. Pain flooding his senses.

"...and you end this."

Before she could respond, Damien planted his palm on the ground and pushed himself upright with a guttural cry. Shadows rippled violently along his arms, wrapping him like bruised armour as he staggered to his feet.

The monster roared in fury, tendrils jerking taut as Damien strained against them.

Victoria's breath hitched at the sight. Damien was using the tether itself against the creature, dragging its power back through the connection.

"That won't save you," the monster snarled, its voice vibrating through the chamber. "Your resistance means nothing. I will drain every last fragment of your life. In moments, you'll be nothing but dust."

Damien's body trembled violently as the shadow-tether tightened, syphoning the life out of him. His skin had already begun to pale, edges of his form flickering like he was being pulled apart.

Victoria's heart lurched. "Damien, stop! You'll kill yourself! "

He clenched his jaw, forcing a ragged breath through the agony. "I can't stop-just go! Do it already!"

Another brutal yank from the beast made him choke on his own breath. His fingers dug into the ground as he fought to stay upright, shadows shredding across his body like a storm tearing him apart.

Victoria hesitated-just a fraction of a second-her grip tightening on her sword.

Damien met her gaze, eyes wide, terrified, but resolute.

"Victoria... please," he whispered.

The monster's chest flared, the red orb pulsing violently, nearing its peak.

There was no more time.

Victoria drew a sharp breath, forced her trembling legs to steady, and sprinted forward-using the writhing dark tendrils as footholds, bounding upward toward the pulsing red core.

The monster finally realised her intent. Its head snapped toward her, jaws splitting open as it gathered a swirling mass of dark-red energy.

A beam fired.

Victoria threw herself sideways, feeling the heat graze past her cheek. She twisted midair, using the momentum to drive her blade downward. The sword cut through the corrupted shadows and plunged straight into the blazing orb.

The moment steel met the core, the world exploded.

A violent shockwave ripped across the chamber, white-hot and deafening, hurling her backward. The creature's roar-raw, ancient, and filled with fury-shook the very foundations of the castle as its colossal form fractured into ribbons of black energy.

Victoria hit the ground hard. Her vision spun, ears ringing, her limbs refusing to move. The last thing she heard was the monster's scream-long and agonised-before everything went dark.