The Play-Toy Of Three Lycan Kings-Chapter 434: Last Mission IV

SAGE

The hall did not fall silent after the memory play. Not this time. The people were far too restless for silence—too angry, too shaken, too awake.

Voices erupted everywhere at once, crashing into each other like storm waves against jagged rocks. The air thickened with outrage, disbelief, and the electric crackle of betrayed trust finally snapping.

"She lied to us!"

"Monster!"

"All this time, she has been the rot in the community!"

"We trusted her!"

"Is this what she has been doing in the shadows?"

"The blood—gods, the blood..."

My gaze moved slowly across the crowd, taking in the way their fury rolled and built. This was a people on the brink. They won’t be manipulated again.

The Queen tried to quell the noise. "Silence!" she thundered.

Magic rode her voice again, but it did not land the same way this time. The authority that once made backs straighten and mouths shut now met resistance... friction... disbelief.

Her eyes flashed toward me.

"What this girl has shown you is fake!" she shouted sharply. "Fabricated illusion! This is the first time I am seeing her..."

But even as the lie spilled from her lips—

Magic balls flew from the crowd. Bright. Furious. Uncoordinated—but filled with intent.

The first one struck toward her shoulder.

The Queen, mildly shocked, flicked her hand almost lazily, knocking it aside with practiced ease.

Another came. Then another. She deflected them all without much fuss.

But the damage was already done, because her composure... her perfect, untouchable composure was gone.

In its place sat something raw. Something ugly. Anger carved sharp lines into her face, deepening when one citizen shoved forward through the crowd, voice ringing bold and unafraid.

"Shut your mouth!"

The hall stilled just enough to hear him clearly.

"So this was your plan?" he continued, voice shaking with fury. "To use us to further your selfish goals?"

Murmurs of agreement surged.

"You are evil!" he shouted.

More voices joined in.

"You are the devil herself!"

"You need to be killed!"

"No wonder the Goddess had to send someone to stop you before you turned this community into a desert land!"

The words hit their mark.

I saw it clearly. The moment the tide truly turned. Because while the Queen stood rigid on the platform, the rulers of the other communities had... quietly... strategically... stepped away from her.

They moved with careful dignity, descending from the platform one after the other until they stood among their own people below.

My gaze shifted toward the elders. And there it was. They, too, had abandoned the Queen and her children. They had joined the voices rising from the crowd.

A slow smile tugged at my lips.

Together, the people began to chant. "Death to the Queen!"

Then louder. "Death to the Queen!"

Magic began to gather in their palms again, brighter this time, more coordinated. But when the first true wave came, the Queen threw it off.

And then she screamed.

The effect was immediate.

People crumpled. Hands flew to ears as screams of pain erupted.

Even I staggered. My head split with white-hot pressure, pain drilling straight through my skull. I threw up a shield around my ears just in time, breath hitching as the worst of the sound slammed against the barrier.

Still... It hurt. Gods, it hurt. Around me, people were bleeding. Thin red lines slipped from ears. Some dropped to their knees.

My stomach twisted. I had to stop this!

But before I could channel my power, a familiar magic flared.

The quafars. They moved fast. Faster than most would notice. A wide, shimmering shield burst outward from them, expanding in a protective dome that swallowed the crowd in luminous blue light. It flowed smoothly, following the current of the people as it stretched beyond the hall, covering even those outside the borders.

Beautiful. I mused in relief.

"Lead them outside," I instructed calmly.

They moved immediately, guiding the shaken crowd toward safety while maintaining the barrier.

Good. Very good. Then I turned toward her children. They were still standing beside their mother. Still choosing her.

Disappointment spread coldly through me. "What are your plans?" I asked mildly. "Are you going to follow your mother to hell?"

Rachel’s jaw tightened and Duke looked uncertain. But Raul?

Raul ignored me completely. His eyes locked on the Queen. "Where is Hendel?" he demanded.

Ah. The thread he still clung to.

I dusted my hands lightly, as if brushing off something insignificant. "He is dead," I said casually like I was commenting on the weather.

The Queen went very still. Her children, too.

Slowly, very slowly, she turned to face me. "What?" she whispered.

Her voice sounded... almost awed. Almost disbelieving.

I tilted my head.

"Are you deaf?" I asked coolly. "Your lover is dead."

I let the words sink in. Then added softly, "I decided to grant him the end he deserved."

My gaze sharpened. "The same end you wanted for Adam."

A small pause. "Wasn’t that befitting?"

For a brief moment, I saw unfiltered rage in her eyes, sorrow, something that hardened into murderous fury, and then into nothing. Blankness.

She looked around slowly at the people, who had stopped leaving the hall, and were instead watching... At the rulers who had stepped away from her.

Then her gaze returned to me. And she smiled.

"Let us make a bet," she said smoothly.

I didn’t move.

"If you defeat me in combat," she continued, "you may have anything you want. You can even have the community without opposition from me..."

Her lips curved darker. "But if I win..." She laughed, ominous.

I didn’t need a prophet to see the future she was offering. First will be my death. Then putting her people in bondage, seeing as they knew what she was.

Which meant their only hope of living a fulfilled life was me.

I felt it then. The weight, the pressure, the eyes of the people pressing into my back, their hope settling heavy across my shoulders.

My hands slowly curled into fists. Makeh. That strange bowl of magic food she had given me... She must have foreseen this.

I lifted my chin. "I accept the duel." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

—

The contest was held in the old games field. The same one from seven years ago. The same place where I had defeated Rachel despite all her shenanigans.

How far we had all fallen since then.

Rachel still stood with her brothers. Still beside their mother. Still choosing wrong.

A burst of chagrin moved through me. It seemed... I might have to kill them all to rid the community of their cancerous existence.

But what truly unsettled me was Raul. His betrayal still sat strangely in my chest. He still looked so... harmless. So composed. So innocent. But weren’t those always the ones capable of the worst evil?

My old teacher stood once more as referee.

The two of us—Queen and challenger—took our places at the center of the field.

The bleachers were filled with people, and the air buzzed thick with anticipation. With fear. With desperate hope.

Everyone waited for the whistle, for the moment everything would change.

My pulse steadied just as my magic coiled. This was it. The reason I was born. Goddess help me.

Movement at the edge of the field caught my attention. My head turned and my brows lifted despite myself.

Adam had stepped into the arena.

He was with his brothers, and three of the Ancients.

Well, damn. They did arrive earlier than I had thought.