🌑
The air changed.
Not violently.
Not explosively.
---
But completely.
---
The moment he stepped between them—
The pressure that had been tearing the hall apart…
Shifted.
---
Not gone.
---
Controlled.
---
---
Rosy didn't move.
Her eyes were locked onto him—
Sharp.
Searching.
---
"…Say it properly," she said.
---
Her voice was calm.
But beneath it—
Tension.
---
"…Who are you?"
---
---
He smiled.
---
Not lightly.
Not playfully.
---
Like someone who had been waiting too long for this moment.
---
"…I was wondering when you'd ask that seriously."
---
---
Her father watched silently.
Not interrupting.
Not reacting.
---
Because he knew.
---
---
"…You already know my name," the man continued.
---
A step closer.
---
"…You just don't remember why it matters."
---
---
Rosy's fingers tightened.
---
"…Then remind me."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
Then—
---
"…Azrael."
---
---
The name dropped—
---
And the world reacted.
---
---
The air trembled.
The light dimmed.
---
---
Even the broken walls of the hall seemed to respond.
---
---
Rosy's breath caught.
---
Not from fear.
---
Recognition.
---
---
"…Azrael…" she repeated softly.
---
---
The name echoed inside her mind—
---
Like something buried—
---
Trying to surface.
---
---
A flash—
---
Dark wings.
---
Blood.
---
A battlefield—
---
And him—
---
Standing beside her.
---
---
Not as an enemy.
---
---
As something closer.
---
---
Her hand twitched.
---
"…No…"
---
---
He watched her carefully.
---
"…You remember that much?"
---
---
She stepped back slightly.
---
"…What are you?"
---
---
A faint smile.
---
"…Depends on who's asking."
---
---
Her eyes narrowed.
---
"…Me."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
Then—
---
"…Your executioner."
---
---
The word hit—
---
Hard.
---
---
But before she could react—
---
"…And your ally."
---
---
That—
---
Was worse.
---
---
"…Pick one," she said coldly.
---
---
He chuckled softly.
---
"…You always hated unclear answers."
---
---
A pause.
---
---
"…Fine."
---
---
His gaze sharpened.
---
---
"…I was the one sent to kill you."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
"And I didn't."
---
---
Rosy's heart skipped.
---
---
"…Why?"
---
---
He didn't answer immediately.
---
---
Instead—
---
"…Ask him."
---
---
Her gaze snapped to her father.
---
---
For the first time—
---
There was no calm in her eyes.
---
---
Only something darker.
---
---
"…You sent him?"
---
---
Her father didn't deny it.
---
---
"Yes."
---
---
No hesitation.
---
No regret.
---
---
"I did."
---
---
The hall felt colder.
---
---
"…Why?" she asked again.
---
---
This time—
---
Her voice wasn't steady.
---
---
It was dangerous.
---
---
"…Because you were out of control," he replied calmly.
---
---
A pause.
---
---
"And because you refused to listen."
---
---
Her breath slowed.
---
---
"…So you decided to kill me."
---
---
"Yes."
---
---
The honesty—
---
Was suffocating.
---
---
"…And he didn't."
---
---
Her gaze shifted back to Azrael.
---
---
"…Why?"
---
---
This time—
---
He answered.
---
---
"…Because you smiled."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
Her brows furrowed.
---
"…What?"
---
---
A faint, almost distant look crossed his face.
---
---
"…You were supposed to be unstable. Dangerous. Unpredictable."
---
---
A step closer.
---
---
"…But when I found you—"
---
---
His voice lowered.
---
---
"You weren't any of that."
---
---
A pause.
---
---
"You were calm."
---
---
Another.
---
---
"Alone."
---
---
His eyes darkened slightly.
---
---
"And smiling like none of it mattered."
---
---
Rosy's chest tightened.
---
---
"…That doesn't explain anything."
---
---
"It explains everything."
---
---
His gaze locked onto hers.
---
---
"I've seen thousands of people die."
---
---
A pause.
---
---
"I've killed more than I can count."
---
---
Another.
---
---
"But you—"
---
---
His voice softened.
---
---
"You didn't look like someone who was about to lose."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
"…You looked like someone who had already accepted it."
---
---
Her breath hitched.
---
---
"…So you didn't kill me."
---
---
"No."
---
---
A faint smile.
---
---
"I stayed."
---
---
Her eyes widened slightly.
---
---
"…Stayed?"
---
---
"Yes."
---
---
A pause.
---
---
"I watched you instead."
---
---
---
Her father finally moved.
---
A single step forward.
---
---
"…And that was your mistake."
---
---
Azrael didn't look at him.
---
---
"…No."
---
---
A faint smile.
---
---
"It was yours."
---
---
The tension snapped again.
---
---
Power surged from both sides—
---
Dark.
Heavy.
---
---
Rosy stood between them—
---
Feeling it.
---
Understanding it.
---
---
"…So that's it," she said quietly.
---
---
Her voice—
---
Clear now.
---
---
"You tried to kill me."
---
A glance at her father.
---
---
"You failed to control me."
---
A glance at Azrael.
---
---
"And you…"
---
A pause.
---
---
"You chose not to."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
"…Then where does that leave me?" she asked.
---
---
Neither of them answered immediately.
---
---
Because the answer—
---
Was obvious.
---
---
She wasn't theirs.
---
---
She never was.
---
---
Her power surged again—
---
Not wild this time.
---
---
Focused.
---
---
Controlled.
---
---
The cracks in the hall spread further—
---
But slower.
---
Deliberate.
---
---
"…It leaves me here," she said.
---
---
Her gaze lifted—
---
Sharp.
---
Unshakable.
---
---
"Not as your weapon."
---
---
Another step forward.
---
---
"Not as your experiment."
---
---
Another.
---
---
"And definitely not as something you can control."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
Her father watched her—
---
Carefully.
---
---
Azrael smiled faintly.
---
---
"…There you are," he murmured.
---
---
Rosy exhaled slowly.
---
---
"…If you wanted to kill me before—"
---
---
Her eyes glowed again.
---
---
"Try again."
---
---
The challenge hung in the air.
---
---
Dangerous.
---
---
Final.
---
---
Her father's gaze darkened slightly.
---
---
"…You think I won't?"
---
---
A faint smile touched her lips.
---
---
"I know you will."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
Then—
---
Azrael stepped forward again.
---
---
"…Before this turns into something neither of you can control—"
---
---
His voice dropped.
---
---
"…let me say one thing."
---
---
Both of them paused.
---
---
"…The seal wasn't just to stop you."
---
---
Rosy's eyes narrowed.
---
---
"…What do you mean?"
---
---
A pause.
---
---
Then—
---
"…It was to protect the world from what's coming next."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
Heavy.
---
---
"…What's coming?" she asked.
---
---
Azrael's gaze didn't waver.
---
---
"…You."
---
---
The word echoed—
---
Not as an answer.
---
---
As a warning.
---
---
And for the first time—
---
Rosy didn't deny it.
---
---
Because deep inside—
---
She felt it.
---
---
Something still waking.
---
---
Something even she didn't fully understand.
---
---
Something—
---
Far more dangerous than before.
---
---
And this time—
---
No one would be able to stop it.
---
---
End of Chapter 17