CHAPTER 81: THE STORMBORN

The air reeked of burnt stone and scorched flesh as Hybrid Zero snarled at the new arrivals.

The soldiers cut off escape in all directions. Their boots thundered against the cobblestones as more arrived. Camelot’s high-ranking soldiers, those who were left in charge of protecting its capital city.

Their armor gleamed silver and gold, their shields etched with the sigil of the kingdom.

Spears of light and swords of enchanted steel flashed as they encircled the beast.

Hybrid Zero hissed, her dark eyes glowing as her claws flexed.

The captain at the front barked a command, and the first line surged forward. Arrows blessed with holy light whistled down.

Hybrid Zero leapt skyward with a powerful beat of her wings. Several arrows struck, piercing her legs and torso, yet her body shuddered and sealed the wounds before blood could flow.

She dove, ripping through the archer line, wings sweeping bodies aside like dolls.

Steel clashed against talon. A soldier lunged with a flaming spear, and Hybrid Zero snapped it in half with her claws, then tore out the man’s throat.

Another knight swung his greatsword down with both hands, slicing through her shoulder. She howled, whirling on him, and slammed her claws into his chest, crushing his ribcage.

The soldiers held their ground. Formation after formation locked shields and raised barriers. Firestorms, lightning bolts, and walls of earth rained down on her.

She crashed through them, though each blow made her slower, with each attack carving deeper into her already ruined flesh.

Her regeneration worked, but the soldiers were relentless. For every wound that sealed, another three were carved into her body.

Rage boiled hotter. With each roar, she lost more of herself. The last fragments of Juniper Rowe’s humanity slipped away. She was no longer a girl nor a student, only a beast.

She struck like a hurricane, lifting men into the air with her wings before slamming them into walls. Her claws shredded enchanted shields, her teeth sank into steel helms. Blood painted the stones red.

Still, the soldiers did not stop. This wasn’t anything they hadn’t seen before. After all, they had all fought in the frontlines.

The second line rotated in, fresh blades crashing against her flesh. She lunged at them, tearing through a squadron, only for lances of blessed light to pierce her back.

She staggered, shrieked, and whirled in fury, ripping the spearmen apart with wild abandon.

The clash dragged on. The soldiers adapted, learning her rhythm. Their teamwork slowed her fury. Dozens had already fallen, but dozens more filled their place.

A knight leapt from behind, chain wrapping around her throat, yanking tight. Another jammed a spear through her side.

Hybrid Zero writhed and roared, snapping the chain and slamming both men into the ground with crushing force.

But the relentless tide began to wear on her. Wounds reopened faster than her flesh could knit them. Her wings tore and hung in ribbons, unable to carry her far. Her body dripped with blood and ichor, her breaths ragged but savage. And yet, she kept fighting. Hatred alone drove the beast, a storm of claws and fury refusing to fall.

Then the air shifted.

The battlefield almost seemed to freeze as a deep hum reverberated through the city.

Dark clouds rolled across the sky, blotting out the sun. Wind howled, rattling windows, tearing banners from their posts. The soldiers glanced up with relief in their eyes. Hybrid Zero tilted her head back, snarling, sensing something far greater than herself descending.

From the roiling storm above, a figure appeared, hovering, cloaked in a hood of deep blue. Lightning forked across the sky, framing the mage’s silhouette. The soldiers whispered a name, voices trembling with awe.

"The Stormborn..."

The cloaked mage raised a hand, and thunder boomed. Lightning surged, twisting into a storm that spiraled downward.

Hybrid Zero reared back and screamed as the storm crashed upon her. Bolts of searing blue electricity tore across her flesh, burning through her regeneration, reducing her wings to charred bone. Her body convulsed, thrown into the air and slammed into the cobblestones.

Still she rose. Shaking, half her body scorched black, eyes still glowing with fury. She stumbled forward, roaring defiantly.

The Stormborn’s second hand lifted, and a torrent of wind and lightning engulfed her once more. The sky itself seemed to open and devour her.

Her regeneration flared, her flesh knitting, then unraveling, then knitting again. She fought it, screaming, stumbling closer to the hovering figure.

For a heartbeat, it looked as if she might withstand even this. But the storm did not relent. It tore deeper, ripping muscle from bone, unraveling every ounce of demonic strength she had been forced into.

Her roar broke into a final, strangled scream. Her body collapsed, trembling. Regeneration sparked one last time, then failed.

The beast that had once been Juniper Rowe fell silent.

Dead.

Smoke rose from her corpse as the storm faded, leaving the marketplace in ruins.

The Stormborn hovered silently above, lowering his hand at last. The soldiers gathered, some weeping for their dead, others staring at the blackened body with grim silence.

The nightmare was over.

[][][][][]

Othello stood at the edge of a rooftop, his long coat billowing in the evening wind.

The city below was still in chaos with the soldiers clearing rubble, and the civilians grieving.

Far in the distance, the figure of Stormborn hovered above the capital, his presence like a warning written in the sky.

Hybrid Zero had done a great job.

Othello’s lips split into a mad grin, then a soundless laugh spilled from his throat.

He bent forward, shoulders trembling with the ecstasy of it all, his silent hysteria almost more disturbing than the chaos Hybrid Zero had caused.

His head shifted imperceptibly as a shadow drew near, soft footsteps traveling through the air.

A shorter cloaked figure came to stand beside him. Othello’s laughter died instantly, choked off as if seized by invisible chains.

He straightened, then lowered his head in a bow, his expression rearranging into something disciplined, though his eyes still gleamed with obsession.

There was no voice, no words. Only silence, the presence pressing upon his mind like an invisible hand. It was enough to make his knees threaten to buckle. He swallowed, then answered the questions that were heard but not spoken.

"Yes... Juniper Rowe." He said with reverence, his voice low and fervent. "She was A-rank. Her potential matched the records. The fusion was... imperfect, but even so, she carried the strength of a lower Arch Demon." His lips curled in awe. "Imagine it. A child of nobility wielding the flesh of the Abyss itself."

The silence seemed to grow heavier.

The cloaked figure didn’t move, but Othello felt the demand for more. He nodded quickly, words spilling out like confessions to a priest.

"All that remains is... preservation. The sanity of the wielder." He licked his lips nervously. "Hybrid Zero succumbed to madness. Rage made her strong, but uncontrolled. If... when... we stabilize the mind, the fusion might surpass even the Arch Demons of the Abyss."

Another silence. Othello hesitated. He wanted to argue, to say they needed more time, more refinement before risking another public demonstration. But his tongue dried in his mouth. He dared not. He bent lower instead, trembling slightly under the figure’s authority.

"Y— Yes. I understand," he stammered, forcing his smile back into place though sweat trickled down his back. "The serum. We’ll release it. A subtle introduction into the markets, disguised as black-market tonics. The people will buy it themselves. The test subjects will be controlled by scarcity."

His expression flickered, risked a glance sideways at the cloaked figure. Still silent. Still watching. He tried to summon boldness, but it shriveled in his throat. He bowed deeper, almost groveling now.

"Lord Vine will not be pleased." Othello muttered, almost to himself. His voice shook with both dread and excitement. "He wanted secrecy until perfection... until stability... but your word is law. If the serum floods the capital...."

The silence eased. The cloaked figure turned away, its presence fading like smoke. Othello let out a shaky breath, realizing only then how tight his chest had been, how hard his heart had pounded against his ribs.

He bowed again, lower than before, his forehead nearly brushing the rooftop tiles.

"As you command." He whispered. "We will seed the city. We will create the new age you envision."

When he rose, the figure was gone. The rooftop was empty save for him and the wind.

Othello began to laugh again, quieter this time, but edged with hysteria.

His hands trembled as he looked back toward the horizon where Stormborn’s storm still lingered in the sky.

"Soon." He whispered into the night.