CHAPTER 298: CHAPTER 297 - THE FIGHT (HUMILIATION) ENDS.

Dust coiled in the courtyard, drifting around the massive serpent as cracks rippled through the stone.

Zephyr’s coils writhed, violet fire flashing across his body as his fangs split open in rage.

"Don’t think this will end me!" His thunderous voice rattled the air. "I’m not like the others—I heal faster than you can cut me! You can’t kill me, Raven. No one can!"

The next second, he proved what he meant by that.

His battered scales shimmered, the deep fractures along his serpent body knitting back together.

His bones snapped into place, muscles twisting, and purple fire sealed the wounds until it was as though nothing had touched him at all.

His strength surged back in waves, crushing the courtyard stone beneath his tightening coils.

The ground shook as he drew himself up to strike. "I’ll bury you beneath—"

Snap.

Raven didn’t move. He didn’t have to. A flick of unseen power yanked the serpent’s head sideways, slamming it into the stone with a crack that echoed like thunder.

The courtyard gasped.

Zephyr snarled, thrashing violently, flames licking at the air as he tried to pull free. "You—!"

Wham!

His body flipped sideways, a colossal coil smacking into a ruined pillar.

He tried to rise again.

Wham!

The opposite direction.

The serpent’s colossal form crashed into the dirt again and again, tossed left and right like a ragdoll in the invisible grip of Raven’s soul power.

"Is... Is Raven ragdolling the guy?" Rufus whispered, his voice muffled behind his nano-helmet.

"Correction," Omni chuckled from Raven’s tattoo, "he’s speedrunning the world’s angriest snake simulator."

Siris leaned forward, eyes practically glowing. "Ohhh, this is amazing! Break him again! No, slam him harder! HARDER!"

She bounced on her toes, daggers clinking like chimes. "I should take notes—this is way bloodier than stabbing."

Clara pinched the bridge of her nose but couldn’t hide her faint smile. "This isn’t even a fight anymore. It’s a lesson."

Lia, who was levitating some undead with her tree roots, glanced at the scene and muttered, "He could kill Zephyr in one move, and he probably would’ve done it, but that guy had to say those words."

"For real," Siris laughed. "He called Raven a motherless bastard. He signed his death certificate right there. The only problem was that the death certificate came after a shit ton of humiliation."

Everyone’s eyes flicked to Rufus, who was still covering his cheeks, trying to make himself small. "Y-Yeah... I, uh... I definitely feel that one coming back to bite him..."

Rufus knew the guy’s pain, as he had seen what happened to those who said those words to Raven.

Heck, he was one of them, and he had to live for eight years in Cradle, wishing for days to pass without him having to see Raven.

Smash!

Zephyr’s serpent form slammed face-first into the courtyard wall, cracks spiderwebbing out around his skull. His flames flared as he tried to spit a torrent of violet fire—

—But his jaw was yanked shut mid-breath, like an iron clamp had seized his mouth.

The fire backfired, scorching the inside of his own throat.

He gagged, thrashing violently.

"Ohhh-ho-ho!" Omni cackled. "My man just UNO-reversed his spit move. That’s humiliation-level ninety-nine right there."

The squirrels roared in unison, their tiny war cries filling the air like mocking applause. Chatterfang himself squeaked something sharp, raising his claw like a general saluting Raven’s cruelty.

Zephyr’s flames reignited, his scales already knitting together from the damage. "YOU THINK—"

SLAM.

His head cracked against the ground, sparks scattering.

"I’M—"

WHAM.

His coils wrapped around himself as Raven flung him like a whip into the broken fountain.

"WEAK—"

BANG.

His body folded awkwardly, tail flopping on the shattered tiles.

Each word was beaten out of him before he could finish.

Cluckles flapped his wings, his red scarf fluttering with dramatic weight. "Cluckles declares... this is no battle. This is poultry seasoning sprinkled on a roast snake."

The corrupt panther, tail twitching like an overexcited child, pounced at the sight of Zephyr rolling.

As if yelling, "PLAY!? PLAY!?" It landed square on his coils, claws batting his scales like a toy.

Zephyr writhed in humiliation, trying to shake it off—only to get smashed back down by Raven’s unseen force.

"STOP MOCKING ME!" the serpent thundered, voice cracking in fury. "I AM YOUR—"

"Nothing."

Raven’s voice cut like a blade, golden eyes unflinching as he stepped forward. His soul power dragged the serpent down, forcing his massive head into the dirt until cracks spread beneath him.

"You’re nothing to me, Zephyr. Not a brother. Not a rival. Not even an enemy worth remembering." Raven’s smirk widened, merciless. "You’re just a snake. And I don’t think I have to remind you of the first title I received, as it was also thanks to you."

Yes, Zephyr was the one who had sent the soul snake into his cradle on the night of his birth.

Of course, he had the help of his mother, as he was but a child back then, but the plan was his.

Raven, however, had eaten that snake raw, and now, when Zephyr stood before him in the form of a snake, Raven couldn’t help but find it ironic.

Whoosh!

The golden chains of invisible power coiled tighter, pinning Zephyr’s body in a mockery of his own coils.

No matter how much he healed, no matter how violently he thrashed, Raven’s grip crushed his pride harder than his flesh.

Clara exhaled softly, watching the serpent’s futile resistance. "He’s not just beating him, he’s unmaking him."

Siris twirled her dagger with a grin as sharp as steel. "Good. Let him know what happens when you touch what’s ours."

Jessy crossed her arms, steel floating around her like orbiting moons. "I’m not even gonna lie. This is... kinda fun to watch."

Alex pointed, wide-eyed, his symbiote bubbling out of his arm. "BRO—BRO HE’S WRESTLING A SNAKE WITH HIS BRAIN. BLARGH, TELL ME YOU SEE THIS."

"I see it, man," the symbiote gurgled, drooling magma. "And I must say, I am impressed."

Jake remained silent, though his shadows curled at his feet, betraying the quiet satisfaction in his eyes.

The courtyard, once alive with chaos, was now a stage where humiliation reigned. Raven stood center, golden eyes cold, his unseen chains holding the serpent down like divine judgment.

For all his healing.

For all his stolen strength.

For all his rage.

Zephyr could do nothing but squirm.

...............................

A while later.

Zephyr’s body jerked once, then twice, his violet flames sputtering out like a dying torch.

The serpent form unraveled, his coils shrinking, bones snapping back into their human configuration.

With a dull thud, he hit the center of the crater he had made with his own struggles.

His skin was cracked, blood trickling down his jaw, and his eyes were unfocused.

For the first time in years, his body refused him—the wounds stayed. No fire knit them back together. No power answered his call. His mana was spent, his pride pulverized.

Around him, the courtyard had transformed into a theater of humiliation.

The undead army he had raised with so much effort? Pinned.

All of them were bound in place by squirrels.

Some of them were bound by ropes in a way that was too shameful to describe but also made one wonder how the squirrels knew of that technique.

One unfortunate ghoul was dangling upside down by three squirrels who held a sign in front of it that read: "Pathetic Minion."

Tinny and Binny squeaked furiously at their prisoners, pacing like prison guards drunk with power.

Meanwhile, Raven’s group had made quick work of Zephyr’s siblings and attendants.

Jessy’s steel had formed shimmering cages, Siris’s daggers pinned wrists to walls, and Alex’s symbiote was currently sitting on one poor soul’s head like a wobbly crown, hissing for dramatic effect.

"Didn’t even break a sweat," Clara murmured, brushing imaginary dust from her shoulder.

"Speak for yourself," Rufus muttered, still trying to peel a squirrel off his helmet.

Silence settled again. All eyes drifted back to Raven.

He hadn’t moved from his place in the crater. Golden chains still shimmered faintly at his fingertips, their glow fading as Zephyr finally stopped resisting.

Raven’s gaze lingered on his brother’s broken form, unreadable—neither satisfaction nor mercy in his expression, only finality.

At last, he lifted his head.

His golden eyes fixed on the rooftop of the Cradle. His voice, calm but carrying like thunder, cut through the night.

"Is this much enough to prove my point?"

The courtyard froze.

For a second, there was nothing—no movement, no sound, just the echo of his words hanging heavy in the air.

Then—

A shadow stirred.

One figure appeared on the edge of the rooftop.

Then another.

Then more.

Dozens. Scores.

The silhouettes of robed elders emerged like ghosts from the stone, filling the rooftops, balconies, and walls of the Cradle.

The last remnants of the great council. The loyalists who still clung to the old ways.

They had been watching all along.

The air thickened with tension as their gazes dropped to the courtyard—the crater, the broken serpent, the squirrel-occupied undead, and the captured siblings.

At their head, stepping forward with measured grace, was a man every soul recognized instantly.

Jet-black hair. Piercing red eyes. Strict, unyielding features carved like stone. His presence was cold, commanding, and suffocating.

He was Argon Von Vaise, Patriarch of the Vaise family and Raven’s father.

The courtyard seemed to shrink around him.

Even Raven’s captured siblings widened their eyes, some struggling against their bonds instinctively.

"P-Patriarch..." One whispered, disbelief and fear tangled in their voice.

Zephyr’s lips parted, trembling, as his gaze locked onto the figure. His face drained of color.

Realization crashed down on him like a tidal wave—the people he had schemed for, searched for, and desperately sought to reclaim... they had been here all along.

Close enough to touch. Watching him lose and watching him break.

He looked into Argon’s eyes, expecting to see something, but all he saw was coldness.

The squirrel sitting on his chest squeaked mockingly, gnawing his sleeve as if to drive the irony deeper.

Siris clapped slowly, a manic grin splitting her face. "Oho, they finally showed themselves. All that roaring, all that drama, just for Daddy to show up at the curtain call."

Clara sighed but couldn’t hide the faint curve of her lips. "The irony is almost too perfect."

Omni hummed. "Almost? Nah, sweetheart, this is cosmic comedy. The curtain closes, and the main audience finally stands up. Chef’s kiss."

The courtyard, filled now with hundreds of watching eyes, had turned into a stage where Zephyr’s humiliation was complete.

Now, no matter how he wanted to scream, to deny, to fight—he could only lie battered in the crater, powerless, as his father’s gaze bore down upon him.