Shine had no control over his own body. Miruth twisted open the cap of the poison bottle and placed it in Shine's hand.
"Drink it," Miruth said, smiling.
Jhed just sat there. How could anyone be this foolish. Shine's life was about to end right in front of him, and yet Jhed still hadn't snapped back to his senses.
Shine's hand closed around the bottle on its own.
"I can't stop this. My body isn't mine anymore."
If Nain had still been there, she could have helped free him again.
He brought the bottle slowly to his lips. He fought it with everything he had — clenching his jaw, trying to keep his mouth shut. But his body acted against his will.
His mouth opened.
"Drink it. Drink it now," Miruth kept saying, smiling the whole time.
"I'm immortal. Out of everyone here, this was always going to happen to me. Being immortal only brings grief and pain. I want to go back to my mother. But right now, I have to help my friend. My eyes are on him — I can see him." Jhed said this to himself.
Jhed bit down hard on his own hand. A clear bite mark appeared on his skin.
Slowly, he rose to his feet. He pulled a sword from a fallen guard's sheath, and without a sound, moved silently toward Miruth — giving him no time to think — and drove the blade straight into his back. Miruth turned around to see what had happened.
And swung his hammer down at Jhed.
"I hate fools," Miruth said. Blood poured freely from Jhed's stomach.
Shine broke free of the spell. Rushing forward, he struck at Miruth. Miruth's entire focus had been on Jhed — he hadn't even noticed that Shine had broken free of his control. Because of that, Shine's blow landed clean, severing his head from his body. Miruth's blood splattered across Jhed's face.
Miruth had always won by reading people's minds and controlling them, and by erasing any magic thrown at him. But the moment his attention slipped, even for a second, he became easy to defeat. That single lapse was what cost him his life.
His head landed beneath Shine's feet, his body collapsing near Jhed's.
He had been an A-Class adventurer who'd allied himself with the Demon Lord.
He'd spent his whole life running from his own weakness. And in the end, that very weakness was what killed him — children, above all.
"Thank you, Jhed. You saved my life today." Shine smiled, sheathing his sword.
The room was soaked in blood once again. Blood everywhere, on every surface.
Miruth had dreamed of becoming an S-Class adventurer. That dream had driven him to kill so many — yet the gods had always overlooked him.
"Forgive me. You almost died because of me," Jhed said.
"Come on, my lord, that's exactly what I'm here for — to keep you out of danger. Today should be a day of celebration. This whole city is finally free. Whoever I just fought wasn't even close to my toughest battle." Shine said.
"Alright. We've freed them now, so we should get going," Jhed said. He didn't want to stay here any longer.
"We helped them — we deserve some kind of reward for it. Let's at least take that with us before we go."
Just then, light began to break through the swirling black clouds above. Everyone looked up at the sky. The dark clouds kept turning in slow circles, and the light was pouring out from somewhere behind them.