Jasmine's grip on Arthur's hand tightened as they watched her father face the impossible—betrayal wearing the face of trust itself.
"Oh? It seems like I really underestimated you...Regulus. To be able to find my energy signature, despite me hiding it so well... I must really commend you."
"You really are the number one genius of the academy; you deserve that title. But still...you are nothing more than a puppet."
Regulus staggered backwards, his silver eyes wide with disbelief.
"What... what are you talking about?"
Nikolas tsked, shaking his head with disappointment in a mocking gesture.
"Even now, you don't understand. After all these years of pulling your strings, you still think you made your own choices."
The demon general laughed.
"The attack on the academy...runs deeper than you imagined, human."
Arthur felt Jasmine's hand tighten in his as they watched the scene unfold.
Her father's best friend. The man he trusted most.
"You're lying," Regulus whispered, but doubt had already crept into his voice.
Nikolas circled him leisurely, hands clasped behind his back like a professor delivering a lecture.
"Am I? Tell me, Regulus."
"Who suggested you take the scholarship exam? Who encouraged you to pursue the princess? Who whispered in your ear about the corruption in the noble houses?"
Each question hit like a physical blow.
"That was... that was my choice..."
"Your choice?" Nikolas's laughter was genuinely delighted. "My dear boy, you haven't made a single independent decision since the day we met. Every triumph, every victory, every moment of glory, I was there with you...Haven't I?"
"Why? Why would you betray me? Us? Why would you side with the demons?"
"Why does anyone do anything? It's for power, regulus. POWER!"
"Did you really think this war started by accident? That the attacks on the academy were random?"
The truth hit Regulus like a tsunami.
"You... you orchestrated everything. The demon attacks..."
"That's right...Although I have to thank you. Without you telling me about where you came from...it would have been difficult to find your mother..."
Regulus's eyes dilated. "Y-You...fucker."
His anger reached a boiling point, and Regulus was about to explode. He had thought that his mother's death was an unfortunate interval in his life, something that he regretted deeply. But it turned out that he was the cause of her death...he had sent the enemies to his mom.
A single tear dropped down from Regulus's face, touching the ground alongside Jasmine's tear as she witnessed and heard everything.
Nikolas's smile widened. "Though I must say, your mother's death was particularly inspired. Nothing motivates a hero quite like personal loss."
Rage erupted across Regulus's features. Power flared around him, silver light blazing as his magical core responded to pure fury.
He launched himself forward, space itself bending around his attack.
Nikolas didn't even move.
The assault passed harmlessly through him, Regulus stumbling as his target became incorporeal.
"Temper, temper." Nikolas reformed behind him. "You always were too emotional. It made you so easy to manipulate."
How is he doing that?
Arthur's eyes narrowed, analysing the technique. It wasn't teleportation or spatial manipulation. Something else entirely.
"That's...a hologram? No...that's a clone," Arthur muttered. "The real Nikolas isn't even here."
Jasmine's breath caught. "A clone? But that means..."
"The real one is still outside, playing the loyal friend," Arthur finished grimly.
In the vision, Regulus spun around, silver hair whipping as he faced his tormentor.
"Where is the real you, coward?"
"Where I've always been." Nikolas's projection gestured toward the barrier. "Standing beside your beloved princess, playing the part of your grieving friend."
The cruelty in his tone made Jasmine flinch.
"You see, Regulus, this was always the plan. You were meant to die here, a tragic hero's sacrifice. You served your purpose, Regulus."
Nikolas began to fade, his projection becoming translucent.
"And your dear friend Nikolas will comfort the princess in her grief. Perhaps even marry her, eventually. The kingdom will need strong leadership, after all."
Arthur felt sick. The depth of the deception was staggering.
Regulus struggled to his feet, power still blazing around him. "I won't let you—"
"Let me?" Nikolas's laughter echoed as his form dissolved completely. "You don't need to worry...the princess will let me, haha."
The projection vanished, leaving Regulus alone with the demon general.
But now everything had changed. This wasn't just a battle—it was an execution disguised as heroism.
Outside the barrier, they could see the false Nikolas maintaining his act, frantically "trying" to break through while Jasmine's mother wept for her doomed husband.
What a performance. He's been playing this role for years. Even Regulus didn't doubt him until the end, when he decided to expose himself.
But why? Why would he expose himself now? What if the demon general was unable to kill him...then everything he had built will crumble to pieces.
His thoughts were interrupted by the demon general.
"Now you understand," the demon general rumbled. "Your friend delivers you to us. Your death serves our purpose. Everyone wins."
"Except you," it added with another grinding laugh.
Regulus raised his head, his silver eyes now blazing with something beyond rage. Beyond despair.
"If this is how my story ends," he said quietly, "then I'll write my own final chapter."
Power erupted from his form, not the silver light from before, but something dark.
Arthur recognised the technique immediately.
He's burning his life force and converting his remaining years into raw power.
"Jasmine, look away," Arthur warned.
But she couldn't. None of them could.
They watched as Regulus began his final gambit—not just to win an impossible battle, but to leave behind something that could expose the truth.
The chamber shook around them as the vision reached its climax. Regulus faced impossible odds, but his true enemy wasn't the demon before him.
It was the man outside, wearing the face of friendship while orchestrating his destruction.
The battle that followed would determine not just Regulus's fate, but the future of everyone he'd tried to protect.