Chapter 536: Friend

Kinsley’s hand rose slowly, his fingers spreading.

Light flashed across the field as one of the kneeling Mafia members lifted off the ground, floating through invisible force.

A young man, barely twenty, his masked face showing nothing but his body trembling violently.

"Do you care about this one?"

Kinsley’s voice was almost gentle, like someone asking about a pet.

The young man’s mouth opened behind his mask, words emerging broken and desperate.

"Boss! I’m sorry! I’m sorry I got caught! I tried to escape but they–"

SPLAT

His body exploded, reduced to red mist that drifted slowly downward.

Damian’s hands clenched on his thighs, knuckles going white.

But he didn’t move, didn’t speak and didn’t let anything show on his face.

Kinsley’s hand rose again as another Mafia member floated upward, this one older, his breathing ragged.

"What about him?"

The man’s voice emerged hoarse, carrying words he’d been holding.

"Boss, tell my daughter I–"

SPLAT

Another hand gesture, another body rising.

A woman this time, her mask cracked, showing part of her face beneath.

"Please! I have a son! He’s only–"

SPLAT

Red mist joining the others, drifting across snow that was no longer white.

Kinsley continued the process, his movements unhurried, his voice carrying questions that had only one answer.

"This one?"

SPLAT

"Perhaps this one matters?"

SPLAT

"Surely you care about–"

SPLAT

Bodies kept exploding, one after another, each death broadcast to billions of watching people.

Each one crying out final words, final messages, final desperate pleas.

"Tell them I tried–"

SPLAT

"I’m sorry I wasn’t–"

SPLAT

"Boss, thank you for–"

SPLAT

Damian sat perfectly still, his eyes tracking each death, his mind remembering faces and voices and last words.

Blood had started leaking from his eyes, thin streams of crimson running down his cheeks like tears made of something darker.

His heart hammered against his ribs, each beat sending shockwaves through his chest.

Thump Crack

The seal around his heart trembled, cracks forming across its surface.

Thump

Suddenly, inside his mind, a voice was speaking, cutting through the horror with cold authority.

"Don’t think about protecting them."

Lysander’s voice, somehow resonating directly into his consciousness.

"They will die no matter what you do. You heard what he said. This is a test designed to force a reaction."

Thump

Another body exploded, another voice cut short mid-sentence.

"Control your instincts. Don’t let them win. If you activate Blood Sovereign, if you prove you’re a Bloodworth..."

SPLAT

"You will die here. And everyone you’re trying to protect will die anyway."

Thump

’M-Marshal, you–’

Damian’s breathing came shallow, his vision tunneling.

’I can’t... I can’t–’

"You can. You must. There is no other choice."

SPLAT

SPLAT

SPLAT

Three more, dying so close together their blood mixed in the air before falling.

Crack Crack

The seal cracked deeper, pressure building behind it like water against a falling dam.

"Control it. You’re stronger than this instinct."

Damian’s fingers dug into his thighs hard enough to draw blood, his nails breaking skin.

’Stop. Please stop. Make it stop–’

But Kinsley didn’t stop.

His hand kept rising, kept selecting, kept killing.

Each death deliberate and measured, each one designed to push harder against whatever control remained.

The watching crowd had gone silent, horror replacing their earlier confusion.

Reporters stood with hands over their mouths, cameras still rolling because nobody had the presence of mind to turn them off.

This was being broadcast across every screen in the Federation.

Billions of people watching a Patriarch execute prisoners while a seventeen-year-old sat helpless and bleeding crimson tears.

Then Kinsley turned toward where Brian’s unconscious form knelt, his massive frame held upright only by the restraints.

"Ah."

Kinsley’s smile widened, becoming something genuinely pleased.

"I almost forgot about this one."

His hand gestured, Aura flowing outward.

Brian’s body jerked, his head lifting as consciousness was forced back into him.

His eyes opened slowly, confusion bleeding through as awareness returned.

Then Kinsley’s power grabbed him, lifting his body and dragging it through the snow until he knelt directly in front of Damian.

Two meters apart, close enough to see each other clearly.

Brian’s eyes focused with difficulty, his mind struggling to process where he was, what was happening.

Kinsley crouched between them, his voice becoming almost gentle.

"You clearly care about this one, don’t you?"

His fingers traced along Brian’s jaw, the gesture almost tender.

"After all, he shielded you with his own body when those snipers came. Nearly died protecting someone he’d known for less than a year."

Kinsley’s smile became radiant.

"That kind of bond... It’s special and so rare. Something worth treasuring."

Then his hand moved, fingers extending.

SHLK

The nail of his index finger extended into a blade, sharp and gleaming.

It pressed against Brian’s shoulder, barely touching skin.

"So let’s see exactly how much you care."

The blade pressed deeper, parting flesh with surgical precision.

Blood welled up, running down Brian’s arm in thin streams.

Brian’s face twisted, pain breaking through the confusion, his mouth opening in a gasp.

But no scream came, just ragged breathing.

Kinsley dragged the blade slowly across Brian’s chest, the cut shallow but deliberate, designed to hurt without killing.

"Before I brought all of them here..."

His voice stayed conversational despite the act.

"I spent some time getting to know your friend. Learning what makes him tick. What breaks him."

The blade moved to Brian’s other shoulder, creating a matching wound.

"Did you know he’d already lost his entire family? Parents and a little brother, all tortured to death by the Shadow Council."

Blood ran faster now, painting Brian’s torn shirt crimson.

"And he blamed himself for it. Thought if he’d been stronger, faster, more careful, he could have saved them."

The blade found Brian’s face, tracing along his cheekbone without cutting.

"So I reminded him of that failure. Over and over... For hours."

His hand moved, producing photographs that materialized from his spatial storage.

Images of desecrated graves, of corpses dug up and mutilated, of Brian’s family reduced to props for torture.

Pant...pant...pant...

Brian’s breathing became even more ragged, his eyes losing focus as something behind them fractured.

His mouth moved, words spilling out in broken whispers.

"I’m sorry... I couldn’t... Mom, Dad, I tried..."

His voice cracked completely, tears mixing with blood on his face.

"Should have been there... should have saved... all my fault..."

Damian’s eyes took in the images, his forced control breaking apart.

’T-they–’

CRACK

The seal fractured deeper, more pressure escaping.

"Don’t think about it."

Lysander’s voice cut through his mind again, sharp and commanding.

"He’s trying to break you. Don’t. Let. Him."

But Kinsley wasn’t finished.

His blade moved to Brian’s arm, cutting deeper this time, slicing through muscle.

Brian gasped, his body jerking, but his mind was somewhere else entirely.

"Failed everyone... couldn’t protect... worthless..."

The broken muttering continued, his sanity visibly crumbling.

"Should have died... should have been me... why am I still..."

Kinsley looked at Damian, his smile never wavering.

"He’s quite broken now. Barely holding onto consciousness. The interrogation techniques I employed were... thorough."

His blade found Brian’s leg, cutting across the thigh.

"And the best part?"

The cut went deeper, hitting bone.

"He’ll remember all of this. Every moment. Every word. It’ll haunt him for whatever life he has left."

Brian’s voice rose, becoming more desperate, more fractured.

"Eric, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, please forgive me, I failed you, I failed everyone..."

Tears streamed down his face, his entire body shaking.

Damian’s chest heaved, his breathing becoming audible.

Blood poured from his eyes faster now, running down his neck, soaking into his collar.

Crack Crack Crack

The seal cracked wider, pieces beginning to separate.

Then Damian moved.

His body lurched forward, crawling through snow toward where Brian knelt.

The movement was broken and desperate, his limbs barely supporting his weight.

"Please..."

The word came out as barely a whisper, rough and wrong.

Kinsley’s smile widened, genuine delight crossing his features.

Damian kept crawling, his hands leaving bloody prints in white powder.

"Stop..."

His voice cracked on the word, something breaking in his throat.

Brian’s unfocused eyes tracked toward the movement, seeing the figure crawling toward him.

Recognition flickered through the madness, something deep responding.

"You..."

His voice emerged in broken sobs, words forcing themselves through tears and blood.

"My... f-friend?"

Damian’s hand reached out, shaking violently.

"Y-yes..."

The word barely formed, his throat closing around it.

Brian’s face crumpled, fresh tears spilling over.

"Y-you... s-save me?"

"Don’t–"

Lysander’s voice started, urgent and desperate.

But the moment Brian’s broken question registered, the moment that desperate hope entered his friend’s eyes, something inside Damian shattered.

"Yes."

The word came out quiet but absolute.

CRACK

And the seal exploded.

BOOOOOOOOM

Power erupted from Damian’s chest, the force of it creating a shockwave that blasted snow away in a perfect circle.

Crimson marks spread across his skin in an instant, starting from his heart and flowing outward like living veins of light.

His chest, his arms, his neck, his face, all covered in glowing patterns that pulsed with each heartbeat.

His hair began growing, flowing past his shoulders, past his back, glowing with the same light as the marks.

His eyes blazed, the crimson becoming so bright it was almost white.

Silence crashed across the entire field.

Every camera captured the transformation, billions of people watching as Damian’s true nature revealed itself for all the world to see.

Kinsley Patriarch stood perfectly still, his smile becoming something triumphant.

"THERE IT IS!"

His voice carried satisfaction that made the words taste like victory.

"The Blood Sovereign State! The undeniable proof of Bloodworth lineage!"

He looked toward the cameras, ensuring everyone saw, everyone understood.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Federation, I present to you the last surviving son of Darius Bloodworth!"

And the world erupted into chaos.