[HERO ASSOCIATION HQ – COUNCIL HALL, PRESENT TIME]
A cavernous hall, dimly lit by violet mana lanterns, sat silent in its icy tension. At the center, the obsidian war-table that once guided nations now bore witness to a shift far more dangerous than any invasion.
At the head of the table sat Nemesis.
Barefoot. Cloaked in flowing midnight.
Eyes like still oceans—no light, no life.
A sovereign in shadow.
At her side, five robed Forsaken Councilors, each pulsing with ancient, refined power.
And across from them—
The last five uncorrupted heroes.
Not rookies.
Not elites.
But legends.
The only ones who had not yet fallen to the Flame.
Cassandra Vale, SS-Rank, the "Spear of Dawn."
Zephyr Cain, Peak S, the "Sky Tyrant."
Arkan Dreadveil, Peak S, the "Silent Reaper."
Dante Roswell, Peak S, the "Crimson Blight."
Risa Lorne, Peak S, the "White Warden."
They stood—not as victims, not as politicians.
But as warriors.
Scarred, seasoned, and unshaken.
Nemesis didn't rise.
She didn't speak immediately.
She simply stared.
Then, in a voice too calm for the weight it carried:
"It's been a while."
"Do you remember me?"
The tension snapped like a stretched wire.
Cassandra stepped forward, her golden spear resting lightly in one hand.
"I remember a woman screaming for help," she said, voice level.
"I remember her letters, her reports, her begging… being passed over."
Zephyr chuckled dryly.
"I remember higher-ups calling it 'a background check issue.' Bureaucracy wrapped around trauma like a pretty bow."
Arkan remained silent, but he nodded once. He remembered too.
Risa spoke softly.
"You were the one crazy over your dead husband."
Dante stepped up beside Cassandra, fire coiling around his fists.
"But that doesn't justify this. You think turning heroes into puppets makes you better than them?"
Nemesis smiled.
Cold. Hollow. Like the smile of a corpse that never got to rest.
"Better?" she echoed.
"No."
"Just... right."
She stood, slowly.
No noise. No magic flaring. No theatrics.
And yet the room darkened.
Even the lantern flames dimmed, as if afraid to exist in her presence.
"You stand tall because you were never forced to crawl.
You celebrate order because you've never seen what your 'order' buried beneath it.
You call me villain, because your minds can't comprehend anything outside your comfort."
Cassandra's eyes narrowed.
"You've taken everyone else. But we're not like them."
"We won't break."
Nemesis began walking toward them.
Slow. Barefoot steps against obsidian.
With each step, the air felt heavier. Denser.
Like reality was holding its breath.
"I didn't break the others," she said softly.
"I simply showed them the truth. And they broke themselves."
Zephyr raised a brow.
"Then try it on us."
"Go ahead. Show us your truth."
Nemesis stopped three paces away.
Her voice dropped—low, raw, final:
"You've had your time."
"Now I'll ask you only once."
She looked each of them in the eye.
One by one.
"Kneel… and serve."
"Or stand—and fall."
Silence.
The five looked at each other.
They didn't need words.
They had been through wars together.
Through death, betrayal, missions that ended in blood-soaked regrets.
They were the last line for a reason.
Arkan slowly drew his obsidian sword and let it drag across the floor.
Zephyr cracked his neck and summoned a whirling cyclone around his arms.
Risa conjured three glowing sigils and pressed them against her chest.
Dante burst into flames, fire dancing between his knuckles.
And Cassandra raised her spear.
Pointed it straight at Nemesis.
"We do not kneel," she said.
"And we never will."
Nemesis didn't flinch.
She simply nodded once.
"Then bleed."
[BATTLE BEGINS – HEROES vs FORSAKEN]
Zephyr was first—vanishing in a blink, appearing above the Council with a thunderclap of wind pressure.
"Tornado Fang!"
A storm compressed into a single point exploded mid-air.
Two Council members raised anti-air sigils—barely holding back the burst.
Arkan moved through shadows, silent as death—appearing behind a Forsaken and cleaving his staff in half before the man could blink.
Risa sent divine shields flying like blades, protecting her team mid-motion, countering curses with raw holy light.
Dante surged forward, a comet of flame—his sword clashing with another Forsaken's cursed scythe, igniting it in fire.
The Forsaken Council fought back, of course—brutal, efficient, ancient.
But this—
This was war.
While chaos bloomed behind them, the two leaders faced each other.
Nemesis raised one hand.
No spell.
No weapon.
Just her will.
Cassandra struck—her spear moving like lightning.
Nemesis caught it with her bare fingers.
CLANG—!
Stone cracked beneath them.
Cassandra's eyes widened.
Nemesis pushed back—and Cassandra flew across the room, crashing into the wall with bone-shaking force.
"You're fast," Nemesis said.
"But speed doesn't matter when you've already lost."
Cassandra stood, coughing blood.
"You think this is victory?"
"You think owning their minds makes you a queen?"
She surged again—this time summoning Spearform: Arcfall—a technique that shattered the sound barrier, creating a crater beneath her feet.
But Nemesis disappeared.
Reappeared behind her.
"You mistake me for someone who wants a crown."
She placed a hand on Cassandra's back.
"No one can give me, what I want."
A pulse of violet mana exploded.
"Now, Kneel."
Nemesis released a powerful sound wave with her words.
They were not just words.
They were her will.
Cassandra screamed, body convulsing midair, her spear shattering from the pressure.
Cassandra, finally, dropped to one knee—not from surrender.
But exhaustion.
Pain.
Weight.
One by one, the others fell—not dead, but defeated.
Zephyr's wind silenced.
Dante's fire suffocated.
Risa's barriers corrupted.
Arkan's sword shattered against cursed gravity.
The five knelt before Nemesis, their bodies broken, mana drained.
But their eyes… still glared.
Nemesis stood above them.
"You chose pride."
"Now live as its corpse."
With a flick of her hand, the Flame of Oaths erupted beneath them.
They screamed—not like rookies, but like legends being erased.
One by one, the mark took root.
And so the last five fell.
Not to blades.
Not to death.
But to her will.
Now the entire Hero Association belong to her, under per palm.
She can crush them, each and every one of them for everything they did to her in the past.
But no death will be too easy of a punishment for them she wanted them to suffer yes, but deep down even she knew that they are needed for their strength.
Without them Humanity will weaken a lot .
And demons will exploit this.
So she chose control over revenge.
She will keep them under her eyes to let them work like a true this time.
This time there will be no hesitation in them since she is the one in control.
This time no innocent will lose their family even if she has to sacrifice all the Heroes.
[TO BE CONTINUED…]