The world was dark and rainy; the streets of the city were empty and solemn. The sound of droplets hitting the concrete echoed across the world. In the air, the smell of smoke, ashes, and destruction could be smelled with ease.
The city was completely desolate and destroyed. After what many would consider the darkest day of this city's history. A battle that completely left it to ruin had occurred, and the tragedy it left behind was on a scale unlike anything many could even imagine.
In this ruined city, a silhouette could be seen running through the streets, holding his side. He was covered in blood from head to toe, breathing heavily and limping visibly from pain. His feet made splashing noises as he stepped into water, unbothered by it. His eyes were barely open as they were obstructed by his own blood as he kept staring behind him.
Taking a left turn, he ran with heavy breaths to the end of the alley, then took another turn. However, much to his horror, he found himself at a dead end. He stopped, clenched his teeth, and then turned around to try and run out.
However, by the time he did, several silhouettes appeared in his vision.
"Surrender, Rize! You have nowhere else to go!" A man said with a strong tone as he stepped forward. He had a large sword on his shoulder and a righteous look on his face as he stared at Rize with an angry look.
At the same time, around him were three different women who had the same look, except it was mixed with disgust.
Rize stared at each one of them with a blank expression before he sighed and coughed. Each cough came with a mouthful of blood; his organs were scrambled eggs at that point. He was standing purely because of his Essence and monstrous will. However, he knew that this was the end… He couldn't really escape this time.
So, instead, he stared directly at the man's face.
"The hero and his gang of idiots have finally won, didn't they?" He said as he started clapping. "Good job, guys. You are truly the shining beacon in this shithole of a world."
"Words won't get you out of this. You have caused the death and suffering of countless people. Tonight, I'm taking your head as atonement for the sins you committed. You have done too much evil, Rize."
"Evil?" Rize raised an eyebrow before he suddenly exploded into cold laughter. His laughter echoed in the empty world for a few seconds before it turned into a chain of coughs. "You are one pathetic fool, Kaizer."
"..." Kaizer frowned as he felt something was off.
"You? Teaching me about evil and good? Don't make me fucking laugh. You boast about being the hero in shining armor for the people when you betrayed me… Me! The person who gave you that position of yours."
"..." Kaizer frowned.
"When my life was on the line in that dungeon. When it was all crumbling and going to fucking dust, you left me behind to die. You and your idiots didn't even look back for a second to see if I survived. This… This scar!" He pointed at his neck where a gruesome scar ran from his jawline down to his shoulder. "You left me to die under the rubble."
"I…" Kaizer's eyes averted for a second. "I could've not saved you. You know that."
"Oh, I definitely do know that. I definitely didn't hear that bitch of a princess next to you tell you to leave me behind and run away."
"Hey, watch your lang-" Kaizer tried to stop him, only for Rize's mana to flare as the darkness swallowed his body.
"And then, when I survived on my own and cut my path back through thousands of miles, injured and destroyed… When I finally made it back, you lot have already framed me to be the liar and the bastard who made the huge mistake that caused that mission to fail."
"If you didn't lose your coordination with us, we would've-" One of the women stepped forward and said with an angry tone.
"You are as much of a culprit as I am. You failed to protect our backs and you…" He looked at the woman standing closest to Kaizer. Her beauty transcended any comprehension. "I served you all my life; I bled and sweated for you and served you like a slave my entire life, and this is what I get? To be discarded like a pig without a second look?"
"... It was a choice between you and us, and I chose us." The woman said with a quiet tone; one could see a tinge of guilt in her eyes.
Her words made Rize clench his teeth for a second before he sighed. "Right, of course, and then decided that since I'm dead, I could carry the blame. You tarnished my name and sent me to exile. I lived for years unable to even find a place to live because my face is everywhere. People spat on me, insulted me, and kicked me out of every place I tried to go to…"
"..."
"From that moment, I took an oath upon myself to make your life and the lives of these "innocent civilians" a hell on earth. You all deserve to be burnt alive and sent to hell."
"Even if we were wrong toward you, who said that gives you the right to massacre this many innocent people?" Kaizer said. "You were wrong, and you deserve death for it, Rize."
"..." Rize didn't say another word as he slowly dropped his sword and then opened his arms wide. "Finish what you started. Soon enough, your lies will come to light, Kaizer, and when that happens, I will be waiting for you to join me in hell-"
Before he could finish that sentence, a flashing sound penetrated the air. Then, Rize's voice went quiet as the sound of blood exploding everywhere echoed in the air. Then, his corpse dropped to the ground, motionless, as a pool of blood formed beneath him.
Kaizer slowly stared down with a sad expression. He clenched his teeth as tears welled in his eyes. The princess approached him and hugged his back.
"It's ok, Kaizer… It's ok…"
The words made him crumble as he fell to the ground and started crying. His heart shattered as he had to kill his old friend with his own hands after seeing him become corrupted.
He had lost his best friend, and he had to do it in such a manner…
***
"What the hell is this nonsense?!" Ethan slammed his fist on the table with an angry look. "Just like that?! He actually killed Rize just like that?!"
He leaned back on his chair, making it squeak audibly as he started rubbing his dirty hand all over his face. "You have got to be kidding me… This is stupid, utterly stupid. Rize is the coolest character in this story, and it ends like this?! This author is stupid!"
Then, he grabbed the mouse and scrolled down to the comments.
"Wow, such a cool death! That scum is finally gone!"
"He deserved it! Kaizer was too kind to just cut his head off!"
"Let's gooo!!! Thank you for the chapter XD!!!"
"Team Venera for the win!"
"..." Reading the comments, Ethan couldn't believe his eyes. "How is everyone happy that Rize is dead? He was the only person who made sense in this story! They can't be serious!"
With anger fueling his body, he started typing aggressively on the keyboard, replying to every single comment that insulted Rize.
"Nobody understands Rize; you lot are idiots!" He cursed. 'How does this make any sense? Rize was betrayed, and the entire world became against him. He lived in hell because of their lies, and yet everyone sees him as the villain? How is that fair? How does this make sense?'
Ethan felt like he was the only person in the world who truly sympathized with Rize and felt his pain. Everyone celebrated his death while he stood with him. It was frustrating beyond words.
Ethan exhaled before he pushed himself off the chair and stood up. His overweight body cracked and groaned from the sudden movement. Staring around his dimly lit room, he could see the messy state of it.
Trash riddled the entire place, and his clothes were thrown everywhere. It didn't seem like a place where someone would live.
His eyes were completely emotionless as he passed the trash and headed out of the room. His apartement was quite small and run down, so every room was meters away from the other. Entering the kitchen, he opened the fridge and grabbed the ice cream.
"Damn idiot, I need ice cream to cool down from their stupidity. If these bastards were in Rize's shoes, they would've been hidden away like cowards and never tried to take revenge on those who wronged them. If I were in his place, I would've made sure that bastard Kaizer and his group of idiots get what's coming for them. I would make them pay for it all."
As he said that with anger in his voice, he shoved the spoon in his mouth and chewed the ice cream before swallowing it.
"Hmph, well… It will never happen anyway… Those idiots could say whatever they want. It doesn't both-"
*DROP* *CLING*
Suddenly, Ethan froze in his place as the spoon dropped from his hand. He felt as if his entire body grew numb in a split second. Then, an extremely painful burning sensation filled his chest as his legs buckled and he fell to the ground. He grabbed his shirt and dropped the ice cream.
"W-Wha… Is… happen…" He couldn't even finish the sentence before his eyes turned pitch black and he fell to the ground motionless.
Ethan… had died.
The cause of death: Heart attack.