I won't fall for the queen who burned my world-Chapter 285: It’s over

Malvoria’s lungs burned with each breath, the air thick with acrid smoke and the metallic tang of blood.

The once-grand hall lay in ruins, its marble floors cracked and scorched, tapestries reduced to ashes.

Lucindra stood at the epicenter of the devastation, her form now a grotesque amalgamation of shadow and flame, eyes glowing with malevolent power.

Elysia staggered beside Malvoria, her red fire flickering weakly around her hands. "She’s... changed," Elysia gasped, her voice barely audible over the roaring flames.

Malvoria nodded grimly. "She’s tapped into something ancient, something forbidden."

Lucindra’s laughter echoed through the hall, a chilling sound that sent shivers down Malvoria’s spine. "You thought you could defeat me? I am reborn, a goddess of destruction!"

Without warning, Lucindra unleashed a torrent of dark energy, the blast tearing through the hall like a hurricane.

Malvoria reacted instinctively, throwing up a barrier of crimson flames to shield herself and Elysia. The impact sent her skidding backward, her boots leaving scorched trails on the floor.

"Elysia, stay behind me," Malvoria commanded, her voice firm despite the chaos.

Elysia shook her head, determination blazing in her eyes. "We fight together."

Malvoria couldn’t help but smile, even in the face of such overwhelming power. "Then let’s end this."

They charged, flames intertwining as they launched a coordinated assault. Malvoria’s blade sliced through the air, each strike accompanied by bursts of fire, while Elysia’s red flames danced around her, seeking any weakness in Lucindra’s defenses.

But Lucindra was faster, stronger, her movements a blur as she countered their attacks with ease.

She summoned tendrils of shadow that lashed out, forcing Malvoria to dodge and parry with all her might.

A tendril caught Elysia, wrapping around her waist and lifting her off the ground. She screamed as the shadows tightened, squeezing the air from her lungs.

"NO!" Malvoria roared, her fury igniting a surge of power within her. She leaped forward, her blade glowing white-hot as she severed the tendril, catching Elysia as she fell.

"Are you alright?" Malvoria asked, cradling Elysia in her arms.

Elysia coughed, nodding weakly. "I’ll live."

Malvoria set her down gently, turning back to face Lucindra. "You will not harm her again."

Lucindra sneered. "You can’t protect her. You can’t even protect yourself."

Malvoria’s eyes narrowed. "Watch me."

She launched herself at Lucindra, her blade a blur as she unleashed a flurry of attacks. Lucindra countered with equal ferocity, their clash sending shockwaves through the hall.

Despite her newfound power, Lucindra began to falter under Malvoria’s relentless assault. Each strike chipped away at her defenses, each flame seared her corrupted flesh.

"You think you can defeat me?" Lucindra hissed, blood dripping from her wounds.

"I don’t think," Malvoria growled. "I know."

With a final, mighty blow, Malvoria drove her blade into Lucindra’s chest, the impact sending a shockwave that shattered the remaining windows.

Lucindra screamed, her body convulsing as dark energy erupted from the wound. She staggered backward, collapsing to her knees.

Malvoria stood over her, panting heavily. "It’s over."

But Lucindra’s eyes glowed brighter, a sinister smile spreading across her face. "Not yet."

A surge of magic exploded from her body, the force knocking Malvoria off her feet. Lucindra rose, her form shifting once more, growing larger, more monstrous.

Malvoria struggled to her feet, her heart sinking as she beheld Lucindra’s new form. "What... what have you become?"

Lucindra’s voice was distorted, echoing with multiple tones. "I am power incarnate. I am your end."

As she prepared to strike, a sudden burst of light filled the hall. Malvoria turned to see Lara, Raveth, and Veylira entering the fray, their weapons drawn, determination etched on their faces.

"You’re not alone," Lara shouted.

Malvoria smiled, hope rekindled in her heart. "Let’s finish this together."

Malvoria’s pulse thundered in her ears as the smoke cleared. Lucindra stood at the heart of the throne room—if it could still be called that.

The once-glorious chamber had been reduced to rubble and flame. Crimson banners lay in tatters, the stone floor cracked beneath the weight of unleashed magic.

And Lucindra—her mother by blood and monster by choice—no longer looked remotely human.

Twice her original size, her skin gleamed with a dark obsidian sheen, veined with pulsating violet energy.

Her horns had lengthened and twisted into a crown-like array, and her voice, when she spoke, rang in layers.

"You should have stayed my daughter," she snarled, magic coiling at her fingertips. "Instead, you chose to be their weapon."

Malvoria’s blade trembled in her hand. Her breath burned in her chest. But she didn’t retreat.

"I chose to be my own."

Beside her, Elysia stood—wounded, breathing hard, but still alight with that same red fire that had nearly incinerated Lucindra earlier.

Her presence steadied Malvoria more than any enchantment ever could.

Behind them, Lara stepped forward, twin daggers gleaming, her face bloodied but grinning. "You look like shit, Ma."

Raveth cracked her knuckles. "Let’s cut her down."

And Veylira gods, Veylira.

The paralysis had finally broken, and she had joined them without a word, eyes cold as polished steel, dark magic weaving between her fingers like a promise.

Malvoria exhaled.

This was it.

The final stand.

Lucindra lifted a clawed hand, the entire room groaning with pressure. Magic surged—wild, broken, unstable.

"She’s overloading herself," Veylira said sharply. "She’s drawing directly from the seal below the palace. If she keeps doing that—"

"She’ll destroy everything," Elysia finished, eyes wide.

Lucindra smiled, teeth too sharp, too many. "Then let us all burn together."

"No," Malvoria whispered. "Not again."

And she moved.

Faster than thought.

Blade first.

Her flames ignited mid-step, coating the steel in golden fire. She swung hard, aiming for Lucindra’s heart.

The blow connected but Lucindra’s monstrous form took the strike like stone, barely flinching.

Lucindra retaliated, hurling Malvoria across the room with a pulse of violet force. Malvoria hit a pillar and crumpled to the floor, gasping.

"She’s too strong," Raveth gritted out, blocking a shadow whip with her glaive.

"She’s not invincible," Veylira said through clenched teeth. "We just need to separate her from the source."

"And how do we do that?!" Lara shouted, ducking under a magical spear that embedded into the floor and detonated.

Malvoria pushed herself up slowly. "We drive her back. Then we seal the magic beneath her feet."

Veylira’s gaze snapped to her. "You’ll need a link. Blood to blood."

"I’ll do it," Malvoria said. "Just keep her occupied."

Lara didn’t argue.

She and Raveth launched into action Lara darting around Lucindra’s limbs like a wasp, slashing tendons and joints, while Raveth met Lucindra’s claws head-on, a wall of brute force that somehow held.

Malvoria closed her eyes.

She reached inward into the flame at the core of her being. Her mother’s blood may have given her power, but it was hers now.

She opened her eyes, and they burned white.

"Elysia," she said. "Burn a path."

Elysia nodded and stepped forward, hands ablaze.

A wave of red fire tore across the ground, parting shadow and smoke, forcing Lucindra to stagger back as the heat seared her corrupted form.

Malvoria ran through the opening.

Right to the center of the throne room.

Where the seal below the palace pulsed like a dying heart.

She dropped to one knee and slammed her hand against it.

"Blood for blood," she whispered.

A golden sigil flared beneath her palm, responding instantly. It recognized her. It obeyed.

Lucindra screamed.

The magic anchoring her began to pull—tugging the power back into the seal, draining her strength.

She turned, wild-eyed.

"No!"

She launched toward Malvoria, claws extended.

But she never made it.

Elysia intercepted her in a flash, tackling her midair, flames roaring around her like a divine inferno. They crashed into the floor, the red fire eating through Lucindra’s stolen strength.

Lara leapt in next, burying a dagger into Lucindra’s side.

Raveth slammed her glaive into her spine.

Veylira stood above the seal now, adding her magic to Malvoria’s, reinforcing the pull.

Lucindra shrieked as her form cracked, the obsidian surface breaking apart, light leaking through the fractures.

"You never deserved this power," Malvoria hissed.

"You were never worthy of us," Elysia said, eyes blazing.

Lucindra looked around—at all of them—her corrupted body unraveling piece by piece.

And in that final moment, her expression wasn’t fury.

It was grief.

"You were mine," she said.

Then the light consumed her.

A final explosion tore through the chamber—fire, shadow, and light colliding in a storm of heat and silence.

When it faded, Lucindra was gone.

Only ash remained.

And the seal below the throne glowed quietly, stable once more.

Malvoria fell to her knees.

Elysia caught her, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

"It’s over," Elysia whispered.

Malvoria didn’t respond.

She just closed her eyes and let herself finally breathe.

The silence after Lucindra’s fall was staggering.

No more screams. No more fire tearing through stone. Just the soft crackle of dying embers and the weight of what had been done.

Malvoria knelt in the scorched remains of the throne room, Elysia’s arms still around her.

Her blade lay beside her, half-buried in the cracked marble. Her hands trembled not from pain, but from release. From finality.

She didn’t speak.

Neither did anyone else.

Lara leaned against a shattered column, blood smeared across her jaw, her daggers still clenched tightly.

Raveth stood over the ash pile, chest heaving, expression unreadable. And Veylira... Veylira knelt by the seal, one hand resting on it like she was holding a heartbeat in place.

It pulsed gently beneath her palm.

"She’s gone," Veylira said finally, voice quiet.

Malvoria looked at her mother, really looked at her and nodded once.

"Gone," she echoed.

Elysia kissed her temple, soft and grounding.

"We should go back."

"To Kaelith," Malvoria said. Her voice cracked.

Lara straightened. "Let’s bring our niece some damn peace."