Chapter 254: A Blade for the Deceiver

She shook her head quickly.

Steve wasn’t convinced. He stepped forward and pressed his blade firmly against her neck.

“No lies,” he growled, voice low and threatening.

Ana flinched and shouted back.

“I swear, I don’t know that much! They don’t tell me those details!”

I narrowed my eyes and stepped closer.

“Then tell me what you do know. When will their plans begin? Where will they start? Who else is involved? What are the Holts’ roles in this? You’re giving us scraps, Ana. That’s not good enough.”

She looked helpless.

“That’s all I know, I swear. I’m just a tagalong to them. A kid. They don’t include me in anything serious.”

I tilted my head slightly, watching her squirm.

“Is that so? Then let me ask you something else.

“Why did you come to this deadly island with us, knowing full well about the Deathmist? You knew how dangerous it was. So tell me, Ana—who did you report us to? Or maybe I should ask… who did you report me to?”

Her face finally shifted. She raised her head, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.

She stared straight into mine and answered in a quiet, trembling voice.

“My brother. I… I told him. When you left for your evolution. I’ve never heard of anyone entering a separate space just to evolve, and I panicked. I didn’t know what else to do.”

I took a deep breath, letting her words sink in.

“What did you tell him?”

She didn’t blink. Didn’t look away.

“Everything.”

I turned my head slightly and whispered.

“Steve.”

His sword crackled as lightning danced along the blade.

In one smooth motion, the blade sliced cleanly through Ana’s neck.

Her eyes widened in shock, but she didn’t even have time to scream. Her head dropped from her shoulders, rolled across the wooden floor, and came to a stop at my feet.

I stared down at it for a moment—at the girl who had once smiled and laughed with us, pretending to be our friend.

But that illusion was dead now. Just like her.

Blood dripped from Ana’s severed head, pooling between us on the floor. The sharp, metallic scent filled my nose.

I closed my eyes, and against my will, my mind replayed every moment I had shared with her. Every glance. Every word. Every laugh.

But I couldn’t stop myself from doubting it all.

Each memory now felt like a performance. Her kindness, her curiosity, her silent support… all of it started to look like layers of a carefully constructed lie.

Even when she had sacrificed her wing—it didn’t feel noble anymore. It felt like she was doubling down on the role she was playing. Keeping up the act to the very end.

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to fully blame her.

She did what she had to do. Maybe she was following orders from her brother. Maybe she believed she was helping her people. In a twisted way, she had remained loyal—just not to us.

But I couldn’t help wondering where we went wrong. How had Steve and I let this happen? How did we both fall for it so easily, especially in enemy territory?

And then it hit me. The mistake started long before the mission.

Arkas.

He told us Ferans had been captured. That planted the seed. We had already begun to form a picture in our minds—a picture of victims, not enemies. So when we found a girl isolated, hidden and looking like a damsel in distress, we never questioned it.

Her story had fit too well. Too perfectly.

And when she claimed she didn’t know the Ferans’ plans, I didn’t believe her. She had to have known something. At the very least, she knew their capture story was fake. She was part of that lie.

I sighed and opened my eyes.

Steve was still standing beside me, staring at her body.

I turned my head and asked softly, “Hey. You alright?”

He didn’t answer right away. He just blinked, gave his sword a little spin, sending a thin arc of blood flying off the blade, and then dismissed it. Lightning sparked and the weapon vanished from his hand.

He looked at me and said with a half-smile, “Of course I am. Never liked birds. I’ve always been a cat person.”

Then he turned toward Lily and walked away from Ana’s corpse.

But I knew better.

Out of the two of us, he was the one who had gotten hurt the most. He had spent three whole weeks with her. Just the two of them. Talking. Eating. Sleeping under the same sky.

And she betrayed all of it.

I clenched my teeth.

I looked down at her decapitated body one last time.

I raised my hand.

Flames roared to life, engulfing her body in an instant. Flesh and bone turned to ash in seconds. There was no scream, no sound—just fire and the hiss of finality.

Then I pointed a finger at what was left.

My Essence swirled and devoured the ash completely, pulling every trace of her into nothingness. No proof she was ever here.

Only memory. And silence.

I turned around and looked at Lily. She hadn’t spoken a single word during everything that had just happened.

Even now, she stood still, calm as ever, her huge eyes watching us in silence.

Our eyes met, and I broke the quiet.

“So you knew the truth the moment we stepped into this space, didn’t you?”

Her voice was as gentle and soft as always, but it carried weight.

“Yes. How could I not?” she said. “I’ve always been here, child. I see everything that happens in this realm.”

I nodded slowly, the memory returning with clarity.

The very first thing Lily had said when we entered this pocket space was a remark about Ana being a Feran. She’d noticed immediately. She hadn’t hidden it. I just hadn’t listened.

I’d missed the signal—again.

But there was no time to dwell on that now.

We had far more urgent problems. I had no idea what was happening outside. And we needed to inform someone as fast as possible. Everything we had learned here—about the Ferans, the Holts, the traitor—it had to reach the right ears.

I turned to Lily again.

“Lily, earlier you said you could send us out of here, right? Where exactly can you send us?”

She responded with that calm certainty.

“I can send you near the coordinates where the portal was formed. The one created by the other humans—the ones you call the Holts.”

I nodded. That was good enough. Close, but not too close.

I waved my hand and pulled out the communicator Edgar had given me.

I turned and held it out to Steve.

“Here. Take it.”

Steve looked at the device, his brow furrowing. He didn’t reach for it right away.

“You want me to go?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Yes. It’s better if someone explains everything we saw and heard in person. They’re not going to believe it over this communicator, not when we’re accusing a grandmaster—or maybe even more than one—of being traitors. They’ll think we were captured and forced to lie.”

I paused for a moment before saying, “So go out. The moment you get outside, contact Edgar. Tell him where you are and what’s happened. Then you can head to the capital and explain everything in detail.”

He looked at me and asked, “What’s the plan then? Do you think they’ll attack the Holts or go to the Nagas with the information?”

Creation is hard, cheer me up!