Dareth gritted his teeth, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
He forced himself to rise, staggering.
He turned toward where Tyven and Korin were.
They were still groaning on the ground.
"You two," he barked hoarsely.
"Get up."
Tyven coughed, electricity flickering weakly from his gauntlets.
"Damn... what the hell is she..."
"Shut up," Dareth snapped.
"Listen."
Korin leaned against the wall, clutching his side.
"I can barely stand..."
"We don’t have a choice!"
Dareth growled, voice low and urgent.
"You saw it. One by one, she’ll crush us."
Tyven wiped blood from his lip.
"You’re saying we... fight together?"
Dareth nodded sharply.
"All three. At once. Overwhelm her. Otherwise?"
He glanced sideways.
Velra stood not far away, arms folded.
She was watching them like a cat with trapped mice.
Dareth’s voice dropped. "Otherwise we all die here."
Korin winced, forcing himself upright.
"You better have a damn plan."
"Simple," Dareth said.
"You bind her movents."
"Tyven, you keep pressure with shock strikes."
"And you?" Korin asked bitterly.
Dareth’s eyes narrowed.
"I’ll tear that mask off her damn face."
Velra chuckled softly.
"A strategy eting? How cute."
She tilted her head mockingly.
"Take your ti," she said.
"You’ll need it."
Tyven clenched his fists.
Korin tightened the grip on his whip.
Dareth flexed the chains at his wrists.
All three turned toward her.
Velvet Demon just smiled.
"Co on then," she whispered.
"Show how much you want to live."
And the final dance began.
---
The three B-Rank heroes moved at once.
Tyven charged from the right.
His gauntlets crackled with electric energy.
Korin spun his whip wide.
The air crackled with tension from his Pressure Burst ability.
Dareth lashed his twin chains toward her legs and throat.
He was trying to lock her down and ready to drag her into a death trap.
They were fast and coordinated.
But they were too late.
Velra smiled beneath her mask.
"Ti to dance."
She stepped forward calmly.
She activated Waltz Zone.
The air changed.
The world around her seed to slow.
Her movents sharpened and hastened.
They didn’t even realize it yet.
But their fates were already sealed.
Tyven’s punch ca first.
Too slow to her now-enhanced eyes.
Velra stepped sideways, just outside the swing.
As Tyven overcommitted, Velra flicked her foot across the ground lightly.
She left a Shock Trace under his path.
His next step landed directly on it.
ZAP!
Tyven convulsed violently.
His whole body locked up as the electricity ripped through his nerves.
Velra didn’t stop moving.
Korin snapped his whip toward her chest.
Velra ducked low, spinning her body elegantly.
Blade Trace scattered in a thin circle around her as she moved.
Korin yanked the whip back.
Only for the movent to drag him right into her hidden Blade Trace lines.
SLASH.
Thin cuts opened along his thighs and chest.
Blood sprayed, but it wasn’t fatal.
Not yet.
Korin growled and pulled back again, trying to reposition.
Velra only smiled.
anwhile, Dareth’s chains ca in fast.
One aid for her neck, the other her legs.
Velra leapt straight into the air.
She used Quick Step mid-air to angle herself over both strikes.
As she landed behind him, she dragged her foot once across the ground.
She left another invisible Shock Trace.
Dareth stepped back instinctively.
His heel touched the trace.
ZAP!
He jerked, his arms spasming as the chains fell from his grasp.
Velra landed silently behind him.
"You three should have practiced more."
She moved forward, weaving past their wild attacks.
Each step, each sweep of her heel, laid more traps.
More Shock Traces sparking across the battlefield.
More Blade Traces hung like invisible guillotines.
More Venom Traces clung to the air in shimring arcs.
Korin stumbled through a Venom Trace, trying to flank her.
Imdiately his breathing beca ragged.
He coughed, his knees buckling.
"W-what... is this...?"
Tyven tried to rally, sending a heavy punch toward her ribs.
Velra let him swing.
As he closed the distance, he walked into another Blade Trace.
SLASH.
A deep cut opened along his side.
He gasped, stumbling.
He fell to one knee, blood staining his uniform.
Velra circled them lazily, arms still folded.
They were surrounded now.
Boxed in by the trails she had painted across the ground.
Dareth was the only one still moving properly, though slower now.
His breathing heavy. His eyes furious.
"You... demon..." he hissed.
Velra’s mask glead in the moonlight.
She finally stopped walking.
"This is your punishnt."
She raised her hand and flicked her fingers.
ZZZZZZAP!
All three heroes convulsed, muscles locking, bodies falling.
They collapsed where they stood, twitching helplessly.
Velra approached Dareth first.
She crouched over him, resting one knee on his chest.
His chains lay limp beside him.
He glared up at her—but he couldn’t move.
"You loved chains," she whispered.
"You loved binding others. Controlling them."
She leaned closer, her masked face inches from his.
"Now you’re the one trapped."
She reached down and gently traced a line along his throat with her fingertip.
She put so Blade Trace around his neck.
They were ready to tighten with any movent.
She stood.
And did the sa to Tyven.
Then Korin.
Three n.
Three necks laced with silent, waiting death.
The Venom Trace hanging in the air was already working.
It flowed into their bloodstreams, slowing their hearts and clouding their minds.
Velra stood above them, hands on her hips.
"None of you are worth a clean kill."
She tapped the side of her mask, activating a small recorder.
Their whimpers and desperate.
Broken breathing would be broadcast soon.
For everyone to hear.
Velra turned her back on them.
She walked slowly toward the alley’s exit, leaving their fates sealed.
Behind her, their bodies twitched one last ti.
The Blade Traces tightened silently.
Snick.
Three lives ended together, choked out under the neon glow of black and pink.
The Velvet Demon didn’t even look back.
Not once.
"Now then..."
"Which target should I hunt next, huh?"
She smiled beneath her mask.
"So many heroes... so many sins to punish."
Her figure disappeared into the shadows, already planning the next execution.
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