Samael reached the landing, breath uneven.

  He checked the flashing warning.

  > **[Impact Estimate: 00:01:12]**

  “A minute! Maybe less!”

  The tower trembled again — deeper this time.

  Black Rose felt it even without her bond.

  Her eyes sharpened.

  “That’s not internal.”

  “No,” Samael said. “It’s not.”

  Malachai’s voice was steady. “Can we avoid it?”

  Samael checked.

  > **[Evasion: Not Possible]**

  > **[Structural Survival Probability: 11%]**

  “…Nope,” Samael responds

  Silence.

  Ash exhaled once.

  “Then we tank it.”

  “With what?” Red asked.

  Samael’s eyes dropped to the floors below.

  Bodies.

  His eyes lit up as an idea sparked in his head.

  “Bring them downstairs,” he said while pointing at the bodies.

  Ash stared at him.

  “…Why?”

  “No time. Just move.”

  Another tremor.

  Closer.

  > **[Impact Estimate: 00:00:48]**

  Ash didn’t argue again.

  They started throwing the bodies down the spiral staircase.

  Even the Black Rose hesitated only briefly before helping.

  She didn’t understand what was going on, but if something was about to hit hard enough to shake the tower, who would care about these former subordinates?

  They piled the bodies in the center of the tavern floor.

  A heavy mound of armor and flesh.

  Samael dropped beside it.

  “Under it.”

  Ash stared.

  “You’re insane.”

  “Suit yourself then.”

  Red understood first.

  Malachai moved without another word.

  They crawled beneath the pile, dragging the Black Rose down with them.

  The tremor hit again.

  Closer.

  > **[Impact Estimate: 00:00:16]**

  Samael’s breathing sped up.

  Then—

  He froze, realizing something.

  “…Wait.”

  He scrambled out from under the bodies.

  Red hissed, “What are you doing?!”

  Samael ran to the bar.

  Glass cracked underfoot.

  He looked at the ale barrels and realized they were too big, and he wouldn't be able to make good on his promise.

  He grabbed several bottles of high-proof liquor instead and ran back.

  Everyone stared at him.

  Open-mouthed.

  Ash blinked.

  “…Now?”

  > **[Impact Estimate: 00:00:07]**

  The tower groaned.

  The air above the tower compressed into a single violent instant.

  Then it came down.

  The third floor vanished.

  Disintegrating like it never existed.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  The force punched through the core chamber, through the second floor, through the first, driving everything down in one crushing collapse.

  Under the pile, Samael heard nothing, but He felt it.

  The bodies above them compressed violently. Armor bent. Bones snapped. The mound dropped as the upper structure pancaked.

  The air was ripped from his lungs, then all he saw was Darkness.

  Then impact again as debris buried what was left of them.

  Then there was Silence.

  Dust filled everything.

  Samael could hear random coughing from somewhere.

  Heavy stones pressed across Samael’s back and legs. Something sharp dug into his shoulder.

  For several seconds, no one moved.

  cough

  Then—

  Another cough.

  Ash.

  “…are you guys still alive?”

  Red’s voice followed, strained. “It looks like it.”

  Malachai shifted a stone off himself with effort. “Alive.”

  Samael tried to inhale and almost blacked out from the ringing in his ears. He rolled to his side and pushed free from beneath the bodies.

  The tavern was gone.

  The first floor had collapsed into a crater of rubble. The second and third floors no longer existed. Only a jagged ring of outer stone remained, open to the sky like the broken rim of a bowl.

  Smoke drifted upward.

  Ash pulled himself upright, blood running from his temple.

  “Well,” he muttered, “that was rude.”

  Red stood slower, one arm tight against her side. Bruised. Possibly cracked rib. Still steady.

  Malachai freed himself last, favoring his left shoulder.

  The Black Rose lay a few feet away, half-buried in debris.

  Alive.

  But something in her eyes had changed.

  She reached toward the nearest standing wall.

  Her tower was gone.

  What is she going to do now?

  Samael staggered to his feet, vision swimming.

  [Structure: Damaged]

  [Structural Regeneration: Slow Cycle Engaged]

  The words hit harder than the blast.

  “…I can never have anything nice,” he whispered.

  Ash looked around at the ruins.

  “Tell me that did not just happen. What kind of tier would that come from?”

  Black Rose pushed herself upright slowly, coughing once.

  “It did, and I don't think even a tier 2 is capable of that, maybe if I saw it from a distance, I could tell,” she said hoarsely.

  Above them, the sky was clear.

  No visible attacker.

  Just open air and drifting dust.

  Red scanned the horizon.

  “We’re exposed.”

  Malachai nodded once.

  “If they fired once, they can fire again.”

  Samael swallowed and checked.

  [External Signature: Fading]

  [Immediate Follow-Up: Unlikely]

  “They’re not firing again,” he said.

  Ash glanced at him. “Confident?”

  “No,” Samael admitted.

  Black Rose looked at him sharply, growling

  “You, it was you who took my tower,” she said, pointing at Samael

  He didn’t answer.

  Wind moved through broken stone.

  The tower that had defined her power for years was now rubble at her feet.

  Ash wiped blood from his lip.

  “So,” he said lightly, “what now?”

  Silence lingered.

  Then—

  Samael remembered.

  The liquor.

  He turned toward what remained of the bodies.

  Miraculously, some of the liquor made it so he could see them through the stones.

  He stumbled over and began digging through debris.

  Ash stared at him.

  “…You cannot be serious.”

  Samael pulled a half-broken bottle free and saw that three bottles survived.

  One cracked but sealed.

  He exhaled in relief.

  Red closed her eyes briefly.

  “You risked your life for that.”

  Samael looked at the devastation around them.

  “What do you know?” he snapped. “With the world ending, how could I die sober?”

  Ash just stared.

  “You might not know this,” Samael continued, already twisting the cracked bottle open, “but hard liquor is excellent for settling the nerves.”

  He lifted it and sniffed.

  His expression shifted.

  “…What is that smell?”

  He took a curious swing.

  Immediate regret.

  He spat it out violently.

  “Ugh— what is this garbage?!”

  Ash barked a laugh despite the blood on his face.

  Samael stared down at the liquor he’d just wasted.

  He hesitated.

  Then, with visible resignation, lifted the bottle again and took another drink.

  His face twisted like he was swallowing poison.

  But this time, he forced it down.

  Ash snorted.

  “…Give me that.”

  He held out his hand.

  Samael narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

  “Because if it’s that bad, I need to experience it myself.”

  “That’s not how it works.”

  Ash wiggled his fingers impatiently. “Share.”

  Red exhaled through her nose. “You’re all idiots.”

  Malachai, after a brief pause, extended his hand as well.

  “For evaluation,” he said calmly.

  Samael stared at him. “You too?”

  Black Rose didn’t move at first.

  Then, after watching them for a moment longer than necessary, she said flatly,

  “If we’re passing it around, don’t skip me.”

  Samael blinked at all of them.

  “You do realize it tastes like something that shouldn’t legally be called liquor.”

  Ash grabbed the bottle from him anyway and took a generous swing.

  He froze.

  His expression went blank.

  Then slowly, painfully—

  “…Oh.”

  Red actually smirked.

  Ash swallowed with effort and coughed once.

  “Why does it taste like boiled shoes?”

  He handed it to Malachai.

  Malachai took a measured sip.

  Paused.

  Swallowed.

  “It is… aggressively unpleasant.”

  He passed it along.

  Black Rose took the bottle last.

  No expression.

  She drank.

  Lowered it.

  “…I’ve had worse.”

  That made everyone look at her.

  Red took the bottle next without comment, tipped it back, and returned it without reacting.

  Samael watched them all in disbelief.

  “…We almost died.”

  Ash wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “And now we’re alive.”

  He clapped Samael on the shoulder.

  “You’re right. I can feel my nerves calming already.”

  For a moment, standing in the ruins of a tower that no longer existed, covered in dust and blood and debris—

  They passed the bottle.

  Ash took another small swing, grimaced, then squinted sideways at Samael.

  “Huh. By the way… with how small you are, what do you know about drinks calming the nerves, hmm?”

  Samael went still.

  Red closed her eyes briefly.

  Malachai sighed like he’d seen this coming.

  Samael turned his head slowly toward Ash.

  “I may be small,” he said evenly, “but I’m big where it matters.”

  Ash blinked.

  There was a beat of silence.

  Red actually coughed to hide a laugh.

  Malachai pinched the bridge of his nose.

  Black Rose looked between them, unimpressed. “If this is a mating ritual, I’m leaving.”

  Ash stared at Samael another second—

  Then he started to laugh.

  “I knew I liked you.”

  Samael took the bottle back with dignity that absolutely did not match his size, a size he had yet to realize had changed.

  Black Rose watched them in silence.

  No tower.

  No weapon.

  Injured.

  And standing beside the people who had taken everything from her.

  For a long moment, she said nothing.

  Then—

  “You don’t understand what just happened.”

  Her voice was hoarse, but steady.

  Ash glanced at her. “We got hit.”

  She ignored him.

  “That wasn’t meant to destroy the building,” she continued. “It was meant to erase me.”

  Silence settled again.

  Red’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re saying that was personal.”

  Black Rose let out a faint breath.

  “I’ve been tested before. Pushed. Probed.” Her gaze shifted toward the horizon where the strike had come from. “This was confirmation.”

  Samael lowered the bottle slightly.

  “Confirmation of what?”

  “That I was worth removing.”

  Ash gave a crooked grin. “Looks like they missed.”

  She looked at him then.

  “No,” she said quietly. “They didn’t.”

  Her eyes moved to the ruined tower.

  “My weapon is gone.”

  Samael felt something faint through the stone beneath his boots.

  Weak.

  But alive.

  He said nothing.

  Black Rose continued.

  “Whoever did that believes I’m dead.”

  She looked at each of them in turn.

  “And if they learn I’m not…”

  She didn’t finish the sentence.

  She didn’t need to.

  Malachai spoke first.

  “Then they send something to finish it.”

  Red adjusted her grip on her blade.

  “Or come themselves.”

  Ash cracked his neck.

  “Good.”

  Black Rose’s gaze shifted to Samael.

  “You,” she said flatly. “You felt it too.”

  He didn’t answer.

  “You’re not ordinary,” she continued.

  “He’s definitely not ordinary,” Ash smirked, remembering the length this guy went for his booze.

  Black Rose ignored him.

  Black Rose stepped closer despite the pain in her ribs.

  “You took control of it,” she said quietly. “How did you do it?”

  Samael didn’t answer immediately.

  He took another drink instead.

  Made a face.

  Swallowed anyway.

  “I didn’t,” he said.

  Her eyes didn’t move.

  “When my authority slipped,” she continued, “something else was already inside my tower.”

  Samael shrugged.

  “Maybe it slipped.”

  “That isn’t an answer.”

  He looked at her then, irritation flashing.

  “Who do you think you’re talking to?” he snapped. “You had us chained in your basement.”

  Ash went still.

  Samael gestured vaguely with the bottle.

  “You tried to sell us. Or worse. And now you’re interrogating me?”

  Black Rose didn’t blink.

  “You should be more concerned with staying alive,” Samael added.

  Right then, Red moved.

  The edge of her blade settled lightly against Black Rose’s throat.

  “Enough,” Red said calmly.

  Silence fell.

  Her eyes stayed on Black Rose.

  “You don’t get to question him,” she continued. “Not after what you did.”

  Black Rose’s breathing remained steady despite the steel at her skin.

  “And what will you do?” she asked quietly.

  Red’s grip didn’t change.

  “That depends on whether you become useful.”

  Ash smirked faintly.

  Malachai said nothing, but his presence shifted slightly behind Red. Even he was dissatisfied with this woman. Because of her, he almost ended up God knows where.

  Samael took another slow drink. This one he didn’t spit out.

  While watching all the drama unfold, he was looking at Black Rose, wondering why someone so pretty had them chained up in the basement. Don’t tell me it was for her personal pleasure.

  Then he started wondering if he made a mistake by being in a rush to escape that basement.

  Hmm.

  What a missed opportunity.

  Black Rose’s gaze flicked once to the blade.

  Then she looked back up at Samael like a silent challenge. She had a feeling the others didn't know he took control of her tower.

  Red finally said, “We’re leaving.”