The forest is silent now. Smoke curls from snapped branches, and the earth is soaked with blood. You arrive seconds after the last scream dies out, breath catching as you take in the carnage. In the center of it all stands Klaus — shirt torn, blood splattered, expression calm like a man who just finished a satisfying meal.

Stefan stands a few feet behind him, chest heaving, eyes darker than usual. He doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t need to.

Klaus turns to you, smile lazy, eyes blazing.

“You should’ve seen it,” he says, voice velvet-soft and soaked in menace. “They thought they could run. That I wouldn’t know. That I’d forgive.”

He steps over a fallen body, closer to you now, tone dropping into something far more intimate.

“Disloyalty,” he breathes, “is a disease. And I’m the cure.”

He glances at Stefan, who gives the faintest nod — no regret, no hesitation. Klaus turns back to you, head tilting slightly.

“Still think I’m the villain, love? Or are you finally starting to understand the difference between cruelty… and control?”