Escape - Chapter 28.2
Chapter 28.2
The Serpientes hissed, their predatory eyes gleaming as they watched from all sides. Two armies faced each other, one a legion of darkness with glowing red eyes, the other a sea of scales, both equally terrifying.
Goosebumps prickled Adeline’s skin. 12, surveying the scene, let out a low laugh. ‘No. This can’t be happening.’ She looked back at 12. His golden eyes, now filled with a deep, unsettling malice, were fixed on Shade.
“Dixit autem serpens ad mulierem. ‘Nequaquam morte moriemini!’” 12’s voice, a low growl, uttered words in an unfamiliar language.
Adeline’s heart lurched. 12 released his hold on her and raised a hand towards the skeletal giant. Slowly, deliberately, he closed his fist.
A sickening crack echoed through the hall as the skeletal giant, its bones splintering, twisted and collapsed, as if crushed by a gigantic serpent. The impact of its fall sent massive bone fragments, seemingly made of something harder than steel, raining down.
As is often the case with unexpected sounds, the crash served as a signal for battle.
The Serpientes dropped from the ceiling en masse, clashing with the shadow legion. ‘No. No, this can’t happen.’ Skeletal warriors drew their swords. ‘No.’ The sound of sharp metal tearing through leather filled the air.
‘No. I have to stop this. I can’t let Damian kill anyone else.’
“Damian, stop.” To remain human, he had to act human.
“Stop it!”
As she cried out, 12’s gaze, previously locked on the carnage, snapped towards her. Confusion, wariness, and another intense, unreadable emotion flickered in his eyes.
[Skill: Thunderbolt (Level 4) activated.]
Bolts of lightning rained down from the ceiling, striking only the Serpientes. Their reptilian cries filled the air as blood splattered across the hall. Despite the chaos and flashing lights, Adeline clearly saw the figures standing at the entrance.
“Shade, stop this madness. You’ll be the one who gets hurt if this escalates.”
“Whoa, what? Weren’t you the bait?” Eric, his sapphire-blue eyes sparkling, his platinum blond hair shimmering, stood beside Gato, who scratched the back of his head, idly twirling a Hydra head impaled on his sword. Her temporary allies.
‘I need help.’ The thought was instinctive. She needed their help to stop this madness. Adeline pulled away from 12 and stood up. The din of battle was deafening; even shouting wouldn’t be heard. Standing on the raised dais, she waved her hand, catching their attention.
“…Adeline?” Eric murmured, his brow furrowed.
“Huh? Why is she with that thing?” Gato asked, bewildered. The answer came not from Eric, but from another source.
“Are you still going to insist she’s one of your guild members?” A venomous voice, dripping with sarcasm, cut through the air. Shade was barely coherent, his crimson eyes blazing, his face, normally hidden, now partially exposed. Were it not for the angry, weeping scars, his face would have been dazzlingly beautiful. Now, it was a mask of rage.
“Shade, why do you keep calling her ‘that thing’?” Eric asked, his voice laced with suspicion, his gaze fixed on the chaotic scene in the hall.
Shade scoffed, as if the answer was obvious. “Because she doesn’t have a shadow. No one does, except…”
Only two things in the world lack shadows.
Darkness itself, or the source of light.
***
Some currents can be stopped by a single hand. Until the dam of a babbling brook bursts and floods everything.
“…I have to tell them.” Adeline murmured, taking a step forward. She had a duty to explain.
To tell them that none of this was Damian’s fault, that it wasn’t his will, that they didn’t need to fight.
The ground was a mire of blood. The once gray floor now gleamed with puddles of blood and footprints. Even with the relentless slaughter by the death legion, the Serpientes continued to emerge, endless. This was their home ground. Fighting them with numbers in the endless abyss of the Serpent’s Lair was futile.
12’s hand clamped down on her arm, stopping her from rushing into the fray.
“Adeline.” He rose from the massive chair, his voice clear and strong. She turned to meet his gaze. He looked down at her, his expression unreadable for a moment, before a twisted smile spread across his lips.
“You said you’d stay by my side.”
Her heart sank. He really did smile like Damian. ‘Yes, he is Damian, but…’
“Are you going to the ‘players’?” His low voice cut through the chaos. Adeline’s eyes widened.
She recognized the face. The stark, monochrome features, the aristocratic, cool smile beneath a cascade of unruly black hair.
‘Maybe… maybe he’s the one I can reason with.’
“…Do you not want me to go?” She took a step closer, the air around them thickening. She was close enough to feel a heartbeat, though she couldn’t tell if it was hers or his.
“Then help me.”
His beautiful, unfamiliar golden eyes flickered. Her heart pounded. ‘Please, please let this work.’
“Stop the fighting. And leave with me.” She whispered, her voice low, her gaze locked on his downcast eyes, close enough to touch.
