Chapter 31

Kaelon raised an eyebrow after watching me effortlessly kick down the door. “Well, that certainly works for me. Looks like a stairway down.”

He followed right behind me as we descended. The entire place smelled of rot, with mold creeping across the walls. Kaelon covered his nose, trying not to gag.

“What the hell are they keeping down here? It smells like someone who hasn’t showered in weeks.”

“Funny that you’d know what that smells like.” I remarked.

The stairs opened into a large, dimly lit hallway. At the end, there was a guard leaning next to a metal door. I signaled Kaelon to stay quiet and we split. We each took a side of the corridor as we crept forward. The guard didn’t seem to notice us, his head nodding drowsily as he dozed back and forth.

I spotted a small, conveniently placed storage room on Kaelon’s side and looked at him. He met my eyes, and nodded.

I moved up behind the guard and, in one swift motion, clamped a hand over his mouth and locked my arm around his throat. He jerked in panic, muffled sounds breaking against my palm as we dragged him into the small room.

“M-MMMPH?!”

I forced the guard onto the floor and pinned him. Balmung appeared in my hand; I stabbed the blade into the ground inches from his face as a silent warning. He flinched, his eyes flicking to the sword.

“I’ll be asking some questions,” I said. “You answer them. No sudden movement and no calls for help. One wrong move, and I promised you won’t be walking out of here. Do I make myself clear?”

He nodded, and I slowly eased my hand from his mouth.

“First question,” I said. “Are there two women being held here — one in her early twenties and another about fourteen?”

“Huh? How do y-you—” He stuttered

Shhk

“Answer the question,” I spat, the blade scraping his cheek as a warning.

“Y-yes,” he gasped. “That’s… right. But why do you want that information?”

“That doesn’t concern you. Next question: where are you holding them?”

He swallowed and stammered, “If I r-remember correctly, they’re locked in a cell down the corridor, right next to the storeroom. That's all I know, I swear!”

There was still something I needed to confirm. I leaned in, seizing his collar until his head pulled back and his eyes widened. 

“Final question. Who hired you to capture them?”

“I don’t know! I’m just a low-ranking member in the mercenary group—only the boss and the high-ranking men know that!” he blurted, “Please, I’m telling you everything I heard, I swear!”

Kaelon stepped forward and grabbed my shoulder. “Forget it,” he said firmly. “We shouldn’t waste any more time on him. We’ve got what we need—our priority is saving our sisters.”

“You’ve got a point,” I said, loosening my grip and letting go of the guard’s collar. My eyes lingered on him. “But we still have to deal with this guy first.”

“W-wait, you promise me you wouldn’t kill me, if I answered eve—!” 

The guard sprang up mid-sentence and, shooting forward with his concealed dagger.

PWAK

Unfortunately for him, I cut him off with a sharp punch to the jaw. His head snapped to the side, and he slumped, eyes rolling, before he went limp.

“Did you actually kill him?” Kaelon asked, coming over and giving the body a light kick.

“Of course not. Who do you think I am?” I scoffed. 

“Man, you are full of surprises,” Kaelon spun, eyes narrowing as he pointed at the sword in my hand. “I didn’t expect you to make your sword appear out of thin air. How’d you do it?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” I said with a shrug. “It just became able to do that, so I went with it. At this point, I’ll just call it some super magical sword, ’cause that’s the only thing I can think of.”

“All right, let’s go. We’re wasting time.” I pocketed the thought and stepped back into the corridor, Kaelon close behind.

“Yo, Varn! What the hell are you doing out there? I’ve been calling you for a while—why haven’t you answered?” a voice shouted from behind another side hallway, growing louder.

We both froze in place.

“Shit!” Kaelon hissed under his breath.

Before we could dash back, the door swung open—and we came face to face with another thug. He narrowed his eyes as he sized us up.

“How the hell did two brats get in here?”

His gaze dropped to the sword in my hand, then shifted to Varn’s unconscious body lying in the room. For a split second, his jaw tensed—and then he yanked his head back, bellowing, “INTRUDERS!”

I lunged forward, grabbed his face, slamming him into the wall. The concrete cracked on impact—but it was too late. Several men poured out into the corridor, shouting and brandishing weapons, rushing to see what was happening.

“How did these brats find this place?!” one of them barked.

“Let’s just kill them, before the boss finds out!” another snapped.

“Fuck it, we’re beating our way through this!” Kaelon yelled, mana crackling around both his hands. I had already launched myself into the fray, going head-on into the nearest black wolf member.

One of them raised his large great sword overhead and swung down hard. I barely deflected his strike. Pain jolted up my arms, but I ignored it and cut across his hand in one fluid motion. Before he could recover, I seized his collar and flung him shoulder-first into the other men, who were already closing on me.

SWOOSH

A dagger whistled past my ear, I barely dodged it as the attacker lunged from the side, his sword carving through the air where my head had been a moment ago. I jumped back, flipping behind a wooden box.

He swung at me, fury burning in his eyes, and thrust his sword straight at my chest. I kicked the box toward him; it crashed into his legs, throwing him off balance. I proceeded to catch his blade mid-swing, twisted it free from his grip, and drove it through his hand, pinning him to the floor.

He let out a strangled cry of pain as I shifted my focus to the next target. Kaelon was holding his own just fine against the mercenary members, mana flared around him as he launched a wind spell that sent two of them flying back, crashing into the wall with a dull thud.

Channeling mana throughout my entire body, I ran along the wall, kicking off it to launch myself into the air, raising my sword. 

Crimson Rain

A series of rapid slashes cut through the air as I came down, each strike landing with precise, brutal speed. Some tried to block, but it was no use; their guards shattered under the force as they crumpled to the ground, groaning in pain.

“YOU BASTARD, I'LL KILL YOU!!” a voice suddenly boomed behind me,

I grabbed one of the fallen men and shoved him up as an improvised shield just as a blade swung for my head. 

“Y-y—” he started, panic strangling his words. I yanked his hair and slammed his head into the floor. He gave a choking sound and went limp.

“How many are there?!” Kaelon exclaimed, ducking and driving a burst of electric mana into a mercenary’s jaw, tasing him.

I shook my head, dodging another swing. “It’s not the number—they just won’t stay down!”

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream rang out in front of us. Kaelon’s body froze, every muscle taut, as he snapped his gaze toward the source of the sound.

“LILITH!” he shouted.

Without hesitation, Kaelon bolted toward the scream, but the men immediately surged around him, trying to block his path.

“Get the fuck out of my way!” he roared, shoving through them with raw force, lightning crackling along his hands.

‘Shit, that idiot Kaelon!’

Thunderlash

I staked Balmung into the ground and started reinforcing my entire body with mana. I gritted my teeth as Kaelon shot out jagged waves of lightning indiscriminately from his hands. The heat seared the hallway as it filled with a brilliant blue. Around me, I could hear screams and shrieks echoing around us, the chaos washing over me until I started to feel numb.

When I came to, all around me were charred bodies strewn on the ground as Kaelon panted heavily. He looked at me and wiped off the sweat from his forehead.

“Sorry,” his voice was rough and awkward, “But, that should keep them down, right?”

I heaved a heavy sigh and nodded, 

“Next time. Give me a heads-up.”

We stumbled ourselves to the metal door at the end of the corridor, but it was stuck. I raised my leg ready to kick it down.

“Caelith! Behind you!”

Before I could react further, a Black Wolf mercenary who didn’t fall to Kaelon’s thunderlash snuck up behind me. I spun around as his knife stabbed into my arm. I endured the searing pain while I grappled the man down to the floor. His face visibly recoiled when he met my expression.

“You crazy bastard…” he uttered,

I snapped his wrist, then drove Balmung across his throat. Immediately after, I hurled his body through the metal door, sending him crashing into the wall.

The door creaked open, and for a moment, I forgot to breathe. A tanned man with blond hair stared at me, fear wide in his eyes. My gaze dropped, and there she was—my sister, tied to the floor, her clothes torn and tangled.

“C-Caelith…?” Elysia whispered, tears streaking down her face.

“Tell me,” I said in a low, deadly tone. “What was it you were going to do to my sister?”

The man tried to act tough, raising his hand. “Who are you? Do you know who you’re mess—”

SPLAT

His right hand hit the ground with a wet, sickening thud. He shakily turned his head downward, eyes widening in terror as he realized what had just happened. I appeared in front of him, slamming him down toward the blood-slick floor.

Kaelon rushed to his sister, who immediately broke down in tears at the sight of her brother.

“B-brother, is that really you…?” Lilith choked out before leaping into Kaelon's arms as he cut through her restraints.

“Yes, it’s me. Everything’s going to be alright now. Are you hurt anywhere?” Kaelon asked gently, brushing a strand of hair.

I still had the man pinned beneath me, my face dropping dangerously close to his.

“What’s wrong?” I murmured, my voice cold and even. “Weren’t you just talking tough a moment ago?”

I tilted my head slightly, eyes narrowing. “So, tell me… how do you want to die?”

“MMMPH! I DWAN MMM WAN TA DWIE!” the man screamed beneath my hand, his words twisted and broken by terror.

“Say…” I said quietly. “How many of your victims said the same thing?”

He stared at me, his pupils trembling and in that instant, I plunged Balmung into his heart. His body jolted once, a strangled gasp caught in his throat, then went limp beneath my hand. I watched the light fade from his eyes before pulling the blade free. 

I stood up, staring down at my blood-soaked hands, then back to the corpse underneath me. My stomach twisted, a disgusting heaviness rising in my chest. I gagged, bending over before finally throwing up.

“Caelith!” my sister cried, her voice thick with concern.

I raised a hand to signal I was fine, wiping my mouth before staggering toward her. Kneeling down, I cut through the ropes binding her, then draped my jacket over her shoulders.

“Caelith, you just—”

I cut Elysia off with a forced smile. The fatigue was finally catching up to me, my body trembling from exhaustion and adrenaline.

“Not now, sis. We need to get out of here. Can you still walk?”

Elysia nodded weakly. “Yeah… I can.” She grabbed my arm for balance and pulled herself up, then flinched at the sight of the wound on my hand.

A deep voice cut through the room, “Don’t move—unless you want the child to die.”

I swung my head toward the voice. Standing in front of us was a six-foot man, a jagged scar slashing across one eye. In his arm was the girl who had guided Kaelon and me here, a knife pressed against her throat.

Fuck. Didn’t I tell her to get out of here? Why the hell is she still here?

“I must commend you,” the man said, his tone calm but edged with menace. “I never expect two mere kids to wipe out my entire Black Wolf Mercenary squad.”

“Either way. None of you are making it out of here tonight.”