Blood fell first. A drop... Then another. Its sound on the sticky ground seed louder than anything else.
Kai stared. He didn’t understand. The red spread slowly across his chest... Erging from a place that shouldn’t have been wounded at all. His breaths ca in ragged gasps. He lifted his head, looking at Skyler. His eyes were blurred... But the question ca out clear.
"...Why?"
The silence didn’t last. The laughter returned.
"Ha ha ha ha ha"
From the left.
"Ha ha ha...haha .."
From behind.
"Ha...ha...ha....ha"
Directly above them. The sound didn’t echo... No reverberation. Instead, it appeared inside their heads.
Skyler froze. His hand still gripped the weapon lodged in Kai’s body. It took a full second for reality to sink in.
"...Damn it."
He pulled the weapon out imdiately. Blood surged. Kai choked on the air. But the laughter grew louder. Higher. Closer. More intense.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha"
As if dozens of throats were opening at the sa mont.
Skyler tightened his grip. His eyes tried to fix the scene in front of him.
Kai was there. Wounded. But, For a brief mont... He saw sothing else. The face stretched. The mouth opened wider than normal. The eyes... completely black. Then everything returned to normal.
Unconsciously, Skyler stepped back half a pace.
"...No."
The ground moved. Not a tremor. But a pulse. The walls contracted. The air suddenly grew heavy...As if the place itself had wrapped its lungs around them.
Kai tried to stand. He fell to his knee. His hand pressed against the wound. Blood oozed between his fingers.
"Skyler... I... can’t see... clearly..."
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Silence.
For just a fraction of a second. Then, The sound ca. Not laughter this ti. A sonic explosion. A deep scream... At a low frequency that shook the bones.
The ground trembled. Kai’s head dropped instantly. His hands shot up to his ears. A muffled scream escaped him.
Skyler gritted his teeth. Blood began to trickle from his ears. The sound wasn’t external. It was inside the skull. Inside the mind. Inside consciousness itself.
Images exploded in their minds. Shadows. Mouths. Teeth. A void opening and closing.
Skyler knelt. His weapon fell from his hand.
"Stop..."
But the sound grew louder. Laughter. A child’s cry. A man’s scream. A woman’s whisper. All at the sa ti. Higher. Deeper. Heavier.
Their perception began to slip. The high was no longer high. The ground was no longer ground. The walls moved slowly... As if they were breathing flesh.
Kai tried to focus. Tried to rember his na. His voice ca out broken.
"I... I’m Kai..."
Skyler slamd his fist on the ground. Trying to anchor his consciousness with force.
"No... don’t... lose control..."
But the darkness moved. Not the disappearance of light. Sothing spreading. Like ink filling water. Engulfing the entire place.
In a single mont, There was nothing left to see. Only the sound. The pressure. The sense that sothing imnse... Was approaching. Very close. Closer than it should be.
A whisper. Pressed right against their consciousness.
"I’ve found you."
The silence fell. Their consciousness began to slip... But it hadn’t extinguished yet. Kai tried to open his eyes wider. No difference. Nothing to see.
Only, Sounds. Whispers at first. Distant. Then closer.
A rough... deep... very close voice:
"Hmmm... Drakhaens... seems their at will be good."
Blood froze in Kai’s veins. Skyler gritted his teeth. The voice didn’t co from a direction. But from all directions.
Another voice. Smaller. Closer to a child’s throat... but it wasn’t a child.
"Mother... I haven’t eaten Drakhaen in months..."
Kai felt a shiver run down his spine. Skyler whispered with difficulty:
"...Don’t move."
But a third voice cut in.
"Hmmm... no... these aren’t like the Drakhaens we ate..."
A brief silence.
"I feel... sothing... different... about them..."
The ground beneath them moved. Not a tremor. Sothing crawling. Close. Very close.
Kai tried to pull himself back. His hand touched the sticky ground.
But, Sothing else brushed his fingers. Cold. Wet. He pulled his hand back imdiately. His breaths quickened.
Skyler tried to grab his weapon. He couldn’t find it.
More voices. Many. Intertwined :
—"Shall we eat them?"
—"Wait..."
—"I want the head..."
—"No... Mother decides..."
—"But I’m hungry..."
—"I go first..."
—"No... I..."
The whispers beca chaos. Dozens of throats. So sharp. So deep. So producing grinding sounds instead of words.
Kai felt sothing pass close to his face. Warm air. The sll of rotting flesh.
He froze. Skyler heard it too. He whispered very softly:
"They... can sll us."
Sudden silence. All the sounds stopped. At the sa mont.
A step. The sound of sothing heavy touching the ground. Very close. Closer than before.
"Hmmm... yes..."
It paused.
Kai felt breath hit his forehead directly.
"This... isn’t just Drakhaen..."
Skyler tensed every muscle.Trying to stop his body from trembling.
The voice continued:
"There... is another scent..."
Silence. A low laugh.
"How... interesting..."
Kai swallowed hard.
A small voice spoke excitedly:
"Mother... can I bite just one?"
The stillness exploded inside Skyler’s chest. His fist clenched. The energy inside his core began to tremble. For a fraction of a second All sounds went silent.
Collective laughter erupted.
"Ha ha ha ha ha...ha"
But this ti... It wasn’t just mocking. It was eager. As if they had found a new toy.
Skyler tightened his grip. His fingers finally touched his weapon on the sticky ground. He pulled it toward him quickly.
He stood half in front of Kai. Blood still flowed from the wound. But his eyes... had sharpened.
"Stay behind ."
His voice low... but firm.
"A demon... of a special class..."
A breath.
"Stronger than anything we’ve fought before."
The silence lasted a single pulse. Then, Laughter exploded.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha"
Not one voice. Dozens. From all directions. From within the very air itself.
A rough voice spoke mockingly:
"Hmmmm..."
Another voice continued:
"The Drakhaens... how foolish they are..."
A short laugh.
"They’ve begun dividing our ranks now..."
A small... sharp voice... spoke eagerly:
"Mother... I heard that the Drakhaens are closest to the Demon King..."
It paused.
Then continued:
"His brothers... his children... his personal guards... they are of high rank..."
A third voice... slower... as if scraping against stone:
"As for us...Those who have no direct connection to the Demon King..."
A low laugh :
"They call us..."
It paused. Then a word ca out with clear disdain:
"Ranks... they invented them themselves..."
A collective whisper:
—"Weak..."
—"Average..."
—"Special Class..."
A voice. Only one. Deeper. Heavier. Filled with primal rage.
"Weak...?"
The ground moved. Not a tremor. But a pressure. As if sothing massive was pulling the rocks from within.
"How..."
The voice drew closer. Much closer.
"They dare..."
The air grew heavier.
Skyler felt his knees nearly buckle. Kai behind him was barely breathing.
The voice continued. Each word hit like a crushing boulder:
"Blood... of demons..."
The ground cracked beneath their feet. Black fissures spread into the darkness.
"With weakness...?"
An explosion of pressure. The walls shook. Chunks of the ceiling fell, sticky and heavy. Insects scattered in panic.
Kai pressed his hand to his head. A sharp pain pierced his skull. As if the voice itself was carving into his brain.
Skyler gritted his teeth. Trying to stay standing. Trying. But, His knees sank slightly despite his will.
The voice beca a whisper... but a more dangerous one:
"I will make you... understand... the difference."
And in the darkness before them... Sothing... Began to take shape.
_
Elsewhere, where Lilithia and Viliam had t for the last ti,
A red drop slowly slid down the side of Lilithia’s forehead... Passed near her eye... Then fell onto her cheek. Small scattered wounds across her skin.
Scratches. Marks of friction. Tears at the edges of her clothes. From her last battle.
Viliam looked at her intently, then Took a step closer to Lilithia. His voice ca low... calm... but with a clear warmth:
"Lilithia... Are you alright?"
She smiled.
A faint... tired... but genuine smile.
"Yes... As long as I see your beautiful face... I no longer feel anything."
A mont of silence. Viliam slowly raised his hand. He wiped the streak of blood from her cheek with his thumb. His fingers lingered on her skin a second longer than necessary.
"I’m sorry..."
His voice lower this ti.
"Because... I couldn’t protect you."
Her eyes widened slightly. But before she could speak, He continued. A warm smile... tinged with sadness at the sa ti:
"But... Atsuro did."
Lilithia looked at him... Slowly opened her hand. The stone. Atsuro’s stone. The faint light within it barely pulsed.
"This... Is the last of him."
Her voice dropped at the end.
Viliam extended his hands. He took the stone gently... as if it were sothing sacred. He gazed at it for a long mont. The silence between them made the air heavy.
Then he whispered:
"Atsuro... Thank you."
Lilithia placed her hand over his. Over the stone. Her grip trembled slightly.
"I swear... I will destroy that cursed sorcerer... And avenge you... Atsuro."
Viliam smiled. Not a smile of joy. But a smile of promise.
"We will avenge... together."
Then she slowly withdrew her hand.
She hesitated for a mont... Then looked at him directly.
"Viliam... why... did you choose ?"
A brief silence. The air passed quietly between them.
"Even though I... am a demon."
Viliam didn’t answer imdiately. He took another step closer. Very close. His eyes locked with hers.
"Because you..."
He paused for a second. Then smiled a small smile.
"The only person... Who will never betray ."
Lilithia froze. Simple words... Yet they struck her in a place that had never been touched before.
Viliam slowly raised his hand. He ran his fingers through her hair. Dark strands flowing between his fingers. His voice grew softer... closer to a whisper:
"And also..."
He leaned slightly. Their faces drew close, almost touching.
"I love your hair... That resembles the darkness of night."
Her eyes widened suddenly. Blood rushed to her cheeks. She stepped back with a slight force.
"V--Viliam!"
Her voice choked between confusion and anger. He laughed. A short... genuine laugh.
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