She moved toward him, her steps quiet but deliberate, her gaze filled with a mixture of anger and concern that only deepened as she closed the distance between them.
She reached out, her fingertips brushing along the bruised mark on his face. The touch was gentle, almost hesitant, as if she feared causing him more pain. Yet her voice was steady, laced with a restrained fury, but not directed at him.
"Did she...?" Es’s voice was a whisper, but Ray could hear the tremor in it, the barely contained rage that simred beneath. He nodded, his face still and unreadable, though his eyes flickered with a vulnerability he rarely showed.
Es’s fingers traced the bruise delicately, and then her touch turned firm as she held his face in her hands, searching his gaze. "I’m sorry," she murmured, her voice thick with emotion, "you should never have had to endure this."
Ray t her gaze, his jaw tense, but he relaxed slightly under her touch, feeling a warmth in the sincerity of her words that seed to ease so of the tension from his body. "It’s not your fault," he replied quietly, his voice tinged with a strength she knew he was summoning for her sake.
She shook her head, the fierceness in her eyes returning. "Maybe not," she said, a new determination setting her jaw, "but that doesn’t an I won’t end it."
Es moved like a shadow, her steps eerily silent as she dropped from the broken window. Her landing was graceful, deliberate, and her gaze honed in on the Second Aunt, who was still clutching her side, struggling to mask the pain with twisted rage. The garden, cloaked in night’s quiet, now pulsed with tension, as if even the shadows were holding their breath.
"Now!" the Second Aunt hissed, her cry sharp and jagged, shattering the silence. From behind the hedges, four figures erged, cloaked in dark clothing and carrying an aura as ominous as the beasts that prowled at their heels.
Es’s eyes darted over them, her mind coldly calculating. The first was a tall, thin woman with a serpent coiled at her feet, its slick scales shimring under the pale moonlight as it hissed, scenting the air.
Beside her, a wiry figure grinned, her hand resting on the head of a snarling white mongrel, its eyes sharp, teeth bared, practically vibrating with bloodlust. The third, a hulking brute, stood silent, her python curled around her arm, muscles rippling under the creature’s weight.
Last, looming in the back, was a figure almost monstrous in size, her summoning beast—a colossal bear—prowling forward with dark, soulless eyes that locked onto Es with animalistic hunger.
Es’s lips twisted into a smirk. "Oh, you brought pets?" she taunted, her voice dripping with mockery. "I hope you have sentintal keepsakes handy, girls... after tonight, it might be the only way to identify you."
The won exchanged uneasy glances, her chilling confidence unsettling them. One sneered, deflecting her nervousness with bravado. "What is she rambling on about?" Another scoffed, flexing her fingers around her weapon.
But before they could make sense of her words, Es tilted her head slightly, and a low growl rumbled through the night. Beside her, her beast, Beom, materialized, a living embodint of raw power and feral elegance.
Beom stood tall, his silver mane shimring like liquid moonlight, his golden eyes mirroring Es’s deadly intent. His muscles coiled and tensed, every inch of his body radiating lethal energy as he awaited her command.
Es’s eyes flicked to Beom, her lips curving into a small, almost imperceptible nod. Without a second’s hesitation, he sprang forward in a blur of motion, his claws unsheathed, teeth gleaming in the darkness.
Second Aunt’s face twisted in shock, her eyes widening as she stumbled back, struggling to comprehend what she was witnessing. Her gaze snapped from the snarling creature before her to Es, disbelief contorting her features.
"You?" Her voice quivered, barely a whisper. "You have a beast?"
A flicker of realization crossed her face, deepening the horror. "You... you’re Es Valhale?" she choked, voice rising into a terrified shout.
"Tsk. Quite slow-minded, aren’t you?" Es’s voice, low and sharp, sliced through the air. There was no remorse, only the chill of a decision long made. She knew what she had to do. Today, she had revealed her true self because there was no room for rcy; none of these people would leave here alive.
Her resolve was ironclad. Either they would fall at her hands, or she would give every last ounce of herself in this battle. Yet a cold certainty settled over her—she would not die.
Es could feel the familiar pulse of her power surging within her, a strength she had carefully concealed for so long. She knew the depth of her abilities, knew the might she wielded was far from ordinary, far from weak. Today, she would embrace it fully, letting none forget the fury of Es Valhale.
The other beasts responded, lunging towards him with hisses, growls, and snarls. The serpent struck first, its fangs darting toward Beom’s neck, but with one powerful snap of his jaws, Beom seized it mid-strike. His teeth crunched through its scales, silencing its hissing in an instant.
The python was next, coiling around his hind leg, but Beom’s claws t it with savage precision, rending its thick skin with a series of swift, brutal slashes. Blood spattered across the grass as the python fell, a limp, torn mass.
The bear charged, its massive paws swinging in a blur, aiming to crush Beom under its weight. But Beom was swift; he evaded the blow effortlessly, rolling to the side before delivering a bone-crushing swipe to the bear’s jaw. The blow was so forceful that the bear stumbled, disoriented, and with a low, guttural growl, Beom lunged, his claws tearing through fur and flesh with rciless efficiency.
Watching the chaos, the won’s earlier confidence disintegrated, horror flashing across their faces as they realized the kind of beast Es commanded. The Second Aunt, still doubled over in pain, scread commands, her voice cracking with desperation.
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