The Last Esper [BL] Chapter 8: Don’t run, he already heard you

The Butcher’s eyes were bloodshot, and his teeth bared like a rabid wolf’s, saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth. His skin, covered in red welts, looked like it was about to burst.

Fear still gripped Rhys’s chest, paralyzing his muscles and screaming at him to run, but the terror of losing Eun-woo was even stronger. With a roar that didn’t sound like his own, Rhys launched himself at the Butcher and kicked him, knocking him back several feet, hitting the wall with a thud.

Panting, he crouched down next to Eun-woo, took his arm with trembling hands, and helped him up. Driven by instinct, they ran down the opposite side of the hallway, trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the Butcher, who seed to be right on their heels.

In the distance, Rhys spotted a surveillance cara. He raised his hand sharply, trying to get the guards’ attention, then made a signal with his fingers. If they granted his request to open the doors, the cara would move to the right...

He cursed as he saw it turn left.

Why hadn’t they helped Rhys?

"Rhys," Eun-woo called between gasps. "At the next intersection, turn right. I’ll distract him..."

"No." Rhys’s response was clear and firm. "We can do this, together."

Then Rhys stopped dead in his tracks.

His eyes were fixed on the end of the corridor.

There was another Butcher there.

He was colossal, a mass of deford muscle whose head almost touched the ceiling. His back was so broad it almost filled the entire corridor. In the dim light, his eyes shone with a ferocious appetite, fixed on them as if he were already savoring their flesh.

Without wasting a second, Rhys pushed Eun-woo against the wall, shielding him with his body. Then he spun around, just as the smaller Butcher lunged at them. In one fluid motion, Rhys intercepted him. His fists moved with precision, hitting key points that forced the creature to the ground.

For a mont, the Butcher was immobilized, but then, with a bestial growl, he bolted upright and tossed Rhys into the air. Rhys fell backward, hitting the ground with a crunch.

Eun-woo didn’t move, paralyzed by the fear that Rhys would be hurt, his body shaking uncontrollably.

In front of him, Rhys dodged bites and claws as if he knew each attack before it happened. There was ease in his movents, a chilling familiarity with his enemy’s style. As if this wasn’t the first ti they’d faced each other... As if he’d done it several tis before...

Eun-woo held his breath.

Fear tightened his chest and gripped his throat. His hands trembled, his nails digging into his palms, and yet he couldn’t take a step.

He knew he had to do sothing, that he couldn’t just stand there watching Rhys dodge swipes and bites, growing more and more exhausted, increasingly vulnerable. But his legs wouldn’t respond.

Move.

Do sothing.

If you don’t, they’ll kill him.

He didn’t want to lose him.

Not like that.

Rhys lay on the ground, pinned under the Butcher’s weight, which was thrashing and clawing at him furiously. Blood stained his clothes, and his arms barely managed to cover his face.

Seeing him like that, sothing inside Eun-woo snapped. A wave of despair and rage shook him completely.

Without thinking, he launched himself forward.

He pushed the Butcher with all his might, willing to divert his attention from Rhys even for a second.

The Butcher’s body fell heavily to one side, with a dull thud that echoed through the hallway.

Rhys didn’t move. He lay on the floor, his breathing ragged, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, his hands still raised as if he expected another blow. It took him a few seconds to realize the attack had stopped.

He blinked slowly, as if he couldn’t process what had just happened. He turned his head with effort and saw Eun-woo, trembling, with his hands outstretched toward him... and the Butcher’s corpse at his feet.

He didn’t understand it.

The Butcher had fallen with a single push.

Rhys swallowed, barely managing to prop himself up on his elbows. He looked at Eun-woo, as if seeing him for the first ti.

"Are you OK?"

Eun-woo didn’t reply.

His normally dark eyes now glowed a deep red. His breathing was labored. He brought a hand to his chest, as if sothing was burning inside him, and took a step back, shrinking against the wall.

Rhys sat up fully, alard.

"Eun-woo..." he said more firmly, reaching out a hand toward him. "Look at ."

Eun-woo squeezed his eyes shut, as if the re act of looking hurt. A stifled moan escaped his throat, and his body jerked sharply, as if sothing was tearing him apart from the inside.

Then a dull, heavy sound broke the silence.

The Butcher at the end of the hall began to move. First one step. Then another. Each footstep made the floor shake.

Rhys glanced at Eun-woo, still hunched against the wall.

"Eun-woo!" he exclaid, running toward him. He held him by the shoulders. "You have to move! Do you hear ? You have to get out of here with !"

Eun-woo kept trembling, as if he were fighting sothing bigger than fear. As if his own body no longer belonged to him.

Rhys stepped in front of Eun-woo just as the Butcher reached them. He barely had ti to raise his arms to protect himself when the impact threw him against the wall with a thud that knocked the wind out of his lungs.

The monster advanced with a guttural growl, widening its stance even further. Rhys moved forward. He knew he couldn’t win, not completely, but all that mattered to him was stalling for ti.

"Co for , damn it," he said hoarsely.

He slipped under the Butcher’s arm and aid a quick punch at his ribs, where he presud there must be so weak spot, but the monster barely flinched. Instead, it responded with a slash of its paw that ripped across Rhys’s back.

The pain was stabbing.

Rhys scread and fell to his knees, but got back up.

"Eun-woo!" he shouted, his eyes never leaving the Butcher. "You have to run, now! Don’t just stand there!"

There was no response.

Rhys kicked the monster’s stomach, and it felt like kicking a wall. The Butcher grabbed him by the arm and slamd him back to the ground. The impact drew another groan from him. He struggled to breathe.

Still, he dragged himself back to his feet, staggering, his fists raised.

He knew it wouldn’t last long, but he needed to hold on a little longer... just a little longer...

"Eun-woo... please..."

Rhys wasn’t fighting for himself. He was fighting for the boy who was still hunched against the wall, fighting sothing he didn’t yet understand. He was tired already. His lip was split, one eyebrow split, and his arms were shaking from sheer exhaustion.

The Butcher stood once more, ready to finish him off. And Rhys prepared to do the only thing he could: surrender in exchange for ti. Even if it was just one more second for Eun-woo to escape.

"Don’t look at like that," he murmured, unsure whether he was talking to the monster or himself. "Just... don’t touch it."

He lunged forward, with no real strength, just an attempt to distract the Butcher.

He didn’t manage to hit him.

A subtle sound stopped him.

And then, a reddish glow appeared, illuminating the hallway.

Not an explosion, not a fire, not electricity.

It was sothing else...

Rhys turned awkwardly.

Eun-woo slowly sat up, no longer hunched over in pain, but upright and serene. His eyes glowed a deep, inhuman red. He was no longer trembling. He didn’t even seem scared. His steps were slow and graceful.

"Eun-woo..." Rhys whispered, unable to recognize him.

Eun-woo ignored him. Not out of coldness, but because his attention was completely fixed on the Butcher. The monster seed to hesitate for the first ti. He took a step back.

Eun-woo raised a hand.

He didn’t scream or throw any punches.

He just ca closer.

And with just that, the Butcher fell back. The creature shook as if sothing invisible was crushing it from within. Its body twisted violently, as if its own flesh betrayed it.

Then he fell to the ground.

Dead.

Eun-woo slowly lowered his hand. The brightness in his eyes began to fade, and with it, his body began to sway.

Rhys rushed to support him before he completely collapsed.

"I’ve got you," he murmured, holding him against his chest. "I’m here. I’ve got you."

Eun-woo trembled in his arms. His body, once firm and strange, was beginning to buckle under the weight of whatever he’d done. The sparkle in his eyes faded, and in its place remained only the pale trembling of soone on the verge of collapse.

"No, no, no..." Rhys held him tighter. "Stay with , okay? Look at . Everything’s okay now. It’s over."

Eun-woo didn’t reply.

His breathing beca erratic, his gaze lost, and before he could say anything else, his eyes closed and his body collapsed completely, unconscious.

"¡Eun-woo!"

Rhys held him as best he could, clutching him to his chest, his mind in turmoil.

He didn’t have ti to react, the next minute the sound of firm footsteps filled the hallway.

Rhys raised his head, still kneeling with Eun-woo’s body in his arms. At the end of the corridor, through the mist and the remains of the confrontation, a silhouette erged first... and then another... and another.

Soldiers.

Black uniforms, weapons pointed forward, faces hidden behind visors. They deployed with precision, surrounding the area as if they already knew exactly what to expect.

And behind them, advancing calmly, appeared Rong Ye. His presence was like a sentence.

Rhys clenched his jaw, crouching over Eun-woo like a human shield. Blood continued to trickle down his face, his muscles crying out for relief... but he wouldn’t move.

Not if they were going to touch it.

Rong Ye’s voice cut through the air like a scalpel.

"Interesting... Very interesting".

His silhouette stopped a few feet away from them. Then, still staring at Rhys, he raised a hand.

And the soldiers raised their weapons.