Chương 26: 026

Everything slowed, the world dragging as a sick realization slammed into place. The cloaked figure wasn't Silas. It was Maya. Her cries carried up the stone like hooks, each sob tearing straight through my chest. I could hear her even from stories below, thin, terrified, painfully young. The undead had formed a loose ring around her, armor clinking softly as they shifted. They weren't rushing her yet. Yet. That restraint terrified me more than a charge would have. We needed to act. Now.

I spun on the nearest guard, stabbing a finger toward the scene below.

"Why aren't you shooting?" My voice came out sharp, ragged.

"They're surrounding a child!" The guard turned his helmet toward me, visor catching the torchlight, but he didn't raise his bow. Didn't move at all.

"King Silas's orders stand," he said flatly.

"We wait until the enemies are in position." Something hot flooded my vision, red bleeding in from the edges. I grabbed the strap of his quiver and hauled him close until our heads nearly touched.

"Why is she there?" I snarled.

"Silas was supposed to be the bait." I couldn't see his face, but I heard the scoff, thick with contempt.

"We would never risk His Majesty. Who better to serve than an orphaned brat?" A pause, then he shrugged.

"No one will miss her." The words lodged in my throat like broken glass. Monsters were real. They always had been. I'd seen them on Earth, smiling, ordinary. Humans. I'd hoped Nexus would be different. Apparently, cruelty traveled well between worlds. If I survived this, Silas would pray the undead had taken him. That cowardly snake would learn exactly what regret felt like. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

I forced the bloodlust down, hands shaking as I wrenched the guard closer.

"She's a child," I hissed.

"She deserves to live like one. Slime like you don't get to decide she's expendable." He grabbed my wrist, fingers crushing hard enough to bruise.

"And what exactly are you going to do about it?" Pain flared, but I ignored it. My gaze dropped back to the courtyard. The undead were tightening the circle now. Maya stumbled backward, scrambling, panic robbing her of coordination. Then, she looked up. Wide, wet, desperate eyes found me. She reached out, mouth forming my name in a scream I felt more than heard. Something inside me snapped into place. The world realigned, cold certainty settling in my chest like forged steel. Damn the apocalypse. Damn this world.

That kid was getting out alive, even if I had to burn everything else to ash. I turned back to the guard, grip iron-tight.

"I'm going to save her. And you're going to help me." I could practically hear his eyebrow lift beneath the helmet as he laughed.

"Why would I?" His head tipped back and I surged forward, slamming both palms into his chest.

"I never said you'd help willingly." I hurled him over the wall and jumped after him. Shouts rose behind me, boots scraping stone, but I ignored them. The guard thrashed beneath me as we fell, nails clawing into my arms, kicks slamming into my legs. I moved with him, keeping his weight under mine. Fear drenched every twitch, like an animal caught in a trap. Not so brave now, are you? Big man, sacrificing a child, real tough when you're the one falling. The ground rushed up, ten yards, five, then none. We hit hard.

Bone cracked beneath the impact, a sickening crunch followed by a scream that rang through the courtyard. The undead snapped toward the sound as one, attention yanked away from Maya. I rolled off him, pain screaming through my legs as I staggered upright. It didn't matter. None of it did. Only Maya. I ran. Half the undead broke toward the fallen guard, and I allowed myself a single vicious breath of satisfaction. Who's bait now, bitch? Shaking it off, I tore the staff from my back and shoved mana into it.

The runes flared, light racing along the carved symbols. I skidded to a stop just outside the circle and slammed the staff into the stone. The orb at its tip surged upward, swelling until it blazed ten times its size, stretching until it formed… a scythe's blade, the wicked curve too bright to look at. I shielded my eyes and plunged forward through the stunned ranks, boots slipping on stone and dirt. Maya.

I reached her, yanking her against my chest and dropping to the ground as relief tore through me, fragile and overwhelming. She was unharmed. Alive. Shaken, but breathing. I made it. The undead army was… Still standing? The light burned, blinding and brilliant, but none of the armored figures fell. None turned to dust. They hadn't even staggered. My relief curdled into dread. I pulled Maya closer, instinct screaming as the truth settled in. The spell hadn't killed them. It had only stunned them.

Mana drain gnawed at me, the staff growing heavier with every breath. I couldn't hold it much longer. And when the light faded, that was when the real nightmare would begin.