A sickening clang rang through the corridor as my skull collided with the cold, metal wall. The impact echoed like thunder. Pain seared through my head. Blood filled my mouth.
I couldn't breathe.
Rhyver's ironclad grip clamped down on my face, forcing me deeper into the steel. The air warped around his body, heavy and suffocating, as if his very presence distorted the world.
"Vanessa…"
My eyes searched desperately. Blurred. Weak. But there.
She lay crumpled a few meters away, her body trembling, her breath shallow.
A chuckle rumbled from Rhyver's throat—deep, cruel, feral.
He leaned in, his wolf-like grin inches from my face, breath hot and vile.
"What's wrong, Kajin?" he sneered, his golden eyes gleaming like a beast. "Giving up already?"
His claws tightened. My scream tore through the silence as I felt the bones in my cheek strain under the pressure. My hands scrambled against his arm, gripping, clawing anything to break free.
"Kajin…"
Her voice reached me. Weak, but not broken.
She was still fighting.
Still alive.
Rhyver's ears twitched. His gaze shifted toward Vanessa. Confusion flickered in his eyes then delight.
"Oh?" he mused, head tilting. "So that's why you came here... for her."
My blood boiled.
"Leave her out of this… Rhyver…" I grunted, forcing the words through gritted teeth. My body trembled. My muscles screamed. But I managed to push him back just an inch.
It was enough to make him pause.
His glowing eyes widened, a flicker of surprise breaking through his smug façade.
"Look at you…" he said, almost admiringly. "So she's your weakness, huh?"
My rage flared hotter.
He leaned close again, voice laced with venom. "So pathetic. So weak. So... useless."
That was it.
I dug my fingers into his arm, anger flaring. I didn't care if I tore my hands apart.
"Shut up…" I growled.
He only laughed.
"Oho? Did I upset the little slave?" he mocked, eyes twinkling with sadistic joy. "My bad. Or… maybe I meant to."
His words sliced deeper than his claws.
"Say another word," I warned, my voice a low growl. "And I'll kill you."
Light sparked in my vision. My heartbeat thundered. Something inside me snapped—awoke.
My vision blurred red. My irises burned with a scarlet glow.
And I pushed.
I pushed back hard.
Rhyver staggered, eyes narrowing. "What the hell…"
He struggled to hold me in place. It was no longer one-sided.
"She really means that much to you," he muttered. "Interesting…"
But then his expression darkened.
"Well then," he said, lips curling into a vicious grin. "After I'm done with you–"
His arm surged, shoving me back toward the wall.
"—I'll kill all your little friends."
I screamed, struggling against him. No use.
"And her…"
His aura exploded outward—black and suffocating.
"…I'll enjoy her to her last. Broken. Pleading. Screaming."
Crack.
I didn't think.
I moved.
His arm snapped beneath my fingers.
Rhyver's eyes went wide.
Before he could react, I was there.
My right hand, wreathed in brilliant white flames, slammed into his jaw with an uppercut that shook the entire compound.
A crimson shockwave exploded outward, shattering the walls and sending cracks crawling like spiders through the floor and ceiling.
BOOM!
Rhyver's body shot upward, breaking through the ceiling, then another, and another until he vanished beyond sight.
The world fell silent again.
I stood there, chest heaving, hand still burning with holy fire.