At night, a familiar voice spoke out:
"Come out, bastard."
His tone was low and heavy, full of resentment. Elizabeth already knew who it was.
He felt like a fool for letting his guard down. Now he had put her in danger.
Luis kept shouting and threatening to come in. With no other option, he turned to her.
"I'ma lead them away from here."
He placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Listen. Go north, straight. I left sword markings—just follow the path."
She started crying. She didn't want to leave him alone. He saw the fear in her eyes—not for her, but for him.
He looked at her one last time. This time, his voice was sharp.
"Use that key to leave."
He stepped forward and gripped her shoulders tightly. The air around him turned heavy. The warmth he once had in his eyes when he looked at her was gone. Now, the way he looked at her was no different from how he looked at his enemies.
Cold.
Sharp.
Unshakable.
"That's not a request."
A pause.
"That's an order—one you don't disobey."
He handed her Excalibur. If something happened to him, then at least Excalibur would be okay with her.
He stepped out of the cave, and there he was—Luis, standing with five others—the same ones he helped.
"Where's the other one?" Luis asked.
Sylas ignored him and turned to the others.
"So that's how you repay me."
They lowered their heads in shame, unable to look him in the eyes.
"Look at me, you damn coward!" he shouted.
Once again, he was betrayed. Because of him, Elizabeth was in danger.
His lip curled in pure disgust.
"You're all worse than trash."
Luis snapped.
"Shut up! Now where is she?"
Sylas grinned.
"I sent her back."
Luis stomped his foot like a child throwing a tantrum.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter. Now go! Attack him!"
No one moved. They ignored his order.
One of them stepped forward.
"This isn't right." He turned toward the others. "We don't want to enter the school like this."
They turned to Sylas. "We are sorry. We didn't want to do it. He made us," then walked away.
Luis shouted after them:
"I don't need you all! You're all useless!"
Sylas raised his sword, ready to fight. The moonlight shone down between them.
Luis started laughing menacingly, the sound echoing through the forest.
His smile widened. Shadows started to swirl beneath him. Then something began rising out of them.
"Do you know what blessing I received?" he asked.
Sylas recognized the silhouette of the monster. It was the one that had been roaming around at night.
He lowered his head.
"It was you."
He paused.
"It was you! You've been hunting other students!"
Luis laughed harder.
"I killed this ogre when I first landed here. You see, I was blessed by Hades. I was able to resurrect it and make it do my bidding." He continued, "But I only made it come out at night to make people think they were in danger, and like fools, they begged me to protect them."
He looked at Sylas. His eyes turned pitch black.
"Guess what? I killed more than one."
Then another monster rose.
Sylas realized he had to get out of there. He could hear Elizabeth's heartbeat going crazy.
Without a second thought, he ran west. He didn't look back.
The massive monster chased him, crushing everything in its path.
Then he stopped.
Only one set of stomping followed him. He turned and saw that only one of them was chasing. That meant the other one was still back at the cave.
Then he remembered—those things had a strong sense of smell. Panic set in.
He turned and dashed straight at the monster.
They ran toward each other.
At the last second, he slid between its legs and slashed the back of its ankle joint. It collapsed onto one knee but spun wildly, slamming a massive arm into his side and sending him flying into a tree. The impact knocked the air from his lungs.
He struggled to rise. The monster was still stuck on one knee. He used that chance to run.
A few of his ribs were broken. Every step stung, but he forced himself to scramble back toward the cave.
From a distance, he saw the monster kneeling, poking its eye through the cave opening, trying to see inside. Luis stood next to it.
His mind went blank. His body moved on its own. The pain vanished. He shot forward.
They didn't see him coming.
In one smooth, ruthless motion, he slashed the monster's right ankle.
It screamed, the sound tearing through the forest.
Without waiting, he twisted and swiped the left ankle too.
While it was still kneeling, he climbed its back, plunged his sword into the neck, and slashed—killing it instantly.
Luis just stood there.
He froze in fear as Sylas's red eyes locked onto him.
Luis began trembling, as if those eyes triggered some buried nightmare. He screamed and ran.
Sylas didn't chase him. He turned back toward the cave.
Elizabeth was inside, still shaking in fear while clutching Excalibur.
When she saw him, she ran to him.
He didn't wait to speak. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along toward the nearest checkpoint.
His body was still in agony. She had to help him stay upright as they moved.
The stomping came back—but it was different now. It felt like a stampede.
They were getting closer.
"Take out your key," he muttered, not looking at her.
She fumbled for it in her pocket. The sound of thundering steps grew louder.
As they ran, something lunged from the side.
Sylas sensed it and blocked the attack, but in doing so, he crashed into Elizabeth—knocking the key from her hand.
He didn't notice it at the time.
They kept running, the monsters hunting them.
They finally reached the checkpoint.
Only then did he realize the key was missing.
Seeing no other option, she handed him Excalibur.
"Go. I'll keep them busy."
Sylas smiled. Even when she tried to act brave, her hands and body wouldn't stop shaking.
He turned toward the keyhole, inserted the key, and twisted it. A door appeared.
He opened it.
"That's a good plan," he muttered, stepping toward her.
"But my plan is better."
He grabbed her by the collar, yanked her back, and threw her through the door.
Her eyes widened in shock. The only word that came out of her lips was:
"Why?"
As she disappeared through the door.
He smiled one last time, raising his hand in a small wave, as the door closed between them like a final wall.
In his head, one thought remained:
Because I can't lose you again.
The sound of the monsters getting closer.
He let out a small laugh.