[A few hours ago]
"My blood would be enough?" Emma asked her father with a tone of doubt.
The older one nodded gave a brief bow, "Your blood would be enough. You are blessed by Lord Raphael. He is one of the Elite Ones in the heavens. Your blood is as sacred as the Holy Water. That’s why I always wanted you to remain within the Tower."
Her father always warned her about her blood. Well, she was blessed by one of the Three Supreme Ones and has the potential to reach Nephilim.
Emma nodded in assent...if it would only take her blood to please the Shaman, then so be it.
....
Gruof Gruof
The Night Demon let out its last breaths, its body fading into nothingness. Emma quietly lifted William into her arms.
His breathing was weak. He had lost too much blood. The curse clung to him like a death grip, draining his life away with every second. She knew what she had to do.
"E-Emma..." Kevin groaned, reaching his hand out for her. But at that moment, the world held nothing for Emma except William.
"Emma..." Kevin’s eyes grew wet as she ignored him—the woman he had dedicated his life to. He watched her retreat into the shadows until she disappeared. His hand dropped to the ground, his eyes closing.
But then—an ominous feeling struck him. A shiver raced down his spine. His instincts screamed that something terrible was coming.
"No... I can’t let it happen..." Despite the pain tearing through his body, he forced himself up. With his sword in hand, he staggered toward the exit. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.
....
Emma carried William out of the mine. There was no time to think or search for a safe place. She could feel it—his aether was fading. He had already begun using his reserves, and soon even his life force would be drained.
No, she couldn’t let that happen.
"Emma?!" Lizel cried out as she spotted Emma carrying the familiar blond in her arms. But no one else was with her.
"Where’s Kevin?" Natalie asked, her voice trembling.
Emma didn’t answer. Her eyes looked empty, distant, as she gently laid William on the ground.
"Nngh..." William groaned in pain. His missing arm burned with unbearable agony.
Emma placed her hand on his wound and began chanting a healing spell. But the arm didn’t return. Instead of flesh and bone, there was only a twisted mass of muscle and veins.
Healing required the subject’s magic to respond, and William had almost none left.
Emma’s heart sank. Helplessness weighed heavily on her chest.
"Are you going to answer—huh?!" Laila shouted, stomping toward Emma. But before she could reach her, she slammed into an invisible wall.
Emma turned her head slightly, her voice calm yet cold. "Don’t come in my way."
It wasn’t a plea. It was an order. And something about those words carried a pressure that warned Laila—the punishment for defying them would be unbearable.
She clicked her tongue in frustration and turned toward the mine. "Forget it. I’ll search for him myself."
Emma took a deep breath.
He was struggling to breathe.
She can’t delay this anymore.
Standing up, she took out a dagger from her belt.
Her lips parted, ready to call forth the shaman but then,
"NO! DON’T DO IT!" Someone banged on the barrier.
It was Kevin.
Emma gritted her teeth before her magic came to life.
She chanted another barrier and more.
Kevin was pushed back, no way of reaching Emma.
"Kevin, what is happening?!" Natalie asked as she approached him.
Kevin gritted his teeth, "We need to stop this. NOW!" He clutched his blade and gathered light energy into it.
His blade shone, absorbing the light, his body grew stronger, his wounds healing.
Natalie had to take some steps back, knowing how futile it would be to try and stop him.
Kevin was in a frenzy. All he could see right now is his Emma being taken away by that monster.
And while he was alive, he wouldn’t-
*DHAK*
"Ah..." The hold from his sword slipped.
Kevin’s consciousness slipped right away as he fell to the ground.
Natalie gasped as she saw the man who just chopped Kevin’s neck and sent him to oblivion.
The man turned towards Natalie before pressing his finger to his lips.
Inside the dome, Emma didn’t know what stopped the disturbance but she didn’t care.
All she knew right now was to summon the being who can save William.
Pressing the dagger against her forearm, she prayed,
"Rise from the still grave, walker between worlds.
I, a trembling mortal, tear open my own vein.
Take this blood, my living seal, my only truth.
Grant me what the dead whisper, and bind it in my name."
As her prayer finished, she drew the blade downward, leaving a deep red mark there, however, rather than hitting the ground, her blood hissed mid-air, as if consumed by an invisible force.
The sky darkened. It fell as if the world was nearing its end.
The silence in the air was eerie and everyone around the dome could feel that what Emma had summoned, shouldn’t be existing.
However, against their will and plead, she stood before it.
The being who doesn’t belong to either side.
The being who can bless and curse anyone regardless of their race.
And the entity who was going to save William.
"Another prey~how nice."
°°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading.