Darkness poured from every inch of Legion, his fire-lit eyes blazing. Zod froze, trembling at the skin-crawling sight.

  His blast didn’t come. Summoning another sword, he tore through the skeletons flying around him, black steam trailing their shrieks. His mind raced in chaos. He barely registered that Legion stood just feet away, most of the dark spirits forming a looming dome.

  Lilith bolted past Legion and the flying pests he released. She set her sights on the two mortals still at the cavern’s entrance. Sade had long disappeared, taking the dark energy haze from the explosion with him.

  Kie spoke urgently to Saeda. “Saeda, give me the fragment.”

  They weren’t close, but Saeda decided it was better that Kie had the fragment than her. Kie hinting she was weak never crossed her mind. She unzipped her pouch and hurled the wrapped plastic ball to him as fast as she could. Nothing could snatch it before it reached his fingers.

  The fragment had barely touched Kie’s hand when a whoosh forced him to pull back. The invisible object missed, but the purple ball of glowing energy heading for his face would not. Its light illuminated the palm of an invisible hand inches from him.

  Saeda’s hand was still outstretched toward Kie when she blasted blue energy at the purple light. The light didn’t extinguish. Instead, the purple energy ball expanded into a force shield, redirecting her blast at two points. Both Kie and Saeda were blasted, thrown farther apart.

  Saeda refused to crash and tumble like a rolling weed. She planted her feet to maintain balance. Kie did the same, tucking the plastic wrap into his pocket. But that was all she saw before Sade appeared, blocking her view of Kie.

  Sade had nearly been blasted under a more advanced invisibility chant. He was convinced the Sentinels could see through any optical illusion and so he dropped the chant. His pale grey lips twitched as he beheld his escaped “pet.” None had ever escaped him and survived—except her.

  Saeda knew Sade had trapped her, but she wasn’t seeking revenge. All she wanted was the battle to end so she could return to Snickers. Still, after that blast she made, she wondered how much damage she could do to the pale-faced creep. She didn’t understand why he revealed himself, but she wasn’t questioning it. He looked better invisible.

  Kie had just pulled his hand from his pocket when a wave of fire surged toward him. How could he dodge it? No—he told himself he wouldn’t dodge. But the heat and the loud zips washed away any thought of the impossible.

  He leapt powerfully into the air, landing with a knee and a fist inside a mini crater. Steam rose around him, filling him with doubt about what he’d just avoided.

  His eyes widened as shadows crawled from the cracks beneath his feet, up his legs, attempting to trap him. The tingling at the top of his head warned him he couldn’t stay. He pushed off, breaking free and leaping away. The short thuds behind him were swords Lilith had formed above his head, plunging into the ground instead.

  Dark smoke surrounded him, the low growls making his ears twitch. He summoned another sword, cutting through it before the dark mana beasts could fully form.

  “Silly mortal,” came the calm, commanding voice through the black haze. The smoke was sucked into the palm of Lilith’s hand, who now stood a foot from him.

  Lilith raised one hand toward him. The loud rip from his leg made him blink twice—his eyes caught the plastic ball trapped behind her fingers. The dark grey fabric sliding from her hand to the ground was from his pants.

  What the…?

  Kie looked down. The pocket that had held the fragment was gone. Lilith had somehow pulled the fragment to herself with some mysterious force—and taken his pocket along. His red-lips-themed underpants peeked out, turning the moment into a nightmare.

  A line of black smoke traced from Lilith’s other hand to the ground, shimmering into a long silver sword.

  “Now that I’ve separated you from the gem, I can destroy every trace of your pathetic existence,” she said, her stiff lips twitching. “For good.”

  The pinches and pulls moved up his pants again—claws from the shadows crawling his legs to keep him trapped. But he didn’t dare look down. The black lightning racing down Lilith’s sword held his gaze hostage.

  Miko had been slammed into the cavern wall by Legion. She fell out of the human-shaped dent in the rock, along with chunks of debris. Her knees hit the ground, pain radiating through her waist as she glimpsed the thin rip in her shirt, blood seeping through. Legion had intended to slice her in half, and that wasn’t surprising. Next time, she promised herself, her feet would stay planted.

  She got to her feet, dizziness spinning her senses. She caught sight of Tee lying still on the ground. Her brows knitted in alarm as she noticed the red-eyed bird swooping down toward Tee.

  Riven had resolved its inner conflict and was going to be useful—for once. It intended to possess the mortal while she lay still. But it wouldn’t let her slice her waist—it wanted damage she could never heal from. Unlike the other Sentinels with light, Tee carried omnipotent darkness. She was a Xeno-victim, and Riven could trigger her mutation.

  Miko remembered the last time Riven possessed her and refused to let it happen to Tee. She planted her left knee and pressed the sole of her foot into the ground, pushing off. In an instant, she stood between Tee and the descending red eyes.

  Huh? She blinked several times, adjusting to the surroundings flashing by at lightning speed.

  How had that mortal teleported without sorcery? Riven, already in super-fast flight, had to spread its wings to stop. The darkness it couldn’t release escaped from the tips of its wings like black fire, its thoughts swept away as it beheld the fast-moving mortal with flickering blue eyes.

  The flying demons had encased both Legion and Zod in a dome of darkness. Inside, pitch blackness reigned, Legion’s fiery pupils the only light. He didn’t need it to make out the mortal before him.

  Dark spirits held Zod on his knees. He pressed both hands to his ears against the brain-splitting shrieks. No matter how hard he pressed, the noise didn’t fade. Streaks of blood ran from his hairline down his face, dripping from his chin.

  The blood was a good sign. Legion knew it was nearly time for the mortal to be knocked out, and his minions were doing the easy part. When that happened, he planned to leave no bone behind.

  The tormented mortal lifted his head, letting out one final cry of pain. Blue energy shot from his eyes. The dark spirits surrounding him stopped shrieking, scattering from the burning beams, though some were reduced to nothing.

  Zod’s arms dropped to the ground in relief, his vision spinning and his head throbbing. Every sound that reached his bloody ears echoed like a distant murmur.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Legion’s eyes stopped circling beneath his hood as he watched his fleeing spirits vanish. He was done using those flying corpses. Chains formed from his hands but didn’t stretch long enough to touch the ground. He had a new idea for his weapon of torture. Dark energy swelled from his palms again—that time shaping into a massive war hammer axe.

  Its handle was a long, thick bone, and the hammer resembled a concrete block lined with sharp spikes beneath it. The wide axe head began to glow orange as Legion channeled his energy into it.

  He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d used that weapon and regretted never naming it. Maybe Slice-n-Dicer, he thought. It fit the plan he had for the mortal kneeling before him. It would drain his energy, sure—but he could always feed afterward. It had been far too long since his last meal. Pity average humans weren’t on the menu.

  Miko’s eyes flared as blue energy surged across her sword. She swung it straight into the black bird. Smoke burst from the creature as it turned intangible—but the vibration that ran up her handle told her she’d hit something.

  A black ball shot through the cloud, smacking the ground and rolling until it stopped. Its wings unwrapped, revealing a lump that steamed like freshly cooked meat. All it needed was a white plate and a bottle of ketchup.

  Miko blinked the image away and turned to Tee, lying flat on the ground. She didn’t know how she had reached her so fast, but there was no time to dwell on it. She knelt beside Tee and slapped her cheek gently. The lower half of Tee’s face was crusted with dried blood, except for the streaks under her eyes where tears had cleared a path.

  “Tee, can you hear me?”

  Miko’s trembling voice faded into another—Jack’s booming yell from a baseball game.

  “Tee, don’t give up! Don’t let the dogs win!”

  She couldn’t fall asleep. Not then. Not when she had to become the best Sentinel. Her eyes ripped open.

  Jack’s echoing words drove her up. She pushed herself off the ground, the cavern humming faintly around her. For a moment, the sound pulled her thoughts away from Miko’s outstretched hand—but then the memory of the fragment and the Harbingers snapped her focus back.

  She grasped Miko’s hand, pulling herself to her feet and summoning two glowing swords despite the ache in her arms. The pain would end soon. She just had to endure it a little longer. Those bastards needed to learn not to use her as bait.

  Miko felt a spark of pride at the fire returning to Tee’s eyes. She didn’t even mind that Tee’s grip nearly crushed her hand. But the metallic scent that clung to her made Miko step back.

  Good thing Miko didn’t know about the burning chains—or she’d question why Tee’s clothes were untorn, only faded and crushed, their color drained.

  “Tee, look.”

  Miko pointed her sword toward the steaming ball as it vanished through a swirling vortex. The four-eyed bird escaped before she could reveal her brilliant plan. She sighed, lowering her sword.

  “Oh fragnuts! I hurt the bird—but it left!”

  Tee turned to the battlefield. “Forget the shrimp. I need a whole whale to take down. Where’s Lilith?” she snapped before sprinting off.

  Miko followed close beside her.

  Across the field, Saeda’s eyes struggled to follow Sid’s hands as they drew glowing symbols faster than she could track. The marks crowded around him until his body was almost hidden, just faint glimpses of black fabric showing through.

  Was he planning to vanish and strike from behind? Enough of that staring game. She launched several spinning swords, slicing toward him—but instead of hitting Sid, they ricocheted back at her.

  She stopped throwing and flipped sideways several times to dodge the blades. When she landed upright, she looked down and froze—she was standing among scattered, glowing rocks.

  Oh no. He was going to release his other trapped pets—at least fifty of them. She gasped as expanding holes split open around her. The Leaks would leap free any second. But they were just a distraction. Sade was creating a flat vortex beneath her feet—wide enough that she couldn’t leap from. That time, he wasn’t letting her out. Ever.

  Meanwhile, Kie’s feet were locked by Lilith’s tangible shadow—but that wasn’t what consumed his mind. One word echoed in his head as he stared at her sword crackling with black lightning.

  Pathetic.

  Was that what she called him? It had to be. That’s what his father thought, leaving without a word. That’s what his brother believed, abandoning him at nine after their mother’s death. That’s what everyone who saw his scars must have thought.

  Only someone pathetic ended up alone. But he wasn’t going to be one.

  Tears never had a chance to fall. He swung his sword with every ounce of rage in him, clashing it against Lilith’s blade. It would not shatter—not that time. That strike was for everyone who had turned their back on him.

  The swords collided with an ear-splitting bang. The force blasted through the air, freeing Kie’s feet and hurling both fighters backward.

  Kie didn’t lose his balance or roll. His spiked boots merely brushed the ground before he stabbed his sword into it to stop. Blue energy flamed along the blade and handle, flowing up his right arm. Something within him clicked.

  He looked up and saw the broken sword in Lilith’s hand, darkness running along it to regrow it to full length. His head felt lighter, every corner of his mind opening. Was that the endless connection of power the elders had spoken of?

  He focused on Lilith, summoning another sword as blue energy ran along its edge. With this strike, he was determined to end her.

  Lilith didn’t blink at the glowing eyes of the mortal. They shrank only slightly as he dashed toward her, two swords coated with Ultramana energy in hand. All that power for a lost cause, she thought. Since he wanted to get close, she decided to lend a hand.

  Her telekinetic pull gripped his neck in her cold palm. She slammed her forehead into his, snapping his neck and knocking him out. His hands dropped both swords, and blood ran down onto her arms. She knew it was time.

  Tee and Miko had passed the creepy dome. Miko thought it was déjà vu. They glimpsed Saeda standing amid glowing rocks as they approached Lilith. When they saw her pull Kie into her palm, they were ready to unleash spinning swords—but the skin-crawling sight froze them in place.

  Lilith’s hair whipped back. Her jaw unhinged, her cheeks splitting to widen her mouth enough to bite Kie’s head off. Her tongue coiled around him—but he lifted his head, his eyes blazing blue, halting her attack.

  He refused to yield. Light shot from his eyes, but Lilith created a dark orb above his head. The orb should have decapitated him, even slicing her own tongue—but it didn’t.

  Tiny white dots appeared across the orb, followed by streaks of light bursting through. Sensing the imminent explosion, Lilith tossed the mortal like a log to make way for the two fast-approaching creatures. The orb shattered, light erupting from every exit on Kie’s head.

  Lilith’s dark energy force shield solidified into metal, blocking the blast as Kie hit the ground and rolled.

  Miko and Tee froze at the sight of Kie’s epic display of Sentinel power, jaws dropped as they traced his rolling path. Miko reacted first, dashing to help him up.

  Tee faced Lilith alone—but fear didn’t consume her. Scar-face’s light show had her lips twitching with rage. How could she surpass him?

  She noticed Lilith standing several feet away, facing Kie and Miko. That was her chance. But in an instant, Lilith’s black-filled eyes pierced her chest with a spike of intent.

  Why hadn’t she thrown her swords earlier? Would it have mattered? Tee held her breath, squeezing the handles of her swords tighter. She wouldn’t let Lilith intimidate her.

  Lilith’s pale lips twitched into a small smile before shrinking away. Tee blinked three times and stepped back. Did Lilith just smile at her? The shiver it left wiped her mind clean.

  Saeda darted out of the rising monsters, almost keeping pace with Miko. Suddenly, a wide vortex appeared instantly—there was no way to outrun it. Only Sade’s released monsters were swallowed into its red center.

  Sade hovered above the vortex, lips twitching with annoyance. All that work and time wasted. He wasn’t one to repeat a failed plan without adjustment.

  Saeda exhaled in relief. That could have been the end of her. Unlike her previous self, she now had reasons to survive—her drawing tablet, Snickers, and, of course, amazing food. She twitched as the creepy sorcerer vanished.

  She summoned two swords, spinning as she tried to sense Sid’s invisible aura—but nothing came. Worse, faint chuckles reached her ears, making her doubt herself. They couldn’t have been from Sade—mute as he was. Or had he broken his telepathic rule just to creep her out?

  Why had her aura-sensing shut off? There had to be a reason, especially then. Dizziness hit, heartbeat pounding in her ears. She stood still and closed her eyes.

  Just like in training, she relied on her second sense to guide her. She would keep her eyes shut as long as needed, overcoming the pitch black. Sade wasn’t going to trap her again.