Chapter 44: Chapter: Forty-four: Unknown causes
The heavy doors slammed shut behind Cassian, shaking the lamps that hung on the wall of the room. As the crown prince, he didn’t have separate quarters like the other princes so he stayed in the king’s quarters. Even at that!
He couldn’t believe it. After all his efforts, the king still looked at him with disappointment. Like he was nothing more than a reckless, unqualified child.
Cassian gripped the edge of the table and flipped it over. The glass shattered, spilling dark wine over the floor.
"They think I’m weak," he muttered through clenched teeth, giggling creepily to himself before pacing back and forth. "They think I’m weak?!." he yelled out at no one in particular.
He smashed through a mirror with his bare hand. Shards scattered across the ground with some sticking into his knuckles. Blood trickled down his fingers, but he didn’t even wince.
No matter what he did, it was always Damien who was seen. But I am the crown prince! I should be above them all!
"That’s right," he growled, nodding to himself. "If they won’t acknowledge me... I’ll make them."
His gaze turned toward the window, where dusk was settling in. Somewhere out there, he still had unfinished business to attend to.
He straightened himself, brushing the blood off his palm. His eyes held a dead look when his anger finally turned cold and
immediately, he vanished. Far, far away from the palace.
.........
Far away, beneath the same pale moon, chaos was already unfolding.
Damien’s boots hit the soft soil with a dull thud. He moved with precision, using his bare hands to rip off the heads of the creatures that came at him.
Lucian was behind him with his back pressed with his in the opposite direction.
"They’re surrounding us," he muttered, maintaining his gaze on the approaching number.
Damien glanced around himself, observing the new breed of creatures in front of him. These rogues moved differently from the ones he’d faced before. They just weren’t like the normal ones. These ones were more vicious, scarier and stronger.
Their body was made up of red and black veins that twisted themselves to form them and their hollow eyes were dark red. They had wide, loose mouths without any teeth.
These weren’t ordinary rogues. They were hybrids.
"Damned beasts." Lucian cursed under his breath.
The first hybrid leapt from the shadows followed by another, and another.
Lucian met the first one midair. His dagger cut through its stomach, tearing the flesh that covered it. The second creature tried to strike, but Lucian turned on his heel, stabbing it on the face and drawing it down to its knee. Dark,red liquid spilled over the stones from their skins like movable slime.
Damien fought with ruthless precision. His strikes were quick and his movements were fluid. Every blow found its mark, cutting through the creeps with sudden force. He ducked low, dragged the monster to the ground and then spun and ripped their heads apart.
But few minutes into the fight, the two princes noticed something soon enough. For every one that fell, two more appeared.
Lucian blocked a strike, gritting his teeth. "They’re multiplying!"
Damien narrowed his eyes at the realization. The ones they had killed were still alive even with crucial body parts missing.
Before Lucian could respond, the forest responded with another call.
From between the trees, more of them emerged, crawling, dragging and climbing whatever they could find to get to them. Their claws scraped against the barks and stone, creating an unsettling noise.
Lucian spat to the ground, looking completely disgusted. "What are these cursed creatures!"
Before he could complain more, they crawled quickly towards them with their mouths wide open, producing screeching sounds as they crawled towards them.
The two brothers moved in unison. Damien leapt into the fight with a new idea in mind. He targeted one that was coming straight at him, drove his boot into it’s abdomen, then ripped its heart out with his bare hand. The creature disintegrated instantly, turning into ash.
He smirked at the sudden turn of events.
"Sick bastards."
Lucian’s movements were heavier but powerful. His twin daggers carved into sharp arcs of light in the darkness, tore through their flesh of vines, ripping them apart. He cursed in disgust as one of them jumped on his back. He grabbed its arm and snapped with a sickening crunch before using it to stab itself through the chest.
"Damien!" he shouted from afar off, blocking another strike. "You go! They’re heading to the stream!"
Damien turned. Beyond the trees, he could see several of them racing along the stream that led toward the nearby market. The thought of those people being attacked by these monsters sent a rush of fire through his veins.
Without a word, he nodded. "I’ll handle it!"
He sprinted, jumping onto the trees with supernatural speed. His feet barely touched the branches before he launched himself again, flying through the forest like a shadow. Below, the hybrids tore through the undergrowth, fast and relentless.
Damien dropped down on them like a storm. His hands found their mark, piercing through their chests without mercy. He ripped through their bodies beast-like and more and more amounts of dark blood coated his hands, but he didn’t stop. Each heart he tore out stopped another creature from reviving.
He wanted to go back and tell Lucian, but he had more pressing matters to attend to.
He broke through the final line of trees and into the market.
The sight that greeted him, stunned him momentarily. The market was in chaos.
Stalls lay overturned with their fruits and goods scattered across the muddy ground. The air reeked of blood. People were screaming, running in all directions as hybrids tore into them. Even entering the houses of the ones nearby. One woman tried to shield her child, but an hybrid dragged her away, sinking its teeth into her shoulders.
The little boy fell to the ground as he watched the beast drink his mother to death.
"Mommy!" he screamed out painfully from his throat. The hybrid kicked the woman’s body aside and turned to the boy.
Damien’s heart pounded and his fury heightened.
Before it could even get to the boy, he grabbed the it by the neck, slamming it against a wooden post so hard that the creature’s eyes burst from the impact. Its claws scratched at him, but he didn’t flinch. He drove his hand into its chest, ripping out the heart and crushing it making the creature dissolve instantly.
He turned to the little boy who was now being dragged along by an elderly woman.
Another one jumped at him. Damien spun, catching it midair and throwing it into a cart. He leapt after it, stabbing down repeatedly until he got to its heart and stopped moving.
An unexpected kick caught him in the ribs, sending him sprawling backward. Pain shot through his side as he hit the ground. The hybrids wasted no time immediately he landed on the floor. They closed in, crawling towards him disturbingly.
Damien rolled aside, dodging a strike that would’ve pierced his throat. He twisted, kicked another away, then blocked with his forearm. The impact of the vined arm on his arms burned. He bit down hard, forcing his muscles to move even through the pain.
One of them caught his leg, dragging him down. Another pinned his shoulder as more and more came at his body.
Damien clenched his teeth as they surrounded him. Just when he was about to be overwhelmed by them, a dagger flew past his ear, piercing one in the eye.
Lucian landed beside him, panting heavily. He ripped his dagger out of the fallen hybrid and offered his hand. "You figured it out?" Damien asked, taking it.
Lucian smirked despite the chaos. "I’m not as dumb as you think I am."
"We need to get these people out!." Damien shouted.
Lucian nodded and moved fast, swinging his daggers to carve a path for the fleeing civilians. "This way! Move!" he barked, pushing people toward safety. His weapons flashed again, cutting down any hybrid that came too close.
Damien stayed behind, holding the rest from moving toward them. He slashed, kicked, punched and ripped to buy Lucian time for the people. His body moved on instinct without rest. His clothes were torn and his arm was bleeding from continuous ripping, but he didn’t stop. Not when the lives of people were at stake.
Just when the last of the civilians escaped, the ground began to vibrate.
Lucian turned sharply, running towards him. "What is it now?!" he groaned in pent-up annoyance, running to where Damien stood.
There was a faint hiss—like steam escaping. Then, cracks began to form in the ground, bring black smoke to pour out.
It was thick, twisting and moving through the ground as if alive.
"Don’t breathe it in!" Lucian yelled at him.
But Damien had already covered his nose instantly, backing away. The smoke spread fast, curling through the air like a living shadow. It crawled up the walls, over the dead human bodies, swallowing everything in sight.
And then—silence. Total, eerie silence
The wind had died like there was no air left in the town. The screams stopped, bringing everything to an abrupt pause.
Lucian coughed lightly, squinting through the fading smoke. "What was that—"
He was instantly cut off by what met his eyes next.
In front of them, a low rumble echoed through the ground. The two brothers stepped back as a massive shadow rose before them, blocking out the moonlight.
When the smoke finally cleared, the cause of the ground breaking sound came into view.
A gigantic black dragon stood right in front and it didn’t look too happy to see them.