Chapter 23: Back to Battle

My senses went silent, as if my brain itself was being rewired. I felt my limbs being enveloped in a warm substance, and I soon realized that it was my own blood. The first sense to return was my sight, and the first thing I saw left me in a state of disbelief. Bones were sticking out of my chest, as fragments of my ribs tore through flesh.

My limbs had twisted into unnatural shapes. Blood had accumulated in my throat, making it impossible to breathe. It was only a matter of time before I drowned in my own blood. Above me was a giant hole in the ceiling.

Huh, I broke through the floor. Now I’m lying in a pile of rubble.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, someone appeared over me. I couldn’t make out their face, but I knew it was a girl from the sound of her voice. Realizing what was happening, she quickly flipped me over to lie on my stomach. A sharp pain assaulted my entire body as I was moved, but the moment I was flipped over, I began coughing up blood.

“What could’ve done this to you?”

As my hearing slowly returned, I realized the voice sounded familiar. My vision was still blurry, so I couldn’t make out her face. My body slowly began to weave itself back together as muscles and flesh sewed themselves. Soon my vision cleared, and I could see the girl in front of me clearly.

“Ava?”

I didn’t expect the person who saved my life to be the student council president. She was wearing a hospital gown and hooked up to an IV drip.

“What is this!” she seemed more concerned about something else. “How is your body putting itself back together? You should be dead! No one should be able to return from that!”

“Keep quiet.”

I placed my hand on her lips to silence her, but she stubbornly removed it.

“No, I need some answers. How did I get here? The last thing I remember is being at school and then…” She paused and placed her hand on her wounded stomach. “Isabella stabbed me.”

“The trauma must’ve messed with your memory of what happened.”

“I-It has? No it can’t be. My memory is bit foggy but I remember it.”

“You’re mistaken, it was Victor who stabbed you.”

“No, I remember Isabella.”

“Isabella and Liora were the ones who saved you and carried you to the hospital. It would be pretty shameful if you accused Isabella of such a nasty act after all she did to save your life.”

“No, I didn’t mean to! It’s just that in my memories…”

“It’s alright, you’re just confused. But wouldn’t it be regrettable if your confusion caused trouble for others?”

She shook her head vehemently.

“I don’t want to cause trouble.”

“Good, because right now a monster is roaming around, and we might need your help to stop it.”

“Wait, a monster? Like a zombie?”

“I’ll explain later, but for now, we need to act since the ones who saved you are in danger right now.”

It took only a few minutes for all of my injuries to heal, and as soon as they did, I staggered back to my feet, feeling a bit lightheaded. Healing had zapped a lot of my stamina.

“Your body is still weak. Be careful so you don’t fall,” Ava cautioned.

“Let’s go.”

The monster was still on the floor above us. It sounded as if it was on a warpath, and the entire floor above us rumbled as if it was about to collapse. Throwing caution to the wind, I rushed toward the sound of impending doom.

When I got there, I saw walls and columns destroyed in the battle that was ensuing. I activated my Thermal Vision so I could see the entire floor. Derrick was fighting tooth and nail against the beast. He was injured, and his movements were slow, but his physical strength was overwhelming. Their battle raged through the entire upper floors.

When I got to the spot where we had fought before, I realized that Liora was gone.

Did she go after Derrick?

“Dammit!”

Just then, I heard the sound of an explosion as a large section of the floor collapsed. I immediately took off in a sprint toward the direction, leaving Ava behind as she rushed to keep up. I used my agility to maneuver through the damage, leaping from wall to wall and burying my claws into the concrete.

In no time, I had reached the site where the chaos was unfolding. An entire section of the floor had collapsed. I spotted Liora amidst the rubble. Thankfully, her heart was still beating, but it was slowing by the second. She was crawling desperately toward Derrick, who was being strangled by the monstrosity. It dangled him in the air.

I kicked off the wall with full force, propelling myself like a missile toward the beast. I tore a huge chunk of flesh off its leg, causing it to roar in pain and toss Derrick to the side.

Immediately, my shadow hounds began crawling their way out of my shadow. Their eyes were seeping with bloodlust as they gazed at the giant prey before them. Our killing intent collided with that of the beast, creating a stillness in the air. The atmosphere was heavy; if a regular human were here, they would’ve suffocated.

I kept myself low so I could attack at any moment while the shadow hounds slowly circled the creature. As their alpha, it was my duty to lead them into battle, so I made the first move. With every power I could summon, I leaped toward the monster.

Its reaction was instant as long black hands stretched out in front of me. I ducked below its incoming attacks and used my claws to rip through the hands trying to grab me. The beast roared in pain and attempted to slash me in half with its needle-like fingers, but before it could reach me, Cerberus clamped down on its hand.

This left the perfect opening for me to exploit, and I took full advantage by digging my claws into its abdomen. The beast roared in pain then attempted to slashed me with its other hand, but a shadow hound dove in the way and took the brunt of the attack.

Since the shadow hounds couldn’t be killed, they made the perfect defense. The only issue was that I could feel myself weakening every time one of them was killed. Still, their help was essential. They followed my lead and read my intentions without me having to give any orders. They could play both attacking and defensive roles.

Even though they were a ragtag bunch of scranny dogs, I was happy to fight alongside them. It felt a bit like fate, and I knew in my heart that this was just the start of my shadow legion. I looked forward to growing beside them and seeing how they would evolve along the way.

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