Before he could react, the walls seemed to close in from all sides, trapping him. Her nails pierced his skin, sending jolts of pain through him as the last wall slammed shut behind her, caging them in darkness.

  He gritted his teeth, feeling her cold fingers tightening. She leaned in, her jaw snapping open as if to swallow him whole, her teeth inches from his face. With a groan, he grasped either side of her gaping mouth, straining against her unnatural strength. He drove his knee hard into her ribs, pushing back with every ounce of force, and braced his foot against the wall.

  It took all his strength—and several desperate attempts—before he finally tore free of her grip, stumbling backward. But even as he escaped, the situation only grew worse.

  The crimson-tinted room plunged into absolute darkness, an oppressive void that even his lightning couldn’t pierce. He could feel his wounds burning, his body refusing to heal.

  Her scream split the darkness, filled with venom and torment. “You… left… meeee!”

  He exhaled, rolling off his coat, bracing himself. “I didn’t leave you, Melodias,” he said, his voice a steady, unforgiving whisper. “I killed you.”

  No matter how hard he tried, he couldnt get close enough to her without her swinging her claws his way.

  There were already several cuts, he could feel each sting from the sharp cuts. He had never faced an enemy with the ability to pierce through his skin. Much less make him bleed. It was for reasons such as these he made certain to steer clear of dark magic. They were always so unpredictable.

  To defeat her, he knew he would need to protect his body from further injury. But achieving that would require time for rest he didn’t have to spare—rest had been a luxury he hadn’t known in a long time.

  As the battle raged, the air around him grew thick and heavy, clinging to his skin. Dark clouds spiraled around him, filling the room with a suffocating grey fog. All he needed was a spark. With a flick of his fingers, his entire body became a living blaze of lightning.

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  Electricity coated him in a radiant armor, streaks of blue crackling over every surface of his form. He became a living storm, his every breath pulsing with raw, destructive energy. The light shone brighter, illuminating the darkness and revealing the true, monstrous form of his enemy as he braced himself for a final, decisive strike.

  Miles away, Samuel and the troops heard the distant storm behind them. They stared, awestruck, at the display of Zadarrah’s power. Samuel urged them forward. “Move along. Night is nearly upon us.”

  Reluctantly, the men tore their eyes from the spectacle. The eight walls built from corpses began to swirl and break apart with each strike of lightning.

  Samuel watched with a proud smile, then turned to follow his men as the enclosure shattered, spilling red mist into the sky. Corpses rained down, crashing to the ground with sickening thuds.

  There were more than he anticipated, nevertheless, he had gotten what he came for, the sigil of baphomet seared on the forhead of a young girl, her eyelids and lips sewn shut. her fingers twisted and locked in a stiff position. he reached down and pulled the ring of her finger, breaking it off in the process. he clutches the ruby ring and shatters the get until only its ashes remains. the girl body begins to harden to stone crumble to dust, leaving nothing behind.

  he dusts his hands and sets off, the sun still high in the sky.

  he sets off leaving behind his destruction for the next patron to clean up.

  by the time he reaches his mansion he can smell the destruction left behind.

  he picks his pace at the sight of the open doors.

  His steps falter at the sight of the broken iron clasp. A cold dread tightens around his chest as his anger begins to simmer, igniting his every move. “Cleo!” The name escapes him in a guttural roar, the sound echoing through the desolate halls as he frantically searches for her.

  Each corridor is empty, a haunting silence pressing in on him. The stairwell is completely destroyed, leaving him no choice but to leap down. He briefly runs along the wall, defying gravity before landing with a soft thud on the floor below. The moment his feet touch the ground, he resumes his desperate search. “Cleo!” he shouts again, his voice straining against the oppressive quiet that answers him.

  Only silence greets him, amplifying the panic clawing at his mind. His hands prickle with heat, the onset of despair seeping into his thoughts. With a feral grunt, he kicks the stone wall, fury coursing through his veins. “Damn it!” The frustration in his voice reverberates through the cold stone, but no response comes.

  Piercing down the hall, his eyes lock onto a lifeless corpse lying just in front of his room.