The metallic clang didn't stop. The steps, heavy and arrogant, drew closer. Panic gripped the slaves. Seraphe gripped Kaito's arm, her nails digging into his skin.
"Wait. Don't do anything," she hissed.
Kaito ignored the plea. The energy he'd absorbed from the shackle burned in his belly like cold coal. It wasn't much, barely a sip, but it gave him a terrifying clarity. He knew that if he stayed still, he'd only prolong his agony. This wasn't a world where protagonists waited for the right moment; this was a world where tragedy was the norm.
A figure emerged from the darkness, bathed in the reddish light of the lantern he carried. It was Paladin Darius. His armor, polished to a shine, reflected the hypocrisy that coated his heart. He wasn't a large man, but his aura of luminous magic was oppressive, like heavy air.
Behind him came a lesser lackey, dragging a pile of whips and pincers.
Darius smiled, a cruel, slow gesture. "Well, well! Seems we have new Specters to amuse us tonight." His voice was a deep baritone, full of authority.
He stopped in front of Seraphe's group. "Tell me, elf. Whom should I honor with the first purification?"
Seraphe lowered her head, her body shaking, but Kaito could feel the repressed rage.
"We've worked hard, Lord Darius. We don't deserve—"
"Liar!" Darius kicked her in the stomach with his armored boot. The sound resonated painfully in the cave, and Seraphe fell into the mud, coughing blood. "You deserve purification for your very existence. You are the scum that clings to shadows, while we bring the Light."
Indignation boiled in Kaito. He saw Seraphe's face contorted by pain and humiliation, a pain he'd felt to the marrow. In that instant, the image of Ren, his older brother who always defended the weakest in school scuffles, superimposed itself over the Paladin's image.
You are the heroes, eh...
Without thinking, Kaito threw himself forward, interposing himself between Seraphe and Darius, using his emaciated body like a shield.
"Stop!" he shouted, his voice barely a croak, but resonant with rage.
Darius paused, his contemptuous smile widened. The other slaves froze.
"What insolence! A newcomer. You seem weak, boy, but your insolence is strong. Do you know who I am? I am the Guardian of Light."
"You're a tyrant in a uniform," Kaito growled.
The Paladin let out a laugh that echoed off the salt walls. He was amused.
"We'll see how brave you are when the Light purifies your soul."
Darius raised his hand, and a globe of golden energy, blinding and scorching, materialized in his palm. This was the magic Kaito had felt as hollow and destructive. He was going to hit him with a low-level Light spell, enough to torture him, but not to kill him.
In that moment of mortal danger, Kaito felt the cold coal in his belly demand to be released. It was a primal survival instinct. He didn't think of enchantments; he thought of the cave's darkness, the chains' pain, Seraphe's tragedy.
He directed the stolen energy. It wasn't a beam. It was a silent exhalation, dark as soot. The energy, barely a puff, left his chest and impacted directly on the golden orb.
Darius's light wasn't destroyed. It was contaminated. The golden orb instantly turned a sickly gray and exploded. Not with fire, but with a blast of paralyzing cold and magical ash.
Darius staggered back, his hand now black and shaking, the mocking expression replaced by furious disbelief.
The lackey dropped the tools. "Dark magic! A Shadow Specter!" shouted the Paladin, his voice full of venom. "It absorbs everything!"
Kaito was breathless. The attack had exhausted him, and the vision of his brother dissipated, leaving only cold and nausea. But he'd stopped a Paladin. For an instant, he, Kaito, the newcomer, had won.
Seraphe crawled to him, her eyes now fixed on his face with a dangerous intensity, a mix of terror and admiration.
"I told you you'd attract attention... Now they won't kill you slowly. They'll want your power, Kaito. They'll want to use you."
Darius roared, lifting his steel sword, now imbued with a much more potent golden light.
"Finish him! Don't step back, or the Light will purify you too!"