"Shit! More of those things?!"
Leander's panic completely captured my ears' attention.
More corpses twisted until they stood upright. Grotesque puppets of flesh and coagulated blood, with limbs hanging at impossible angles.
Leander summoned flames on his spear. Eryndor made the wind dance around his sword.
The puppets launched into attack.
Leander struck first, his spear piercing through a creature's chest. The fire should have incinerated it. But the puppet kept advancing, the smoking hole in its torso completely ignored.
"What the—?!"
Eryndor's slash severed an arm. The limb fell.
And then, the flesh bubbled. It writhed. It grew. In seconds, the arm was completely regenerated.
"They won't die!" genuine fear cracked Leander's voice.
From the puppets' bodies, blood claws exploded—long, sharp, dripping. They slashed again and again.
The sacred mantles summoned by their rings should have protected Leander and Eryndor, but the claws pierced through them like simple paper.
"Aghhhh!"
Blood gushed from multiple wounds.
Snap.
Both fell instantly. Their bodies crashed against the stone. The puppets retreated, leaving them bleeding and motionless.
They couldn't even defend themselves.
Meanwhile, Professor Edward fought against the main puppet—the one that had been Charles's imitation. Metal against solidified blood in a deadly dance.
Metal flowed through Edward's body, forming shields, walls, lethal extensions. The puppet attacked from all angles—spikes, whips, projectiles of crystallized blood.
"Ha ha ha! This is fun!"
More puppets surrounded him. Edward created improvised armor. The attacks bounced off.
But then he saw the man in the center of the coliseum. Motionless. Watching.
I could tell just by seeing Edward's eyes—he had deduced that he was controlling them.
Edward concentrated all his metal in his right arm. The blade grew, extended, and shot out like a liquid spear directly toward the man.
The man raised a finger and casually deflected it, like swatting away a fly.
But it was enough distraction.
Edward ran, dodging puppets. He was almost there when he felt the pain. A claw pierced through his side.
"Ghh!"
He stumbled but kept going. The man watched him with amusement.
"I don't think you need that."
Snap.
Edward's legs exploded.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
His scream tore through the air as he fell right in front of the man.
"So that ring is what allows you to use that, isn't it?"
Snap.
Edward's right hand burst into a crimson cloud.
"Aghhhhh!"
The ring flew off. The metal covering his body simply melted away. Edward gasped, trying to resist the pain.
The man knelt before him.
"You resisted quite a bit, you surprise me," his voice was soft, almost kind. "But you're no use to me. I need young people for this ritual." He tilted his head. "You're already too old."
He extended his hand and touched Edward's head. It began to swell to grotesque dimensions.
Boom.
It exploded. Blood, brain, skull fragments—everything scattered in a nauseating scene.
"Aaaaaahhh!"
Screams echoed throughout the entire coliseum.
"Shut up already!" the man covered his ears with an annoyed expression. "Have you never realized how fragile the human body is?!"
He raised his leg and crushed the back of Edward's headless corpse to vent his anger.
Crunch.
The sound made me feel like vomiting.
"Well, let's not change the subject." He walked toward the center of the coliseum, pointing at the carved star. "I imagine you've already seen this beautiful star. What I'm looking for is simple: for one of you to become the new servant of Mor'khad, our lord."
His smile widened.
"And all the ritual needs is for one of you to die and for your blood to touch the star. So tell me... are there any volunteers?"
"Are you an idiot?!" Eryndor shouted from the floor. "Free us, you crazy bastard!"
"Just wait until I can free myself from this, I'll kill you with my own hands!" Leander added.
"No need to argue about who gets the position," the man waved his hand casually. "I'll simply choose in your place."
Panic exploded in my chest. Could he choose me?
Snap.
Slowly, one by one, they rose. Aurora with the arrow embedded in her shoulder. Eryndor and Leander covered in cuts. Darius with weakness in his legs. The pressure on their bodies had disappeared.
"I had completely forgotten that I'm too indecisive..." he added with a smile. "So I'll let you choose who will be the person to participate in the ritual. In exchange, the others can leave."
Leander and Eryndor lunged at him with blind fury.
The man didn't even blink.
Both stopped dead in their tracks halfway, their hands flying to their throats. They fell to their knees, choking, without the man even touching them.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't try anything stupid," he said with annoyance. "Or else I'll change my mind and tear you all to pieces."
He released them. They coughed violently against the floor.
"Now then... where was I? Ah yes, you must deci—"
"Just shut your mouth! Stop saying nonsense!" Aurora interrupted him as she approached Sarah, who remained in a state of shock. "We're not going to do anything you say!"
"Well, you should... Or isn't leaving this place the only thing you want? I can smell the fear in each of you no matter how much you try to hide it. Besides, I think you already know perfectly well that you can't kill me."
Aurora gritted her teeth. "And how can we know if you'll keep your word? You didn't just attack us, you also murdered Ludwig and the professor. There's no reason to trust you."
"Well, I'm sorry to say it, but you can only do two things: trust my word or not."
"It seems we have no alternative..." Eryndor murmured, approaching her.
"I hate to say it, but if he wanted us dead, he would have already done it," Leander said helplessly.
"So what? Will we give him the pleasure of doing what he wants?" Aurora gritted her teeth.
"There's no alternative anymore. Besides, just look at her condition. Her wounds are infected. If she doesn't receive treatment soon, she's in grave danger." He said, referring to Sarah.
"Shit!" Aurora responded after observing Sarah's festering wounds for a while. "Fine. Let's do it."
"Have you completely lost your minds?!" Beth exploded, her voice breaking. "Trusting that man is the worst thing you can do! He's a damn psychopath! He'll kill us all anyway!"
"Hey Beth... calm down," Eryndor said, bewildered by her behavior.
"Go to hell!" tears ran down her face. "I just want to get out of here! I don't want to die!"
She ran toward the coliseum doors.
"Beth, stop!" several shouted, but she didn't listen.
She put her hands on the enormous doors, trying to open them desperately.
But a gust of blood pierced through her head.
Beth fell. Dead before hitting the ground.
"What did I tell you about trying stupid things?!" the man was angry.
Horror paralyzed us.
"Now hurry up! You only have one minute!"
"We have to make a decision now," Aurora said with a trembling voice. "Who will be the person who stays?"
"I vote for Blake," Leander said without even hesitating or looking at my face.
"Yes, let it be him," Eryndor joined in.
"Wait, what?" my voice came out broken.
"Come on, Blake," Leander turned toward me with disdain. "You have no purpose whatsoever. You're weak. Pathetic. You can't use magic."
"You're a disappointment to your family," Eryndor added coldly. "What's the point of you living?"
"No... it can't be..." I stepped back.
"Think about it," Leander continued. "You have no future. You'll never connect with your ring. You'll never be a Sentinel. You're just... nothing, you're the perfect candidate."
"Yes... They're right, I also vote for Blake and I'm sure if Sarah could speak she would too."
My heart stopped. Everyone was looking at me. The decision was already clear.
Everyone except one.
Darius.
He stood there, quiet, looking at the ground. His hands trembled.
"Come on, say something!" Leander shouted at him. "Don't tell me you're going to try to defend him in this situation too!"
"Don't forget he ruined your chance to kill that man," Aurora said.
"That's not true!" the words came out before I could stop them. "If I hadn't intervened, he would have died!"
"Shut your mouth!" Eryndor took a step toward me. "Nobody wants to hear you right now!"
Darius still said nothing.
"We don't have all damn day!" Leander turned to him. "Make a decision already! Don't you want to help your grandfather?! I heard you tell Blake that! Do you think this idiot's life is worth more than his?! For once think about yourself, Darius!"
The silence stretched out. Darius didn't raise his gaze.
"Fuck it!" Leander exploded. "If you don't say anything then I'll interpret it as you being the one who wants to stay. Is that it? Is that what you want, Darius?! Because if so, go ahead. I don't care. I'm fed up with being empathetic with you."
Then Darius raised his head. His eyes were moist.
"Blake," his voice broke. "I'm sorry, but... I also vote for you to be the one who stays."
The world stopped.
"What...?" The word barely came out. "No... you can't say that. Darius, tell me it's not true. You would never say that."
I tried to approach him. Aurora and Eryndor stepped in, blocking my path.
"Get out of the way!" My voice rose. "I don't want to stay here! I have the same right to leave as all of you!"
"We've all already made a decision," Aurora looked at me coldly. "At least have a bit of manhood and accept what corresponds to you."
"No, no, no." I felt the tears threatening to come out. "I don't want to die. I don't want to die."
"That's enough." Eryndor pushed me. I fell on my back.
He stood over me, unsheathing his sword. "If you keep refusing, I'll cut off every damn limb myself to make sure you stay here. Do you want us to get to that point?! Or do you prefer the peaceful way?!"
The blade gleamed before my eyes.
"Please," the man intervened with a soft voice. "We all know there's no need to reach that level of savagery, isn't that right, Blake?"
He looked at me directly.
"You'll be a good boy and stay with me, won't you, Blake?"
I just swallowed. Trembling.
"I'll take that as a yes." He smiled widely. Then he addressed the others. "And what are you still doing here? You wanted to leave, didn't you? Get out already."
The doors opened as if by magic.
One by one they began to walk toward them. Aurora first. Then Sarah, barely conscious, leaning on Eryndor. Leander followed them.
They crossed the threshold.
And when the last one was about to disappear—
The man raised his hand. He closed his fist.
Their bodies exploded simultaneously, like bursting balloons. Blood, viscera, fragments—everything scattered through the tunnel.