Princess Elara stepped forward, her figure framed against the jagged remains of a mausoleum.
Her eyes—once the soft, regal red everyone recognized—were now an unnatural red, glowing like embers.
The whites of her eyes were pitch black.
A sickening contrast that sent chills down everyone's spines.
Her face was twisted into a cruel mockery of her usual grace.
Her lips curling into a sneer as she took another step forward.
Ariana, her breathing labored, narrowed her gaze.
"She's... she's possessed..."
She said, her voice trembling but resolute.
"We can all see it..."
Draven growled, his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword.
"Whatever that thing is, it's not the princess anymore."
The realization settled heavily on the group.
There was no time to argue, no time to strategize.
The princess raised her arms, and from her hands materialized long, black chains, glowing with a malevolent red aura.
The air hummed with their energy as they slithered and snapped like living things.
"Get ready!"
Draven barked, stepping in front of Ariana.
Before anyone could react further, the chains lashed out.
With terrifying speed, they swept through the air, slicing through the first line of knights.
Five heads rolled from their shoulders, blood spraying in crimson arcs as their bodies crumpled to the ground.
"By the gods..."
Elias whispered, his voice barely audible over the sound of chains rattling.
Draven's expression hardened.
"This is no joke..."
He muttered, echoing everyone's thoughts.
He raised his sword, stepping forward to face the princess head-on.
The battle began in chaos.
The possessed princess swung her chains with deadly precision.
Their glowing links cutting through armor like paper.
Sparks flew as Draven blocked one with his sword.
The force of the impact sending him staggering back.
One of the knights flanked her, trying to land a blow.
But the chains moved to intercept, one wrapping around his arm and yanking him off his feet.
Ariana's mana reserves were nearly depleted, and she struggled to stand
She attempted to summon her spirit, but the connection faltered, her drained energy unable to sustain it.
"Oh no, not now..."
She hissed, frustration and desperation written across her face.
Roselyn fumbled with her viles, her trembling hands searching for anything that could help.
"I'm out..."
She said, her voice cracking.
"No potions, no devices... nothing!"
Elias gritted his teeth, clutching the small dagger he carried.
He felt useless, his abilities overshadowed by the chaos around him.
But then his eyes caught something others couldn't see—
Faint, spectral threads extending from the princess to the ruins behind her.
His heart pounded as he focused on the thread.
It led to the skeletal figure wearing a fedora, its bony fingers gripping a walking stick.
Its empty sockets burned with an otherworldly light as it moved subtly, manipulating the thread like a puppet master.
"I-I's not her..."
Elias muttered, his voice growing louder.
"It's not the princess!"
"What are you talking about?"
Ariana snapped, barely dodging a chain as it struck the ground near her.
"The skeleton!"
Elias shouted, pointing to the figure.
"It's controlling her! We need to stop it!
She's just the puppet!"
Draven, bleeding from a deep gash on his shoulder, turned his head to follow Elias's gaze.
The fedora-wearing skeleton seemed to notice the attention, tilting its head in mock amusement.
"Then we'll deal with both..."
Draven growled, determination blazing in his eyes.
He surged forward, meeting the princess's chains with sheer willpower.
His blade clashed against the glowing links, sending sparks flying into the night.
The chains coiled around his arm and torso, tightening like a vice.
She placed a hand on his chest, her expression unreadable.
Noah's shallow breathing slowed as the girl rose to her feet.
Her head turned towards the professor in pain.
Her features shifted, a cold smile spreading across her face.
Her eyes, once human, now glowed a menacing red.
The girl's hand moved, and with a flash of red energy, a massive cross-like weapon materialized in her grasp.
The weapon was grotesque in its beauty—
A blade with sharp edges and intricate, otherworldly designs etched into its surface.
A long, heavy chain coiled around her wrist, clinking softly as she moved.
Caelan tried to speak.
But before he could utter another word, the girl vanished in a blur of motion.
She reappeared directly in front of him, the massive weapon raised high.
The next instant, it came down with devastating force.
CRACK!
The impact sent Caelan's remaining arm flying into the darkness, a trail of blood spraying across the cemetery.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!
Caelan's scream ripped through the air, louder and more desperate than before.
He toppled backward, his bloodied stump trembling as his body convulsed from the pain.
The girl's expression remained cold, her glowing red eyes locked onto him.
"You...you tried to kill my lovely dove..."
She said, her voice smooth and venomous.
Her smile widened as she crouched, her face inches from his.
"Unforgivable..."
Caelan's mind was a whirlwind of pain and fear.
Tears streamed down his face as he began to sob, his voice breaking.
"P-please...
I didn't mean to...
I was only...
I didn't know..."
His words dissolved into incoherent babbling as the girl tilted her head, amused.
"You didn't know?"
She repeated mockingly, her voice dripping with disdain.
"Is that supposed to excuse you?"
The cross swung again, this time shattering one of Caelan's legs.
Bone and flesh separated with a sickening crunch, and the limb landed several feet away, twitching.
Caelan's screams grew hoarse, his voice cracking under the strain.
"Please! Mercy! I beg you! I—I have a family!
Don't—"
The cross came down again, severing his other leg.
Caelan's cries became incoherent, a mix of guttural groans and pained whimpers.
His blood soaked the ground, pooling beneath him in dark, sticky puddles.
The girl—Iris Star—stood over him, her chains rattling as she lifted her weapon once more.
Her lips moved, her voice low and melodic as she began to chant.
"To the wicked who tread upon innocence,
May the blade of judgment carve their sin.
To those who seek to harm my love,
May they find eternal torment within."
Caelan's eyes widened in terror.
"No... no, please!"
He sobbed, his tears mixing with the blood on his face.
"I'll do anything! Just let me go!
Please, I-"
His begging was cut short as Iris moved with a final flourish.
The massive cross blade plunged through his neck and torso.
Splitting him apart in a gruesome spray of blood and gore.
The cemetery fell silent once more.
Save for the faint sound of the chain rattling as Iris withdrew her weapon.
She stood over the lifeless remains of Professor Caelan.
Her glowing red eyes glinting in the moonlight.
With a flick of her wrist, the cross vanished, leaving only the carnage behind.
She turned her gaze to Noah, who lay unconscious on the ground, his breathing shallow but steady.
Her cold smile softened slightly as she knelt beside him, brushing a strand of hair from his face.
"Rest, my dove..."
She murmured.
"You're safe now..."