Chapter 1148: Unsealed

Knight Amiran was forceful and oppressive, his every move bringing with it a promise of death. And yet, neither his sword nor his hammer could reach her. Not even his insidious Aspect was enough to bring Morrow down.

She had slain Nightmare Creatures more dangerous than this Ascended warrior.

She had slain more dangerous humans, too.

Amiran's warriors were valiant and skilled, each at the very pinnacle of what an Awakened could achieve. Numbers were on their side - and yet, for each messenger of Song that fell, two of Valor's dogs died.

Their trap had turned out to be strangely clumsy and inefficient. By now, Morrow knew that there was a possibility of victory - unless the enemy received reinforcements soon, they would be able to escape.

And carry out the plan.

However...

She was missing something.

Which was why Morrow allowed her attention to wander. Being distracted in a fight against someone like Amiran was tantamount to suicide... but she did so nevertheless.

Her blade failed to reach the Knight's armor again.

Her body received several ghastly wounds because of her inattention.

More and more Awakened died around them.

But Morrow coldly continued to observe.

And then, she saw it - a warrior of Valor, falling down with a pained scream, blood streaming from his torn neck.

Only there had been no one near to tear it.

It was subtle and almost unnoticeable in the havoc of the battle, but she saw it clearly. The nearest of her soldiers was too busy defending against two powerful Awakened. It could not have been a ranged attack, either - the angle was all wrong.

It was as if darkness itself reached forth and sliced the man's throat open with sharp claws.

Morrow's eyes darted to the opposite side of the formation, just in time to see one of Song's Awakened die. His hand suddenly bloomed with blood, and so, the attacking soldier of Valor received a chance to plunge her weapon into the slit of his visor.

The hand of her subordinate had been severed completely - a clean, fierce cut that sliced through armor, flesh, and bone as if not meeting any resistance.

Only... the weapon that had killed her man was a spear. There was no way it could deliver a cut like that.

Morrow suddenly felt cold.

'There is... there is another here.'

There was someone - something - insidious and sinister moving unseen through the darkness, slaughtering the men of both Valor and Song indiscriminately. Silently. Inescapably...

The image of a severed head rolling from the dark entrance of the tunnel suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Morrow's blood turned to ice.

Who was it? What was it?

What... what had they unleashed from that darkness?

Shaking these infantile thoughts, she snarled.

'Does it matter?'

It did not... whatever it was, she would destroy it, just like she was going to destroy these wretched minions of the King of Swords.The source of this content no/v(el)bi((n))

He raised his sword, ready to send a wave of force at the back of the escaping woman. But then, a vague silhouette suddenly lunged at him from the side.

Reacting on instinct, Amiran lashed out with his hammer. The attacker dove beneath it and delivered a strike with a sharp, narrow stiletto.

'Pathetic.'

One of Song's worms must have already recovered enough to attack. The Knight of Valor simply moved his arm, shielding those seams of his armor that protected vital organs. All the attacker could do was drive his stiletto between the rerebrace and the couter, and even then just by a centimeter or two - delivering an insignificant wound to his elbow.

The next moment, Amiran counterattacked, forcing the unclear figure to stagger away. The attacker seemed to dissolve into darkness, as if he... she?... had never existed at all.

"Coward!"

Amiran growled and continued his pursuit. What had that cowardly attack achieved? Nothing. Morrow would still not escape.

He prepared to deliver another strike, but then suddenly swayed.

He felt... weak.

Confused and suddenly unsettled, Amiran glanced at his elbow, where a few drops of blood seeped from beneath the impregnable plates of his armor.

The blood... why did it seem almost black?

The Knight's eyes widened slightly.

'...Poison?'

***

A few moments later, jumping over the corpses of her people, Morrow reached the containment cage. She groaned, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and used the only hand she could move to strike at the seal.

There was no complicated procedure to opening the cage. The key to its magical lock was simple - it was blood. Blood of Song.

Morrow's fist left a bloody imprint on the plate of the seal, and it seemed to ignite, burning away in an instant.

The clasps holding the cage closed fell away, and it burst open.

Inside was a creature so ghastly and revolting that anyone would have been terrified to see it.

But Morrow only smiled. She grinned, revealing bloodied teeth.

"Go! Slaughter everyone who is not Song! To the surface!"

The creature unfolded from within the cage and moved, following her command.

But... what was that?

Why was the abomination bleeding?

There were several thin, shallow cuts on its grey hide, seemingly delivered by a blade so sharp as to be perfect.

And its many eyes, why were they not full of hollow obedience?

Instead, they were brimming with something else...

Madness.

Boundless, murderous madness.

And hunger.