MTLNOVEL CHAPTER 139 - Panic.
Zahara barely had time to process what was happening. One moment, she was entering Alex's room, caressing her storage ring that held the bikini she had prepared as a surprise. The next, the floor beneath her glowed with an intricate magic circle, and before she could react, a blinding light engulfed her.
The room vanished, and she hurtled through an endless, suffocating void. Her body twisted and turned uncontrollably; her breath caught in her throat as her mind went blank.
She had realized what it was. This feeling was unshakable. It was teleportation, but unlike the portals, it was much rougher.
When she emerged, it was as if the world had spit her out, throwing her onto the cold floor.
The air was heavy and stifling, filled with the stench of decay. Torchlight flickered dimly along the damp cavern walls, casting ominous shadows.
'Where is this...?' She struggled to her knees, her body trembling from the disorienting ordeal, her thoughts still catching up with reality.
For a moment, she couldn't move. Her mind reeled as her hazy eyes scanned the unfamiliar, foreboding space—at least she tried to, but all she could see was haze and hear nothing other than her pulse thundering.
[Zahara! Zahara, answer me!] Sophie's voice cut through the haze in her mind, sharp and urgent, but she couldn't completely make out what she heard.
Zahara blinked, her breath shallow, but the words didn't register. Her hands gripped the uneven ground beneath her as she tried to focus.
Her senses slowly returned, and the first thing she registered was that she wasn't alone.
"Who is she?" A voice broke through the silence, low and cold.
Zahara's head snapped up. A group of figures stood nearby, cloaked in black, their faces obscured save for the piercing glint of their eyes. She counted at least seven, though more could be lurking in the shadows.
"She's not the target," another voice replied, colder than the first. "The trap was meant for Alex. She's... an accident."
'An accident,' she muttered, those words bringing her more clarity, making her realize the situation.
She was no stranger to danger. Sophie had already told her about Alex's plan to draw the assassins out.
'Turns out they were never in the ballroom,' her thoughts reeled as she tried to remain calm.
Assessing the situation, she finally replied to Sophie. 'Sophie, I think I've triggered a trap meant for Alex.'
[Zahara, finally!] Sophie's voice was heard, filled with relief. [Are you fine? Did someone try to harm you? Can you tell me what you see?]
Sophie knew about the trap already, so she asked more crucial questions. She needed to know Zahara's situation to calm Alex a bit.
'For now, I'm fine,' Zahara replied, her senses picking up every movement in her surroundings. 'But I don't know for how long. There are at least seven assassins stationed here, and most of them are in the star connection realm already.'
Zahara's tone was grave as she told Sophie everything.
The assassin, on the other hand, oblivious to Zahara and Sophie's chat, went on.
"Then she's useless," a third voice, feminine, hissed. "We should dispose of her."
"No," a fourth interjected sharply, his tone authoritative and sadistic. His eyes, black and unyielding, bore into her even through the shadows of his hood. "She's not useless. Not yet."
'The leader,' Zahara realized as their eyes met. She could feel a strange aura—one that made her shrink back inadvertently—from him.
"Why wait?" the female assassin argued, frustration lacing her words. "We kill her now and focus on the real prize."
"Because," the leader said, stepping forward, his voice dripping with malice, "when Alex arrives—and he will arrive—I want him to see her alive. I want him to watch as I break her, piece by piece."
Zahara's blood turned to ice. The leader's aura was suffocating, a palpable weight pressing down on her chest. She could feel it—the overwhelming power that radiated from him.
He was way stronger than anything she or Alex could face. Her hands trembled as her thoughts spiraled.
'Sophie!' Zahara cried mentally, her voice cracking with desperation. 'You have to stop him! Don't let him come here!'
Sophie's sigh echoed through her mind, weary but resigned. [You know Alex. He's already on his way.]
Sophie had tried to stop Alex, but... she couldn't bring herself to be forceful. She wanted Zahara to survive as well. She didn't want Zahara to die.
'No! I—I can't let them use me as bait. I'll—' Zahara's voice faltered as the dread clawed at her, threatening to consume her. 'I'll end this myself before I let them get to him!'
[Zahara, you need to stay strong.] Sophie's voice was firm now, an anchor against her rising panic. [There's no stopping him. You know that. He's going there no matter what. You should think of how you will help him.]
Zahara's jaw tightened, her resolve battling the fear that threatened to paralyze her. But as she steeled her nerves, trying to think of ways she could help Alex, Sophie continued.
[Also,] she said, pausing as Zahara felt the room shudder. A surge of mana rippled through the air, cold and sharp, like the edge of a blade. [He's already here.]
"What is that?" one of the assassins muttered as they felt the mana converging over the magic circle, their posture shifting to one of alarm.
The magic circle on the ground flared to life, its intricate runes glowing with blinding intensity. A deafening hum filled the cavern as a figure began to take shape within the light.
Zahara's heart raced, and her eyes widened. She could see it just like everyone else in the room. Continue reading stories on empire
It was Alex, kneeling on the ground, breathing hard as if he had no energy.
"He came here himself?" One of them spoke, his gaze cold as he stared at Alex, tilting his head. "The connection was cut off, though."
Boom!
But then they saw Alex hitting the ground, causing the cave they were in to quake, which didn't seem to affect the assassins.
"Has he gone crazy?" Another one commented, his voice as cold as the other one. "Does he think doing that would bring his mana back?"
"He probably realized his situation," snickered a woman, her voice colder than others.
All of them seemed to have the same kind of expression; even their reactions, which were different from each other, seemed somehow mechanical.
The woman then added, moving toward Alex, "He must know that he can't use mana now. Traveling through this magic circle, which had its connection cut, must have broken his body from the inside."
One of the men from before nodded, "Yes, I'm curious how he even used this magic circle."
As she heard those words, Zahara's blood grew colder. Were they telling the truth? Was Alex rendered powerless just because he came to save her?
The woman assassin, right in front of Alex now, staring down at him, turned to look at their leader, who was standing at the back and looking at everything with a frown.
"Well, now that he's here, shouldn't we kill that girl who came before him?" She spoke as she pointed at Zahara, who trembled under their heavy gaze. Her mind raced, thinking a way out of the situation.
Pierce!
But just then, an unmistakable sound of flesh being pierced was heard, jerking her back to reality, and the woman, who had her back toward Alex, could now be seen standing with an ink-black sword tip protruding out of her forehead.
She was dead, and Alex, who everyone thought was tired, stood right behind her with a cold expression, gripping the hilt of the sword.
"Thanks. Because of you, I could get my head straight."
That was all he said before he twisted the sword, making a sick squelch echo through the walls of the cave before he pulled it out along with everything inside of the woman's head.