Chapter 7: The Fight for Philip

Adrian slowly stepped into the house, stopping for a moment at the doorway. The silence inside was terrifying, but what made his heart pound was what he saw in front of him. Blood covered the floors and walls, while the bodies of the Night Guards were scattered throughout the halls and rooms. Some of them were still clutching their weapons. Adrian’s eyes widened as he looked around, unable to comprehend what had happened in the place he knew so well.

He took one step forward, then another, but his legs barely seemed able to support him. He glanced at one of the bodies before quickly looking away, suppressing a gasp. Fear grew inside him with every passing second, and worst of all, he couldn’t see his grandfather or Philip among the dead.

“Grandpa...?”

His voice came out weak, but there was no answer. He stopped for a moment, staring down the dark hallway before taking a shaky breath and forcing himself forward.

“Philip?”

Nothing.

His breathing grew heavier as his eyes frantically searched every corner. He wanted to believe they were safe, but the blood and bodies surrounding him told him otherwise. He placed a hand against the wall for support and continued deeper into the house, calling their names louder this time, though fear still trembled in his voice.

“Grandpa! Philip! Where are you?!”

His voice echoed through the house before the silence returned once again.

Adrian stopped in the middle of the hallway. His eyes slowly shifted toward the darkness ahead. There was something deep inside the house. Something he couldn’t see yet.

Then a voice came from the darkness.

“Hello, Adrian.”

Adrian’s body tensed, and his heart began pounding violently. The voice wasn’t like the sounds of the creatures he had fought before. It was clear and calm, which somehow made it even more frightening. He swallowed and asked hesitantly, “Who’s there?”

There was no answer.

A few moments later, something moved inside the darkness and began approaching him. Only two steps were enough for its figure to emerge from the shadows.

It was a creature that looked human, but it was much larger than Adrian. Long white hair fell from its head, with two long horns rising through the strands. Its eyes were completely white, without a trace of color, and its nails were long and razor-sharp.

Yet it stood upright on two legs and had a distinctly human form.

Adrian stared at it, unable to decide what to do. His mind struggled to process what he was seeing, but the presence of this creature inside his home, surrounded by blood and corpses, sent fear deep into his chest.

The creature stood silently in front of Adrian, staring at him with its blank white eyes. It didn’t move or say a word, as if its mere presence was enough to fill the room with fear. Adrian tried to steady his breathing, but his heart was still pounding from everything he had seen inside the house.

Adrian finally broke the silence. “Who are you? And what do you want from me?”

Malkar continued staring at Adrian for several seconds without moving. Then the corner of his mouth slowly curled into a cold, confident smile. It wasn’t the smile of someone who was happy. It was the smile of someone who knew he was stronger than his opponent and had no reason to fear him.

“My name is Malkar,” he said in a low, heavy voice, keeping his eyes fixed on Adrian. “I am one of the five guards serving Lord Ildar. Your mother stole a portion of my master’s power and placed it inside you. That’s why I came here—to take it back.”

Adrian’s eyes widened as he remembered his mother and the power she had given him.

Malkar continued smiling. Then his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was about to tell Adrian something he found amusing. “We punished that soul. She is now suffering in darkness and fire inside the mirrors, after we burned her body so she would fall completely under our control.”

Adrian’s heart tightened. His fist clenched with anger and pain, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Malkar.

Malkar’s smile grew slightly wider, while his voice remained frighteningly calm. “As for you, you still have a portion of that power inside your body. That’s why I’m going to take it back myself.”

Malkar took a single step forward, raising his chin slightly as he looked down at Adrian with cold confidence.

“And after I take it from you, I’ll kill you.”

His smile disappeared, leaving behind an unsettling, murderous calm.

“So prepare yourself, Adrian.”

Malkar’s expression suddenly changed.

His eyes widened slightly, and the corner of his mouth lifted before his jaw slowly opened, revealing rows of sharp teeth like those of a hungry predator. His nose twitched several times as he drew in a deep breath, sniffing the air around him as if a particular scent had just reached him.

Malkar raised his head slightly and took another breath. Then he spoke in a low voice, clearly enjoying the scent he had picked up.

“I smell a small child... His blood is boiling with fear.”

His smile widened.

Malkar slowly turned toward one of the rooms, and Adrian’s heart began pounding violently. He looked toward the room and suddenly remembered.

Under the bed...

Philip.

He was the one who had told him to hide there.

Tension surged through Adrian all at once, wiping everything else from his mind. He no longer saw the bodies around him. He no longer thought about Malkar or the power he possessed. The only thing occupying his thoughts was Philip.

Malkar turned toward him, slowly extending his long tongue and running it across his lips as his expression twisted into something even more sinister. His mouth gradually stretched wider until the terrifying smile nearly reached his ears, while the look in his eyes changed into that of a predator that had finally found its prey.

Adrian didn’t wait another second.

He sprinted toward the room at full speed, completely ignoring Malkar and the fear screaming inside him.

He no longer cared what might happen to him.

There was only one fear consuming him at that moment...

Fear for Philip.

Adrian rushed toward Philip’s room, but he had taken only a few steps when several creatures emerged from the darkness and blocked his path. He stopped for a moment, staring at them in disbelief. The Night Guards were stationed outside the house, so how had these creatures gotten inside?

“Where did they come from?”

As he tried to understand what was happening, he suddenly remembered the opening in the basement—the same opening the creatures had used when they took his mother’s body. Fear tightened inside his chest when he realized they had used that passage to enter the house, meaning Philip had been hiding in a place they could reach all along.

Adrian raised his weapon and fired without hesitation. One of the bullets struck a creature in the chest, but it only staggered for a moment before charging at him with tremendous force. Adrian raised his weapon with both hands to block the attack, but the impact shook his entire body and sent him flying backward into the wall. Pain shot through his shoulder, and one of his arms went numb for a moment. He quickly raised his head and looked toward the door. Philip was behind it, waiting for him to come back. Adrian couldn’t allow himself to stay down.

He pushed himself away from the wall and charged forward again. He fired at one of the creatures, hitting it in the head and dropping it instantly, but he didn’t even have time to move closer before two others attacked him at the same time. Adrian tried to dodge one of them, but its claws tore into his shoulder. His body jolted from the pain, and he felt warm blood running beneath his clothes. He staggered backward, clutching the wound. His arm trembled, and every movement sent another wave of pain through it, but he raised his eyes toward the door again.

All he could see was Philip.

He took one step forward, then another, and began attacking with everything he had. His strikes weren’t enough to stop them, and the difference between their strength and his became more obvious with every clash. Whenever he knocked one of them back, another immediately struck him. Every blow took something from him—his strength, his balance, and his ability to think clearly. One attack slammed into his chest and forced him backward, followed by another strike to his side that sent pain shooting down his leg.

But he kept moving forward.

He knew that retreating meant leaving his brother to them.

“Get out of my way!”

Adrian screamed as he charged at them, but one of the creatures blocked his attack and struck him with tremendous force. Adrian doubled over, and before he could recover, the creature grabbed him by his clothes and threw him to the ground.

His body slammed against the floor. For several moments, he could only stare ahead, unable to process what had happened. He tried to move his arm, but a sharp pain shot from his shoulder all the way to his hand. He tried to push himself up, but his body refused to respond.

Still, he raised his eyes toward the room.

The door was still there.

He reached for his weapon, but before his fingers could touch it, a massive foot came down on his hand.

Adrian screamed as his body instinctively curled from the pain. He tried to pull his hand free, but the creature kept its foot pressed against it.

He could no longer think about anything else.

He only needed to free his hand.

Not because he wanted to keep fighting, but because he feared this might be his last chance to reach Philip.