Face to Face with Death (2)

[Warning: this chapter contains disturbing descriptions of gore and emotional suffering that can not be suited for a sensitive audience.]

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Who is Aurora really?

The question that followed troubled me even more, “You were the youngest?” asked the Marquis.

Aurora didn’t respond. She had paused her assault for a second, just long enough to reveal that she was unsettled.

What did that mean? Did they know each other before this mission?

I was dying to grab the noble by the collar and force him to spill the beans: the youngest of what?! The friction resumed with renewed vigor. The assassin remained silent because she knew I was hearing everything said.

I felt like I had already heard too much. It was time for her to kill her target. Too bad he hadn’t answered her questions. De Ritella had already sown too much chaos in my mind, and by extension, in my relationship with Aurora.

I shouldn’t know. But why? Shockwaves crashed around me. They manifested always in pairs, with a delay between each. It had to be the work of a new weapon in Aurora’s arsenal. Someone rolled on the ground after another wave of shock hit.

“Yes, I remember now!” De Ritella resumed. “The Prince of Light drew so much attention that you completely disappeared into his shadow… They were already deranged, but that kid drove them completely mad!”

There was another pause in their confrontation. The name “Prince of Light” lingered in my mind.

A prince?! Why is he talking about him in the past tense? Who is he to Aurora?

I could no longer hear knives clashing or colliding. Only the smuggler blended into desperate laughter.

“You’re almost as beatiful specimen as he is…”

“A specimen? Is that what he was to you? Take back what you said. Take it back, you filthy piece of trash!”

“It’s only the stark truth.”

The Marquis's provocations had struck a nerve with Aurora. I realized she could be hurt. She had weaknesses, not of the body but of the mind. I had never considered it that way. I had always believed her to be invincible, but that was merely the illusion she projected. A killer so calm wouldn’t have gotten angry otherwise.

Memories flooded back of her overreactions when I had called her a monster. This time, it wasn’t about intimidating anyone; it was a fight to the death. Aurora’s words were imbued with undeniable sincerity. Another wall was struck by shockwaves. It seemed the magic barrier had been obliterated.

“You little…! You had it all planned out!” De Ritella spat, clearly irritated.

Three explosions echoed. It sounded as if a storm had broken out above our heads. A gust of wind cleared away all the white smoke that had settled around me.

What the hell is happening up there?!

Someone began to run and executed a series of great leaps. Only Aurora could possess such agility.

“My hat! You’ll pay for that!”

Without fully grasping what he was talking about, I could feel my partner had poured everything she had into that last attack. The battle grew increasingly noisy as shockwaves and the scraping of blades flew in all directions. Just like in our first duel, Aurora led the dance with superhuman speed. I felt fatigued just from the rhythm of the strikes pulsing in my ears. How could one survive so long amidst such savagery? What was he defending himself with?

“Let me go!”

Disgust and fear tainted the noble’s words. Something was holding them back from continuing their fight.

“You’re nothing but an hideous monster, so if you think I’ll hold back…” Aurora conceded in a small voice.

The mercenary growled as De Ritella struck her frantically with his fists. The hatred that fueled his actions was unmatched. He wanted to make her suffer as much as possible. He was enjoying it so much that he didn’t want to stop—until the breaking point.

Several blades shattered at once, their fragments falling to the ground like spent bullet casings. There was a groan of pain followed by an unsettling silence. A sudden burst of gunfire erupted without warning, accompanied by horrendous screams. I had never heard anything like it. My ears began to buzz.

My breath was so short that I could hardly tell if I was still breathing. It was a true nightmare that refused to end.

Aurora, Aurora… her… whimpering…

Someone staggered before crashing heavily to the floor. It couldn’t be her… No! Aurora was tougher than that!

A coarse, prideful laugh shattered that certainty. It warped until it lost all semblance of humanity, fading into a sinister sound that came from deep within him. He had been toying with her from the beginning… Did his cruelty know no bounds?

It’s not going to be my turn now…?

To my great surprise, a second person fell to the floor. Wait, don’t tell me the Marquis has bled out too…? It was just like Aurora to take the enemy down with her.

If they were both pinned to the ground, then I had nothing to fear. Just as I wondered how I would manage if the paralysis spell never lifted, my body regained its freedom. If the spell had lifted, that meant…

Aurora is really… She will never come back…

My thoughts froze, and fear surged back, even more oppressive than before. I stumbled on the stairs, all my energy drained. My instincts screamed at me to run, but I didn’t want to face the two corpses waiting for me outside.

Run, run… but where? The teleportation circle in the warehouse? What if I ran into the Marquis’s allies? What if the authorities were on their way?

“Edwoyn… Help me!”

This voice, straight from the heavens, warmed my heart. My pulse resumed its rhythm, and a violent surge of adrenaline coursed through me. My legs moved before I even realized it.

“Aurora, Aurora! You’re alive!” I cried out, overwhelmed.

I didn’t truly believe it until I saw her sprawled on the ground like a withered petal. There were no more debris, and the dust had been replaced by sand.

The chandelier had vanished. The floor was riddled with still-smoking pools of acid. A broken chain lay a few meters away. A curious translucent dome cut us off from the outside world.

What is this mess…?

Troubled, I scanned the situation with a sweep of my head, still clinging to the frame of the secret passage. Blood, everywhere. Aurora was struggling to hold her abdomen, which was continuously spewing that repulsive red liquid.

This image occupied my entire vision, impossible to tear away from it. I rushed to her side in a flash. My presence sparked a small smile on her lips, a smile twisted by pain. A drop of blood escaped the corner of her mouth and slid down her chin.

I dared not bring my hands closer, yet they hovered just above her dying body. Aurora grasped my hands. She was so cold, so tormented, so compressed…

“He drank a potion that turned him into this… monster,” she murmured between wrenching coughs. “I did what I could… I need you to finish… it…”

“But we need to heal you first!”

“I’ll be fine. He mustn’t… Hurry and take him out… There… potions… downstairs, but him… first.”

Huge scratches had ripped through her uniform despite its reinforcements. One of her arms was burned to the shoulder by the acid. Not to mention the deep gashes on her hands and the bullets lodged in her abdomen… Only a monster could inflict such injuries on another monster, especially the embodiment of Death itself.

At that thought, my head turned like a rusty screw toward De Ritella. A monster… The unconscious body I saw was now just a mass of swollen, pulpy flesh. His long hat was missing. His clothes had torn apart as his muscles swelled into ready-to-explode lumps, particularly around his arms. His torso was so blood-soaked that I could no longer make out anything.

Long metallic claws extended from his forearms, stretched far more than they should have been. He still held one of Aurora’s pistols in his right hand. On that side, his claws had been cut off.

It was unbearable to look at, yet I couldn’t tear my gaze away from this horrific tableau. It was a thousand times worse than anything I could have imagined while still stuck on the stairs.

Time seemed to have stopped. The creature feverishly lifted its torso, accumulating more and more blood. Its purplish veins traced through its reddened muscles and climbed up to its pallid face. It looked as if its skin had been peeled off alive.

It was impossible to recognize him, except for the long dyed hair that covered half of his face. This face resembled more a devourer than a human. Its eyes had elongated into almonds, and its mouth now featured a new row of fine, sharp teeth. I couldn’t help but dread that these needles might suddenly sink into my skin.

t was a miracle that Aurora had managed to knock him out. Was this the power of forbidden weapons? I didn’t see any other weapon except for the silencer. A thin layer of moisture veiled my vision. Despite all the emotions engulfing me, I couldn’t shed a single tear. I was too destabilized to cry.

How did I end up here? I was a prince, and… I couldn’t complete my thought before my mind shifted to something else.

I had to put an end to this carnage. As my mentor had pointed out, this abomination could wake up at any second. I would have done anything to prevent that. It was already terrifying enough without having to move, so… Gasping, I struggled to concentrate on what needed to be done: how was I supposed to kill it?

Foolish question.

Crouched down, I grasped the pistol in my innocent hands. They began to tremble against my will. It was heavier than I had imagined. I checked the magazine: three bullets remained.

Why did I pick up this weapon? I need to heal Aurora first! But what if he kills her in the meantime...? Isn’t he on the verge of bleeding to death?

Doubt seized me. Did I really have to kill him? This thing was no longer human. There was no chance it would ever become one again. It was probably very resilient. If Aurora told me to execute him, she had a good reason for it.

Aurora is a monster too, I thought in shock.

She was a cruel killer, and the idea of her bleeding out didn’t leave me indifferent. If she died, I would be freed from the seal and her contract. I could finally be free.

“Edwoyn… the mission, quickly…”

The feverish voice of my partner brought me back to reality. De Ritella, the monster, the inhabitants of Cerem. In fact, this wasn’t about me.

Aurora committed crimes, but it was to help where the government would never intervene. There was still hope. Her strength could save Asyria… just as it could destroy everything. I stared at the mercenary in horror.

She was just a teenager.

She’s bleeding out because of you. You can kill them all. You just have to wait patiently.

My pulse continued to race. The outcome of the choice was irrevocable. Still, my hand remained painfully frozen, unable to lift the weapon.

Refusing to endure this oppressive atmosphere for another second, I let out a deep sigh and lowered my shoulders. They were so stiff they were painful. My attention turned to my cold feet, which I had forgotten were still supporting me. This whole situation was completely beyond me.

“Kill him… It’s an order.”

Her shivers made her request sound very gentle. It seemed like a plea. She was fighting with all her strength to stay conscious and stem the bleeding. She must have been exhausted. Too exhausted to use her magic.

Kill him, kill him, quickly! You’re a murderer anyway!

Her voice infiltrated me, leaving me no room to resist.

Do it. It’s an order.

My focus returned to the smuggler. To all that blood. Then to the pistol. My head was so full that it felt empty. I… I…

“I’m sorry, I can’t!”

Stronger than a tidal wave, a surge of rage overwhelmed me.

And then damn it.

He deserved it.

I began to squeeze the trigger of the weapon, consumed by the urge to hear that bastard whine one last time. To feel his weak life force escape from his body to nourish me… I was hungry.

After him, I would take down the mercenary. She had so much magic within her… But the gunshot never came. A part of me resisted with all my miserable strength, gripped by spasms and sobs.

What’s happening to me?! I don’t want to become a monster; I’m not like them!

I saw my reflection in the pistol that I couldn’t let go of or use: eyes of an acid blue, anything but natural. They transcended me with all their splendor.

Is that me?! What is— ?

I didn’t have the luxury of asking myself more questions as a noise behind me made itself known. I diverted my attention immediately. The silver-haired mercenary rose, as if awakened from the dead.

She brushed off a bit of dust with a casual gesture. Her face was devoid of expression, just like the time I had asked her the exact number of her victims. Her fingers dug into her abdominal wounds without a single reaction betraying her suffering.

After that indiscreet gesture, she pulled out all the metal pieces from her body, one by one, digging deep into her insides until she ensured she had grabbed the right piece.

I was hypnotized, unable to interpret what I was witnessing. No tension or panic, a breath so calm it soothed me… She stretched and then healed herself with an incantation she didn’t even need to pronounce.

It seemed so easy, so natural… No more fatal bleeding, nothing. The pools of blood at our feet vanished into a cloud of vapor. A monster, good as new, traversed this fine mist to devour me. She would make quick work of it, and I was incapable of resisting her. My body didn’t even try to flee.

“What…?”

One step, two steps, an object lying on the ground soared into the hands of its owner. Three steps, four steps… Aurora stopped abruptly.

The killer circled around me, and then arms surrounded me with a love that felt foreign. She had slipped up behind me like a serpent around its prey. Her neck was already nestled in the crook of my shoulder.

Without hurrying me, she took control of my hands around the silencer, placing hers over mine. She seized the weapon that had caused me so much torment.

Finally, it was over. It was really over.

I fell to my knees. A butterfly knife with a blade glowing with a yellowish aura landed in my possession. Her peaceful voice guided me with extraordinary kindness:

“There’s nothing more satisfying than killing with your own hands. It would be a shame to let a gun do it for you, wouldn’t it?”

We don’t choose what defines us. At that time, I could never have conceived it: no one becomes a monster of their own volition. Sometimes, I still wonder if I really had a choice that day…