Darkness spread over them like a long, wet, and humid veil with a strong odor. The Beasts were so numerous that the red of their entrails was swallowed by the shadows.
Not even the glow of the cleaver reflected. Candela was unable to use her illusions, so she would use the beasts' red blood to make light shine beyond her eyes.
Beatriz tried to maintain her usual coolness, but Henri and August's voices echoed a name in her mind: Vergil. The huddled beasts were a sign of the creature's presence, for within the depths of the darkness, a glow reached Beatriz, causing her to take steps back. She wanted to shatter everything in front of her to claim it for herself, but her sword was nothing more than a flame from a snuffed-out fire.
In an instant, beasts fell in droves around Vasily. In the middle of the darkness, his shots were like shooting stars in the night sky. But he knew the beasts were acting in a coordinated manner; their leader was surely Vergil, a creature with such an aura that Flamel's waves were repeated from their encounter.
Killbit, unlike everyone else, was calm and couldn't control his happiness, wanting to test the full extent of his own power. His silver sword appeared, different from before, now embedded with an energy that emanated a scarlet aura. As he spun it, all the beasts in front of him were thrown to the ground.
Another one remained standing, a black lizard with bat-like wings that stayed in the air, a glow visible behind it. It was a creature so strong that it was immune to his Tempus Fugit. The young man changed his stance and launched himself against the winged beast. The creature beat its wings hard, but Killbit didn't even move, continuing to fall towards the winged beast.
It ferociously placed two claws in front of its body, along with a roar. The winged beast was torn in half before its voice could even echo inside the great leviathan. There was nothing behind its body.
"He ran away again." He stood up from the ground using his sword. "If only I were truly strong, I would have been able to catch him with my hands, feel his warmth again." But he fell to his knees again. "Why does everyone stop me from being truly strong? What did I do to be just an object?"
"Calm down, Beatriz, you're certainly the strongest of everyone here. You just don't know it." He offered his hand to help her up. "Hold on, I know sometimes we don't get what we want, that's why we have each other."
"I don't remember ever considering you my equal. Have you ever suffered in your life? Never, never, have you?" She created a wave of heat that threw everyone far away. "Don't come after me. I'll recover what I lost on my own. I don't need your pity."
"Okay, Beatriz, you know very well where we'll be. You should know another way to get to Bernard. If you want it that way, so be it." He stopped. "Just don't forget that all of us think you're the strongest of all, the one with the strongest heart, and certainly the one with the most love."
"Finally she's gone, I was so fed up with her. We can finally concentrate on our objective, can't we? But just in case, do you know where she's going, Vasily?"
He took the map from the holster. "According to the markings, there is a point in the tower that has an abnormal amount of Flamel, but the thing is, according to my and Sophie's calculations, it always changes location, almost as if it were a living being." He smiled. "From what you told me, she appeared out of nowhere in your sector, didn't she? Interesting..."
Candela had never thought about how Beatriz came from inside a beast that needed Gustav's help to be defeated. With each passing minute, she knew that her suspicion about Beatriz was based on logic.
Vasily answered Candela's question with a laugh, but he had something else in mind: the Vergil project. He knew all the notes about Beatriz and her creation, but there was almost no data on Vergil, no matter how much he asked Bernard.
Seeing Vergil up close answered a lot of Vasily's questions, but at the same time, it created several scenarios in the researcher's mind. He managed to control a beast that's even immune to Tempus Fugit, which was incredible. If the beast is immune to it, how did Vergil manage to keep it under control? Do his abilities come from something beyond the tower's energy?
While they kept their minds busy thinking about Beatriz, Killbit was ahead of everyone. His conscience was clear; he was happy that Beatriz went after more power, because if that's what she wanted, she would find it. Killbit felt his hidden strength inside him. What made him a little anxious was knowing that its origin was the same as the beasts.
Everyone soon came to their senses, now focused on how they would find Ascaris without Beatriz's help—with her heat tracking—and Bernard's as their connection to the beasts.
Vasily drew his pistol and shot Candela and Killbit. With a big smile on his face, he began to recite a spell with the two immobilized in front of him.
"I had my hopes up, but damn it, he's worse than Beatriz! He's going to use us as bait, Killbit!"
"To Candela, he's too smart; this idea isn't even good... it is, we're really going to be bait, aren't we? Damn it, I can't break free; the bullet sealed my Tempus Fugit."
"Stop being so dramatic; using you both as bait would be a really stupid idea, but with many pros, I'm thinking of something much better!"
"I was so emotional about his story with Sophie, but it seems like he only said it to lower our guard, damn him!"
"Did Beatriz have to leave now? She was the only one who had the means to beat Vasily. Come back here, Beatriz, apologize to her, shouting!"
"You guys are hilarious. Okay, I'm done. Time for the explanation. I used a spell that blended both of your abilities. Now, when Candela creates an illusion, it will go after Ascaris, as I mixed it with Killbit's hidden power; the shadow always looks for its creator."
Behind Candela, an illusion took on a different form than everyone thought; the shadow had a human silhouette.
The shadow had no expression.
Its body moved forward.
Everyone followed in its footsteps.
Candela felt something strange about it.
The scarlet eyes shone with intensity.