Boom!
Thunder roared across the sky as lightning lit up the darkness. A heavy downpour hammered the earth, drowning the night in a relentless storm.
Hurried footsteps splashed the puddles formed by the rain. The owner of them was a figure clad in a dark cloak that stuck to their body due to how wet it was.
"It's alright baby," the figure muttered between ragged breaths as she didn't stop running, "mommy's here".
Held securely inside her cloak and protected from the rain as much as possible was a child no older than three.
She knew her words were nothing more than a lie. The ones chasing her were relentless, merciless—they wouldn't stop until both of them were dead.
Even so, she had to reassure her child, if only for a moment.
"You'll be fine, I promise" she let out again.
But before she could take another step forward, a whistling sound cut through the rain as something passed cleanly through her left leg.
She stumbled and fell before the pain could even register. Protectively holding her baby, she quickly plummeted to the ground.
"Ngh—!" She let out a muffled cry to avoid scaring the child.
The child in her arms whimpered, shifting slightly as if sensing her distress. She clutched him tighter, whispering through clenched teeth.
"It's okay, baby… Mommy's got you."
That was a lie.... again.
The footsteps behind her slowed. The hunters had caught up.
"You ran well," a voice called out over the storm, the person sounded completely unhurried. "But you knew this was pointless."
The fact that the hunters caught up could only mean one thing.
"Hand the child over and we'll make your death a lot less painful than your husband's was" the voice continued.
Her heart clenched. Her husband had stayed behind to buy them time, to hold them off for as long as he could.
He was the only reason she and their baby had made it this far into the city.
But no matter how strong he was, even he couldn't hold back multiple Elite Hunters forever.
She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to move despite the searing pain in her leg. She couldn't stop. Not now. Not when her son's life was at stake.
Slowly, she shifted onto her knees, cradling the child protectively against her chest.
Her breaths came in short, pained gasps, the cold rain mixing with her blood as it seeped into the pavement.
"You made this harder than it needed to be," the leader said. He wasn't in a rush—he already saw this as over.
"It's ironic, really. You thought you could escape us, just like your ancestors did. But in the end, you're just another dog who refused to accept her fate."
She looked up at them, eyes burning with anger.
"If you wanted me dead so badly, you should've sent someone faster," she spat in a shaky voice, one filled with venom.
The leader merely tilted his head, unconcerned as he let out an amused chuckle. "And if your husband wanted you safe, he should've fought harder."
She clenched her fist, her anger almost overwhelming the pain she currently felt.
The first thought that came to mind was, Fight.
Even if she was injured, even if the odds were impossibly stacked against her.
But the small, warm weight in her arms kept her from acting on that instinct.
She had one job.
One final thing she needed to do.
She lowered her voice, whispering into her child's ear. "Listen to me, baby. No matter what happens… you have to survive. You hear me?"
The little boy whimpered, pressing his face deeper into her soaked cloak. He didn't understand what was going on, he was too young to.
She wished she had more time, more time to make sure he was ready to defend himself against the ones hunting them.
But time had never been on their side.
The leader raised his hand and gave a signal for the others to move.
She made her choice.
Clutching her son tightly, she forced herself up, staggering toward the alley beside her.
The pain in her leg nearly sent her crashing down again, but she gritted her teeth and kept moving towards the darkness.
The wound on her leg slowly stitched itself back together but the pain still persisted.
She ran through the musty alley, her baby still in hand. At this point, the hunters seem to just be toying with their prey.
Another fast moving object cut through the rain again and this time instead of her legs, it was aimed directly at her chest.
The object, once again, pierced through her and this time, also the child in her hands...or so it seemed.
She stumbled back to the ground, dropping the thing in her hand, allowing the hunters to spot what she held.
"A decoy spirit?" The leader realized.
What she held in her hands was but grotesque creature the size of a human baby instead.
The hunters momentarily froze, their confidence shaking as they processed what they saw.
The grotesque creature twitched and let out a shrill, unnatural cry before rapidly dissolving into mist. It had already served its purpose, buying her precious seconds.
She ignored the burning pain in her chest and the blood pooling beneath her.
The real child was no longer in her arms.
The leader's eyes darkened. "Clever."
His voice carried no praise, only irritation. He snapped his fingers, and two hunters immediately separated from them, scanning every corner of the alley.
The woman let out a pained chuckle which soon changed to blood filled coughs but she still persisted.
"Search all you want," she said "you'll never find him."
"Seriously," the leader let out a long sigh "you Graves really are annoying."
He stepped forward, slowly approaching her. She made no effort to move away or rather, she couldn't.
"Any last words?" The hunter said as he got closer, pulling out a sword.
"We'll be waiting for you in hell" she muttered before closing her eyes and accepting her fate.
All she cared about was her baby being safe, and now that he was, she could rest easy.
The hunter's sword quickly descended, aiming directly for her neck, but before it could connect—
Gasp!
A pair of silver eyes snapped open.