The ballroom was a graveyard of screams. Blood pooled across the marble floor, chandeliers swayed as if the building itself trembled, and the air reeked of sulfur. Headmaster Alex lay crumpled, blood spilling from the wound in his stomach where Dolomir's claw had pierced him.
And then came the laugh.
It wasn't loud. It was worse — a rasping chuckle that slithered across the walls, crawling into our ears, into our minds.
Dolomir stepped forward. His body was a grotesque fusion of shadow and flesh, his limbs elongated, his face half‑formed, half‑rotted. His eyes glowed like embers, but they weren't fire. They were hunger.
"Hello, children," he rasped, his voice scraping against my bones. "I am Dolomir. The almighty has commanded me to kill you. And you… you are perfect prey."
Amanda's flames flickered to life at her fingertips, defiant even as her body trembled from exhaustion. Sammy and Talia steadied themselves, water and ice swirling weakly around their hands. I raised my blade, my broken arm hanging useless, but my grip firm in the other.
Dolomir inhaled. The air itself seemed to shiver. His grin widened. "Ah… despair. Fear. Regret. Delicious."
The corpses littering the ballroom twitched. Students who had fallen moments ago rose again, their eyes glowing red, their screams twisted into demonic shrieks. Dolomir fed on our horror, and with every flicker of doubt, his aura grew heavier.
Amanda hurled a wave of fire, engulfing the nearest demons. They shrieked, but Dolomir laughed, the flames feeding his hunger. "Yes… burn them. Burn your friends. Every scream makes me stronger."
Sammy thrust his hands forward, shards of ice exploding across the floor, impaling two demons. Talia followed, water whips lashing out, slicing through another. But Dolomir moved like smoke, slipping between their attacks, his claws raking across the marble.
I charged, blade flashing. Steel met shadow, sparks flying. Dolomir's strength was monstrous — every strike rattled my bones, every clash sent shockwaves through my body. My broken arm screamed, but I forced myself to keep moving.
He whispered as we fought, his voice slithering into my mind. "You couldn't save them. You killed your own classmates. Every strike you make is murder. How long before you break?"
My grip faltered. For a moment, I saw their faces — friends twisted into demons, their screams echoing. Doubt clawed at me. Dolomir's grin widened.
Amanda's fire surged, breaking his hold. "Don't listen, Rudra! He feeds on it!"
I roared, swinging with all my strength. My blade tore into his shoulder, ichor spraying. Dolomir staggered, but only for a moment. His laughter returned, deeper, hungrier.
"You bleed. You fear. You despair. And I grow stronger."
The ballroom shook as his aura expanded, shadows crawling across the walls. The demons pressed harder, their claws raking, their shrieks deafening. We fought back to back — fire, water, ice, and steel — but Dolomir was everywhere, his whispers gnawing at our minds.
Sammy cried out as a claw tore across his chest, blood spraying. Talia screamed, water faltering as she stumbled. Amanda's flames flickered, her mana burning fast.
I swung again, blade biting into another demon, ichor staining my hands. My lungs burned, my body bruised, but I refused to fall.
Dolomir loomed above us, his grin stretching impossibly wide. "This is only the beginning."