The lab was silent now, but Shax could still smell the battle. Burned steel. Human blood. The faint sting of witchcraft that lingered in the air.
He walked slowly through the ruined corridors, every step echoing. The memory of the fight replayed in his mind: Levi, wings unfurling in crimson fury. The witch girl, Jane, sprinting to the switch with desperation carved into her face. His blade cut deep—her scream, her hand severed—yet still she made it. Still she freed the queen.
Shax's jaw clenched, the weight of failure heavy on his chest. I had her. Both of them.
Forneus followed at a careful distance, her voice low. "You're brooding, General."
"I am remembering," Shax said, his voice was like stone grinding. He stepped into the central chamber where Levi's containment unit once stood. The broken glass glistened like frost around him. He reached out, claws scraping against the scorched metal door that had once imprisoned her.
"I almost had her back in chains. Almost." His purple eyes narrowed. "But the witch… she defied me."
Stolas appeared in raven form, wings beating softly before he shifted into his gaunt human shape. "Defied you, and succeeded. She freed the queen where countless warriors failed."
Pazusax smirked faintly. "A fragile little scientist with a false arm, playing savior."
Shax's wings twitched, a ripple of fury crossing his massive frame. "Fragile? She bled and still stood. She is no ordinary witch. Levi favors her—protects her. That makes the witch dangerous."
He crouched, fingers brushing against a stain of black blood near the shattered chamber. Levi's blood. He raised it to his nose, inhaling deeply, his pupils narrowing to slits.
"She was weak," he said slowly, almost to himself. "Near death. Yet somehow, she has regained her strength. Faster than even a demon queen should." His gaze turned sharp. "That is the witch's doing."
Phenex padded in on wolf paws, growling low. "Then we cut the witch out. Easy."
"No," Shax said sharply, standing tall again. His shadow swallowed the chamber. "Not yet. I want Levi to watch her little savior suffer. To know that she cannot keep what she loves."
The group fell silent. Forneus's eyes gleamed. "You mean to take them both."
Shax's claws dug into the wall, carving deep scars into the steel. His voice was low, a growl of hunger and rage.
"Yes. The queen and her witch. One for power. One for leverage. Neither will escape me again."
The room trembled as his wings flared, purple sparks dancing across his scales.
And in the ruins of the lab, the memory of their battle burned bright in his mind—reminding him not of defeat, but of unfinished conquest.
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