After Lori and Nightshade defeated the three guardian demons, the door swung open. Before them lay massive, dark ruins. The remains of an ancient kingdom banished to the shadows long ago. The aura was heavy, and an eerie, sharp sound pierced the air, which was thick with a choking mist.
Jasmia was finally exhausted from her awakening. Breathing heavily, she nearly collapsed, but she managed to steady herself while holding Tsukia. Noticing her struggle, Nightshade gently took Tsukia from her and cradled tsukia against his chest, embracing her once more.
"Are you okay?" Lori rushed to comfort Jasmia. Jasmia smiled and gave a weak thumbs-up. Lori patted her head, proud of her hard work and her new awakening.
"The relic must be here, right?" Lori added, looking out at the confusing, vast expanse of the ruins.
"Maybe" Nightshade replied grimly.
As they moved deeper into the ruins, they found the area soaked in grime and ancient stains. When they reached the entrance of the main palace,
Nightshade pushed the doors with such force that the aged wood cracked and shattered. They remained cautious, watching every shadow for a surprise attack.
Inside, they found a throne room. Dozens of demon skeletons were frozen in a perpetual bow toward the center. On the throne sat a massive skeleton with curling horns and a crown, its bony fingers clutching a glowing golden relic—the very one the receptionist had described.
"That's it?" Lori asked.
Nightshade nodded, but as they stepped forward, a crushing aura washed over them, sending chills down their spines. A massive shockwave erupted from the skeleton on the throne, and a wall of black force slammed shut around the room, trapping them inside.
"We're doomed!" Jasmia cried, sticking to Lori like glue. They stood their ground, becoming fierce as they prepared for an onslaught.
"Mortalaroth..."
A deep, evil voice echoed through the chamber, seemingly vibrating from the relic itself. As the name was spoken, the skeletons on the floor began to rattle and rise. The group panicked, they had been fighting since they entered this lair and had very little strength left.
"Jasmia, can you do what you did earlier?" Nightshade asked, his eyes fixed on the rising undead.
"I'll try!" Jasmia whimpered. She closed her eyes and squeezed her fists tight, but nothing happened. "It's not working!" she panicked.
Nightshade hissed in frustration. "We have no choice but to fight to the end, then." Lori declared, summoning his fire fist.
Nightshade handed Tsukia back to Jasmia so he could fight at full strength. The boys took the front line while the girls stayed behind. As the battle began, Jasmia watched them, praying fervently.
"Tsukia, please... wake up already" she whispered.
The battle felt endless. No matter how many times Lori and Nightshade shattered the skeletons, the bones would knit back together and rise again within seconds.
"It's never-ending!" Nightshade gasped, his chest heaving. He was nearing his limit. But as he struck down two skeletons simultaneously, he noticed something different—they dissolved into dust and did not return.
He realized the key, they had to be destroyed in large groups all at once, He then caught Lori's eye, and Lori nodded, already understanding the plan.
"Lori, I need your blood again!" Nightshade commanded. Lori immediately held out his arm.
Nightshade rushed over, his fangs baring as he bit into Lori's forearm.
"Bro, hurry!" Lori urged as the skeletons closed in. As the power of the blood took hold, Nightshade's eyes ignited with dark flames that wrapped around his body. Lori summoned his remaining strength, his own aura catching fire. "I can't let you beat me with my own element," Lori chuckled weakly.
Together, they conjured a massive sphere of fire. When the heat became unbearable, they released it. A wave of incineration blasted across the room, turning every inch of the skeletal army to ash. Lori and Nightshade collapsed to the ground, their bodies trembling from total exhaustion.
"That was... actually pretty cool!" Lori managed to say, laughing breathlessly. Nightshade offered a small, tired smile.
"Good job, guys!" Jasmia cheered from a distance, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lori. But as they allowed themselves a moment of relief, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the hall.
A group of five men emerged from the shadows. "Thanks for the hard work, boys!" a familiar, mocking voice called out.
Nightshade's expression darkened instantly. Jasmia turned pale, trembling as she clutched the unconscious Tsukia.
"Who is that?" Lori asked, confused.
"Terlos" Nightshade spat, too weak to stand. "A team from Tasukai. They do this every time, arriving at the very end so they don't get their hands dirty, then stealing the credit from teams like us."
They watched helplessly as Terlos walked toward the throne and snatched the golden relic, laughing.
"To be honest, I've been here the whole time. I just waited for you to exhaust yourselves so I could arrive like a main character and take what I want." He added and laughed louder as his laugh echoed in the entire place.
As Terlos tried to walk past, Nightshade reached out with a trembling hand and grabbed his ankle. "You... aren't leaving." Nightshade growled, his eyes fierce despite the blood on his face.
Terlos smirked and kicked Nightshade squarely in the head. Lori and Jasmia watched in horror, unable to intervene.
"Do you have a death wish?" Terlos barked. His eyes scanned the group, settling on Jasmia and Tsukia with a devilish grin. "I'll take the girls, this one." he said, pointing at the unconscious Tsukia as she was mesmerized by her insane beauty and body figure.
"she's beautiful. I think I'll make her my wife." He laughed and smirked.
Nightshade grabbed Terlos's leg again.
"If you touch her... I swear I'll kill you."
As Lori also grabbed Terlos ankle and terlos only laughed in mockery and unleashed a wave of lightning through his body as his very own potential, he can manipulate lightning through his body. The shock traveled through Nightshade and Lori, as they trying to hold him back. Both boys coughed up blood, their muscles seizing.
"Grab the girls." Terlos commanded his men. Jasmia screamed as they dragged her away. Terlos himself walked over to Tsukia and gripped her hair, tilting her head back to look at her face. "Do you like this girl that much?" he mocked, reaching down toward her.
Before his fingers could touch her waist, a flash of red crossed the air.
Terlos's arm was severed in an instant, falling to the floor with a wet thud. Blood sprayed across the ruins. Terlos gasped, staring at his stump in frozen terror. Behind him stood Nightshade, draped in a suffocating, bloody red aura. He held a jagged dagger formed entirely from his own solidified blood.
"I hate giving warnings twice." Nightshade whispered, his voice like ice.
"Do you know what happens to people who touch what is mine?" He added, slowly glancing to terlos with a cold deadly stare.
"How is he still standing?" Terlos wondered, his mind racing. "He's severely wounded, he should be dead."
Before Terlos could react again, Nightshade plunged the blood-dagger through his heart. As Terlos's body slumped to the floor, the rest of his men fled in terror. They didn't get far. Nightshade vanished, reappearing in front of them with a blank, murderous expression, striking them down one by one until the room fell silent.
Watching Nightshade's fierce protection, Lori smiled. As he drifted into unconsciousness, he knew Tsukia was truly safe, and that Nightshade had kept the promise they made. He finally knew nightshade is not that type of person he once viewed.
Tsukia's eyes slowly fluttered open. Her vision was blurry, but she saw the carnage around her and Nightshade standing in the center of the bloodbath.
"What happened?" she murmured, trying to sit up. She realized she was covered in blood, not her own, but the spray from Terlos.
"I'll explain later." Jasmia sobbed, rushing to embrace her.
Nightshade walked back toward them, his red aura fading as his strength finally evaporated. He fell to his knees, and Tsukia caught him, pulling his blood-soaked body into her arms.
"I'll kill... any man... who dares touch you." he whispered into her shoulder, his voice fading as he lost consciousness.
Tsukia looked at the dead bodies, then at the unconscious lori and the crying Jasmia.
"Seriously... what the hell happened here?"