Surrendered To The Lord Of Sin-Chapter 86: Shattering chaos III

Lucrezia’s breath hitched. It was still there, still circling in an unusual path, and still hunting nonetheless. She could feel the power surge from untold directions, leaving traces and imprint she could follow.

With a tight tone, "I need you to do it again." Vespera said.

Lucrezia nodded, though fear curled tightly in her chest. She focused solely, listening to the noises in her head.

Just like she was instructed, Lucrezia didn’t fight them, allowing the one different appear naturally like it did. As soon as she found it, she blocked the others, centralizing on the faint tremor.

"It’s... fading," She muttered, forehead thickening in concentration. Unlike the rest, this one seemed so faint she could barely hold on to it.

Vespera scanned their surrounding, alerted. She tried to keep calm despite their current situation so as not to distract the princess but it seemed their circumstances wasn’t one to be resolved soon like she expected.

Shit.

"Visualize the sound," she instructed, her tone tight but steady. Ensuring the werewolf princess had both eyes closed, Vespera formed a small circle with both hands in the air, producing a ball of purple flame. "Paint a picture your mind understands. It’s far easier to maintain an imaginary sight,"

She let the ball of flame dance in a controlled magnitude, eyes sharp across the half-deserted fair. There was nothing unusual apart from folks screaming as they took to their heels, black smoke curling lazily in the air as a result of the explosions.

And then in one calculative strike, she drove the ball to her right, carefully constructing her target away from the thinning crowd. It struck true in the air, suddenly colliding into something—a shadowed figure with hollow eyes—that appeared out of the blue, dissolving at once with a painful shriek.

Vespera gritted her teeth.

Lucrezia obeyed. She pictured the sound with an imaginary picture of what her mind could understand; her nightmares. She focused on the origin of noises, aligning them with the exact creatures that pursued her. The hill. The castle. The man. The creatures that lingered in the dark behind him.

She followed the sound, aligning each faint tremor with movement and presence, until the noise began to take form in her mind. There wasn’t one, but many, and her breath hitched.

"They’re not alone," she whispered, her voice trembling despite her effort to steady it. H-How was it even possible?

Vespera’s gaze sharpened. "What do you see?"

Lucrezia swallowed, her brows knitting tighter as she concentrated, deeper this time. "They’re... scattered," She said slowly, recalling her detailed imagery. "Not moving together. They’re circling... tightening... under the supremacy of a creature," She couldn’t quite picture the person’s face. Or she was still in shock to believe they might indeed be here for her.

A pause followed as Lucrezia refocused, noticing something entirely different from the sound. Something that was once faint became sharper.

"They’re herding."

Vespera’s jaw tightened at that, already preparing. "Towards what?"

Lucrezia didn’t answer immediately, because deep down, she already knew.

Her chest tightened. "...us." The word barely left her lips when another faint tremor brushed against her senses, closer this time.

She turned sharply. "Behind—no, wait—" Her head tilted slightly, adjusting, following the distortion. "Two... no—three," she corrected quickly. "They’re splitting!"

O-Oh gods...

"Positions," Vespera demanded.

Lucrezia forced herself to steady, reminding herself of how delicate the situation placed her and how important her focus was. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Left—far. One to the right, closer. And... one—" Her breath caught as the sound changed position, striking at an angle she least expected. "Directly ahead,"

Vespera moved instantly. She shifted her stance, placing herself slightly in front of Lucrezia, her hands already igniting with that same controlled violet flame.

"Stay behind me," she ordered, eyes never leaving the angle of an incoming attack.

Lucrezia nodded, though her legs felt weak. Her eyes widened in astonishment at the magic displayed before her eyes.

Sne had always known Vespera was one of those lesser gods, and it didn’t surprise her that much at her ability to control flames out of thin air.

All of a sudden, the air around them grew heavier and much colder. Before another blink of an eye, a distortion, barely visible, like heat rippling through the air tore the space open.

Vespera didn’t wait. She thrust her hand forward, releasing another burst of flame. It collided midair, striking true onto something that formed. A shadowed figure, barely solid, its shape flickering as though it could not fully exist within their world.

Lucrezia’s heart sank. N-No...

Its hollow eyes burned faintly as it let out a shrill, inhuman cry before dissolving under the impact.

Lucrezia flinched instinctively. I-It was happening... It was indeed happening.

"Is that all?" Vespera asked, not taking her eyes off their surroundings.

She nodded slowly, her mind clustering with those noises once again. She focused on the one difference, visualizing an image as instructed. "T-There are more."

As if in answer, the other sound surged again but this time, from multiple directions. It was faster now, more aggressive, and a cold shiver spider-webbed her spine.

"They’re closing in!" Lucrezia shouted.

Vespera exhaled sharply, eyes deadly across their surroundings, mirroring the little movement. "Of course they are. Stay closely behind me,"

Another distortion appeared to their right, moving quicker. Vespera turned, firing another controlled strike. Unfortunately this time, it dodged, and Lucrezia’s eyes widened.

The ground cracked suddenly behind them, taking them off guard. "Vespera!"

But it was already too late.

Another larger and heavier strike slammed into the earth, sending shards of ice flying outward. The force collided with both of them, sending them flying into the air and slamming them into another half-burnt stall.

The impact knocked the breath straight out of Lucrezia. Pain shot through her back as splintered wood cracked beneath them, firing her veins.

She gasped, biting her lower lip to prevent herself from screaming out of her lungs. Was it pain or suffering, it felt cold. For a moment, all Lucrezia could hear was a dull ringing in her ears, her vision blurring at the edges.

N-No, no, no... she thought. She couldn’t lose consciousness now. Not now!

"—Anastasia!" As if reacting to her unspoken plea, Vespera’s voice cut through the haze. It was all she needed as her eyes snapped open, and the world rushed into her at once.

A dull sky greeted her first, the first to welcome her back to reality, the noises in her head rushing back moments later. Lucrezia coughed, forcing air back into her lungs as she struggled to push herself upright.

Her limbs trembled beneath her weight, her body slow to respond. Though she was weak, there was a small trace of energy anchoring her, just enough to keep her from collapsing.

"I’m—" She winced, gripping the edge of the broken stall. "I’m fine..."

But she wasn’t. Everything hurt so much. The cold, the impact, the noise still clawing at her senses... it was too much.