I could've sworn time stopped for a brief moment.
My ears kept ringing from the explosion, and my eyes could barely keep up with my surroundings.
I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of everything around me.
Everyone was scattered across the battlefield, hiding behind whatever scrap of rock or broken tree they could find. Some were slightly injured. Others looked completely dazed.
I shifted my leg and winced.
A rock had slammed into my left foot. It stung like hell, but thankfully, nothing felt broken.
I took a breath and slowly glanced over the top of my shield.
The dust was beginning to settle.
A silhouette stood in the distance.
I froze.
Master?
My heart jumped.
Did he win?
For one stupid second, I let myself believe it.
Then I heard it.
A low laugh.
My hope shattered.
Zarin.
The laughter wasn't forced or angry.
He was amused.
Genuinely amused.
I looked past the dust again.
My eyes widened.
Master Xavier was there.
But he wasn't standing.
His body lay against the remains of a torn-apart tree, his clothes covered in dust and blood. His shoulder looked badly torn, and judging by the way his body was positioned, there was no doubt he'd broken more than one bone.
Blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth.
He wasn't moving.
He was barely breathing.
He was at death's door.
Zarin looked down at him.
Then his laughter grew louder.
Hysterical.
Almost joyful.
I felt something cold crawl down my spine.
Then—
He stopped.
His head slowly turned in our direction.
I couldn't breathe.
There was no amount of words that could describe the dread that washed over me.
I turned.
Everyone was looking at each other.
The same fear was written across every face.
Nobody said anything.
We didn't have to.
Then, from behind us—
"...Run."
Master Xavier's voice was weak.
Barely audible.
But it didn't need to be repeated.
We all tore ourselves from the ground and sprinted.
We ran down the slope, jumping over fallen trees and weaving between the remains of the forest.
For the first time in my life as a Guardian...
All I wanted to do was escape from that devil.
"Where are we heading to?" Iris asked, her voice strained.
"An escape... duh!" Zayn replied. "Unless I suddenly have nine lives and the abilities of a god, there is no way in hell I want to face Zarin."
"And even that wouldn't guarantee victory."
Katara was right.
At this point, it felt like even god-level abilities wouldn't guarantee anything except death.
Master Xavier was strong.
He'd proved it.
And somehow...
It still wasn't enough.
How much more us?
"Cody, we need a portal," Annabeth pointed out.
"We can't just jump into a random dimension," Jace countered. "He might be able to trace us."
"Isn't there anywhere he can't access?" Annabeth asked.
"Hold on!"
Tyra's voice suddenly cut through the conversation.
"What about my father?"
Nobody answered.
The realization had a nasty way of catching up with you.
The truth was...
None of us could go back there and stand an actual chance against Zarin.
We had to survive first.
A loud shriek suddenly tore through the air.
Everyone looked back.
Something was coming.
One of Zarin's minions.
I couldn't help wondering why he'd sent it after us instead of coming himself.
Not that I was complaining.
We had to escape.
Not engage in another fight.
"You hear that?" Zayn shouted.
"Yeah."
He glanced over his shoulder.
"The sound of me definitely not turning back."
Despite everything, I almost laughed.
I looked at Tyra.
Her eyes had become watery.
She was still thinking about her father.
I understood.
But the truth remained.
We could only fight tomorrow if we survived today.
"Master told me about an emergency portal once," Cody suddenly said.
Everyone looked at him.
"It can't be unlocked or trespassed by a demon."
For the first time in what felt like forever, his words sounded like hope.
"But..."
My heart sank.
"I don't completely remember the chant."
"What?!" Iris snapped.
"It was years ago! You can't blame me! I can if I try hard"
Our chances of escaping seemed to drop drastically.
The growls behind us were getting louder.
Branches snapped.
Heavy footsteps pounded against the earth.
"First I need an open field..." Cody muttered.
"I believe there's one down the slope ahead!" Katara pointed.
We picked up the pace.
Then—
"HUNTER!!!"
My head snapped toward the voice so fast my neck could barely register it.
I knew that voice.
Amanda.
She was running toward us from the opposite side of the slope, still quite far away.
I immediately tore away from the group and ran toward her.
"What are you doing?" Jace yelled.
"I'm going to get her!"
"Are you nuts?!"
I ignored him and kept running, ignoring the sting in my leg from the rock that had hit me earlier.
The creature behind us let out another shriek.
I glanced over my shoulder.
It had stopped after noticing that I'd separated from the group.
For a second, I thought it would continue after the others.
Instead, it turned toward me.
Then it chased.
Of course.
I pushed myself harder.
I managed to reach Amanda just in time and pulled her behind a large piece of broken stone.
"I'm so sorry."
She was breathing heavily.
I frowned.
"For what?"
"I... I made you come back for me."
I shook my head.
"Don't worry about that."
I looked around before asking the question that had been bothering me.
"Where's your father?"
I expected him to be somewhere nearby.
Maybe injured.
Maybe still fighting.
Amanda's expression changed.
"He..."
She swallowed.
"He left."
I stared at her.
"Left?"
Where?
He had struggled so hard to protect his daughter, and now he'd just left her?
"Where did he go?"
"He said he couldn't abandon a friend."
She looked down.
"And that he'd make sure to let you know where I was."
A friend?
My thoughts immediately went to Master Xavier.
The way they'd looked at each other earlier...
There had definitely been something between them.
But really?
Whatever their connection was, it didn't matter right now.
I looked around again.
Nothing.
The creature had disappeared.
Most of Zarin's minions had been covered in that strange darkness, almost like it was part of their bodies.
But this one was different.
It had a physical form.
No skin.
No eyes.
No features.
Just a horrifying, fleshless body.
I narrowed my eyes.
A low-phase demon?
That didn't make sense.
If Zarin was sending them after us to capture or kill us, there was no way he'd send something that weak.
So what exactly was this thing?
"Hunter..."
A voice suddenly pierced through my thoughts.
I froze.
"Hunter..."
Again.
I immediately reached into my jacket.
There it was.
My Element.
The crystal pulsed faintly against my palm.
I wrapped it around my neck and held it.
"Jace?"
"Hunter, where are you?"
"Cody's unlocking the portal. Where are you?"
"Keep going. I'm on my way."
"How far?"
"Not far."
I looked toward the slope.
If Cody had finally remembered the chant, then all I had to do was get back to them.
We had a way out.
For the first time since the explosion, I felt a little hope.
Then—
A huge silver beam of light shot into the sky.
I stared.
The portal.
It had been opened.
The beacon was visible from almost every direction.
At least now I knew exactly where they were.
The only problem...
The demons knew too.
Amanda suddenly tugged on my jacket.
Her breathing became sharp.
"Hunter..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
I turned toward her.
She was staring past me.
I followed her gaze.
My blood ran cold.
The creature stood barely ten feet away.
It hadn't made a sound.
It was simply standing there.
Waiting.
Its featureless head was turned toward us.
It had no eyes.
And yet somehow...
I knew it had found us.
It suddenly charged.
Fast.
Far faster than something that size should have been able to move.
My reflexes kicked in.
I shoved Amanda out of the attack's path and wrapped her in a layer of dark mist.
"Stay there!"
The creature's hand came swinging toward my head.
I drew my sword just in time.
CLANG!
The impact sent a sharp vibration through my arms.
My feet slid backward.
Damn.
This thing was strong.
I pushed against its arm and forced it away from Amanda.
Then I charged forward.
I struck once.
Twice.
The creature followed.
I deliberately kept moving, pulling it farther away from her.
Behind me, the dark mist around Amanda finally disappeared.
I glanced back.
She was free.
Good.
I turned toward her.
"Get to the beacon!"
She hesitated.
"Hunter—"
"Go!"
I raised my sword as the creature lunged again.
"Amanda, go!"
"Hunter?..."
"I said GO!!!"
Her eyes, which had been filled with fear, suddenly hardened with determination.
She nodded, got up and ran towards the beacon.
"Hunter! The portal is up! Where are you?!" Jace's voice came through the Element.
"Amanda is on her way. I'll be right behind her."
I didn't plan to stall forever.
The creature was strong.
Smart, too.
It was constantly adapting to my sword techniques, making every exchange harder than the last.
"You have to get here now!" Jace shouted.
"The portal can only stay open for three minutes!"
My eyes widened.
I barely dodged another attack, the creature's claws slicing through the air where my head had been moments ago.
"Three minutes?!"
"You're already down to two minutes and twenty seconds! Come on!"
You've got to be kidding me.
I turned and ran.
The creature followed.
There was no point trying to fight it anymore.
I just needed to keep it away from Amanda and make it back to the portal.
Suddenly, the creature leaped into the air behind me.
A powerful shriek erupted from its body.
The sound was visible.
A wave of force tore through the trees ahead of me, ripping branches apart and clearing the path.
I jumped aside.
Not fast enough.
The force caught my left shoulder.
A sharp pain shot through my body.
My shoulder hung awkwardly.
Dislocated.
I gritted my teeth.
That one attack alone was enough to remind me exactly how dangerous this thing was.
I dropped to one knee.
Less than two minutes.
My breathing became heavier.
The creature landed a few meters away and slowly turned toward me.
For a moment, I just stared at it.
Maybe I should give up.
Maybe I should stop holding everyone else back.
If I couldn't even make it there...
What was the point?
The creature raised both hands above its head.
It was going to crush me.
I closed my eyes.
Then—
"Get up, you weakling!"
My eyes snapped open.
That voice.
My voice.
The same voice that had pierced through my head during our training in the mountains.
Get up.
My fingers tightened around the sword.
My legs regained whatever strength they had left.
I pushed myself upward.
The creature brought its hands down.
I raised my sword.
CLANG!
The impact drove me into the ground.
My arms trembled.
My shoulder screamed in pain.
But I held.
"Not..."
I gritted my teeth.
"...yet."
I pushed with everything I had.
The creature was thrown backward.
I used the momentum to spin through the air, twisting my body around.
Then I heard it.
A faint hum.
My Element.
The creature seemed to react to the sudden surge of power, its head snapping in my direction.
My leg moved before I could think.
BOOM!
My kick slammed into the right side of its body.
The impact sent it flying several meters away.
I stared.
Half its body had been blown apart.
I blinked.
What... just happened?
My Element.
It must have amplified my power.
The creature's remaining body twitched.
Darkness began gathering around the damaged area.
It was already regenerating.
But it would take some time.
That was all I needed.
I turned toward the beacon.
Less than a minute.
My heart dropped.
I had to move.
Now.
I pushed myself forward and ran.
I didn't look back.
I couldn't.
I just kept running toward that silver light.
Toward the only way out.
And prayed I wasn't too late.