Chapter 79: The Sacrifice of Flesh
The burning incense in the Church of Curses was replaced by the metallic, copper scent of fresh blood. Ren stood paralyzed for a split second, his eyes locked onto the black iron necklace. That's it, he thought, his pulse hammering against his temples. The source of all this madness. If I can just rip that thing off her neck, the Vane flow will collapse. But how do I get close enough without her tearing me apart?
Suddenly, a blur of motion distracted him. Despite the gaping wound in his stomach and the missing chunk of flesh from his shoulder, Adam Lee was back on his feet. His face was a mask of sheer, stubborn willpower. He lunged at Hana with his daggers drawn, his movements slightly sluggish but still lethal.
Hana, or the thing that was wearing her skin, hissed and leaped backward, avoiding Adam's slash by a hair's breadth. Ren rushed to Adam's side, reaching out to steady him.
"Adam! You're bleeding out!" Ren shouted. He could see Adam's shoulder wound beginning to knit together—the Golden Vane's natural healing factor at work—but the puncture in his stomach was different. Cursed wounds didn't heal easily. They stayed open, weeping dark, necrotic blood.
"Shut up, Reaper," Adam spat, coughing up a spray of crimson. "Worry about the monster, not me."
Ren reached for his golden revolver, his fingers slick with sweat. He leveled the barrel at the jagged necklace, his eye looking through the sights. But his finger froze on the trigger. If I miss even by an inch... if she moves at the last second... the bullet will go straight through her throat.
"I can't risk the shot!" Ren screamed over the roaring wind of Hana's Vane energy. "Adam, I'll distract her. I'll pin her down. You get the necklace!"
Ren didn't wait for an answer. He charged.
Hana let out a guttural growl and lashed out. Ren tried to dodge, but her transformed speed was too much. Her razor-sharp talons caught him across the cheek, leaving three deep, burning gashes. Blood sprayed across his vision, but Ren didn't stop. He ignored the stinging pain and lunged, wrapping his arms around Hana's waist and tackling her to the floor.
They crashed onto the cold stone, the impact sending a jolt of pain through Ren's bruised ribs. Hana was a whirlwind of claws and teeth. She fought with the strength of ten men, her body bucking and twisting under him. Ren felt himself losing his grip. With a desperate roar, he pinned her hands to the floor, using every ounce of his weight to keep her down.
Hana's yellow eyes glared up at him, filled with a void of nothingness. She arched her back, her muscles bulging, and managed to flip him over. Now, she was on top of him, her shadow looming over his face like an omen of death.
She raised her clawed hand for a final, killing blow to Ren's chest. Ren knew he couldn't move in time. In a desperate act of self-preservation, he threw his left arm up to shield his heart.
CRUNCH.
Ren let out a scream that echoed through the rafters of the church. Hana's jaw, filled with rows of needle-like teeth, clamped down on his forearm. She didn't just bite; she tore. The sound of teeth grinding against bone was sickening. Ren watched in horror as his own blood erupted from the wound, coating Hana's face. The pain was white-hot, a blinding explosion that threatened to black out his consciousness.
He could see it—the white of his own bone peeking through the shredded muscle of his arm.
But it was enough. Hana was occupied with her "prey."
"NOW, ADAM!" Ren shrieked through the agony.
Adam didn't miss his chance. He appeared like a shadow behind Hana. His hands, stained with his own blood, reached around her neck and grabbed the iron necklace. He didn't try to unhook it; he put his entire weight and Vane strength into one brutal pull.
The iron links groaned and then snapped with a loud, metallic pop.
The yellow light from the jewel flared one last time—a blinding, silent explosion of energy—and then vanished.
The transformation reversed instantly. Hana's horns dissolved into ash, her claws retracted, and her muscles shrunk back to her petite frame. The demonic mask vanished, leaving behind the pale, tear-stained face of the sister Ren knew.
Hana's eyes rolled back into her head, and she collapsed, her unconscious body falling heavily onto Ren's chest.
Ren lay there, gasping for air, his left arm a mangled mess of blood and bone. He looked at the broken necklace in Adam's hand. It was just a piece of cold iron now, its power spent.
Adam looked down at Ren, his eyes devoid of their usual coldness for a brief second. "If you had just let me kill her when we got here, we wouldn't be in this mess. Look at you. You're lucky you even have an arm left."
Ren didn't respond. He just pulled Hana closer to him, his good hand stroking her hair. "She's alive," he whispered. "That's all that matters."
Adam didn't linger. He walked over to the center of the hall, where a massive wooden chandelier hung by a thick rope. With a single flick of his dagger, he cut the line. The chandelier crashed onto the floor, the oil-filled candles shattering and igniting the dry wooden pews.
Within seconds, the fire began to spread, the flames licking the obsidian statue of the faceless god.
"What are you doing?" Ren asked, struggling to stand up while holding Hana.
"Cleaning up," Adam said, his voice returning to its professional, icy tone. "If the High-Ups or the Kera Group find out what happened here, we're both dead. A church of the God of Curses shouldn't exist. By the time the fire department gets here, there will be nothing left but ash. No records. No evidence. No Hana."
He turned to Ren, gesturing toward the back exit. "Now move, Reaper. Unless you want to be part of the ashes."
Ren hauled Hana onto his back, his mangled left arm hanging limply at his side, dripping blood onto the floor. He gritted his teeth, the pain making him dizzy, and followed Adam out into the cold morning air.
Behind them, the Church of Shadows was swallowed by a wall of orange fire. The screams of the dying curses were drowned out by the roar of the flames, and as the sun finally broke over the horizon, Ren realized that while they had escaped the church, the shadows were now following them home.