Chapter 62: I Am the One Who Rings Death's Bell, Part 16

Why had she lost?

The answer was painfully simple. A fight was something that happened between two people who could harm each other. Therefore, what had occurred wasn't even a fight. But she had let herself be carried away by her fleeting feelings and lunged at the enemy as if her righteous anger were enough to change the situation.

Books might work that way, but reality didn't. Willpower wasn't enough, and what should happen, apparently, occurred rather infrequently.

She couldn't fight her. Nevertheless, she had let herself be carried away, so now she would pay the price. Her miserable life. So long. So short.

So painfully short.

If only she could see his face one more time.

The tentacles came to kill her without mercy, incredibly fast.

Her body moved without any spirit. She knew that even if she dodged the attack, the next one would tear her apart. It wasn't that she had lost her survival instinct due to desperation. Her actions were simply those of someone who recognized she was already dead.

But once again, she was completely wrong.

The tentacles exploded into pieces without touching her, for the most part.

Some fell near her, embedding themselves in the wooden floor like enormous spears, but that was all. Christina was intact.

Physically, at least.

Her pride not so much, but that wasn't what she was thinking about now. Her heart was racing.

"Sammy!" She turned with her heart in her throat.

Only Violet had saved her at the last moment.

Well, that was a horrible way to put it. Of course, she was happy to see Violet, to know that she was more or less okay after that attack, that it hadn't been so bad. And she was grateful that she still had her head on her shoulders.

But it's just...

It's just that she had wanted so badly to see him.

The truth is that she had lost her spirit. Even with Violet's help, she no longer believed they could defeat War. So the crushing disappointment she felt was because most of her assumed that this had been the last chance to see her brother.

She knew that was the wrong way to think.

That if she assumed defeat, there really was no hope, but it wasn't that easy. Not after everything she had seen. It wasn't nearly as easy as it should be. To have courage, to fight. Even though she had always been taught to be persistent, to not bow her head to anyone.

For a moment, she thought her parents would be ashamed of her if they knew. For being a coward. For dishonoring the Wright name.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

As if they weren't underground.

As if the Wright mansion hadn't burned to the ground.

As if her mother hadn't died even before the rest of her relatives, without her even knowing it. They had noticed something was wrong with her, that's why they had tried to keep her away from Sam when what happened with that boy happened. With Ivor.

But they hadn't known anything.

They had had no way of knowing, and even if they had found out by some miracle, they wouldn't have been able to change anything. That was something Christina knew perfectly well. That Violet knew perfectly well, she wasn't the only one obsessed with these thoughts.

Yes, she wasn't the only one.

She wasn't alone.

Christina stood up, standing beside her sister. Side by side. As firm as they could be, both in pain, tired, despite the fact that it had only just begun.

This farce. This hell.

"You should have run away without looking back," said War, tilting her head like a bird, as if to study Violet better. "Little fool. What do you think you've achieved? Stopping a single attack? I'm going to gut you and your little sister too."

"Maybe, but it's my family. I guess a monster like you can't understand what that means."

War frowned softly. She put a hand on one of her hips. She didn't need her hands free to kill them, anyway.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. In any case, I don't get along with my sisters."

"What a pathetic creature," said Violet. "I almost feel sorry for you, then."

War snorted.

"Ha. We'll see if you have so much courage when I make you choke on your own blood."

Then, as if the situation wasn't bad enough, the door opened and a woman entered the tavern. She wasn't wearing armor, so you didn't need to be a genius to realize she couldn't be on their side. Although Christina would never have guessed just how much worse the situation had become.

"Sister," said War. "You show up now, when everything is about to end? Typical, lazy bitch. I imagine that means you've had fun with Samuel."

Christina's blood boiled even before seeing the woman's smile in response, apparently confirming her words. I can't let myself be carried away by my emotions again. I have to keep control.

Perhaps their chances of victory were nil, but if she lost her composure, she really wouldn't have any.

"Yes, I'm done with him."

War spat.

"Well, come on, help me with the cleanup, whore. And you'll have to explain it to the boss yourself. Damn irresponsible bitch."

The other monster pointed at her sister with a finger.

"What the hell are you doing?"

And she fired, exploding her right shoulder, sending her flying against and through the wall at the other end of the room.

Christina tried to keep her hopes in check. The fact that the newly arrived woman, one of the horsemen of the apocalypse, was against War, her sister, didn't mean she was on their side, no sir. Why would a horseman of the apocalypse be on the side of the humanity they wanted to exterminate with fire and blood? But then, another person entered the tavern. Sam. The expression of the boy, the love of her life, softened when he saw them. Violet too, but especially when he saw her. That made her heart race in a not at all unpleasant way.

"I know it's confusing," Sam said, "but that's precisely why it's too long to explain now."

"I fucked him!" said the woman, the damn bitch. "It's not long at all. Long is what I put in."

"Shut up, Hunger, shut up for once. That didn't happen, remember we have a deal, fulfill that deal, finish what you started."

"Anyway. Men." Hunger tossed her hair back, her long hair, as she advanced towards the cloud of dust that covered the hole that had undoubtedly been opened in that wall with the body of her own sister.

Christina swallowed. She had already been reunited with her brother, but what remained, the escape and everything else, could it be as easy as it seemed right now?

War emerged from the smoke, her face twisted with rage. The wound on her shoulder was still visible, but it was almost closed, even the blood had almost completely disappeared. The blood that stained, that had stained War, and the blood that had been spilled on the floor. What magic that was.

"So you've betrayed me," War said, "nowadays you can't trust anyone, not even your own sister."

Hunger shrugged. "Of course, we're the horsemen of the apocalypse, we're here to destroy the world, not to hold hands and sing Kumbaya."

I Am the One Who Rings Death's Bell, Part 16: END