Chapter 163: Retrieve My Soulbound Artifact
Shit!
A choked protest rose in Jorge’s throat, but before he could utter a sound, the scary sword array rippled. The air tore open with a sound like splitting bone, revealing a narrow, shimmering fissure. Emma’s name died on his lips as an unseen force wrenched her body upward.
She crashed onto the pond’s shore, her pulse a frantic drum against her ribs. The moment her fingers sank into the damp earth, the gap sealed behind her with a wet, gulping noise.
The breach of the sword array was closed.
Rodney and Jorge were trapped inside with it.
The red sword floated lazily in the moonlit air, its blade drinking in the silvery glow like a parched tongue lapping at water. A soft, almost contented hum vibrated from its steel—until it spoke, and that voice cut through the night like a razor through silk.
"Maaaaster always said~" it sang, tilting playfully side to side, "humans are bad and cunny, like filthy little rats in the sewer. Give them time, and they’ll chew through the walls to scheme your way free." Its crimson eyes pulsed, bright with amusement. "So let’s make this simple! Three nights. Starting... now~" The blade spun in a sudden, dizzying circle, moonlight flashing along its edge like a grinning mouth. "Bring me my master, all safe and sound... or oooooh, I’ll have such fun with you."
The temperature dropped as its voice dropped to a whisper—the sound of a new born devil sharing a secret in the dark. "I haven’t fed on fresh blood in ages. And you two? You look delicious." It drifted closer to Rodney, then Jorge, its tip tracing invisible lines over their throats.
"Tick-tock, little mouse. Hop to it." the sword chirped at Emma, "before I decide your friends look extra tasty in moonlight~"
A pause. Then, brightly: "UnderSTOOD?" The last word rang through the clearing like the toll of a executioner’s bell.
Emma took a deep, shuddering breath, her resolve hardening despite the fear clawing at her chest.
"Aye!" she said, her voice low but firm. She cast a final, lingering glance at the pavilion, where Rodney and Jorge stood ensnared by the sword’s formation, their faces etched with desperation. With no time to waste, she turned and vanished into the manor’s shadowed depths.