Chapter 575-And Now We Do Everything Together
Clementine:
It was the most horrific way to die.
Lady Sylvia watched her brother get killed.
For a few seconds, she did not even let out a scream.
She just watched her brother’s blood fall everywhere.
The crowd screamed, witnessing the monster’s brutality and probably realizing that if they did not listen to us and do as we told them, they would become victims too.
"Oh no, oh no," Sylvia screamed.
Then Lady Sylvia came back to her senses.
This time, the monster let out a resonating sound, a little too loud.
She did not let the fear numb her this time.
She knew the monster would come for her next.
The warriors had already realized their guns were useless.
Lady Sylvia was the first to run from the back door of the stage, leaving the area.
At this point, the warriors opened fire only to create a chance to escape the monster.
Once they had cleared the area, I turned to look at Ian because it was time for us to do our job.
The hollow man did not run.
It advanced slowly.
Each step shook the ground.
Each stomp cracked the pavement and crushed whatever lay beneath it.
"Are you ready?" I asked Ian, my fists clenched, almost like I was squaring up.
I wanted to be as prepared as I could be, but I was also worried for the people around me, especially Ian, because he was going to be right beside me.
"I am always ready, my love," he whispered, lowering his head and glaring at the monster through his eyebrows.
Flashback:
"Get your feet off my bed," I hissed at Ian as I entered the room and found Ian sitting on a chair, facing my bed, with his dirty shoes on my mattress.
Ever since I had come to the dorm room to stay with these men, they had made sure to make my life miserable.
"Don’t you see? I’m watching the weather outside," he remarked casually, his tone making it clear he was enjoying my misery.
"Mr. Ian, don’t forget we are crusaders. If we don’t get along, it will be trouble in the North." My words were meant to sound serious, but the way he chuckled made it clear he found it funny.
"What is so funny?" I hissed, instantly calling him out.
They had been bullying me a lot, and honestly, I was getting annoyed.
It was like every few seconds made me wonder if I was all in their heads.
"What did you say? If we get along, will it be better for us in the North?" he asked, repeating my words, just to make sure he had heard me right.
"Yes," I replied, folding my arms across my chest.
"And you think I would want to get along with you so we can fight monsters?" he asked.
At this point, I already knew he was going to say something very stupid or rude.
"Yes," I replied.
The moment I responded to whatever scene he was trying to create, he burst into laughter, a hand to his chest.
I pouted, my fists clenched tightly.
"You seriously think I would fight a monster right beside you?" he scoffed, laughing hard. "I would rather throw you to the monster, Miss Clementine. There will never be a moment when I would want to save you or fight a monster alongside you."
His words, to be honest, made me uneasy. It felt like the truth.
I could not expect anything from him or the others.
If there ever came a day when I had to fight a monster, I knew they would never stand beside me.
In fact, they would make sure I was left alone so the monster could kill me.
End Of Flashback.
Honestly, it felt odd, with Ian insisting on fighting beside me.
That distant memory surfaced in my mind, and I smiled at the fact that we had come so far.
The monster stole my attention again.
Whenever it swung its arms, it let out a scream, a strange resonance that tore through the air.
The crowd remained disciplined because I had warned them not to stampede.
They stood far away, watching the entire scene unfold in front of them.
As they all watched me, I felt the weight of their fear, the weight of their doubt, the weight of every time they had called me a monster.
I turned to Ian.
"Good. Let them watch us," I said as I stepped forward.
My bones began to shift before I even gave the command to Mint.
It was a sign she was letting me know she was ready to fight her ass off to show these people we were not monsters, that we had always been the heroes.
Heat flooded my spine, and my ribs stretched outward.
My hands struck the ground as claws tore through my skin.
My vision dropped for a few seconds before it sharpened, and everything became clear.
Fire erupted through my body like wildfire, and my body grew.
I turned to my side, watching another beast beside me take over its shape.
Ian had transitioned just like me, but his wolf was even scarier.
The people in distance were terrified of what they were watching, probably wondering if we were monsters too.
I noticed my red fur and my puffy tail. It moved behind me.
Then my eyes shifted to Ian.
He had a massive dark gray wolf, his eyes glowing red.
At certain angles, he did not even look like a wolf.
In fact, he was two-toned, black along the top and black and white underneath.
His canines were so large he looked jaguar-like.
I remembered the first time I had seen him.
It had been in a flash, when he briefly saved me while Suki was trying to sacrifice me.
I saw him again when he came to save me from the ogres after Oriana wanted me dead.
I bet everybody was watching us in fear.
I moved forward and stared at the hollow man.
Its eyes locked onto mine, onto the slit where its face should have been.
The hollow man tilted its head.
There was no fear, no expression on its face.
There was no warning of when it would strike.
Then it happened. It charged in my direction.
The first stomp hit like thunder.
I lunged sideways just before its foot crushed the ground where I had been standing.
The pavement exploded outward.
Dust erupted into the air.
So did the gasps from the people around us.
Ian jumped to the other side to draw its attention.
The hollow man lifted its arm, and I saw the red flare.
The swing came at Ian.
Ian lunged forward and attacked its leg.
He grabbed onto its skin and began climbing up.
The minute he reached its chest, the resonance blasted so hard it hurled him backward.
He slammed into a broken wall and cracked the entire structure because he was a large wolf.
The Hollow Man turned to me and swung its arm.
I was so focused on Ian that I did not see it coming.
Or maybe I was just too worried about him, because the hand hit me hard and threw me across the road.
Pain shot through my ribs.
I rose quickly anyway.
The crowd was silent, afraid that if they made a sound, they would catch the Hollow Man’s attention.
The Hollow Man stomped again, faster this time.
It had learned my speed.
I darted low and slashed across its leg.
My claws met resistance, like cutting iron wrapped in skin.
I tore a line down its chin, but it did not bleed.
It did not even flinch.
Its arm came down again.
The blast skimmed my shoulder and sent me skidding across the ground.
My fur smoked where the resonance burned it.
I understood the rhythm now.
Stomp, step, expand, swing, expand and swing.
Every time before the swing, the ribs opened.
Every time before the blast, the hollow slit widened.
That was the window. But I had to reach it.
It was too tall for me to climb.
And the resonance kept throwing us back, not letting us get close to the slit where its mouth should have been, where its face was.
"Clementine!" Ian’s voice cut through the air, and I turned toward him.
It seemed this was his way of drawing the Hollow Man’s attention to himself.
He was too close this time.
"No!" I screamed, my heart slamming in my chest as I watched Ian sprint straight toward it.
The crowd erupted in gasps, watching him charge at the Hollow Man.
It seemed he knew the rhythm too, because he waited for the stomp.
The monster’s foot came down hard, but Ian slid between the falling debris and drove a blade deep into the creature’s ankle joint.
The Hollow Man finally shifted and dropped to its knees.
It hit the ground so hard that not just Ian and I, but everyone standing nearby, lifted off their feet before crashing back down.
The hollow slit opened wider than I had ever seen.