Chapter 337: A Reckless Plan
"Mother..."
"Yes... my daughter. Your mother will always be watching over you. So rise above their hate. Fight them, and make your true mother proud."
The soft, ethereal voice continued to fill Eve’s body with a new, invigorating energy she had thought dead within her.
Her broken spirit began to knit back together. She felt an immense surge of warm love and affection, as if she were being held by the Goddess herself.
"Rise above the suffering and remember... I love you, my dearest daughter."
With that, the final soft tendril of the voice seeped into the deepest part of Evelyn and settled there, reigniting the almost extinguished fire within her soul.
Evelyn stayed still for a moment, letting the power sink in.
The chaos, the negativity, and the defeated spirit seemed to have been exorcised by her true mother. Her only mother... the Goddess of Light.
’I will not disappoint you, Mother. This daughter of yours will fight until her very last breath for those she loves. I will not give them the satisfaction of breaking me. I will hold together the pieces they shattered, again and again, and I will fight to the very end... with everything I have... Mother.’
With that, when she opened her eyes, they were no longer dull. They burned with a fire that swirled like a living inferno. It was not her power that had been ignited, but her very soul.
The door groaned open, and the woman in the red cloak entered with a look of smug satisfaction.
She turned toward Evelyn, expecting to relish the sight of a broken girl.
Instead, she froze.
She stared at a face so fierce, she felt as though she would be burned alive if she dared to step into Evelyn’s breathing space.
Before the woman could utter a word, Evelyn beat her to it.
"Where is Damien?"
....
As the world fell deeper into darkness, the moon hung full and unusually bright. Those moving relentlessly through the shadows as they raced against time noticed its color slowly shifting to a shade of pink, as if red drops were tainting it little by little.
The city of Zareth had grown exceptionally quiet. It was so still that a voice spoken too loudly would carry across the street, creating the eerie impression that no living soul remained.
Residents had shuttered their businesses early and closed their doors, letting no light spill out, as if they knew the danger already lurked in every corner.
Standing on the roof of a dilapidated limestone house, Ivan looked up at the ominous moon before scanning his surroundings. His divine blood hummed with unease. He could sense immense darkness pouring from every nook and cranny of the city, causing his jaw to clench as he resisted the urge to unleash his power and strike it from existence.
Soon, figures landed softly one by one on the roof behind him. "Your Highness, we cannot find the princess anywhere," Alex reported.
"It is the same for us. I tried a locating spell with the jewellery you gave me, but it wasn’t strong enough to find her," Seira added.
Cece’s worried voice followed. "What do we do now, Ivan? I spread my powers across the city’s expanse, but I couldn’t find her or Damien anywhere."
A thick silence settled between them before Oliver spoke, his eyes following Ivan’s gaze toward the moon. "The colour of the moon... it doesn’t bode well. Our priests always considered it an ominous sign, a harbinger of impending doom."
"Let’s not get so morbid, shall we?" Dante chimed in, clicking his tongue in displeasure. "We knew it wouldn’t be easy to find them here, assuming this is indeed their base. I bet they are up there, and I know you think so too, Prince Ivan."
Dante followed the prince’s line of sight, which had shifted from the crimson moon toward one of the dormant, overgrown volcanoes looming in the distance.
"Let’s go. I cannot afford another second here." Just as Ivan spoke and stepped forward, it was as if he had tripped a hidden trigger.
Suddenly, hundreds of men in dark cloaks materialised from multiple shadowy portals, their hands pulsing with dark stones as they launched a coordinated strike.
"An ambush!" Edward roared.
Before any attack could reach the group, Ivan’s eyes blazed molten orange. A hurricane of raging fire erupted around them, swallowing the devastating assault and burning several of the attackers to a crisp.
Steel rang as swords were drawn in unison. The Lumens moved swiftly, channelling their power into each blade, preparing for combat against whatever dark creatures awaited them. They settled into battle stances, poised to charge the instant the blazing inferno surrounding them subsided.
Ivan’s jaw clenched, his eyes became terrifyingly calm even as rage roared within his blood. His gut told him he was right all along. That the mountain they were headed toward was indeed the location of the hideout.
He could have teleported the group again, but his previous attempt had proven how taxing it was on his body.
He needed to save his strength for when they reached the base because that was where their true master waited. That was where the strongest enemies hid, and he refused to be unprepared when the enemies finally came out for their blood with all their might.
Time was running out, and Ivan was determined to reach the mountain as quickly as possible. A reckless plan began to take shape in his mind.
His eyes continued to blaze molten orange as he turned to face his companions. "Listen up, everyone," he began, his voice commanding. "We are running out of time. The fact that they attacked the moment we decided to move toward the mountain confirms that Eve and Damien are definitely there. That is why they are striking so aggressively. I cannot teleport us all without draining my power before the real fight begins."
"What are you planning, Ivan?" Cece asked quickly, her brow furrowed.
Ivan stared hard at each of them. Dante let out a sharp exhale. "Oh dear, it’s something completely reckless, isn’t it?"
Ivan met his eyes and gave a short, sharp nod. "It is," he replied, his gaze sweeping over the group once more. "We are going to use their own portals to enter their base."
All of them froze with their eyes widened as they were stunned with silence.
"This is nuts," Seira murmured.
Dante let out a low whistle. "Completely nuts," he added, a wry grin tugging at his lips.
Edward was the first to recover. "But Prince Ivan, what if those portals lead somewhere other than their base?"
"I agree," Oliver added, his expression grave. "As reckless as this plan is, we have no guarantee where we will land."
"The sheer number of them pouring through my fire tornado confirms it," Ivan said with absolute certainty. "They are coming straight from the source."
"And they must have been nearby to alert the base," Alex added, backing his prince’s theory. "They timed this attack perfectly."
"Okay, so what is the move? Do we all aim for one portal?" Cece’s mind raced with the possibilities. "If we don’t, we might end up in different sections of their base. We cannot afford to be separated!"
"We have to hit different portals simultaneously," Ivan responded. "If we all try to crowd into one, the enemy will see us coming and shut them down to cut off our access. We move together, but we enter separately."
The group shook their heads in disbelief as Ivan continued, "The moment I drop the fire around us, they will attack. They’ve likely surrounded us by now, so listen carefully. When the flames fall, I’ll blast them back. We regroup into our small teams, cut through their lines, and get close to the portals. On my command, we enter. We leave no one behind. Do you understand?"
"This is madness. What if someone doesn’t make it?" Seira whispered.
"Then don’t let that happen!" Ivan’s voice was low and tight. "Fight with everything you have. Death is inevitable for anyone left behind once they swarm us with their overwhelming numbers!"
"Ivan-" Cece began, but he cut her off.
"Cece, it’s now or never! If we don’t take drastic steps, god knows what they’ll do to them. Don’t forget why we’re here: we’re here for Damien and Evelyn!"
At the mention of their names, Cece steeled her resolve. Determination flashed in her eyes. "I’m ready," she replied.
Ivan looked at the rest of the group. One by one, they nodded.
Dante flashed a psychopathic grin. "Let’s do something reckless, kids! And no one dies on my watch, you hear me?"
A blast rocked the ground outside the roaring walls of fire, a clear sign the enemy was trying to break through again.
Ivan turned back toward the flames and barked, "Positions! On my command, rush the nearest portals in small groups!"
At his words, they all shifted closer, staying tight within their respective groups.
