Chapter 32

Bad Omens

 

In the shadowed alleyway, the tension was palpable, a thick blanket of unease that seemed to choke the very air. Adom, despite the dire circumstances, maintained a facade of calm, his eyes locked with Helios's in a silent battle of wills.

"You know, Helios," Adom began, his voice steady, betraying none of the turmoil that raged within him, "I've always found the politics of power quite fascinating. The way figures like yourself maneuver through the shadows, pulling strings that the common eye can't see."

Helios's lips curved into a half-smile, a flicker of amusement passing through his cold gaze. "And what of it, little one? Are you suggesting that you have a place in such a world?"

Adom chuckled, the sound echoing off the damp walls of the alley. "Oh, I don't presume to play at your level, Helios. But I do wonder, what does one gain from snuffing out a life as insignificant as Eren's? Surely, there are bigger games to hunt."

Helios's amusement seemed to deepen, his stance relaxed yet predatory. "Ah, but you see, it's not always about the size of the game. Sometimes, it's about setting an example, maintaining a reputation. The streets must remember the cost of crossing the Hounds."

"Speaking of costs," Adom interjected, shifting the conversation with deliberate care, "what if I were to cover Eren's debt? A life for some coins seems a bit... petty, don't you think?"

Eren, who had been a silent witness to their verbal sparring, couldn't hide the shock that flashed across his face as Adom seamlessly wove himself into the conversation, standing toe-to-toe with a predator. Adom's subtle wink did little to alleviate his fears, but it implanted a sliver of hope, a faint light in the overwhelming darkness.

Helios's expression shifted, the amusement fading into a contemplative frown. "Oh? And why would you do that? What's this boy to you?"

Adom shrugged, his gesture casual, as if they were discussing the weather rather than a life hanging in the balance. "Let's just say I'm a sucker for a good underdog story. Plus, it's bad for business if people start thinking debts can only be paid in blood."

For a moment, Helios seemed to consider the offer, his gaze flickering to Eren and then back to Adom. But then, as if a switch had been flipped, his demeanor hardened, the predatory gleam returning with full force.

"No," he said, the word slicing through the air like a blade. "The hunt has begun, and I do not like to leave things... unfinished."

Adom's heart sank at the refusal, but he masked his disappointment with a forced smile. "Well, it was worth a try. After all, negotiations are part of any good business, right?"

Helios's laughter, sudden and chilling, cut through the tension. "Indeed. But sometimes, the only negotiation is the dance between predator and prey."

Then, his expression darkened, a shadow passing over his elegant features. "Anyway, let's get this over with, shall we?" His casual dismissal of the situation belied the deadly intent that lay beneath, a stark reminder of the thin ice upon which they tread.

"Wait—" Adom's plea was cut short, his voice choked off as Helios's iron grip encircled his neck, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. The vampire's speed was a blur, a testament to the supernatural prowess that Helios wielded with such casual brutality.

"You talk a lot and lack fear for someone about to die," Helios remarked, his tone almost conversational as he scrutinized Adom's face. With a swift motion, he removed the cloth hiding Adom's features, revealing the young sorcerer's visage to the cold morning air.

Helios's eyes lit up with a perverse appreciation. "Ah, what a pleasant surprise. I always find it more... satisfying to kill beautiful prey. It adds a certain... je ne sais quoi to the hunt."

Adom, struggling for air and composure, managed a strained smile. "Flattered," he gasped, the words barely escaping his lips.

In the suffocating grip of Helios, Adom's mind raced, desperately seeking a sliver of advantage in this dire predicament. With his [Quick Reflexes] skill failing to match the vampire's blinding speed, Adom knew he had to rely on his wits and strategic acumen to survive.

Helios's grip tightened, but before the final squeeze could come, Adom's fingers traced a rapid sequence in the air. The gestures were subtle, almost imperceptible, drawing from the scant Essentia in the alley's damp air. A shimmering shield sprang to life around him, a bubble of force that repelled Helios's grasp and sent Adom tumbling to the ground, gasping for air.

Helios, taken aback by the sudden defiance, simply chuckled. His form blurred into motion once more, aiming to shatter the shield with sheer force. But Adom was ready; he knew brute strength was Helios's forte, and his shield wouldn't hold long against such relentless assault.

Adom tried to provoque the vampire, make him lose his composure and find an opening. "You know," he began, his voice laced with an undercurrent of sarcasm, "I always admired the grace vampires exhibit. But I must say, your technique could use a bit more... finesse."

Helios's response was a laughter, low and filled with dark amusement. "Finesse? My dear boy, where's the fun in that?" His gaze, sharp and predatory, never wavered from Adom's.

Rolling to his feet, Adom's mind spun with calculations. He needed to outmaneuver Helios, to make the vampire's speed a disadvantage rather than a death sentence. Darting behind a dumpster, Adom quickly set a trap, using his knowledge of spatial magic to distort the perception of distance within the alley.

As Helios charged, the vampire's confident smirk faltered. The space around him stretched and twisted, turning a straightforward dash into a disorienting maze. Helios's speed, unhampered by physical obstacles, became his bane as he struggled to navigate the warped reality.

Adom seized the momentary confusion to launch a counterattack. With a movement, he summoned a barrage of arcane missiles, each guided not by sheer force but by strategic intent, aiming to harry and distract rather than to wound fatally.

Helios, realizing the nature of Adom's strategy, roared in frustration. His form flickered, attempting to break through the spatial distortions with raw speed, but each attempt left him more disoriented.

"Having fun yet?" Adom quipped, gasping for air as he narrowly avoided a vicious swipe.

Helios paused, his grin widening. "Immensely," he admitted. "It's not often I get to play with my food."

Adom watched keenly from his makeshift cover, noting each falter in Helios's steps, each moment of hesitation. It was a battle of attrition, a game of cat and mouse where the mouse wielded the maze itself as a weapon.

Yet, for all his cleverness, Adom knew this was a temporary reprieve. The shield flickered, its integrity compromised by Helios's relentless attacks. Adom's reserves of Essentia waned, each spell cast a further drain on his limited resources.

In a lull, as Helios regrouped for another assault, Adom's gaze fell on the scattering of refuse around him, an idea sparking to life. With a flurry of gestures, he infused the debris with Essentia, transmuting mundane objects into makeshift projectiles.

As Helios charged once more, Adom unleashed the torrent of enchanted trash, a bizarre yet effective fusillade that caught the vampire off-guard. Bottles, cans, and scraps of metal, now imbued with magical potency, became a hailstorm of distractions, each impact a minor annoyance that compounded into a significant hindrance.

Helios, sensing the shift, halted his advance. His eyes narrowed, not with fear but with a renewed interest. "Clever," he acknowledged, "but not enough."

Helios snarled, swatting away the debris with increasing irritation. His movements, though still blisteringly fast, were no longer the precise dance of death Adom had first witnessed. Frustration made him reckless, his attacks more predictable.

Adom knew this was his moment, his one opportunity to turn the tide. Drawing deep from his dwindling reserves, he prepared his final gambit, a spell that was as much a gamble as it was a tactic.

The air between them crackled with potential as Adom's hands moved in a complex sequence, the Essentia around them coalescing into a dense, swirling vortex. It was a spell of his own design, one that didn't seek to harm but to displace, to momentarily shift Helios into a pocket dimension of slowed time.

As the spell unleashed, Adom held his breath. Helios, mid-leap, became ensnared in the vortex, his form blurring as if caught in a slow-motion frame. The alley fell silent, the only sound the heavy beating of Adom's heart.

For a few precious seconds, Helios was trapped, his superior speed nullified by the temporal prison. It was all the time Adom needed to make his escape, to live and fight another day.

But then, Helios, amused and perhaps a bit impressed, leaned in, his voice a whisper of dark promise. "You've been entertaining, I'll grant you that. But playtime's over."

With a swift, dismissive gesture, Helios shattered the magical construct with a burst of raw power, the force of his will alone rending the spellwork asunder. Adom's efforts, though ingenious, were brushed aside like cobwebs, the disparity in their strength laid bare.

The moment of realization hit Adom hard, the futility of his strategy a bitter pill to swallow. Yet, even as the walls closed in, his defiant spirit remained unbroken, his gaze locked with Helios's in a silent challenge.

Helios chuckled at Adom's attempt at bravado, a sound devoid of warmth. Then, without warning, his fist crashed into Adom's ribs with devastating force. The crack that followed was sickeningly clear, the pain immediate and overwhelming. Adom's vision blurred, a wave of nausea and agony washing over him, threatening to pull him under.

From the corner of his eye, Adom saw Eren leap to his feet, desperation etched into every line of his face. "Adom!" he screamed, a raw, guttural sound filled with terror and helplessness.

But before Eren could take a step further, the ogre's massive hand clamped down on his arm, the bones snapping like twigs under the immense pressure. "Wait your turn," the ogre grunted, his voice devoid of any compassion as he effortlessly subdued the young boy.

As Adom dangled helplessly in Helios's grasp, his mind raced, searching for any possible escape or way to draw attention to their plight. They were in the heart of the city; surely someone would notice the commotion, come to investigate the disturbance.

But as if in answer to his silent prayers, the gargoyle stepped forward, its hands weaving through the air in a complex pattern. Adom, despite the searing pain that threatened to engulf his senses, recognized the beginnings of a spell. He didn't have the clarity to dissect its nature fully, but as the gargoyle's spell reached its crescendo, a subtle distortion rippled through the alley, like heat haze shimmering off hot stone.

A barrier, Adom realized with a sinking heart. The gargoyle was casting some form of concealment spell, a magical veil to hide their grim tableau from prying eyes. It was a clever, if cruel, move; ensuring their deeds remained unseen, unheard by the world beyond the alley's confines.

The realization hit Adom like a physical blow, the last flicker of hope extinguishing in his chest. They were isolated, cut off from any potential savior by a barrier that not only hid them from view but likely muffled any sound of their struggle.

"Aah, Adom. So that is your name," Helios mused, his voice a sinister blend of amusement and malice. "I can't tell if your earlier jests were a clever distraction, hoping we'd linger until your guards arrive since you alerted them with your little fire show earlier, or just baseless bravado. Either way, you've been quite entertaining... and somewhat irritating."

Without warning, Helios unleashed a torrent of violence upon Adom, his fists raining down with ruthless efficiency. Each blow was a calculated burst of brutality, designed not just to inflict pain but to break, to dominate.

Adom's world narrowed to the blue box that appeared before his eyes, a cold, detached observer to his suffering. [Hp -10], it flashed, followed by another [Hp -10], a relentless countdown as Helios's assault continued unabated. The punches blurred into a singular, continuous agony, each one more savage and unforgiving than the last.

Adom's senses dulled, the pain merging into a numb void as his body absorbed the punishment. Through his fading consciousness, he could hear Eren's cries of anguish, the sound piercing the fog of his torment. Eren's voice, laced with pain and fear, called out to him, a desperate plea that went unanswered as darkness crept at the edges of Adom's vision.

The laughter of Helios and his cohorts filled the alley, a macabre soundtrack to the violence. Helios seemed to revel in the cruelty, his glee evident with each devastating blow. There was a method to his madness, a precision in the chaos that spoke of a predator well-versed in the art of suffering.

Then, the blue box appeared once more, its clinical detachment a stark contrast to the brutality of the moment. [Critical Alert: Hp critically low. Immediate skill usage advised.] The message was a grim reminder of Adom's dire straits, a beacon of urgency in the storm of his pain.

Beneath the warning, a detailed list unfurled, a catalog of destruction wrought upon his body:

• Fractured Ribs: Multiple fractures detected along the ribcage, compromising structural integrity and causing potential internal damage.
• Severed Nerves: High impact trauma has resulted in severed nerve connections in the upper torso, leading to loss of sensation and motor function in affected areas.
• Torn Muscles: Extensive tearing of muscle fibers across the chest and arms, reducing mobility and inducing severe pain.
• Pulmonary Contusion: Blunt force trauma to the chest cavity has caused bruising of lung tissue, risking compromised respiratory function.

Each entry was a testament to Helios's savagery, a clinical breakdown of the torment inflicted. Adom's body was a map of ruin, a landscape marred by violence and cruelty.

In the haze of his pain, Adom clung to the information provided by the blue box, a lifeline in the chaos. The reality of his injuries, laid bare in cold, unfeeling text, was a grim tally of the cost of this encounter. With each passing moment, his situation grew more desperate, the window for action narrowing as his body succumbed to the onslaught.

The laughter, the cries, the mechanical tally of his injuries—all melded into a nightmarish tableau, a moment suspended in cruelty and despair. In this dark corner of the city, hidden from prying eyes by magical means, a brutal drama unfolded, one that threatened to end with the extinguishing of a young sorcerer's light.

The alley, once shrouded in violence and despair, was suddenly split by a sharp crack, a sound akin to the breaking of the world itself. It was followed by a violent disruption, a surge of power that tore through the gargoyle's magical veil like a knife through parchment. The concealing spell, so meticulously cast, unraveled in an instant, exposing the grim scene to the harsh light of reality.

Amidst Eren's screams and the grotesque mirth of Helios and his cohorts, a figure emerged from the chaos, a beacon of authority amidst the anarchy. Adom, despite the haze of pain and the shadow of death that loomed over him, couldn't suppress the flicker of hope that sparked within him at the sight. A smile, pained and bloodied, stretched across his battered face. The Mandrake Guards had arrived.

The figure stepped into the light, revealing a young man whose eyes burned with the fire of duty and whose stance spoke of readiness and power. He was one of the kingdom's elite, a sorcerer of the Mandrake Guard, tasked with the protection of the realm and its sovereign. His gaze swept the alley, taking in the carnage with a steely resolve.

Upon spotting Adom, lying in a pool of his own blood, and Eren, cradled by the monstrous grip of an ogre, the guard's expression hardened. His eyes then locked onto Helios and his vile ensemble, and with a voice that commanded attention, he bellowed, "What is going on here?! Freeze! All of you! In the name of the king, you're under arrest."

Helios, his hands slick with Adom's blood, raised them in a gesture of mock surrender. Bringing a finger to his lips, he tasted the blood with a perverse relish before addressing the guard with a chilling calm. "There, there, no need to be so tense, officer. We're just having some fun here is all."

The guard's response was swift and uncompromising. Electricity danced between his fingers, crackling with the promise of retribution. The air around him hummed with power, a clear warning that he was more than ready to unleash his fury upon any who dared challenge his authority.

"Move and you're dead," he declared, the electric energy coiling around his hands like serpents, ready to strike.

The standoff was tense, the alley a stage for a confrontation that could erupt into violence at any moment. Adom, barely clinging to consciousness, could only watch as the guard stood firm against Helios and his gang, a lone bastion of order in a world that had descended into madness.

The tension that had gripped the alley, a tangible force that seemed to press upon all present, was suddenly pierced by the voice of an older man, authoritative and seasoned. "Enough, Artun. Cancel your spell," he commanded, his tone brooking no argument.

Artun, the young officer who had just moments ago stood as a beacon of hope against the darkness, hesitated. "Sir," he protested, his voice laden with disbelief and urgency, "these people were attacking two boys. One is in critical condition. We can't just—"

As the older man emerged from the shadows, the dynamics within the alley shifted palpably. Eren, upon laying eyes on the newcomer, sank into a state of resigned familiarity, his gaze dropping as if to shield himself from an unpleasant truth. Adom, despite the haze of pain and the grip of despair, felt a chill run down his spine. The old man's presence, his casual demeanor amidst the carnage, spelled a turn of events far worse than he had anticipated.

"Good morning, Helios," the old man greeted, as if they were old acquaintances meeting for a morning stroll rather than standing amidst the aftermath of a brutal assault.

Helios, with a smirk that spoke of dark amusements and shared secrets, responded in kind. "Good morning, Officer Jude."

The exchange, polite and mundane on the surface, was a thunderclap of revelation to Adom. Officer Jude now stood as a harbinger of betrayal. The realization that the guard, their supposed savior, might be in collusion with the likes of Helios was a blow more devastating than any physical assault.

Adom's mind raced, the implications spiraling into a vortex of fear and disbelief. The hope that had flickered to life with the arrival of the Mandrake Guard was snuffed out, leaving behind a cold dread. The system of protection he had counted on, the very institution meant to safeguard the innocent, was compromised.