Chapter 67 When Mercy Burns
Luna’s POV
The sound of metal that was rising from the ground was the worst thing I had ever heard, it was scraping and grinding, with dozens of broken constructs slowly pulled themselves upright around the courthouse courtyard, and with their silver veins glowing again under Selene’s command. Some of them were missing limbs. While others dragged themselves forward on damaged legs. But they all had the same target, which was us.
Kai wiped the blood from his forehead and looked around at the growing army. “Well,” he said hoarsely, “this suddenly feels very unfair.”
The Sentinel’s chest glowed brighter behind them, and charging again like a second sun ready to explode. And Selene stood above it all on the courthouse steps like a queen watching her kingdom rise. “Go on,” she said softly. Her voice carried through the air like a blade. “Show me what your precious compassion can do.”
The constructs surged forward. All at once, my body reacted instantly.
Silver energy burst out from my chest in a wave, blasting the first row backward. Metal bodies slammed into each other as sparks exploded across the courtyard.
But there were too many and three more rushed past the fallen ones. “Kai, behind you!”
He spun and kicked one square in the chest, knocking it into another construct. Instantly the two machines crashed into the side of a car, denting the metal with a loud crunch.
“Okay!” he shouted breathlessly. “I vote we stop playing defense!”
Then another construct lunged toward me. I caught it midair with a blast of energy and threw it across the street, but the moment it hit the pavement…It started moving again. Selene clapped slowly from the courthouse steps. “Good. Very good.”
Her amber eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction. “You’re finally beginning to struggle.”
I gritted my teeth, because she was enjoying this and every second of it.
The Sentinel stepped forward again, with each movement that made the ground tremble.
Its chest core pulsed violently, gathering enough power to level half the block.
Kai saw it too. “Luna,” he said quickly. “That thing fires again, and we’re toast.”
“I know!” I screamed. But I couldn’t split my focus. Because if I turned my attention fully to the Sentinel, the constructs would overwhelm us, and if I focused on the constructs….
The Sentinel would fire and Selene had designed the trap perfectly.
My mind started racing, because there had to be a way to break her control.
Some weakness or probably some flaw.
The anchor power pulsed inside me again, reacting to the chaos around the network. The guardian core screamed through my connection, with its systems destabilizing under Selene’s interference.
The sky cracked louder above us and lightning-like fractures spread across the clouds. The barrier protecting Crescent Valley was weakening.
Selene tilted her head, watching the sky.
“Beautiful,” she whispered.
My chest tightened. “You’re proud of this?”
She looked at me again, her smile returning. “Of course.” Then she raised her hand and the constructs suddenly moved faster. Much faster.
They attacked in coordinated waves now, surrounding us from every direction.
“Kai!” I shouted.
“I see them!” he replied.
One of the machines grabbed his arm, but before it could twist it, I blasted the construct apart with a surge of silver energy. But the effort sent pain shooting through my chest and the anchor power was burning through me too quickly.
Selene noticed immediately. Then her smile widened. “Yes,” she murmured. “Push harder.”
Another construct slammed into me from the side. I hit the ground hard.
Before I could get up, two more grabbed my arms, with their metal fingers locking around my wrists like vices.
Energy sparked between us as I struggled and the machines held tight. But above them, Selene descended the last few steps of the courthouse.
Slowly and gracefully.
The Sentinel stood behind her like a silent executioner, and Kai rushed forward. “Get off her!”
He tackled one construct, ripping it away from me. But another grabbed him from behind, locking its arms around his chest. Kai struggled violently. “Luna!”
Selene stopped a few feet away. Up close, that her eyes were colder than anything I had ever seen. “You see now?” she said softly. “Your attachments weaken you.”
I forced energy through my arms, trying to break free, but the constructs tightened their grip and Selene crouched slightly so her gaze was level with mine. “You could have been extraordinary,” she said. “You still can be.”
My breathing was ragged. “You want me… to join you?”
Her smile was sharp. “Of course.”
Kai spat blood onto the pavement. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Hard pass.”
Selene didn’t even look at him, her attention remained fixed on me. “The network is evolving,” she continued. “The breaches in the sky are only the beginning. Soon the entire system will awaken.”
Her eyes gleamed with dark excitement. “And when it does, I will be the one guiding it.”
My heart pounded fast in my chest. “You’re going to destroy the world.”
Selene shook her head slowly. “No.” Her voice was calm. “I’m going to rebuild it.”
The Sentinel stepped closer, and its massive shadow swallowed us both.
Selene rose to her feet again. “You have one last chance, Luna.” Her hand lifted slightly, then the Sentinel’s core began glowing brighter than ever. “If you join me, Crescent Valley survives.”
My stomach dropped. “And if I refuse?”
Selene’s smile was pure cruelty. “Then your friend dies first.”
The construct holding Kai tightened its grip around his chest. He winced in pain but still managed a crooked grin. “Don’t,” he said to me quietly.
My heart felt like it was being torn apart, and Selene watched my face closely.
She was waiting and studying, in fact enjoying every second of my hesitation.
Then the Sentinel’s core burned brighter and seconds from firing.
The constructs held us both in place. Selene’s voice fell to a whisper. “Choose, Luna.”
The guardian core screamed through my connection again and the sky cracked louder. And in that moment…. I realized something terrifying, that Selene wasn’t bluffing. She would kill Kai without hesitation. Just to prove a point.
My hands trembled as the anchor power surged violently inside me.
Selene leaned closer. “Well?”
My heart pounded. Soon the Sentinel’s energy reached its peak. Kai looked straight at me and shook his head. The blast was about to fire.
And I had one second left to decide.