Chapter 21 Second Meeting
Cressida's POV
We have twelve hours to save the city and I can barely walk.
Every step toward my apartment feels like moving through concrete. The celestial-devil energy fusion is eating me alive from the inside. I can feel my organs shutting down one by one.
"Stop," Thaddeus grabs my arm. "You need to rest. You're going to collapse before we even reach Sable."
"I'm fine."
"You're dying. There's a difference." He pulls me into an alley, forcing me to sit on a crate. "Five minutes. That's all I'm asking."
I don't have the strength to argue. I sink down, my legs giving out.
Isolde leans against the wall nearby, her own transformation barely contained. Black veins pulse across her neck. Her fingers twitch like they want to tear something apart.
"How are you holding up?" I ask her.
"I'm not." She stares at her corrupted hands. "Every second, the hunger gets worse. I keep thinking about hurting people. Innocent people. And the worst part?" She looks at me with terrified eyes. "Part of me wants to."
"I know the feeling."
Thaddeus checks his phone. "Rodriguez just sent an update. The Hollow One attacks have stopped."
"Stopped?" That doesn't make sense. "Why would they stop?"
"Because Sable is gathering them. Preparing for the final assault." He shows me a map with red dots marking Hollow One locations. They're all converging on one point. "They're heading to your apartment. All of them."
"How many?"
"Best estimate? Two thousand. Maybe more."
Two thousand monsters. All because of me.
"We can't fight that many," Isolde says quietly. "Even with Cressida's new powers, we can't win."
She's right. But I don't say it out loud.
"Then we don't fight them all." I force myself to stand. "We go straight for Sable. Kill the source, maybe the contract breaks. Maybe everyone gets cured."
"And if it doesn't work?" Thaddeus asks.
"Then at least we tried."
We start moving again. The streets are empty—everyone who could evacuate has fled. Only the infected remain, wandering like zombies toward their master's call.
We're three blocks from my apartment when Thaddeus stops suddenly.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Lumiel is sensing something. Multiple celestial signatures nearby." His mismatched eyes scan the darkness. "I'm not the only hunter here."
Three figures step from the shadows. All of them carrying glowing blades like Thaddeus's. All of them radiating celestial energy.
"Thaddeus Corwin," the lead hunter says. A woman with silver hair and cold eyes. "We've been looking for you."
"Sophia." Thaddeus's voice is tight. "What are you doing here?"
"Our job. Unlike you." She points her blade at me. "We sensed a massive corruption source. Imagine our surprise finding you protecting it instead of eliminating it."
"It's complicated."
"It's treason." Another hunter steps forward, a man with scars covering his face. "You're bound to Lumiel. You're supposed to kill contractors, not save them."
"She's different—"
"They're all different until they slaughter innocents." Sophia's blade hums with power. "Step aside, Corwin. Let us do what you're too weak to do."
"No." Thaddeus moves between me and the other hunters. "I'm giving her a chance to break the contract. To cure everyone infected."
"Contract breaking is a myth. A fantasy desperate contractors tell themselves." The scarred hunter raises his weapon. "There's only one cure for devil corruption. Death."
"Then you'll have to go through me first."
The tension is electric. Four celestial hunters facing each other. This could get very bloody very fast.
"Wait," I step forward. "You're right. I am corrupted. I am dangerous. But I'm also the only one who can stop this." I show them my hands—black veins shot through with silver. "I bonded with celestial energy. I'm something new. Something that might be able to kill Sable."
Sophia stares at my hybrid corruption. "Impossible. Devil and celestial energy can't coexist."
"And yet here I am." I meet her eyes. "Give me twelve hours. If I can't kill Sable and break the contract by then, I'll let you execute me yourself."
"Why should we trust you?"
"Because two thousand Hollow Ones are gathering at my apartment right now. And even with four celestial hunters, you can't stop them all." I gesture toward the city. "But maybe, just maybe, I can."
Sophia looks at her fellow hunters. Some silent communication passes between them.
"Six hours," she says finally. "Not twelve. If Sable isn't dead and the contract isn't broken in six hours, we're coming for all of you. Contractor, infected girl, and traitor hunter."
"Deal."
The hunters vanish back into the shadows. But I can feel them watching. Waiting for me to fail.
"Six hours," Isolde whispers. "That's not enough time."
"It's what we have." I start walking again, faster now despite the pain. "So let's make it count."
We reach my apartment building. The front entrance is open, darkness spilling out like smoke.
Inside, I can hear them. Thousands of voices whispering, chanting, calling my name.
"This is it," Thaddeus says quietly. "Once we go in, there's no coming back out. Not until this is finished."
"I know."
Isolde takes my hand. Her corrupted fingers intertwine with mine. "Thank you. For trying to save me. Even though it's probably impossible."
"Nothing's impossible. I'm living proof of that." I squeeze her hand. "Ready?"
"No. But let's do it anyway."
We step into the darkness.
The stairwell is packed with Hollow Ones. Hundreds of them lining the walls, the stairs, the ceiling. All watching us with black eyes. All smiling with too many teeth.
But they don't attack. They just watch. Wait.
We climb. Floor after floor. Past more Hollow Ones. Past my neighbors transformed into monsters.
Finally, we reach my apartment door. It's open. Light spills out—not normal light, but something red and wrong.
Inside, sitting on my couch like an old friend, is Sable wearing my father's face.
"Welcome home, daughter," the devil says with my father's voice. "I've been waiting for you."
The door slams shut behind us. Locks click into place.
Around the apartment, more Hollow Ones emerge from shadows. I recognize some of them. Mrs. Chen from work. People from my subway line. The barista who made my coffee.
All of them infected because they got too close to me.
"I see you brought friends," Sable smiles. "How thoughtful. The celestial hunter and the dying girl. We'll make this a proper party."
"End the contract," I demand. "Release everyone infected. Let them go back to normal."
"But why would I do that? I've worked so hard on this harvest. Two thousand souls corrupted. A whole city on the verge of falling." The devil stands. "This is my greatest achievement. And it's all thanks to you, Cressida."
"I won't let you win."
"You already have, dear. Look around. Everyone you love, everyone you tried to save—they're all mine now." Sable walks closer. "But I'm feeling generous tonight. I'll make you an offer."
"I'm not making another deal with you."
"Oh, this isn't a deal. This is a choice." The devil's eyes glow red. "Surrender yourself. Let me consume your hybrid energy completely. And I'll release one person from corruption. Anyone you choose."
My heart stops. "Anyone?"
"One person. Just one." Sable looks at Isolde. "Save your friend. Or save yourself. Simple choice."
"Don't listen!" Thaddeus grabs my arm. "It's a trap. Devils always lie!"
"Do we?" Sable tilts his head. "Or do we simply tell uncomfortable truths? Cressida knows I'm serious. She can feel it in her corrupted blood."
And I can. Somehow, I know the devil is telling the truth this time.
One life. I can save one person.
I look at Isolde—scared, corrupted, dying because of me.
Then at Thaddeus—determined, brave, trying so hard to save everyone.
Then at the thousands of Hollow Ones waiting in the darkness.
"How long do I have to decide?" I ask.
"Oh, that's the fun part." Sable snaps his fingers.
The Hollow Ones attack.
All of them. At once.
Two thousand monsters surging toward us like a wave of teeth and claws and hunger.
"CHOOSE NOW!" Sable screams over the chaos. "SAVE ONE OR SAVE NONE!"
Thaddeus's blade flashes. Isolde screams. The Hollow Ones close in.
And I have to make the most impossible choice of my life.
Who lives? Who dies?
Who matters more?
The decision will haunt me forever.
If I even survive the next sixty seconds.