Chapter 109 Chapter 109
“Give up, human. You’re only prolonging your suffering.” Zane roared. Raw fear ate at her heart, coldness creeping into her limbs. What did he want with her? Did he target her just because she could use demon magic? She couldn’t understand why he would go out of his way to hunt her down. Valerie regretted coming here alone—why the fuck hadn’t she asked Thorne or Travis to accompany her? Why did she always have to do things by herself? She had grown reluctant to trust demons, but that shouldn’t extend to her closest friends… then again, Maxwell had been close to her, too, and he had still left her.
“Leave me alone.” she screamed in a high-pitched tone, voice quaking in horror when she saw darkness shooting towards her. She dove behind a tree while simultaneously using her magic to repel it, but it wasn’t enough to stop it completely. It cut into the delicate skin of her shoulders and neck, leaving bleeding slashes that burned like fire. Valerie cursed and faltered. Crushing desperation spread through her and let her hesitate for a tad too long as she lay on the ground.
Why was she even fighting him in the first place? He was right; she was only prolonging the pain. Maybe she should give up. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she clenched her hands into fists, glaring at the forest ground beneath her. It would be easier to stop running. She wasn’t stupid enough to believe that a fragile human could win against a high-class demon who was centuries old and possessed insanely strong magic, the kind that was opposite to hers at that. This was bound to fail, and the harder she struggled, the longer she’d be in pain.
Her fingers dug into the dirt, body shaking in fear. She didn’t want to die. It was inevitable, but she didn’t want to. Her entire body went rigid when she heard Zane’s steps getting closer and closer. He wasn’t in a hurry, and his arrogance irked her. Struggling to get up, she held on to a tree for support, the burning of her wounds, and the sticky sensation of the blood making her feel nauseous. The iron smell of blood never failed to bring back old memories, never failed to make her remember terrible things that had occurred years ago.
Her vision blurred as tears threatened to spill over. She knew that she wasn’t the same person as back then. She now had the power to defend herself, to fight back. It was a bitter irony that it wouldn’t be enough against her opponent.
Zane came to stand a few meters before her, his red eyes roaming over her figure, falling on her face. He read fear in her gaze, but also defiance and stubbornness. His lips formed a smirk. “Are you pretending to be brave, human?” he chuckled. “Almost a shame I have to kill you.”
She inhaled, exhaled, but it felt like she was suffocating, her fright cutting off her air supply like a noose. “Why do you have to? What did I ever do to you?” she hissed. Her left hand covered a particularly deep cut on her shoulder that was oozing blood continuously. It stung.
“You got too close to us demons,” he explained and rolled his eyes as if she was an idiot for even asking something so obvious. His condescending attitude enraged her, and her hands began to glow.
Zane eyed her golden magic with disdain, his lips curling in distaste. “The only way a human can use demon magic is through a bond, and that proves that you once shared a bond with a demon. A lowly creature like you should never be able to use our superior magic—you need to die. Humans can’t mingle with demons.”
“Your hate is blinding you,” she spat.
“I’m a demon, what did you expect? Tolerance? Don’t be ridiculous,” he laughed, the sound making her shiver in fright.
She would have loved to shut this bastard up, but it wasn’t like she could. The last time they had fought had ended very badly, and this time wouldn’t be any different. If Maxwell hadn’t interfered…
A thought struck her, Hopegrowing in her heart. Hadn’t Maxwell mentioned that he had been hunting down Zane? What if he was somewhere in the area? Chances were slim, but they were there. She needed to make more time, distract Zane somehow…
“How did you find me?” she asked, hoping she could keep him talking for another moment. In the meantime, she focused her magic and tried to find out if any light demons were nearby. Far away, she sensed traces of magic, but she couldn’t tell who it belonged to. Maybe it was Maxwell, or maybe someone else entirely.
“It was a coincidence, really,” Zane answered and shrugged. “I’ve kept my eyes open for you since our last encounter, but I didn’t expect to meet you here, of all places. In the middle of a random forest.”
She cursed her bad luck. If she had stayed home as she should have, then she would have been safe. Her own recklessness got her into this predicament. Maybe she would pay for it with her life, or maybe there was still something she could do…
When she abruptly raised her arm towards the sky, a bright beam of light shot up and exploded over the forest like a firework. If Maxwell was somewhere in the vicinity, he had to have seen it. She only needed to hope it was enough to lure him here. And if he wasn’t here at all, well… then she was as good as dead.
“What do you think you’re doing, human?” Zane asked annoyedly, “Playing around with your magic won’t help you. Besides, I think we’ve talked enough. Time to get on with it.” His lips curved up, a sinister smirk appearing on his face. His red eyes gleamed when he ran at her, shadows reaching out to grab her. She evaded him and tried to keep a distance between them. Sending a wave of magic towards him slowed him down a bit, an annoyed growl tearing from his throat.