Chapter 120 The Grand elders arrival

Chapter 120 The Grand elders arrival
Vandal's grip tightened around her and the chains. The metal groaned under his crushing strength.

Then something shifted. One of his blood red eyes flickered and cleared. His body trembled violently as he fought the crimson tide inside him.

With a sharp snap, he tore her chains free from the wall. Sabine fell forward, but Vandal caught her gently in his arms. For a moment, the entire dungeon seemed to fade away. The stench of blood and dust faded. All that remained was the warmth of her body against his.

He looked at her with raw, deep emotion, relief, fear, and something far stronger that had been growing between them for weeks. Sabine stared back, tears streaking her dusty face. Her eyes were wide with lingering terror and sudden hope. Without another word, they leaned in and kissed.

It was desperate and heated, full of all the unspoken feelings they had never properly expressed. Her lips tasted of salt and fear, but there was also relief and longing in the way she clung to him.

The others watched in stunned silence. The heavy chains around them were suddenly forgotten.

Chan's jaw dropped. "Wait, what? We all thought you were about to kill her and then us next!"

Jaden let out a shaky laugh of disbelief. "Damn, you had us terrified."

Chan grinned despite the pain in his wrists. "Yeah, nice acting. Pretending to go full monster just to scare us half to death. Real funny."

Vandal broke the kiss and gently set Sabine on her feet. His voice was rough, still edged with lingering rage. "I was not pretending. I blacked out completely. I only came back to my senses when I heard Sabine's voice."

Chan swallowed hard. The teasing smile vanished from his face. He glanced at the broken chains and the blood on the floor. "If Sabine had not been here, if she was not captured with us..."

He did not finish the sentence. The implication hung heavy in the air. Jaden, Jaclynn, and Sera exchanged uneasy looks as the full weight of Vandal's loss of control sank in. One wrong trigger, and their friend could become their worst nightmare.

Sera's expression stayed calm on the surface. But inside her chest twisted with secret pain. She wished with all her heart that she had that kind of pull over Vandal, the power to bring him back from the darkness with just her voice. The thought stung sharply. Why did Sabine have such a strong hold on him?

Vandal moved quickly, snapping the rest of their chains one by one. Metal clattered to the stone floor. "We need to figure out how to escape. Now. Before more guards come."

The group huddled together. Their voices were low and urgent as they tried to form a plan. Their powers were still weakened by the manacles' lingering suppression, but they had to move.

A thunderous crash suddenly shook the dungeon. Rubble exploded outward as Ragab burst from the collapsed wall, covered in dust and blood. He threw his head back and laughed, a deep, cruel sound that echoed off the stones.

"I was planning to take my time with you insects. Give you somewhat decent deaths," Ragab growled, wiping blood from his mouth. "But after that little stunt? I am going to torture each of you separately. Slowly. Gruesomely."

Jaden stepped forward. Electricity crackled around his fists. "Not if I stop you first!" He unleashed a powerful blast from his Thunder Echo ability straight at the elder.

The lightning surged forward then vanished into nothing before it could touch Ragab.

Chan's eyes widened. "Everyone, attack from a distance! Do not get close before he uses that weird power again!"

He turned to Vandal. "Come on, hit him with us!"

Vandal tried to lift his fists. But the berserker energy inside surged violently, threatening to drown his consciousness once more. His arms shook. Sweat beaded on his red tinted skin. "I cannot. If I attack him again, I will lose control completely."

Jaclynn, Sera, and Jaden nodded grimly. They launched their combined attacks, flames, wind blades, and thunder, racing toward Ragab. Every strike disappeared harmlessly into the air just feet from the elder.

Vandal suddenly froze. Three enormous presences approached from above, heavy and oppressive. The air thickened like quicksand, making every movement sluggish. The others felt it seconds later. Their bodies grew heavy.

Even Ragab's confident smirk faltered. Panic flashed in his eyes. His fellow Grand Elders had arrived. If they saw his fortress in chaos, they could remove him from power by veto.

"By the gods, these people could just ignore this ruckus and stay in their towers." Ragab muttered in annoyance.

A powerful voice boomed from the corridor. "Ragab! What is the meaning of this damage? Your fortress looks like it is undergoing repairs!"

Another elder added coldly, "And what is all this ruckus? We three must maintain balance in this household."

The third demanded, "Explain yourself. Now."

Ragab amplified his voice. He spoke with forced calm. "I am merely in the dungeon torturing some infiltrators from the Unseeing Faith Sect."

"Do you expect us to know where your dungeon is?"

"Courtesy demands you come out to see us first!"

Ragab kicked a stone off the ground in annoyance. Turning back to his captives, he flicked his hand. Concrete from the ground grew soft and sucked them in. They tried to struggle against it but it was futile. The ground seemed to have turned into soft liquid that sank them until it reached their heads and then solidified instantly.

Jaclynn's eyes widened in shock as she struggled uselessly. This was no ordinary earth resonance manipulation. It was a very high level technique. The force that had pressed them all down earlier before they passed out, that heavy, crushing pressure, it was gravity itself. She came to the chilling realization that Elder Ragab was using an advanced earth echo ability, combining solid matter control with gravitational force in ways she had only heard rumors about.

This was a qualitative use of earth energy, executed so effortlessly. Just how high was his cultivation level? The thought sent a wave of dread through her. How were they supposed to escape someone this powerful?

They could no longer move at all. Only their heads remained exposed above the hardened stone. All of this had happened in less than a minute.

Then Ragab answered them with the same calm voice. "I am coming out now. I just had to secure the prisoners properly."

Then he turned and left. His footsteps echoed in their wake. Before he went to see them, he went straight to change his blood stained dusty attire with something fresh.

Meanwhile, Vandal's heart sank deep into his stomach. Even with his berserker form, he could not handle one Grand Elder. Now three more terrifying presences were coming straight to the dungeon. The situation had gone from desperate to completely hopeless. Trapped up to their necks with no power and no escape route, he wondered if this would finally be the end for all of them.