บท 59: Drake?
The moment Emile heard one of the men mention the Chief, he turned tail and ran. He didn't know how strong the Chief was or how strong any of his lackeys were for that matter, but they were assuredly stronger than the Wooden Puppets.
Emile was halfway through the hall when something wrapped around his ankle and pulled back. He crashed into the ground. The impact pushed the dagger out of his hand and it rolled forward further down the hall.
Panic now taking hold, Emile violently tore at the rope around his ankle, but it wouldn't break. The group of men approached Emile, uncaring, lax, and comfortable, clearly they didn't view Emile as a threat.
Then finally, the man himself, Chief Khon arrived. He towered above his lackeys, standing a couple feet above the lot of them. For a moment, silence permeated through the group while Khon and Emile stared at each other.
"You know—" Chief Khon said, "I never expected you to find a labyrinth to hide in. Quite resourceful."
One of his men put his hands underneath Emile's armpits and lifted him on his feet. With the rope attached to his waist, he wrapped it around Emile's wrists and used all his strength to tighten it.
Emile could feel the severe burn from the tightening rope, his fingers eventually started to tingle and his nails became pale.
"Hide in?" Emile scoughed, "Does it look like I'm hiding?"
"No?" Chief Khon asked, "You should be in hiding after that little stunt you pulled back in the caves."
Taken aback, Emile looked at Khon with puzzlement apparent on his face, "Stunt?"
But before he could continue, Khon's steel gauntlet rained down and bludgeoned Emile's skull.
"Do not feign ignorance with me boy!" Chief Khon demanded.
Khon grabbed Emile's neck and raised him above the ground until they were seeing eye to eye.
"I know it was you!" Rage clearly began to rise in Chief Khon's voice. His grip around Emile's neck tightened and his brows sunk.
"I will pass unto you all the pain, all the death, all the screams and cries your damned little drake has caused my people!" With his other hand, Chief Khon raised a single blade.
'Drake?'
'Drake!'
Realization hit Emile like a tsunami. What happened to the drake they failed to subjugate? In their battle with it, the drake did seem mighty powerful but the two boys lived.
Did their survival show that the drake was harmless? That the drake was a weak creature? No. Emile and Blood were just lucky.
Two childish boys causing trouble for the hell of it, uncaring and apathetic for the aftermath of their choices. The drake hadn't even crossed Emile's mind since arriving in the labyrinth. What did it do?
Emile squirmed in Khon's grip. He tried to speak, but Khon was crushing his neck far too much to speak, let alone breath.
Khon's dagger was only an inch away from Emile's head now. It was beautifully crafted. A completely empty, black blade held together by an artisanal red handle.
"Forgive me my daughter, but his sins are too great to forgive." Then Chief Khon's eyes turned sharp and he readied himself to plunge the dagger between Emile's eyes.
But then a white light exploded within the hallway. Chief Khon stumbled back, the imprint of Emile's shoe pressed into his chin.
Emile dropped to the floor and, as fast as he could manage, turned and bolted away. Behind him, he could hear Chief Khon bellowing out orders.
By now their vision must be returning. Emile turned the corner and continued to sprint down the path. The moment before Khon' s dagger pierced him, Emile activated the Nimbus Charm.
With that, his freely dangling legs rocketed up and plowed down Chief Khon's chin, pushing the behemoth back and setting him free. Not to mention the charm came with its own flash bang, something Emile also knew to prepare for.
'I need to find Blood'
Emile raced through the halls with his hands still tied. He strained his ears and listened for his teenage partner, hoping to hear him smash something.
And he heard it. Somewhere to the left Emile heard a loud crash, probably a door splitting. So he ran to the nearest intersection and turned towards the noise.
And standing in his way, further down the hallway, a group of Wooden Puppets were actively patrolling. Emile didn't have a weapon nor access to his hands, but time was of the essence. Without hesitation, Emile sprinted towards the group of puppets.
The group of four noticed the approaching boy and turned to intercept him. One of them similarly ran towards Emile with its sword held high.
Emile slide-tackled the swordsmen resulting in the Wooden Puppet collapsing on top of him. Emile quickly grabbed the puppets head and spun it around.
[Chosen Wooden Puppet Slain]
The puppet faded away just in time for Emile to roll across the floor, dodging a downward strike from an ax. Emile collected himself and stood up, ready to face his three opponents.
The ax swung down again, but the puppets were too inexperienced and it swung with too much force. Taking advantage of this moment of defenselessness, Emile kicked the puppet in the chest.
The puppet fell back and released the ax. Thankfully, Chief Khon's men tied Emile's hands in front of him. Emile caught the falling ax and slammed it down into the puppet.
[Chosen Wooden Puppet Slain]
The ax, along with the puppet, turned to essence. Emile quickly stepped back, avoiding a lunge from a spear. He grabbed the spears shaft and pulled the puppet into him.
Emile bashed his skull against the Wooden Puppets head and kicked his wooden knee backwards. With its spear in hand, Emile blocked an overhead strike from another sword.
He tried to pierce the Wooden Puppet, but it blocked all of Emile's awkward attacks with its shield. The other puppet reached up and grabbed Emile's leg, locking him down.
At the same time, the only other puppet charged in with a shield bash. The shield crashed into Emile's arm and pushed him back, his body wanted to fall and roll away, but the spear doll held his leg tightly.
Emile felt his leg pop and pull. Using the spear he stole, Emile maneuvered it past the shield and slammed it into the puppets chest. The puppet's lifeless shell flew back and landed on top of the other puppet.
Emile pushed even harder on the spear until it broke through the first puppet and pierced the second one beneath it.
[Chosen Wooden Puppet Slain]
[Chosen Wooden Puppet Slain]
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