So Close

"You..." Isaac was at a loss for words, choosing to ignore the ice-cold beauty next to him. Instead, he turned his attention back to the battle.

Vera blinked her sharp eyes, her lips curving slightly before she, too, focused on the fight ahead.

The gray-robed figures rolled across the ground, having been caught in the aftermath of one of the General's sword strikes. They were flung back but fortunately avoided serious injuries, only dazed from the impact.

"This guy is getting stronger the longer we fight. I made a mistake," the lead gray-robed figure groaned, struggling to his feet. He glanced at his comrades. "We can't win. Let's retreat and get the Bull-Headed Aberration into the city."

The second figure nodded in agreement but was interrupted by the fifth—a gray-robed girl, clearly losing her grip on sanity. "Mistress will be thrilled if we bring him into the city! We should try again!" she screeched.

"Five, as weapons, we are not supposed to have personal thoughts," the leader growled, his words laced with a clear threat. He never liked this madwoman.

"Why don't you use your summoning ability? You're holding back! I'll report this to the Mistress!" the girl screamed, her voice shrill and hysterical.

Smack!

A resounding slap echoed through the air as the second gray-robed figure hit the girl across the face. His voice was devoid of humanity. "The Aberrations belong to the Mistress. We don't use them without permission."

"You dared hit me?!" the gray-robed girl shrieked in rage, raising her curved blade, ready to strike her own comrade.

"Do you still think you're Mistress's favorite? Disobey, and you die," the leader snapped, snatching the weapon from her hand. He followed up with a brutal punch to her stomach, causing the girl to cry out in agony as she crumpled to the ground, clutching her abdomen like a wounded animal.

Seeing the General's Phantom looming closer, the leader barked orders to his team, "Four, carry her. We'll head for the Bull-Headed Aberration and regroup with Three!"

Four silently obeyed, hoisting the unconscious girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and the three remaining figures fled in the direction they had come from.

"We need to follow them! The Exorcists there won't stand a chance against those guys!" Isaac urged Vera.

But before he could finish speaking, Vera had already darted forward like a hunting cheetah. Isaac wasn't about to be left behind; he shot forward with a powerful leap, quickly catching up.

The lead gray-robed figure spotted the Bull-Headed Aberration lying on the ground ahead, barely alive, and felt a surge of dread. He had expected the beast to be on its way to the city by now.

"Three!" the leader shouted, trying to locate his missing comrade. To his horror, he saw the towering form of the Bull-Headed Aberration partially obscured by a group of Exorcists. Each one had their weapons at the ready, poised to strike—but their target wasn't the gray-robed figures. It was the Bull-Headed Aberration.

The message was clear: if the gray-robed figures made any sudden moves, the Exorcists would kill the beast.

This was Sean Burke's plan. If the enemy's goal was to unleash the Bull-Headed Aberration into the city, then the Exorcists would use its life as leverage. The worst-case scenario was that the infected citizens in the city would transform into monsters, but that was preferable to letting the Aberration wreak havoc in the city.

Sean was gambling, hoping the gray-robed figures wouldn't dare make a move.

Underneath his robe, the leader's face twisted in fury. To be threatened by these "old-world" humans—he found it unbearable. But the threat was effective. If the Bull-Headed Aberration died now, Mistress's plans would fail. If they backed down, and the Exorcists dealt with the infected, the beast would still die later.

The difference lay only in when the Bull-Headed Aberration would die.

"We don't have time. Use the serum," the second gray-robed figure urged. "The longer we wait, the more citizens are cured. By the time the Aberration dies, it won't matter."

"Agreed. We'll use it and retreat," the leader decided, nodding. They had one final option.

"What about Three?" Four asked, glancing at their captured comrade, now in the hands of the Exorcists.

"He let the Exorcists in. He's a traitor," the leader said coldly, sealing the third gray-robed figure's fate with a dismissive wave. "The Mistress will provide a replacement. Don't worry."

Four paused for a moment before nodding in silent acceptance.

Swish!

A deadly flash of red slashed through the air behind them, accompanied by Isaac's feral growl as his sharp teeth closed in for a bite.

"We can't wait any longer! Do it now!" the second gray-robed figure shouted, shoving his comrades aside as he narrowly dodged the attack. He turned to the leader in panic.

The leader was quick to respond. His curved blade lashed out, releasing a dark energy that forced Vera and Isaac to retreat.

From within the leader's wide sleeve, he produced a glass vial filled with a crimson, glowing liquid. With a swift motion, he threw it toward the barely conscious Bull-Headed Aberration.

Seeing the vial soar through the air, Vera's heart sank. She knew something terrible was about to happen and desperately wanted to stop it, but she was too far away.

Isaac, moving as fast as he could, leaped after the vial, his claws reaching for it. He was so close—just a fraction of an inch from grabbing it. But his claws missed by a hair, and he could only watch as the vial plummeted toward the Bull-Headed Aberration, moments from shattering against its body.