Fated | Fangs Of Fortune [ZhuYi]

Chapter 19 : Despair

The temple's courtyard was eerily quiet. Its cracked stone floor overgrown with moss and vines. The mist hung heavily in the air, casting everything in a ghostly glow. YiChen felt a sense of foreboding crawl up his spine but he pushed it down, stepping forward with his sword drawn.

"Stay sharp" he ordered, his voice steady despite the unease gripping his chest. The others nodded, their weapons at the ready.

But before anyone could take another step, figures emerged from the shadows, their movements sharp and predatory. Black-cloaked soldiers surrounded them, their faces obscured by masks bearing the emblem of the ChongWu Camp.

"It's an ambush!" YiChen shouted, raising his sword.

The first clash of steel shattered the tense silence. Pei Si Jing loosed an arrow, striking one soldier in the chest, while Ying Lei swung his oversized knife, his blows powerful but clumsy in the chaos. Wen Xiao clutched her dagger tightly, her eyes darting around for an opening and Bai Jiu had needles in both hands, his knuckles white from the strain.

YiChen charged forward, his sword cutting through the air in graceful arcs. But something was wrong. The Cloud Light Sword, which normally glowed in the presence of a demon, did not this time, appearing like an ordinary decorative blade.

"Damn it" he muttered under his breath.

The battle was a blur of movement and sound--blades clashing, arrows whizzing and grunts of exertion and pain. Yet, with every passing moment, their strength waned. A strange numbness began to seep into their limbs, the air itself feeling heavy with poison.

"The mist is weakening us!" Ying Lei growled, slashing at a soldier who lunged for Bai Jiu.

Zhu Yan staggered beside YiChen, his steps faltering as his face paled. "Something's... wrong" he muttered before collapsing.

"Zhu Yan!" YiChen caught him just in time, lowering him carefully against the courtyard wall. His heart clenched despite himself. Zhu Yan's usually sharp features were slack, his breaths shallow.

"Stay there" YiChen said softly, though he doubted the unconscious demon could hear him. Rising to his feet, he turned to face the advancing soldiers, his sword gleaming faintly in the dim light. He planted himself firmly in front of Zhu Yan, his expression hardened into one of grim determination.

"We can't hold this forever!" Pei Si Jing shouted, firing another arrow.

"We just need to—" YiChen began, but his words were cut off by a sudden, frantic cry.

"A-Heng!" Pei Si Jing's voice broke with desperation.

From the mist, a young man stumbled into view, his movements jerky and unnatural. His eyes were glazed over, his expression vacant—it was Pei Si Heng, the younger brother of Pei Si Jing they had left before. The black-cloaked soldiers turned their focus on Pei Si Heng, swarming him like vultures to carrion.

"Si Heng! Get Away!" Pei Si Jing's bow dropped to her side as she rushed toward him, her voice thick with panic.

"Wait!" YiChen yelled but it was too late.

Pei Si Jing threw herself into their path, her arrow drawn at the last second.

"No!" Wen Xiao screamed as Pei Si Jing was overwhelmed, her body collapsing under the weight of countless blades. Blood splattered the ground as her cry was silenced.

"Pei Sister!" Bai Jiu's voice cracked, tears streaming down his face as he stumbled forward but Ying Lei held him back.

"Focus!" Ying Lei growled, his own movements growing sluggish as he fended off another attacker.

But in his moment of distraction, a soldier slipped past his defenses. The blade drove deep into his side and Ying Lei's eyes widened in shock.

"Ying Lei!" Bai Jiu screamed, catching him as he fell.

"I-I want to sta..." Ying Lei tried to say, but his words faltered as the life faded from his eyes. Bai Jiu's cries filled the air, raw and anguished.

YiChen's heart felt like it was shattering into pieces. His sword grew heavier in his hand as despair clawed at him but he refused to give in. He couldn't, not while Wen Xiao and Bai Jiu were still alive and not while Zhu Yan lay defenseless behind him.

"Get back!" he shouted, positioning himself between the remaining group and the advancing soldiers. Wen Xiao stood before Bai Jiu, her dagger trembling in her hand, while Bai Jiu's face was streaked with tears.

But the soldiers didn't relent. They surged forward, their blades aimed at the four remaining figures. YiChen gritted his teeth, his body moving on instinct as he parried blow after blow, his muscles screaming in protest.

"Enough!" he roared, lunging forward with everything he had.

A sharp pain exploded in his side and he realized too late that he had overreached. One blade pierced his shoulder, another his abdomen and then more followed. His vision blurred as the world tilted around him. The sound of Wen Xiao and Bai Jiu's cries growing distant.

His knees buckled and he fell to the ground. As he lay there, his blood pooling beneath him, his gaze drifted to Zhu Yan's still form against the wall.

Even as darkness claimed him, his thoughts were filled with the one he had sworn to kill with his own hands.

The last thing he saw before his eyes closed was the temple's towering doors, shrouded in mist, standing silent and ominous against the chaos.