Spiritmal, By The Light Of A Star

27. Too late

Squeezing through an air vent sure was tough. Especially since it was a pretty tight squeeze.

"Can't you go faster peasant? Team Alchama's pretty much going to summon Phoenixight any minute now." Felix complained.

"I'm trying!" I grumbled back, getting more and more annoyed and frustrated every second.

I could tell that Star was exerting a lot of energy... since I was able to hear her grunts and groans. However, I was still unable to find the right exit even with Star's presence guiding me.

"Another dead end..." Felix muttered behind me, fueling my frustration. In front of me, Winter was whimpering slightly, sensing the tension in the air.

"Master... I think it's that way..." the wolfabeast finally spoke up.

"Really Winter? Thanks." I followed after the wolfabeast as we continued crawling through the pipes.

Soon enough, we really found ourselves an exit. An exit to the room Star was in. My heart tightened as I saw my Spiritmal in a glass container, trying her best to break out. She was in her true form. However, her attacks were still doing nothing to the glass tank she was enclosed in. Around her, multiple Team Alchama grunts were patrolling the area.

Standing beside the glass tank, I could see Nur, Sleet and two others admiring their work of art.

"Hey peasant? Mind moving aside so that I could see as well?" Felix asked me. Rolling my eyes, I moved a little, allowing him to spectate the scene.

He took one look at the scene below, his mouth dropping open slightly.

"So... what now?"

"We rescue Star I guess?" I replied, loosening the metal grills.

"Peasant, you need a plan. You can't just blindly charge into there. Who knows what they'll do!" He advised.

"Well, wasn't that what you did?" I answered back, causing a frown to form on his face.

"Well, we don't want to repeat that mistake twice. Do we? The stakes are higher here Emily. You need a plan."

I sighed. He was right, as much as I didn't want to admit it now. As much as I want to grab Star and go, there was no possible way to do it.

"What about this? I'll distract them and you try to free Star." He suggested.

I looked at him, slightly bewildered by his statement. "That's a horrible plan."

"I know, but at least it's a plan." He ran a hand through his dark blue hair, combing it slightly.

"Can't we find a better plan?"

"Well, do you have any?"

That, I was unable to answer.

"Fine, we'll go with your master plan." I finally replied, getting ready to bust through the metal grills.

"On the count of three." Felix started the countdown.

"3... 2... 1..."

"Go!" I finished, busting open the grills and jumping into the room.

Sleet turned around instantly at the commotion, the grunts in the room gossiping about our appearance.

"Well well... look what the bird dragged in." She chucked. "It's a shame that it's a bit too late."

"What do you mean by that?" Felix gave Sleet a death glare, probably remembering the time she had stolen his spiritmal.

"Ha! Watch and see!" She laughed even more, her eyes catching a glimpse of Winter. "As for you Winter, you have a nice punishment to look forward to."

The wolfabeast whined, moving to hide behind me.

"What are you doing Sleet?" I asked the Team Alchama leader.

She didn't answer, instead pushing down on a switch. This small action immediately caused Star to cry out in pain, electricity seeming to be running through the glass tank.

"Star!" I cried out, pain rushing through myself as I watched Star suffer.

The two of us shared a deep bond. A bond so deep, I could literally feel her pain rushing through my body. I could feel myself growing giddy as the electricity in the tank got worse. Star was attempting to cut the bond between us, however she wasn't able concentrate enough to do so.

Vaguely, I think I could hear Sleet's laughter, the sound causing my head to ache more.

This wasn't good...

I felt someone hold on to me, barely preventing my head from banging onto the floor. I could feel fatigue rush over me, making me want to black out.

This must be a thousand times worse than a chill attack.

By now, I could hardly hear anything, all I could do was feel myself sinking into darkness...