Chapter86

shattered, but as she pulled back, a thin line of purple blood trickled down the monster's chest.
'It bled,' she thought, her eyes widening.
She stepped back, her breathing still rough but her voice steadier now.
"For someone who spends so much time talking about bloodlines," she said, gesturing toward the purple stain, "you're surprisingly easy to scratch."
The monster froze, staring at the purple streak on its chest. 'How did she...' it wondered, then its eyes widened as the realization hit. 'Oh. She's in the process of awakening.'
Excitement surged through the creature, replacing its boredom with a sharp, predatory hunger. If a mere scratch was possible now, how much would she awaken if it pushed her to the absolute brink?
The air in the clearing suddenly thickened, bloodlust rolling off the monster in heavy, suffocating waves.
Didi didn't even see the movement. 
A series of wet, snapping sounds echoed through the air, and before she could blink, the knights around her stopped moving. Their heads slid from their shoulders in a single, blurred motion, bodies collapsing into the dirt in a spray of red.
Only Gazel remained, having thrown himself forward and blocked the strike with his sword, the force of the impact driving him deep into the ground.
Didi stared at the corpses, her mind going blank. 'What... what happened?' she thought, her voice failing her. She hadn't seen a single move, just a flicker of darkness and then death.
Cold fear began to take over, her legs shaking as she looked at the monster's wide, expectant grin.
Gazel looked back at her and saw the terror in her eyes. She was at her limit, her spirit fracturing under the pressure.
'Protect the princess no matter what.'
The Knight Commander's words echoed in his head, a reminder of the duty he had sworn to.