CHAPTER 75: CHAPTER 75

"How do you know that?" Zeenare asked, his gaze fixed on her.

"Sisi told me." she mumbled weakly, her voice raw.

"Sisi?" Zeenare and Dreycen shared a bewildered glance before turning back to her.

With frantic eyes Rhea said, "I know it’s confusing, but I have to go to Tia. They’re in danger." She tried to get off the bed, but her legs wiggled.

Who is Sisi and how and why is she so sure? He thought.

His eyes trailed on her face and he could see the fear and desperation in her eyes.

"Hold on," Zeenare said, gently but firmly holding her in place. "I would handle this." He brushed his thumb over her skin, trying to calm her down. "Okay?"

Rhea hummed, her trembling heart finding peace, with his reassurance. "Also," she added,"You would find them in a cave inside the forest behind the school.

Zeenare furrowed his brow, before he responded. "Okay." He blinked once, tucked her in bed, and placed a kiss on her forehead, then turned to Dreycen. "Dreycen, we have some clean up to do." Zeenare said, stepping out the room, Dreycen behind.

Even though Zeenare doesn’t know how, who and where she got these informations, Zeenare didn’t ask any questions.

At a far distance in the forest behind the school, a guttural roar ripped through the trees, shaking the very marrow of the forest.

The sound rolled like thunder, raw and primal, tearing the silence apart. Birds erupted from the canopy in a frantic storm of wings, their cries sharp with panic. Leaves trembled, branches quivered.

From the undergrowth, startled animals bolted, the thrum of their hooves and paws carrying the terror farther and farther into the woods. The forest itself seemed to recoil, as if even the earth wished to flee the monster’s voice.

Animals trembled as they find refuge in the homes. Ar the roar of Athaliah echoing through the forest.

"Athaliah staggered into the forest, a trail of black blood behind her. "I failed," she seethed, stumbling through the undergrowth. "I failed the Master. If only that didn’t happen."

Her body quivered as it remembered the Rhea she saw. "The data we had about her is wrong. Very wrong." Her body shuddered her eyes on her trembling hand as her body kept changing forms between a Kegi and a human.

"I’m too weak for anything else right now, I have to replenish my strength to complete my task."

She staggered in to a cave her eyes falling on Tia and Luke hung to the wall like some pile of meat.

Athaliah stumbled forward almost tripping over her foot, balancing herself on the cave wall she leaned on Tia , hovering over her.

"It’s you she likes more, and it’s you i am going to devour so painfully to pay her back for her insolence." Her tongue slipped out of her mouth coiling on Tia’s shoulders, savouring her taste, before driving her head into her neck.

A low painful groan filled the air as Tia unconsciously moaned in pain, Athaliah razor-sharp teeth found purchase on her nape, hastily and painfully munching on Tia.

Athaliah’s veins pulsed as her body began healing. Athaliah let out a moanful sighed, throwing her head back in satisfaction. While Tia grew paler, her blood gushing profusely at her side, her breathing had grown shallow, so soft it barely stirred the air.

Suddenly a wall of wind knocked Athaliah far into the cave, away from Tia, crashing her against the wall.

Zeenare lunged at her. While Dreycen rushed towards, Tia, and Luke removing them for the chains, before casting a healing spell on them.

"How the hell did you get here?" Athaliah asked scurrying to her feet, jumping on the cave celling.

Zeenare stopped dead in his tracks. Dreycen’s head snapped towards Athaliah, and they both stared at her in stunned surprise.

"When you said intelligent," Zeenare said, his eyes fixed on Athaliah, "I didn’t know you meant it could talk."

"I didn’t know they could talk either," Dreycen muttered, stepping away from Tia and Luke. "What a brazen thing. It can even change into a human."

"Can they not change into humans?" Zeenare asked, his voice low.

"No. Kegi are just mindless flesh eating monster nothing more." His eyes fell on Tia, "But this one does not seem to feeds on flesh, but consumes blood instead. And its body is different from the usual Kegi." Dreycen added.

In that split seconds Zeenare’s surprise suddenly vanished, replaced by a cold, murderous fury that hardened his features into granite. The moment His mind imagined the thought that someone had created this just to get rid of Rhea, he became furious. His eyes were fixed on Athaliah, and they were twin points of a death sentence.

"Dreycen," he snarled, the sound a low, dangerous rumble in his chest. "Focus on them." He pointed to Tia and Luke, not waiting for a reply, his gaze shifted to the Athaliah as he took a slow, deliberate step forward, the scrape of his boot against the cave floor echoing in the space.

"You shouldn’t be able to find this place." Athaliah shrieked, pressing herself into a crevice on the ceiling.

"You shouldn’t have gone after her." A feral growl ripped from Zeenare’s throat. In a blur of motion, his hand closed around Athaliah’s ankle, his grip like a steel clamp.

Athaliah let out a high-pitched cry of terror as Zeenare yanked her from the ceiling with enough force to dislocate her leg. The sickening crack of bone was audible even over the sound of the wind.

He slammed her against the cave wall, a muffled thud followed by a wet squelch as her body was compressed against the stone. Blood sprayed from her mouth and nose. "That blood on her clothes... that wasn’t just hers, was it?" he snarled, his voice a chilling whisper.

Athaliah thrashed, a mangled mess of limbs, trying to twist away. "She is just flesh and bone!" she screamed. "Just flesh and—"

Zeenare’s fist slammed into her jaw, the impact a sharp crack that made her head snap back with enough force to knock her out. He grabbed a handful of her hair, ripped her face from the stone, and slammed it against the wall again and again, each brutal blow a sickening beat of bones against rock.

"Hey dude don’t mess it up too much, I would need it, for study purposes." Dreycen’s voice was sharp. He had finished healing Tia and Luke and was now watching, horrified, as Zeenare unleashed his rage.

Zeenare tore the creature from the wall, her body limp and broken. He held her up, her face a pulpy mess of blood and distorted features. He threw her to the ground and stomped on her chest, a single, decisive blow that made her ribs explode outward, then he drove a silver blade into the open pounding heart before him.

A final, gurgling sound escaped her ."Do you think kill me will stop it?" Athaliah laughed, coughing. " No it would not. We would keep coming until we have achieved our objectives." She smiled then everything went silent.

I thought Rhea was cursed?" Dreycen asked stepping forward.

"Yes." Zeenare simply replied.

"So why is a Kegi after her life instead of a curse? And now she’s changing to a siren?" Dreycen questioned.

Zeenare remained silent his eyes fixed on the dead Kegi, pondering on what it said.

Meanwhile at the island....

The heavens was dark, as though it knew what was about to happen, rain began to fall as it wip. Thunder roared shaking the earth, as multiple Kegi’s march into the island.

"Protect the mansion, master is not around. No matter what happens the madam must be kept safe." Othimise ordered, as every workers in the mansion stood into formations.

Each one blazing with either fire or ice, the healers had their vine out which was twisted into a sharp spear. The Siren morphed they arms into icy spear. Some held silver swords, other a wooden stake.

Growls from both sides laced the entire mansion as it shook, as each sides fought, the ones blue ocean was now blood red like death pool. The once courtyard decorated with beautiful flowers was now mused with bodies.

"The girl is why we are here, we must kill her." The leading Kegi said.

"Yes." Two other Kegi replied, before leaping from the ground up into the building, running on the wall on their fours, heading for the third floor.

"No!" Othimise roared, following the two as his wings erupte, with a single slash he drove the sliver into ones heart cutting it down, standing before the other one before he gets to the balcony.

"You are not getting in." Othimise said, as he moved at the Kegi with an insane speed.

"I wasn’t meant to enter." The Kegi said, willingly letting Othimise sword pierce through.

Othimise brow furrowed in confusion. Since when can a Kegi talk? He wondered, pulling out his sword.

The Kegi held onto Othimise, its grip firm, blood trailing off its mouth.

Othimise head snapped towards the room, as Rhea’s scream ripped from it. Then he turned to the Kegi and It was smiling at him.

Then he realised, this was a decor. but before he could finish with his thoughts, the Kegi reached for his wings, yanked one off and jumped off the building.

Othimise let out a gut wrenching scream, his back bleeding profusely, falling alongside the Kegi. Blood bathed the green field as his body hit the ground with a sickening thud, his vision suddenly became blur.