Chapter 128: _ The Final Gauntlet
While the rest of them mourn the loss of yet another three Moon Blessed, Morgan tips his head back and lets out a laugh. Hell, he didn’t even do it silently. It’s one of those dark, rich chuckles that curdles the air around it. It’s a sound so wildly inappropriate in the face of three mangled corpses that every head swivels toward him in disbelief.
"Oh, gods above," he drawls, wiping tears that aren’t even there from his eyes. "I’ve never been more pleased by the death of wolves like this. Look at them; pathetic. Torn apart before they even made it halfway."
Gasps run through the group. The sixteen Moon Blessed who are already trembling with fear, shrink back as though his words are blows landing on their faces. A few exchange horrified whispers.
Someone mutters, "How could he say that?"
Another hisses, "Heartless bastard."
Heidi freezes. For a second, she wonders if she heard him wrongly. Her ears buzz with the echo of his laughter, and even her wolf scoffs inside her chest. How—how could he laugh when their people are lying shredded in the dirt? Cold rage spikes through her veins.
He’s crazy!
Her voice comes out strangled. "Are you—are you serious right now? They’re dead, Morgan. Torn apart like meat in a butcher’s yard, and you’re..."
"Laughing?" he cuts in, completely unrepentant. "Yes. Because this is the reality. This is how the rest of you will die if you don’t stop acting like idiots. Running blind, ignoring orders, bolting like frightened rabbits... You think the labyrinth forgives stupidity? It doesn’t. It eats it."
He gestures lazily toward the corpses, as though they’re a warning sign painted on the road. His tone is so casual that it sends another wave of disgust rolling through Heidi. How can someone be this insensitive? She wants to slap him and do anything to puncture that arrogant grin.
"Oh, God. Can’t believe you, for real. They are OUR people!"
Morgan arches a brow at her, utterly unfazed by her fury. In fact, he looks bored. "Correction. They were our people. Now they’re meat. Meat that thought it was clever enough to outrun monsters. And this is exactly how the rest of you will die if you don’t listen to instructions."
The clearing goes silent except for the ragged breaths of terrified wolves. Heidi gapes at him, chest heaving. She wants to claw his face off, to shake him until that smugness cracks, but before she can, the others start shouting over one another.
"We don’t want to die!" a boy cries.
"Please—tell us what to do!"
"We’ll listen! Just... just lead us!"
The begging is desperate and pitiful. Heidi hates how easily Morgan twists their fear into obedience, but she can’t deny the truth of his warning.
Grayson steps forward then and speaks in a commanding tone. "By now, almost every demon in this labyrinth will be at the portal. They’ve seen it too. They know it’s their only chance to escape."
Murmurs spread again.
Grayson continues calmly, as if he’s explaining a grim fact of life. "Of course, they can’t pass through. The runes won’t let them. But do you think they’ll just watch us walk through? No. They’ll fight. They’ll kill. They’ll drag us down with them. So listen well: the only way through is together. If you scatter, you die. If you hesitate, you die."
Morgan folds his arms, smirking like a devil at a sermon. "And don’t even think about turning to your wolves. You’ll need those runes visible on your forearms before you jump, or the portal will tear you to pieces. Keep your human form. Keep your head. And when you see your chance, jump. No questions. No doubts. Jump or rot here forever."
The Moon Blessed look at one another, pale and shaking, but slowly their voices rise together. "Yes. Yes!"
For a fragile moment, Heidi feels the group’s resolve tighten, binding them together. Maybe, just maybe, they can pull this off.
Then the forest erupts.
The air splits with guttural and hungry shrieks shadows streak from the underbrush. Demons! Those snarling, twisted things with limbs too long and teeth too sharp burst into the clearing. Their eyes gleam with unholy light as they converge, blades and claws flashing.
"AMBUSH!" someone screams.
With that, all hell let loose.
Grayson and Morgan move instantly, faster than Heidi can blink. Twin flashes of light shimmer in their hands as they summon Aether blades from thin air. Oh, those long, green weapons of theirs that hum like pure power. They slash forward, their movements a blur. The first wave of demons crumples before they even realize they’re dead, bodies sizzling where the Aether cuts through flesh.
It’s mesmerizing and terrifying. The brothers fight like storms given form, their wolves fueling every strike and spin. Fuck it. They don’t just fight—they dominate, leaving Heidi’s jaw slacked.
However, she snaps out of her trance as a demon lunges at her, jagged teeth bared. She whips her knife up from her thigh and slashes, catching its jaw. Blood splatters, hot and metallic, coat her skin. Another demon comes from the side, and Val shoves her back, glasses flashing in the dim light as she drives her blade into its gut.
"Watch Junie!" Heidi shouts.
Junie, who is pale and quivering, raises her good hand. With a hiss of effort, a translucent shield bursts into existence around her, glimmering like glass. A demon’s claw rakes across it with a screech, sparks flying, but it holds. Junie’s teeth grit as she holds the barrier, sweat beading at her temples.
At least, she can still summon her powers. Even though the shield isn’t as big as it was during the fight that led Junie to lose her hand, it seems it can still be big enough to shield Junie.
"Just stay inside it!" Heidi yells.
Junie nods, biting her lip, shielding herself while the others fight like mad dogs around her.
Screams split the air. The sound of steel on bone rumbles in the air. The stench of blood is acrid and thick and clogs Heidi’s throat. She slashes, ducks, and kicks with her wolf snarling just beneath her skin. But the fight tilts fast.
A Moon Blessed boy goes down, shrieking. A demon’s claw has ripped through his thigh, shredding flesh until the leg hangs at a grotesque angle. Blood gushes, pooling under him. His cries pierce the battle, high and panicked.
"HELP!" he screams, clawing at the dirt.
Two of his friends grab him, dragging him back even as demons snap at their heels. "We’ve got you! We’ve got you!" one sobs.
"KEEP MOVING!" Grayson roars, his blade cutting another demon clean in half.
The battle rages, brutal and fast, but slowly—thanks to the twins’ terrifying skill, the demons fall. One by one they collapse, their shrieks dwindling into silence.
The clearing stills.
Everyone is panting, shaking, and coated in blood—demon blood, wolf blood, it’s all the same mess. The boy with the ruined leg groans in agony. His face is ashen. His two friends who are both trembling, hook their arms over their shoulders and lift him, his mangled limb dragging after them.
"We’re not leaving him," one snarls, daring anyone to challenge.
No one does.
They stagger forward. And together, the eighteen remaining wolves begin to run again.
The portal grows closer with every pounding step. Its light swells, blinding and searing, until the air itself seems to buzz. Heidi can feel it in her teeth, in the marrow of her bones... like it’s calling her, dragging her forward with invisible hooks.
Finally, she thinks, we are almost there.
Maybe not...
Burning sulfur smell hits them as the clearing opens into a nightmare.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of demons are clawing their way toward the portal. They fling themselves at the shimmering wall of light, their bodies sizzling as it rejects them. One by one, they’re shredded and torn apart mid-scream, their flesh ripped into dust and sparks as the portal devours them.
The sound is unbearable. Screeches, howls, the roar of energy consuming everything it touches. The air reeks of scorched meat and ozone. Heidi slaps a hand to her nose, gagging.
The wolves freeze, horrified. The portal isn’t a door... It’s a butcher’s maw.
Then, as one, the demons stop.
The remaining horde with their bodies still intact, turn in eerie unison. Their eyes gleam and their mouths curl at the approaching presence. And slowly, horribly, they grin.
Because they’ve caught the scent.
"Wolves," one hisses, tongue snaking over jagged teeth.
"They are here," another croons.
"The answer is here."
"The runes... are here."
A chorus of laughter follows, echoing across the clearing.
Heidi’s skin prickles. The hair on her arms stands on end. Her wolf claws inside her chest, desperate to fight or flee, but she can’t move. The air is filled with dread and the weight of a hundred red predatory eyes locking onto her and her companions.
This is it.
The final gauntlet.