Page 34 of His to Slash

This was it—the moment where the hunted became the hunters.

I raise my hand, and the shadows dance at my bidding, twisting and spiraling with a life of their own. They're an extension of my rage, my pain, and my power.

"You created monsters," I say, my voice steady, commanding the room. "You tried to control them, to bend them to your will, but you forgot one crucial thing—monsters don't obey."

One of them shifts nervously, his eyes darting to the side as if seeking an escape. It's all the invitation Grayson needs. He's on the elder in a blur of motion, faster than any human should be able to move.

The elder's eyes bulge as Grayson slams him against the wall, one hand wrapped tightly around his throat. The man claws at the hand, his face turning purple as he struggles for breath. Then, with a sickening crunch, Grayson tightens his grip, and the elder goes limp.

He releases his hold, and the body crumples to the ground. The sound of its lifeless form hitting the floor is like a warning to the others. They back away, their eyes filled with horror as they realize the full extent of their failure. They created something they couldn't control—something that would be their undoing.

"You're all going to pay," I whisper, my voice laced with a quiet fury. "For everything you've done."

The remaining elders exchange nervous glances, their eyes darting around the room as if searching for a way out. But there's nowhere to hide, not from us. We are the creatures of their own making, the monsters unleashed upon this town.

One of the female elders falls to her knees, hands outstretched in supplication. "Please," she begs. "We didn't know. We were just following orders."

I laugh, a bitter sound devoid of humor. "You didn't know?" I echo her words, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "You fed children to your experiments. You created Cain. You tortured Grayson and me. And then you tried to make me kill myself." My words hang in the air like a condemnation, thick with the weight of their crimes.

My power flares in response to my anger, the shadows in the room coiling like snakes around the elder's outstretched hands. With a sharp cry, she tries to pull away, but the darkness tightens like shackles, binding her wrists. I step forward, my gaze locked on hers, and she cringes, her eyes wide with fear.

"No more excuses," I hiss. "You wanted monsters? Now you've got them. And you're going to suffer, just like we did."

thirty

The satisfactionof seeing these elders cower before us was almost enough to make me forget the horrors they'd inflicted. But the memories of their crimes were seared into my mind, and I knew they had to pay. Grayson's presence by my side was a silent promise of retaliation—we were in this together.

The first elder took a step back, his eyes widening as he realized he had nowhere to go. I felt a cold smile spread across my face as I let my powers reach out, wrapping my shadows around his limbs like silken ropes. With a thought, I lifted him off the ground, suspending him from the ceiling like a marionette.

He kicked and struggled, his eyes bulging with fear as he felt the constriction around his wrists and ankles. I tightened my grip, my shadows like a noose, and he gasped for air, his face turning red.

"Please," he begged, his voice hoarse and strained. "Mercy... please..."

I leaned closer, my breath ghosting across his sweat-sheened face. "Where was your mercy when you were playing God with our lives?" I whispered. "When you were cutting, and prodding, and experimenting on children?"

Before he could respond, Grayson was there, his blade flashing in the dim light. The elder's eyes went wide as he felt the slice of metal across his heels—his Achilles tendons severed without a trace of anesthesia. His screams reverberated through the room, filling the air with his terror.

But I wasn't done yet. I let him hang there, a grotesque puppet, as I slowly, methodically tightened my shadows around his neck. His struggles weakened, his legs useless, his life slipping away with each desperate gasp for breath.

And then, finally, he went still, his lifeless body spinning slowly from the ceiling, a testament to the horrors these elders had unleashed upon Red Hallow.

The second elder, one of the original scientists who'd tortured Grayson, was next. I approached him with a cold determination, my shadows curling around me like smoke.

With efficient, ruthless movements, I strapped him down to a table—his own tools of torture now turned against him. I could see the recognition in his eyes, the moment he realized the twisted mockery of his own experiments I was about to inflict.

Slowly, inch by inch, I let my shadows peel back his skin, exposing the muscles and tendons underneath. His screams echoed through the room, a terrible symphony of agony. But I didn't stop there.

Grayson appeared at my side, his eyes glittering with a feral madness. With a smooth, practiced motion, he sliced off the elder's eyelids with the elder’s own knife, rendering him unable to look away from the horror that was unfolding.

The scientist's screams turned to incoherent babbling as he beheld the raw, exposed layers of his own flesh. I leaned closer, my breath hot against his ear. "How does it feel to be on the other side?" I whispered. "To be the one begging for mercy?"

But there would be no mercy. Not for those who had shown none. The elder's screams echoed through the room, a twisted symphony to our vengeance.

As the third elder struggled against my shadows, I reached for the jar of acid, a cruel souvenir from the lab. My movements were deliberate as I unscrewed the lid, the hiss of the toxic vapors filling the air. I wanted this elder to feel every second of what was coming.

With a steady hand, I poured the acid slowly over their face, watching as it ate away at their skin. Their screams were bloodcurdling, echoing through the room as my shadows held them in place, unable to move or escape the burning agony. Their skin bubbled and hissed, the acid melting away their features until their face was a distorted mess of bubbling flesh.

I stepped back, the smell of burnt flesh filling my nostrils. Grayson moved in, his blade flashing in the dim light. With meticulous precision, he carved deep into the exposed skull, etching the symbols they carved into Grayson’s face into the bare bone. The elder's screams faded to gurgles.

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