Page 50 of The Road to Hell

I twisted, bringing my sword up to catch an incoming strike. The netheron pushing against me was strong, but sloppy. His blade skidded against mine, throwing sparks into the darkness. I shoved him back and slashed my sword across his throat. Blood sprayed as he dropped.

Another took his place before the body even hit the ground.

To my left, Eliza ducked under a broad swing, quick and fluid, her dagger flashing upward as she drove it into the venerath’s gut. She yanked it free, whirled, and parried another attack from behind, moving fast and precise.

Lily locked with the leader, their swords clashing together in a relentless exchange. But she wasn’t just defending—she was testing him, pushing, pressing, looking for an opening.

I didn’t have time to watch.

Two hellspawn came at me at once. One swung high, the other low, trying to box me in. I shifted, let the first blade scrape past my shoulder, then ducked under the second. Before they could recover, I lashed out, driving my boot into one’s knee, hearing the sickening crack as the joint snapped. He went down with a howl, and I finished him off with a downward stab.

The other recovered faster. He came at me with a brutal overhead swing. I barely caught the strike in time, the impact rattling up my arms. He pressed forward, trying to force me back.

I let him.

Then, the second he thought he had control, I dropped my weight and twisted my body. His momentum carried him forward, just enough for me to shove my sword up through his ribs. He gasped, eyes going wide, then collapsed.

Lily slashed across the leader’s side, her sword carving through armor and drawing a deep, dark wound. He grunted but didn’t fall.

Eliza spun, ducking behind one vexori and slicing through the tendons in his legs. As he dropped, she rammed a blade into the back of his skull.

I cut another down, barely dodging a spear that whistled past my ribs.

We were cutting through them.

But they weren’t breaking.

Another netheron lunged at Lily from behind. She twisted at the last second, catching the attack mid-swing, but it threw her balance off just enough for the leader to land a strike of his own.

His blade caught her shoulder.

Not deep. Not lethal.

But it was enough to set off the monster within me.

Now that blood filled the air and spilled across the floor, I could finally reach for my power. I couldn’t control blood while it still ran through veins, but once it spilled, it was mine to control. I lifted my free hand, and the air thickened as my power surged through me. A ripple of crimson illuminated my fingers, heat pulsing from my skin as I called to the blood staining the cave floor.

Every drop, every smear soaking the ground, trembled. Then, as if yanked by an unseen force, began to rise.

The hellspawn faltered, horror twisting their faces as they saw my power unfold before their eyes.

The blood coalesced midair, twisting and writhing into a dark, glistening mass waiting for my command.

I clenched my fist.

The liquid hardened, forming dozens of lethal spikes.

Then I shot them forward.

The first volley struck with deadly precision. The leader let out a choked snarl as the spikes ripped through him, punching through his armor like it was paper. His body jerked violently, his limbs spasming as his own blood betrayed him.

He wasn’t the only one.

Three more hellspawn tried to retreat, but they weren’t fast enough. With a flick of my wrist, another surge of spikes shot forward, impaling them where they stood.

Screams echoed through the cave—ragged, raw, inhuman.

The one remaining venerath, still standing, turned to run.

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