Page 73 of The Wishing Game

I don't get to finish my question as Ze grabs my wrist, twirling me around as we get farther from the demon. When he's satisfied with the distance, he pushes me to Cer's side before going back to face him alone.

My heart beats loudly in my chest as I join the others. Thea grabs my arm, squeezing it tightly.

"Are we going to let him face the demon alone?" I ask, my eyes wide with worry as I watch him parry all the blows the demon sends his way.

"Don't worry about him. He knows what he's doing," Cer comments, watching the fight intently.

"But—"

My words die on my tongue as a deafening noise explodes in the museum. The air crackles around the demon as the shadows envelop him further, becoming a third arm, a fourth, and so on. It's almost as if from mist they have become matter, uniting themselves with the humanoid-looking body of the demon.

"What's that?" I point to the appendages forming on the demon.

"The essence of the demon is coming to the surface," Cer explains. "It's the core of his power. Ze's been trying to draw it out in the open because that's when demons are the most vulnerable."

"When it solidifies like that?"

"Yes."

I turn my attention to the fight. Ze effortlessly wields his sword, parrying each blow from the demon while making him expend more energy in order to draw out the entire essence of the demon.

The building quakes as more black fumes exit the demon's body, spreading all around him. Yet this time, instead of attaching themselves to his body, they become new ones, slowly becoming smaller solid replicas of the demon.

"Where would he get the power to dothat?" Thea asks with a frown. She's glued to Cer's back, watching the fight from the crook of his shoulder.

"I don't know," Cer mentions, his tone... worried? "I've never seen a demon ascend so fast before. Just how many souls did he consume?"

"There's a chance we won't win this trial, isn't there?" I ask in a low, hopeless voice. The possibility has been on my mind since they mentioned he had consumed the demons. And if there are no souls to save, doesn't that mean we're doomed too?

Cer's features are tense. Thea averts her eyes as she bites her bottom lip.

I guess that's my answer.

Regardless of whether Ze kills the demon or not, if the souls have been consumed, we've failed.

My God... All this effort for nothing.

I swallow hard as a wave of hopelessness overtakes me. But I won't let it swallow me up—not while the fight is still raging on. Yet seeing Ze battle the demon alone makes me feel more useless than ever. I wish I had some sort of power to help him. I wish I could do something more than just stand around and watch, fear my only companion. God, but how I wish I could havedonesomething earlier, when the demon had not yet ascended.

Yet I must face the unequivocal truth.

Iamuseless. And if I want to stand a chance in this game—if I want to win so I can get my beloved back—then I must learn hownotto be useless.

I must learn how to prevail.

Turning my attention to the fight, I see even more shadow minions arise from the essence of the demon—to the point that they are all surrounding Ze, with some of them turning their attention to us.

Cer removes his own sword and parries the attacks of the shadows—how have I not realized he was carrying one up until now? With his right hand, he maneuvers his sword to slay the shadows. At the same time, he extends his left hand to the side, telling us to stay behind him.

Thea, too, unleashes her claws, ripping at the shadows sneaking past Cer.

The enclosed space becomes overwhelmed with the essence of the demon that is seemingly infinite. As Cer and Thea tackle the incoming shadows, I'm jostled to the side, tripping and falling on the hard floor. I drag a deep breath in, trying to get to my feet, only to be knocked down again by a mist that's slithered its way past Cer.

I give a low yelp of pain as I feel a burn where the dark shadow touched my arm. Their touch... it's acidic. As the shadow comes once more toward me, I fiddle to open the pouch with the black dust. But I'm too slow, and before I can untie the end, the shadow is upon me, striking my hands.

"Agh!" I drop the pouch to the ground, red, gnarly burns forming on the back of my hand. The shadow moves to strike again, but it's cut down by a sword at the last moment. A familiar back is in front of me, wielding that marble-white sword and cutting through the shadows until they evaporate in the air.

"Thank—" I don't get to thank him because in the next second, he's gone, already on the other side of the room, fending off attacks from the main body of the demon—the one that now has doubled in height and width.

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