CHAPTER 0009

Freedom

I managed to escape out of there without those two noticing me, but before I could go back, I got lost for hours trying to find my way. 

I felt like I was in a fucking goddamn fancy maze or something—endless halls and rooms, all blending together in their opulence and grandeur.

After what seemed like an eternity of wandering, I finally saw them standing together. It seemed they had finished eating. 

The woman was talking with Lucifer, and Ace stood next to her, his left hand hidden behind him. He was holding a gun, smiling at Lucifer.

FUCK!

I ran up to Lucifer as fast as I could, panting.

"Where have you been, Venneca?" he whispered to me as he saw me. "What took you so long?!"

"There is… no time to explain… excuse yourself to leave right now!"

I whispered back, breathing heavily as I tried to make out the words.

"What do you mean? I can't just say I should leave. It's not time to leave yet; it would be disrespectful—" 

he turned to me as he excused himself from Ace and the woman.

"Look, you idiot, they are trying to trick you and planning to kill—" Just then, I heard a click.

Both of us stopped talking and froze. Lucifer slowly turned around to see Ace pointing a gun straight at his heart.

Fuck! Fuck!!

Lucifer didn't say anything. Instead, he raised his hands in the air, staring at Ace with a surprised expression that quickly turned into a death glare.

"It was nice knowing you, Lucifer," Ace mumbled, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"But it's time to say goodbye, sadly, dear," the woman said with a smile. 

She tried to make her smile warm, but anyone could see it was twisted and malevolent.

Lucifer looked at me and then back at them slowly. I stared in shock as he tried to subtly reach for his gun. 

The room fell into a suffocating silence, the kind that presses against your ears and makes the very air feel heavy. 

Each second stretched out, painfully slow, as if time itself had been suspended. I could hear the faint hum of the chandelier above, the distant ticking of a grandfather clock, and the soft rustle of fabric as Ace shifted slightly, his finger twitching near the trigger. 

My heart pounded in my chest, each beat echoing in my ears like a drum. The air grew thick, laden with the weight of unspoken threats and impending violence. 

The flickering candlelight cast long, dancing shadows on the walls, turning the ornate decorations into sinister figures watching our every move.

The atmosphere turned dark in seconds, the warm glow of the room replaced by a cold, ominous stillness. 

It felt as though the very light had been sucked out, leaving us in a twilight where danger lurked in every corner. 

My breath caught in my throat, and I could feel the adrenaline surging through my veins, heightening my senses. 

I was acutely aware of every tiny sound—the creak of the floorboards as I shifted my weight, the almost imperceptible intake of breath from Ace, and the distant murmur of the mansion settling in the night. 

I glanced at Lucifer, his face a mask of controlled rage, his eyes locked onto Ace with a deadly intensity. 

His muscles were coiled, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. I could see the slight tremor in his hand, the only outward sign of the storm brewing within him. 

He was like a predator, poised to strike, every fiber of his being focused on the threat before him.

The room was a battlefield, though no blows had yet been struck. The tension between us was a living thing, a silent scream waiting to be unleashed. 

The silence was deafening, a pressure that built and built, threatening to crush us under its weight.

I knew that any second now, the fragile equilibrium would shatter, and all hell would break loose. 

Every nerve in my body was screaming at me to move, to do something, but I was paralyzed by the sheer intensity of the moment.

I saw Lucifer trying to reach for his gun, and slowly, Ace noticed it too. Before Lucifer could get it out, Ace pulled the trigger.

"Lucifer, watch out!" I screamed as my body moved on its own. I ran between Lucifer and the bullet before it could hit him.

The bullet went straight into the left side of my stomach. 

The pain was unbearable, and I fell to the ground, trembling as I started bleeding heavily.

Lucifer's eyes widened, and for a second, they darkened before he pulled out his gun and pointed it at Ace, firing multiple shots. 

Ace got hit in his right arm and left leg, giving Lucifer more time to get to me as the woman tried to comfort Ace.

"Venneca, don't you fucking dare to die on me," Lucifer growled trying to keep his tears to not roll down from his eyes.

He took off his jacket and wrapped it around my waist to stop the bleeding slightly.

I didn't say anything as I groaned in pain, my eyes halfway open. 

I saw how Lucifer placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before getting up and starting to approach Ace.

Lucifer transformed into his wolf form. He had black, fluffy fur and a huge tail, and he was more enormous than the largest Mastiff. 

He launched at Ace, but Ace jumped back high, transforming into a wolf in mid-air.

Ace landed back on the ground, growling at Lucifer. Lucifer growled back, both of them slowly circling each other, ready to attack at any moment. 

The room became even more tense as the woman and I watched. 

She was slowly trying to escape, stepping back cautiously.

Summoning the last bit of my strength, I grabbed a knife from the table and threw it towards the woman. 

It hit her in the left leg, making me grin despite the pain.

I didn't know I had such a great aim, to be honest.

She fell to the ground, unable to walk. She stayed there, trying to stop the bleeding, but she lost too much blood and eventually passed out. 

I sighed in relief and lay back on the floor, trying not to move much anymore.

Ace and Lucifer's battle raged on, their forms shifting and clashing in a dance of primal power. The two were locked in combat, their wolf forms towering and fierce. 

The air crackled with energy as Ace unleashed a barrage of Electrokinesis, bolts of lightning arcing through the air, crackling with a deafening roar. 

The raw, searing power surged toward Lucifer, aiming to overwhelm him.

But Lucifer was prepared. His eyes blazed with a steely determination as he quickly erected a shimmering Barrier creation. 

The lightning collided with the barrier, sending out a violent ripple, but Lucifer remained unscathed behind his shield. 

The energy dispersed harmlessly, leaving only the echo of its crackle behind.

Without missing a beat, Lucifer harnessed his Shadow manipulation. From the depths of darkness, he summoned a horde of shadow wolves, their forms as black as the void. 

They surged forward with eerie grace, their movements fluid and almost spectral. The shadows twisted and writhed, their eyes glowing with a malevolent light as they charged at Ace.

Ace, despite his injuries, fought fiercely against the onslaught. He slashed and snapped with his Claw extension, each swipe of his claws slicing through the shadows. 

The shadow wolves yelped and dissipated into wisps of dark mist, but more emerged from the darkness, relentless in their assault. 

Ace's fur bristled with the strain of the battle, his breathing ragged as he struggled to keep up.

The fight was a brutal symphony of power and ferocity. Ace lunged and snapped, his claws carving through the shadow wolves with brutal efficiency. 

His movements were precise, fueled by a fierce will to survive. Yet, the injuries he sustained made each movement more labored, his strength waning as the shadows continued their relentless attack.

Lucifer, not content to simply stand by, transformed into an eagle with a powerful, dark sheen. His wings stretched wide, casting an imposing silhouette against the dim light. 

He darted through the air with incredible speed, his talons slicing through the air with deadly intent. 

Ace, still engaged with the shadow wolves, could barely keep up with the agile, black form of Lucifer swooping and diving.

The battle waged on, a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. They teleported and transformed with blinding speed, their powers clashing in a tempest of light and darkness. 

The room became a whirlwind of motion, filled with the roar of combat and the crackle of energy. 

It was a relentless, unyielding struggle, each combatant using their full range of abilities to outmaneuver and overpower the other.

Finally, Lucifer seized an opportunity. As Ace tried to fend off another wave of shadow wolves, Lucifer appeared behind him, his form shifting once more. 

He took on the visage of a black tiger, his claws extending into razor-sharp weapons. With a powerful swipe, he raked his claws across Ace's back, cutting deep into his flesh. 

The attack was swift and decisive, a flash of black fur and silver claws that left Ace staggering.

Ace collapsed to the floor, his body slumping as life drained from him. 

Blood pooled around him, the once-vibrant figure now lying still in a spreading crimson stain. 

His breath came in shallow gasps, his strength spent.

Lucifer, too, bore the marks of their fierce encounter. His hand was marred by a deep scar, a testament to the fierce combat. 

His leg was badly injured from the shadows' assault, and his body bore the bruises and burns from Electrokinesis and Telekinesis. 

Despite his injuries, Lucifer moved with a grim determination, his eyes never leaving Ace as he fell.

The room, once a grand and opulent space, was now a battlefield strewn with the remnants of their clash. 

The air was thick with the smell of burnt ozone and blood, a stark contrast to the elegance that had once defined it. 

The destruction was extensive, a testament to the ferocity of the fight that had just transpired.

Lucifer, battered but unyielding, stood over Ace, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. His gaze was fierce, a mixture of triumph and concern. 

The fight was over, but the toll it had taken was evident, both on the battlefield and on the combatants themselves.

Lucifer slowly approached me, turning back to his human-demon form. 

He picked me up in his arms in a bridal style. I couldn't say anything as I was on the verge of dying, having lost so much blood.

As we finally walked out of the mansion and opened the door, there was a click that made us both freeze. Lucifer slowly realized what it was.

A bomb..

. . . 

BOOM!

There was a deafening sound as everything exploded into pieces. 

Lucifer managed to jump, using his injured body as a shield to protect me, and we both fell to the ground.

The last thing I heard was the sound of fire and Lucifer's voice calling out my name. 

Everything turned blurry, and then black, as I eventually closed my eyes…passing out 

. . .