Page 154 of The Last Guardian

Long black hair draped over its ivory-white face, with long, pointed ears protruding from its head and thin lips forming an evil grin with sharp teeth, like knives. And the eyes… They weren’t eyes; they were dark holes, filled with void—complete blackness, two on its cheeks and two on its forehead, watching my every move.

The first instinct that kicked in was to scream and run away.

The creature raised itself onto the boat, and I startled backward.

No, no, you need to act, I urged myself.

Trying my best not to let panic control me, I grabbed an arrow as quickly as possible, drew, and aimed at the monster still on the railing.

The arrow whistled as it flew through the air, striking the creature in the middle of its forehead. It fell limp, and its lifeless body slid overboard.

There was no scream from it—only the sound of the sea claiming the creature, splashing in the depths of the water, the waves eating it.

Everything went still.

I spun around and faced the deck, but…

Aboard the ship, the monsters climbed the railings, their heads spitting like wild animals, and jumped, attacking soldiers, hissing and howling in unison.

There were so many, it was hard to see the crew—screams of soldiers rang in echoes in my ears, with the slashing noise of swords and whistling arrows, stopping some of the hideous monsters from coming aboard.

My eyes locked on a familiar figure in dark clothes, moving as if a storm was lashing out from the depths of the Hells, each step, each turn unhurried and yet too swift to follow with my eyes.

The black blade inside his palm—so heavy that I wondered how he could hold it with one hand—flashed once, twice, then ignited with black flames as it finally met the monster’s flesh.

Two others attacked from the other side, and Zaidkiel pivoted in a fluid, almost lazy motion, his long sword skewering and eviscerating them in a single sweep.

The dark flames ate the monsters from the inside, burning them to ash and embers as they exploded into millions of pieces.

“Zaid, behind you!” someone yelled, fear and fury, the voice blending with the pouring rain and the cries.

One monster jumped from the sail onto Zaid, skittering with its claws out, its horrible mouth ready to pierce Zaid’s flesh. My heart lurched in my chest, but Zaid twisted his body in a swift movement, lunged his dark sword in the monster’s mouth, and ripped its head open.

Black blood splashed on the floor as the limp body of the monster clung to the sword. Zaidkiel moved his sword on the railing, sweeping the blade with the wood. The monster’s body slid on the blade before meeting the depths of the sea.

I moved, pressing behind a mast, when a flash caught my eye—a figure weaving through the darkness, along the railing. A blade gleaming white instead of black.

Nefeli flicked her sword to the side, white flames blazing as she thrust it into a monster’s guts.

No. Not flames—white shadows.

The moment the shadows met the creature, they erased it completely.

A gust of air collided with the ship, darting my attention elsewhere. It swung so violently that a part of the monsters was wiped out from the boat, but it didn’t knock me off my feet; instead, I could only sense its presence and observe its effects.

Arthur jumped from one of the decks to the main, his sword in hand, as the wind lashed at every monster. It came from him, with such control that it never touched any soldiers. The creatures were the only ones who were forced over the edge, falling into the depths with a shrill scream that echoed in my head.

A heavy silence fell.

For an instant, only the sound of the waves splashing on the hull filled the air.

Until…

A more intense growl echoed, louder than before. The ground shuddered once more, and the creatures rose again in a wave.

This time, I acted.

With my bow, I fired arrow after arrow, doing my best to fire as many as possible, sending them into the sea.