Chapter 3
Meanwhile, at the foot of Dragonspire Peak.
A group of heavily armed men slipped through the shadows, quietly closing in on the mountain's base.
"What the hell happened? How did the barrier just disappear? Emily and her crew are all down the mountain, and Lucas is missing!" Olivia Sterling's brows knitted together in worry.
"If the monsters had taken over Dragonspire Peak, there's no way Emily and the others could've made it out alive. But if it wasn't the monsters, then how did the barrier just vanish?" Ethan Voss's face was a storm of emotions.
"Enough guessing. Let's head to Firmament Abbey!" Olivia gave a quick hand signal.
Her squad snapped into combat mode, creeping silently toward the summit.
The path was clear. No signs of a fight, no trace of monsters, nothing at all.
"This is getting weirder by the second. There's not a single sign of a fight here, so how did the barrier suddenly vanish?" Ethan scanned the area warily. "With monsters running wild out there, how could Emily and the others even dare to come down."
"Split into teams of three. Sweep the area. Find Lucas!" Olivia ordered.
Olivia felt her anxiety intensify. Everything was so off, so unnaturally wrong, it made her skin crawl.
The three teams quickly spread out. Olivia tightened her grip on her weapon, inching her way toward the main hall of Firmament Abbey.
The moment Olivia stepped inside, her pupils shrank to pinpoints.
"A coffin?!" Olivia gasped.
Right in the center of the main hall sat a jet-black coffin, sealed shut with coffin nails.
"Olivia, don't get any closer! That coffin's sealed with coffin nails. Don't touch it!" Ethan warned.
Ethan darted in front of her, his expression tense as he tried to stop her.
Olivia acted like she hadn't heard him at all, her eyes locked onto the coffin.
She slowly crouched down, and the instant her fingers touched the coffin lid, something inside the coffin suddenly twitched.
It felt as if some ancient presence was finally awakening from a long, deep slumber.
Then, a voice rasped out from within the coffin, so hoarse it was barely more than a whisper, yet the moment Olivia heard it, her eyes welled up with tears.
"Ten years of planning, and I reached the day I could merge with the Dragonheart Power and take down an emperor-tier monster! But at the very last moment, as dawn was about to break, they chose to betray me!" Lucas rasped from inside the coffin.
"Dragonheart Power?" Olivia echoed.
Olivia's eyes lit up, and she said eagerly, "Lucas, let's get you out of that coffin first!"
"Don't break the coffin yet. Carry it to the back of the mountain. I can absorb the Dragonheart Power from inside," Lucas said, his eyes blazing with fury from within the coffin. "Sarah betrayed me. The monsters will be here soon."
"Sarah betrayed you? You treated her like your own sister for ten years. Why would she do something like this?" Olivia exclaimed in disbelief, her eyes widening in shock.
"That damn bitch!" Ethan cursed, his voice full of rage.
"People are unpredictable. Luckily, ten years ago I kept you all hidden in the shadows. Sarah never knew you existed, or we'd have fallen right into her trap this time," Lucas said.
Lucas's eyes burned with chilling killing intent as he said coldly, "I have no idea what Sarah wants from the monsters, but it can't be anything good. Turning her back on humanity and teaming up with monsters, I'm going to end her myself!"
"Sarah betrayed you, but Emily is your girlfriend, and Mark is your brother. Why would they turn against you too?" Olivia asked, her brows furrowed in confusion.
Olivia felt lost, her mind swirling with questions she couldn't answer.
"Emily fell for Sarah's lies and now believes I killed her brother, she sees me as her mortal enemy. As for Mark, Sarah probably bought him off, and he's after Emily, drawn in by her beauty," Lucas said calmly.
"James's death had nothing to do with you. Why didn't you ever tell Emily the truth?" Olivia asked, her voice full of confusion.
"She'd never believe me, and I promised James I wouldn't tell her," Lucas sighed, pushing down his feelings. "The monsters could show up any minute. Let's get the coffin to the back of the mountain first."
"Ethan, get everyone together!" Olivia called out urgently.
*****
At the back of the mountain, the coffin was set down.
In that instant, all the soul-locking nails embedded in the coffin began to tremble at once, sending out a deep, ominous hum.
Olivia pressed her hand against the edge of the coffin lid and whispered, "Lucas, what's our next move?"
"Watch them fall into despair.
"Wait for them to kneel before me." Lucas replied, his tone icy.
"Got it, Lucas." Olivia nodded.
"Keep an eye on Emily and the others, but don't bother trying to save them. They made their choice, if the monsters take them out, that's just what they deserve," Lucas said, his voice icy.
"And honestly, if they don't die, my resolve won't settle. I'll be restless, can't even get any sleep in this coffin." Lucas added.
"I'll get someone on it right away," Olivia said, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
After ten years of tangling with monsters, Olivia knew all too well, having a bleeding heart in the apocalypse was just begging for disaster.
*****
Meanwhile, Emily and her group of over five hundred had been trekking on foot all day.
Everyone was parched and worn out, flopping to the ground without any strength left.
"Emily, we've been walking all day and there's not a soul, not even a car in sight. Seriously, what's up with this?" someone asked, sounding totally confused.
"This is way too weird. We're totally stranded out here. If a monster pops up, we're screwed." another person said, anxiety creeping into their voice.
"How did Sarah even know the monsters were gone? Where did she even get that info? And since we left Dragonspire Peak, she's just vanished!" someone else muttered, suspicion heavy in their tone.
People started murmuring, their eyes full of doubt and unease, all turning to Emily for answers.
"Uh..." Emily hesitated, her brow furrowing as she struggled to find an answer.
Emily's brow furrowed as she faced the crowd's questions, completely at a loss for how to respond. Emily felt the pressure mounting, her mind blank with confusion.
Just then.
"Guys, look! Why's the sky going dark all of a sudden?!" someone yelled, panic rising in their voice.
"This... this is just like ten years ago, when the monsters first appeared! The monsters aren't gone, they're back!" another person cried out, terror in their voice.