----
“We swing across," David said, leading the way.
Before anyone could blink, David grabbed the rope, swung
across in a perfect arc, andnded on the other side with
ease.
One by one, the bodyguards followed, swinging across the
pit like a well-oiled machine.
It took them less than five minutes to cross, while Danielle
had spent hours thinking of a way to get past it.
David’s unease grew with each passing second.
Back on the other side, the fight between Danielle and the
mask-wearers raged on. She had been hit several times,
but her focus never wavered.
The Darling family, hiding in the shadows, watched in
agony, unable to help.
Then, a glimmer of hope: Danielle’s eyes lit up as she
pulled out a few silver needles and drove them into the
head of one of the mask-wearers. The weak spot!
----
Just as she was celebrating her sess, another mask-
wearer appeared behind her, silently preparing to strike.
His fist came crashing down toward her back.
Xavier, who had been watching Danielle’s every move, saw
the threat and rushed forward without hesitation.
"Danielle, look out!" he shouted.
In an instant, Xavier was in front of Danielle, taking the full
force of the blow to his chest. The sound of cracking bone
echoed in the air.
Danielle turned in shock, seeing Xavier copse. Blood
spilled from his mouth, his body trembling.
"Xavier!" she screamed, her heart tearing in two.
Xavier coughed up blood in torrents, his body shaking
violently with the pain, unable to utter a single word as
blood kept pouring from his mouth.
----
Danielle’s eyes were filled with tears, but she dared not let
her guard down. Around her, a dozen or more faceless
figures stood, their eyes glowing crimson, staring at these
unnatural, monstrous beings.
----
She moved with brutal speed and precision. One of the
faceless figures swiped at her, its iron-like ws raking
down her back, leaving five bloody gashes.
"Danielle!" Howard, cradling Xavier in his arms, turned just
in time to see his daughter hurt.
Danielle seemed almost numb, her rage overpowering the
pain. These wretched things had harmed Xavier—she
would obliterate them with her own hands.
With a swift spin, she delivered a spinning kick to a
faceless figure behind her, throwing a silver needle that
pinned it in ce.
----
One by one, silver needles struck the
heads of tity faceless figures,
immobilizing them. Danielle had ~~
intende study them in ab, but
now, Xavier’s wounds stilldfesh,
she felt there was no way to. g€ase
hisSuffering until they wergall dead.
----
Her hand gripped a dagger, its edge sharp enough to slice
through steel. Her eyes glinted with bloodlust—weren’t
these things invulnerable? Fine. She’d carve them apart
with her de.
Danielle yankéd off the mask of one
faceless fi and struck, her
dagger cutting into its face again ￠~
and agaih Blood poured from itsS
wound) but she didn’t stop. She
swuny the de and cleavediits
in two.
----
She shed open the arteries of each one, letting them
bleed out. No faceless figure was spared.
Soon, the ground was soaked with blood, and the air was
thick with its scent. The dead bodies of the faceless figures
lay sprawled in every direction—heads split open, blood
completely drained.
Howard and Vivian watched Danielle
in stunned silence, unsure of what to
say. epee deeply concerned >
that shed ight rpse into a fiLoF
poisomminduced madness. Caréfully,
Howard asked, "Danielle... areyou
okay?"
----
Danielle stared at the carnage on the floor, her eyes
flickering between red and ck, as though an internal
battle raged between a little devil and a little angel.
She was fighting desperately to suppress the searing pain
inside her.
Vivian called her name several times, but Danielle didn’t
respond. Both parents knew something was wrong—
Danielle had been triggered again.
No one dared approach her. They tried calling her softly,
“Danielle, it’s Mom... Xavier’s still vomiting blood. Can you
come and see him?"
The pain in Danielle’s head felt as if it was tearing her
apart, the only way to ease the agony was through
bloodshed.