Silence hung over the palace gate, but it wasn’t a reassuring silence, it was a heavy silence that preceded a new storm.
The bodies of the guards were scattered on the ground, and blood mixed with the stones that had cracked from the intensity of the battle, while the smell of iron and blood filled the air.
The tongues of flame danced above the torches fixed on the walls, and their light reflected off Adrian’s blood-stained sword, and off the body of the beast that stood once more as if nothing had happened.
A cold breeze blew through the gate, stirring Adrian’s cloak and his red hair, while his eyes remained fixed on his opponent without leaving him for a moment.
The beast extended its left hand, violently tore out the claw embedded in its shoulder, then threw it aside.
At the same moment, the wound began healing quickly, while its right arm began returning to its natural shape, until it became a hand with four fingers ending in long sharp claws.
It raised its arm before it, pretending it was preparing to attack.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed, and he immediately raised his sword ready to block the strike.
But what happened in the next moment was the last thing he expected.
The beast suddenly turned, and shot off at its utmost speed moving away from the battlefield, exploiting its tremendous speed in an attempt to flee.
Adrian’s eyes widened in shock, but he quickly furrowed his brows and screamed with anger:
“You flee after tearing through innocent lives, beast?!”
He gripped his sword with all his strength, then hurled it toward the beast.
“You will never escape from me!”
The sword shot forward like lightning, splitting the air with startling speed, then its path curved at the last moment heading directly toward the beast’s foot.
The blade pierced its leg with force, and embedded itself in the ground, pinning its foot in place.
The beast let out a sharp scream, and its body suddenly stopped after losing its ability to continue fleeing.
Adrian lunged at his utmost speed toward the beast, determined to end the fight before it could regain its ability to move.
But the beast didn’t wait, bringing its claws down on its injured leg and cutting it off in one strike below the knee, then grabbing the severed leg with Adrian’s sword still embedded in it, turning its body before hurling it with all its strength out of the gate.
The sword vanished with it into the darkness, and no weapon remained in Adrian’s hand.
Adrian paused for a moment, his eyes darting quickly around the battlefield searching for any sword or spear he could use, but the ground held nothing but bodies, blood, and scattered stones.
“Damn it…”
Its severed leg began regenerating quickly until it regained its full shape, but the regeneration didn’t stop there, as its back shook violently, and two additional arms emerged from it, each ending in a long claw resembling a blade, until it stood before Adrian with four lethal arms.
Adrian retreated slowly, his gaze never leaving the beast’s body that had grown more dangerous.
“Does your regeneration have no limits at all?”
While he was retreating, he spotted a sword embedded in the ground near the body of one of the guards, so he turned and lunged toward it without hesitation, but the beast gave him no chance.
In a single moment it closed the distance between them, raising its four arms preparing to deliver a fatal blow exploiting the fact that its opponent had become unarmed.
To that creature, Adrian was the greatest threat it had faced since its appearance, and so it did not intend to give him another chance.
As for Adrian…
He stood in his place calmly, without moving a single step.
Meanwhile, a group of guards was rushing through the palace corridors toward the gate to provide support, while one of them stayed behind calmly preparing his armor and helmet, as if he didn’t feel the urgency that had struck everyone else.
One of the guards looked at him with astonishment, then shouted with agitation
“Come on, hurry!
What are you waiting for?
Everyone’s gone ahead of us to support the prince, and you’re still preparing yourself!”
The guard stopped fastening his helmet, then turned to him calmly and said
“And why should I hurry?
The fight has already been decided.”
The other guard furrowed his brows, and stared at him in disbelief.
“The fight’s been decided?
What are you talking about?
The whole palace is on alert, there’s a beast killing guards at the gate, and you’re saying the fight is over?”
The guard finished putting on his helmet, then turned to him with calm features showing no anxiety at all.
He lifted part of his military uniform, revealing a large scar extending across his stomach.
“A few years ago…
I suffered this serious wound, in an incident similar to what’s happening today inside the palace.” Find the original chapter at g.com.
He lowered his clothing again, then looked directly at his colleague.
“But Prince Adrian…
wasn’t even scratched, even though he was younger than me, and even though he was in greater danger than I was.”
Silence fell between them for a moment, before the other guard asked with astonishment
“And how did that happen?”
The guard smiled a calm smile, then said as he fixed his axe on his shoulder:
“It’s the art of the Governor of Speed.
Every knight who masters this art becomes fast to the point that hitting him becomes nearly impossible.
Some people even exaggerate and say its users see the future.”
He laughed lightly, then continued
“But the truth is they don’t see the future.
Rather, the speed of their reactions and analysis reaches a level that makes them act before their opponent even realizes what happened.”
He began walking through the corridor, then turned to the new guard and said with confidence
“Believe me…
no matter how fast Prince Adrian’s opponent is, he will always be faster.”
He raised his axe onto his shoulder, and a smile full of pride formed on his face.
“Come on…
so you can see with your own eyes the talent of that great knight.”
A loud laugh escaped him, while he continued walking toward the gate with steady steps.
As for the other guard, he only looked at him in silence.
He respected his colleague’s experience and his great confidence in the prince, but he couldn’t shake off a strange feeling that kept haunting him.