CHAPTER 97: UNFORESEEN ENEMY

Shaan immediately raised both of his hands when the other guard found him. Damn it. His plan to escape from this place had failed, and now he had to come up with another way to get out of this situation.

"W-wait, wait, this is a misunderstanding," Shaan said as he stepped toward the guard, trying to make his words sound convincing. "I’m not who you think I am. I’m not some intru—"

"Intruder, shut up!" the guard snapped, pointing the tip of his spear straight at Shaan and glaring at him with piercing eyes. "I’ll end you if you move again."

Shaan quickly swallowed his saliva. "A-alright." The guard slowly

The guard slowly approached him, keeping the spear pointed at Shaan to make sure he didn’t try to run. He reached into one of his pockets, pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and locked them tightly around Shaan’s wrists so he couldn’t move his hands at all.

"Come with me. I’ll take you to the commander downstairs," the guard said, pulling Shaan away from the door.

"Hey, believe me. I’m not an intruder," Shaan insisted. "I was trapped in a room filled with crystals and—"

"Shut up and say all that when you meet the commander."

They descended the stairs one step at a time until they saw the figure of the leader’s guard leaning against the stair railing, his back turned to them. The guard who had captured Shaan quickly stepped forward and tapped the officer’s shoulder, assuming he was just taking a rest.

"Sir, I’ve found..."

The two of them fell silent instantly when they saw that the leader of the guard was already dead. Red blood-colored fluid continuously flowed out from the deep gashes carved into his body, and a large hole had formed on his chest, undoubtedly causing his death. Not only that, the Homoncrys crystal belonging to the leader of the guard was shattered into pieces and scattered beside his body.

"Wh-what ’s happening?" The guard’s face tensed for a moment. "’W-what kind of creature killed the leader?"

"Oh God, this...this must be Doppleshade’s doing. B-but how can this be?" Shaan panicked. "Now, please listen to me. We must escape from here before that creature appears and kills us all."

"Doppleshade?" the guard laughed mockingly. "Don’t try to fool me. I’m not that easily convinced by your nonsense. Doppleshade couldn’t possibly get into this place."

"Believe me, this is all Doppleshade’s doing, and I’m not lying at all. That creature has mutated, and its power is far stronger than you think."

"Liar! I won’t believe a word you—"

All of a sudden, Doppleshade appeared from behind the guard and brutally attacked him. The guard tried to fend off all of Doppleshade’s attacks until he accidentally dropped Shaan’s handcuff key.

"There it is. That’s the handcuff key. I just have to grab it before the guard realizes it’s gone.’

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shaan slowly approached the handcuff key, which was not far from his position. He quickly grabbed it while he had the chance and ran as far away from the area as he could.

"Now, I have to unlock these handcuffs while I have the chance."

Breathlessly, Shaan tried to take the key in his hand. He tried to unlock the handcuffs, but it wasn’t as easy as he had imagined. "Argh, come on, just a little more... just a little more," he said, trying to insert the key correctly. "I’m sure I’ll—"

Suddenly, a violent tremor shook Shaan’s surroundings, causing him to lose his balance. He reflexively grabbed the stair railing, but the cuff key in his hand slipped from his grasp and tumbled down the stairs.

"Argh, damn it! Damn it!" Shaan grumbled in frustration. "If this is the case, I’ll have to try to destroy these handcuffs."

Shaan clenched his fists and put all his strength into breaking the lock. But nothing happened. The cuffs remained completely intact. He even tried channeling his mana to shatter the restraints, but something blocked the flow. He felt his mana stall inside him, and he couldn’t use his power.

"This is bad. Now I have to use my dual short swords to break these damn handcuffs."

He picked up his pace, running faster and faster, until he finally spotted his dual short swords lying on the ground, exactly where he had left them. Good. At least his weapons hadn’t moved. Now, he needed to grab both blades and smash the cuffs apart.

However, when Shaan was about to run to grab his weapon, Doppleshade quickly chased after Shaan and instantly launched an attack toward him. Shaan, who incidentally saw this, directly blocked Doppleshade’s sudden attack using both of his hands.

"Kr-Chank!"

Doppleshade’s slash successfully destroyed the handcuffs on Shaan’s hands, allowing his hands to move freely now. However, at the same time, Doppleshade’s attack also managed to injure Shaan’s arm.

"Argh, damn it!" Shaan took his dual short swords and launched a counterattack toward Doppleshade. " Take this!"

[Activating remaining Aspira Ignis power: 26 percent]

Using all his strength, he continued to launch counterattacks at the doppleshade without pause, but the creature easily dodged all of Shaan’s attacks.

"Argh, damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Shaan kept swinging his attacks at the doppleshade. "Why... why can’t my attacks hit it?"

’I must increase my speed. I must be able to-’

However, before Shaan could execute his plan, the Doppleshade launched its attack first. It struck him so hard that his body struggled to move. "Ugh, damn it." Shaan wiped the blood flowing from his mouth. "I...I must get up."

He tried with all his might to stand up and fight back. However, the more he tried to move his body, the more painful the impact felt, making it completely impossible for him to stand.

’No, I have to hold on. I must get up!’

However, when Shaan tried to fight through the pain, Doppleshade, disguised as a guard, grabbed his neck and started choking him. He tried to break free, but he couldn’t.

"Ro-Robin Hood, help me..."

As time passed, Shaan’s chest felt increasingly suffocated as Doppleshade’s grip tightened. His entire body grew weak, causing him to drop both of his dual short swords.

"Khh... hhhk—glrk!"

’S-someone, help... me...’

Just then, an arrow suddenly pierced Doppleshade’s hand, and a loud explosion followed. The explosion instantly destroyed Doppleshade’s hand, and Shaan finally broke free from the creature’s grip. "Ro-Robin Hood?" Shaan said in a hoarse voice.

[Luckily, I’m not too late.]