CHAPTER 357: 357-I FOUND THE RINGLEADERS THEATER

Clementine:

She was moving her arms in panic, trying to reach the surface, but the scale remained stuck in her thigh.

The moment she saw me, a small flash of hope appeared in her eyes. I reached her and pressed my sword against the scale, trying to cut it free.

But the force of the water pushed against me without stopping.

Mira’s breathing started to weaken. Panic grew inside me because she did not seem to have much time left.

Then I heard another splash in the water. I turned quickly and saw Ian swimming toward us.

He grabbed my arm first and pushed me upward, pointing toward the surface to show that I needed air.

In his other hand he held a dagger. The blade shone clearly in the water.

It was a golden dagger with a silver carving on it.

I swam up to breathe and filled my lungs before diving back down.

When I reached them again, I saw Ian cutting the scale as fast as he could.

Even though I had stopped myself from questioning him about his wolf, I could not ignore how powerful he looked while cutting through the scale.

The monster began to shake hard. It threw another burst of water upward, but I stayed under this time and held my place.

Ian sliced the scale free, but it started to grow back immediately. At least Mira was free now.

She cried out in pain. Ian pulled her upward, trying to get her to the surface.

I swam close behind him. Once we were a little farther from the monster, I saw it dive down and swing its tail again outside the water.

This time it did not hit anyone, but Mira was still trapped in the water with us.

"Take her there," I urged him, pointing toward a far and safer area.

I knew the monster would rise again and start thrashing the water.

"What about you?" Ian asked.

His voice held tension that made the moment even harder. We were still surrounded by the monster’s movements.

"She is dying. Save her first. I will be fine," I replied, trying to reassure him.

He nodded and wrapped an arm around Mira.

Her head rested weakly on his shoulder. Her skin had turned pale. The scale had poisoned her.

As Ian began to swim away with her, I turned back toward the monster once again.

I watched Ian reach the safer place with Mira’s head resting on his shoulder.

As soon as he stepped out of the water, the black squad and the rest of the red squad rushed toward him.

Once I noticed that they had lifted her and started to run off to take a brief break before returning, I turned my attention to the monster and lifted my sword again.

The crusaders probably expected me to join them, but I could not waste more time.

My arms felt heavy, yet I forced myself to swim forward.

Before I reached the middle of the river, the monster dove down again.

The water around me shook. A strong burst came from underneath, followed by another splash that struck my body.

The force pushed me back without warning. I tried to swim against it, but the pressure grew stronger with each second.

The current carried me far from the main bank, and I could not control my direction anymore.

At that point, I let the water move me, but I knew I needed to take hold of something.

The river dragged me toward a rocky side area I had never explored.

We had never been to this pack, so it was clear that we were fighting without any sense of direction or safe places.

The sound of the waterfall grew louder as the water pushed me closer to it.

I did not have time to think. My body moved wherever the current threw me.

I had to grab anything I could.

I reached out and caught a large rock near the edge to stop myself.

The water hit my back repeatedly, but I held on tightly and took deep breaths whenever the water allowed it.

When I lifted my head, I saw the waterfall only a few feet away.

The water poured down in a heavy stream, covering the rocks under it.

I pulled myself up slowly, trying to catch my breath. I needed a short moment to think and come up with a plan.

I also needed everyone to stop standing around the monster like fools and treat it seriously.

When I stepped closer to the waterfall, I noticed something unusual behind it.

There was an empty space hidden behind the falling water.

At first I thought it was only a shadow, but when I moved nearer, I realized it was the entrance to a cave.

No one would have ever found this place unless the river pushed them here.

It was completely hidden behind the waterfall, almost sealed by the heavy stream.

I stepped inside carefully, still breathing hard from the swim.

I needed to hide there for a few seconds because the monster seemed to be picking up on anyone moving in the water.

It would start searching for its next target.

The moment I entered, the air changed. It was colder and much quieter.

I placed my hands against my ears, trying to push out the extra water.

Then I looked around the cave and froze when I saw lanterns placed neatly against the wall.

My entire posture shifted. The step I had planned to take stopped.

This was not an empty cave. It looked like a place used by someone, someone specific.

"Maybe we should explore," my wolf whispered, and I swallowed hard. A small road stretched deeper inside.

I moved forward with silent steps. When I reached the next open space, the sight in front of me hit harder than anything the monster had done with its water.

I stood at the entrance of the big hall and stared at the luxurious interior in front of me.

The tunnel from the cave had led into a large, fancy room with big screens and many comfortable chairs arranged across the floor.

The sight made me freeze for a moment.

The worst part was the picture frames. They were huge, almost the size of doors, hanging on the wide walls of the gigantic hall.

The entire interior was covered in black tiles, and several orange lights were turned on above the frames.

The rest of the lights were switched off, leaving only the orange ones glowing.

Each frame held a picture of a crusader who had died.

The lights above those frames were off, and a large red cross mark covered the pictures.

Only the frames of the crusaders who were still alive had lights shining on them.

It was clear that this was the place where they had been watching us.

But it did not look like a room for CCTV footage. It looked like an entertainment center.