Vadim PoV
Her peach-colored hair hung loosely over her slumped shoulders, framing a face completely drained of color. Below her chin, right through the center of her chest, was a jagged, scorched hole that tore straight through her armor and white tunic. Dark smoke drifted from the charred edges of the wound.
Her broadsword was nowhere to be seen. In its place, the small pendant of her necklace lay flat against her collarbone, its metal dull and cold, emptied of Amelia's mana.
"You're late, boy," Bulgae chuckled.
He casually flicked dark red blood from his claws onto the marble floor. His fluffy black tail swished behind him, licking the floor with embers as he took a slow step down from the dais.
"The Queen put up a decent scrap, but an empty vessel can't stop a tide," the Pillar sneered, his sharp fangs glistening in the dim light of his aura. "Don't look so miserable, hero. You'll be joining your monarch soon enough."
The air left my lungs.
