I had no idea how much time had passed since I came out of that state.
All I could hear was the metallic sound with every step I took.
Iara was still ahead of me.
I wasn't going to let her escape.
I had come too far.
But part of my mind was still in that chamber.
Eleonor.
The image of her body trapped by that serpent kept appearing in my mind.
For a moment, I clenched my teeth.
I had almost lost her.
Again.
I didn't want to think about what would have happened if I hadn't arrived in time.
Suddenly, a loud crash shook the cavern.
The sound traveled through the entire corridor.
Iara sped up and shouted at me:
—Get ready. I can use my magic again.
I didn't answer. I just kept running after her.
Suddenly, a roar echoed throughout the place.
I recognized the sound.
One of my guardian beasts.
That meant the girls were still protected.
At least for now.
I kept moving forward.
The fight had taken us farther and farther away from the chamber.
The air was beginning to change.
I could see the light of the exit getting closer.
The exit was near.
Iara leaped up to the edge of the cavern.
I followed immediately. My body wasn't the same anymore.
I also jumped and reached the surface.
A battle was taking place outside. The rest of our team was fighting against agents who clearly belonged to the Eagle Division, judging by the emblems on their uniforms.
Suddenly, I felt a massive fluctuation of energy coming from beneath my feet. Without thinking, I jumped to the side, and a huge mound of earth formed where I had been standing just seconds earlier.
Before I had time to react, a massive stone spear fell from the sky toward me. But without even realizing it, a barrier of energy was covering me. It was so strange that even I was surprised. It was as if all the abilities that characterized the members of my family had been installed within me and activated whenever something attacked me.
One of Iara's men tried to shoot me, but I stopped him by striking him with an ice spear. It pierced his shoulder. I did it without thinking; I saw him and simply threw it.
I quickly looked in every direction and spotted Iara. I ran toward her, materialized a sword again, and lunged at her without giving her time to use her magic again. She covered herself with a stone wall that she formed with her magic, but with a single strike, I cut through it as if it were butter.
I felt my stomach tighten. I had more power, yes, but my body wasn't fully adapting to it.
A group of about ten men surrounded me, but I eliminated them with a barrage of ice spikes. They all died instantly.
I could feel a thirst for revenge inside me.
I remembered Eleonor, and all I wanted was to kill every one of those men.
I was losing consciousness, as if something were taking control of my body.
Iara's jaguar suddenly leaped out of nowhere. Her serpent attacked me from the opposite side. I threw my sword, and it struck the jaguar in the head. The impact forced it back, and it disappeared. Using my left hand, I fired the same type of ray I had used to destroy the serpent in the chamber when it had Eleonor trapped. A cloud of gray smoke was all that could be seen after it was hit.
Iara couldn't hide the disbelief on her face.
—Who the hell are you? —she shouted at me. —You're not Noah. That power can't belong to him.
Without answering her, I jumped toward her, materialized the sword, and drove it through her abdomen.
I felt my sword cut through her stomach. A dry sound was the only thing I heard. I looked directly into her eyes and asked:
—What does it feel like? Tell me, what does it feel like to feel your life fading away? It's the same thing Eleonor felt when your damn serpent was crushing her body.
I pulled my sword out, and Iara's legs gave out.
She fell to her knees, holding her wound with both hands while spitting blood.
—Don't worry. I'm not going to let you die. I just wanted you to experience firsthand the same desperation Eleonor felt. You have to tell us everything you know, and why you joined the Eagle Division, and why you support the Kartnod.
But something changed in the atmosphere. A massive surge of energy was suddenly felt.
A huge beam of energy fell from the sky, directly where I was standing.
My barrier activated, but it couldn't prevent the impact. The force of the attack was so powerful that I lost my vision and my breath.
It was only for a few seconds, but when I recovered, Iara was already gone. Then I heard a voice:
—I can't let you keep her.
I raised my head and saw him.
A completely dark figure of a man, the same one who had attacked us at the Orleans mansion.
He was holding Iara in his arms. He seemed to be looking at me. Then he said:
—I can't play with you right now. I have to leave so she doesn't die. We'll meet again.
A portal opened behind them. He and the other agents crossed through it. I tried to stop them, but suddenly my body became paralyzed, and an enormous pain spread throughout my entire body. I lost consciousness.
—Noah... Noah, can you hear me?
It was Eleonor's voice.
I blinked several times. My vision slowly came into focus. Eleonor was kneeling beside me, with her hands on her chest. Sophie, Kenji, Elena, and Irina surrounded us, their faces filled with concern.
—What happened? —Sophie asked, looking at all the bodies lying dead around us.
I tried to sit up. Eleonor helped me.
I felt like my head was spinning.
I looked at the bracelet on my left hand. The six family emblems were glowing.
—Where is Iara? —Eleonor asked.
—She escaped. I hope you don't get angry, but I inflicted a serious wound on her abdomen. If she survives, she'll remember it forever.
Eleonor hugged me. I don't remember her ever hugging me that tightly before.
—I'm glad you're okay —she whispered in my ear.
At that exact moment, Irina spoke:
—We need to move. I'll check if there are still any enemies in the area.
We headed toward where our vehicles were. Two of them were completely destroyed, but luckily, the one carrying all the communications equipment and the one carrying the supplies were undamaged.
—I'm going to try to contact the Atlaz base in Japan. It's the closest one, and I'll ask them to send us reinforcements.
Five of our agents had lost their lives, and two were injured, though not seriously. After Irina confirmed that there were no enemies nearby, we were able to relax a little.
—I already contacted the base in Japan. Headquarters will coordinate with the Chinese government to obtain permission. As soon as everything is ready, they will send security and recovery teams for everything in the laboratory, and they have also sent a team to pick us up. They'll be here in approximately forty minutes.
So, while we waited for the reinforcements to arrive, I told them everything that had happened: the fight against Iara, the increase in my powers, how the figure took away everyone from the group that attacked us, and... what I saw while I was in that space inside the relic chamber.