Vesemir guided Elin toward the center of the chamber, one hand steady at her shoulder, the other already drawing his silver sword with a slow motion. The blade caught the torchlight as it came free.
"Stay with me," he said to her, "No matter what you see, no matter what you hear, do not listen to the voices in your head."
She barely seemed to understand, her breathing uneven, her gaze drifting across the walls as if something just beyond sight kept grabbing her attention.
Behind them, the Count waited at the threshold.
Vesemir didn't look back as he spoke.
"You need to be strong now," he said. "The torches aren't just for light. With her here… it'll draw the Hym out. Enrage it."
Sebastian stepped forward, drawing his own silver sword in a smooth, the blade slid free without a sound, his grip settling into it as naturally as breathing.
"We're in its den," he added, his tone calm. "If it tries to flee, it won't get far, this place binds it."
Vesemir gave a short nod, then glanced toward the Count.
"Best you step outside the chamber," he said. "Watch from a distance if you must, but stay clear, the Hym will not harm Elin but it can harm you."
The Count hesitated for only a second before nodding stiffly.
"…Very well."
He stepped back, retreating into the cellar beyond, though he did not go far. He stopped where he could still see, his hands gripping the edge of the stone as though it were the only thing keeping him upright.
Then, the torches flickered, the temperature in the chamber dropped, the warmth of the flames turning thin and strained. Shadows stretched unnaturally along the walls, twisting, bending…
Until one of them peeled away, it did not emerge so much as separate from the stone. The Hym formed slowly, it was a towering silhouette, its body wrong in ways the eye struggled to follow, limbs too long, edges shifting, a void where a face should be, it was pitch black. and then it screamed.
The sound wasn't just heard. It pressed into the skull, into the bones, dragging something primal along with it.
Sebastian didn't flinch. "There it is, I'll take care of it Vesemir." he said quietly.
He lifted his blade, then the Hym attacked, the first strike came fast, too fast for anything so large. The Hym's arm lashed out, claws tearing through the space where Sebastian had stood a moment before.
He was already gone, a step to the side, a pivot, his sword flashed in a clean arc, silver biting into the creature's body. The blade passed through with resistance like cutting through dense smoke, but the reaction was immediate.
The Hym recoiled, its shape distorting violently as if the strike had wounded it.
It retaliated instantly, claws tore through the air again, faster this time, more erratic. The strikes came in one after another, each one meant to shred Seb.
Sebastian moved through them like water, he didn't retreat, a turn of the shoulder, a step that brought him just outside the arc of each blow. His eyes never left the creature, every move and every dodge was so precise, leave the Hym exposed for attacks.
Another strike, this one closer. Sebastian leaned back just enough for the claws to pass inches from his chest, then stepped in, his blade driving upward in a sharp diagonal cut.
The Hym shrieked again, behind him, Elin screamed.
She collapsed to her knees, clutching her head, her voice breaking as something invisible clawed at her mind.
"No... no, stop... please!"
Vesemir was already there, his hand rising, the sign forming with ease.
"Easy now," he murmured, while casting Axii. "Stay with me. Breathe."
The magic settled over her, calming her mind even for a little. Her body trembled, but the panic dulled, her breathing evening out just enough to keep her from slipping under.
But the Hym pressed harder, its form twisted again, lashing out with fury, as though feeding on her pain.
Sebastian stepped back just enough to reset his footing, then surged forward again.
His sword cut low this time, aiming through the creature's center, then reversed mid-motion into a second strike that carved across where its neck should have been.
The Hym staggered, its movements grew less precise and more desperate.
"It's weakening," Sebastian said calmly, even as he sidestepped another wild swipe from the Hym.
Vesemir spared him a glance, approval in his eyes.
"Good," he muttered.
Sebastian pressed the advantage.
He didn't rush or overcommit, each strike was carving the Hym down piece by piece. The creature lashed out again, but its reach faltered now, its form flickering under the assault.
Sebastian stepped inside its guard.
Too close for its claws to strike cleanly.
His blade drove forward in a thrust, then twisted, the silver biting deep into the unstable mass of shadow. The Hym convulsed, its scream warping into something broken, its shape unraveling at the edges.
From the cellar entrance, the Count stared in stunned silence.
What he had seen before, was a simple shadow on a wall, now that felt like nothing compared to this.
This was real.
And it was being cut down before his eyes, Sebastian pulled his blade free, stepping back as the Hym lashed out one last time, weaker now, slower.
His stance lowered slightly.
And the creature faltered but the Hym did not fall quietly.
It attacked again with a shriek that clawed at the stone itself. Its limbs stretched unnaturally, shadows hardening into something almost solid as it drove forward in a frenzy of slashes.
Sebastian met it head-on.
Silver rang against something that shouldn't have been able to resist it. for a moment, his blade caught one of the creature's strikes, silver grinding against warped shadow as he parried.
The impact shuddered through his arm.
Then he twisted, letting the force slide past him, turning defense into attack. His counter came immediately, a sharp cut across the Hym's midsection, followed by another aimed higher, forcing the creature back.
It didn't retreat far.
One of its claws tore forward faster than before, catching Sebastian across the torso, and passing straight through him.
Flame flickered where his body had been.
For an instant, his form blurred, his outline burning brighter, his body turning into flames. The Hym staggered, confused. Even the count who was watching was confused.
Behind them, Vesemir's eyes narrowed.
He saw it, how Seb let that happen, the strike of the Hym, and he didn't like that, but he said nothing.
Sebastian didn't even acknowledge that attack and stepped forward again as if nothing had happened, the Hym tried to pull back this time, its form distorting, stretching toward the shadows along the cavern walls, seeking escape, seeking to slip back into the dark.
It failed.
The torches burned too bright.
The place was sealed, and Sebastian smiled faintly, eyes locked onto it.
"Can't run, can you?" he said quietly. "This is your fucking lair after all."
The Hym recoiled, its shape flickering violently.
Sebastian didn't give it time to recover, his sword became a blur, swift, precise strikes carving through the creature again and again, each cut cleaner than the last, each movement building into the next without pause. The rhythm of it was relentless.
A step in, a cut across the torso, pivot, and the Hym lashed out wildly, but Sebastian slipped past it, his body turning just enough, just in time, his hand flashed forward.
Aard.
The force erupted from him in a violent pulse.
The Hym's form shattered backward, its shape tearing apart mid-air before slamming against the far wall, the impact distorting it further, weakening its already unstable presence.
Before it could reform, Sebastian was already there.
His blade ignited.
Flame wrapped around the silver, sharp and focused, blazing and the light flooded the cavern, pushing every shadow into retreat.
For a second the Hym stood fully revealed.
And then, Sebastian struck, a single, devastating arc.
The burning blade cut clean through where its neck, the cavern erupted in light.
The Hym simply… broke.
Its form unraveled into dark smoke, unraveling piece by piece until there was nothing left, no shadow, no presence.
Just silence remained and the torches steadied.
Sebastian lowered his blade.
Then, without ceremony, he sheathed it.
"It should be over now," he said.
Behind him, Elin collapsed.
Her body went limp as whatever had been clinging to her finally released its grip. Vesemir caught her before she could hit the ground, steadying her.
"…Yes," Vesemir said, his voice quieter now.
He adjusted his hold on her, checking her breathing.
"She'll live."
Sebastian exhaled slowly, the tension leaving his shoulders at last.
"Once she wakes up, she'll have to..."
"What happens next," Vesemir cut in, not unkindly, "is not our concern."
Sebastian paused.
Vesemir met his gaze.
"This is where you take your coin," he continued, "and walk away."
Sebastian looked at him, something behind his eyes that wanted to argue, to question..
But it faded and he looked away.
"…Right."
Footsteps approached, the Count stepped back into the chamber, his face pale, his eyes wide with something between disbelief and fragile hope. He looked from the empty space where the Hym had stood… to Sebastian… to Vesemir holding his wife.
He stopped a few steps away.
"…Please," he said, his voice barely holding together. "Tell me it's over."
Vesemir glanced at Sebastian briefly, then back to the Count.
"It's over," he said simply.
The words seemed to take a moment to reach him.
Then the Count's shoulders sagged, something inside him finally giving way.
His gaze fell to Elin, unconscious in Vesemir's arms.
He stepped closer, slowly, almost afraid to believe what he was seeing.
"…She's alive... right?" he whispered.
/-\
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