Chapter 125: A Syrenthis Demon Aiming For Therion Who Thinks Elyn Is Weak
Chapter 126: A Syrenthis Demon Aiming For Therion Who Thinks Elyn Is Weak
Elyn’s POV
The sound washed over the shop.
A deep, concussive boom that came from below the shop, from the ground itself, as if the earth had split open and decided it was done tolerating demons.
The floor trembled beneath my boots. For a second, everyone froze. Then, as if they had just realized what happened, chaos ensued. The screams came first—loud and unforgettable.
Therion stared at me, his owl eyes going impossibly wide. They already dominated his face—round, pale-ringed, and unsettling—but now they looked like they might fall right out of his skull.
"What—" he started, but he couldn’t complete his sentence as demons rushed about the shop.
They screamed as everyone fled for their lives. Racks were knocked over. Fabric fluttered as customers shoved past one another, claws scraping stone, wings beating in panic. A few demons ran for the exits immediately.
But I wondered why the demons were reacting this way. They were demons after all—shouldn’t this be like a normal occurrence? Shouldn’t they be happy about this, or I don’t know, just pretend like nothing was happening?
Well, I got the answer to that. Right before me, I noticed clothes going missing from racks as the demons ran. Some screamed with smiles on their faces—a sign of imminent joy.
They were happy that this was happening. I even saw two demons fighting over a dress.
"Give it to me, I found it first," one said.
"No," the other said, dragging it back. "I found it first. Give it to me."
"No, you have to give it to me before whatever is happening below surfaces. I’ll want to watch when it does."
The other one nodded, then suddenly released the dress. "That’s true. I’ll want to watch too."
Immediately, they turned and started going through the other racks.
But while some stole, there were others that didn’t move at all.
They just stood there.
Sluggish and glassy-eyed, as if they were half-asleep or caught between moments, swaying slightly while chaos unfolded around them.
And the majority of them were women. I noticed one demon holding a drink in her hand. She had glassy eyes and seemed to be in a daze even as other demons hit her while running past.
I wondered what the cause was. I also noticed that the sales attendants were not even trying to stop the stealing. Instead, they were turning toward the same place where Therion had led Azerion.
Perhaps that was where the answers lay.
I took a deep breath.
Cue the camera, lights, and action.
"Azrael!" I gasped, turning around the shop as if searching for Azerion, even though I knew he wasn’t up here with me.
Therion grabbed my arm suddenly. "Who are you looking for?"
"My cousin," I snapped, already pulling away. "I’m looking for my cousin."
He followed my gaze, panic flickering across his face before he masked it with something smoother. "It’s not safe here. Come on—I’ll get you outside first. We’ll find him later."
"No." The word came out sharp. "I’m not leaving without him."
I turned toward the direction where Therion had led Azerion—the same place the other attendants were rushing toward now.
That was when he grabbed my hand, and he didn’t do it gently this time.
He yanked me backward, hard enough that I stumbled, my shoulder slamming into his chest.
"Don’t go there," he said quickly.
I looked down at his grip.
Then back up at him as I pulled away. I didn’t want to be lying like a damsel against a trafficker’s chest, after all.
"Let go of me," I told him.
His fingers tightened.
Pain flared as his hold became crushing, his nails biting into my skin. I sucked in a sharp breath, my pulse roaring in my ears.
"You’re safer with me," Therion said, his voice low and insistent. "Stay with me."
My jaw clenched.
"You’re hurting me," I growled. "Let. Go."
His expression didn’t change. He gave me a blank look.
And then his grip tightened again.
"You will not go anywhere," he hissed. "You will stay where I say you will, and you will not defy me!"
Um... what?
I hissed in pain, my vision flashing white—
And then suddenly, the temperature in the shop dropped.
A sharp, unnatural cold sliced through the air as a deafening crack split the floor behind us.
Stone shattered.
Customers screamed again—but this time, it was pure terror.
Something massive surged upward from below the shop, splintering wood and stone like paper. Scales the color of deep blue glinted under the lights, catching fractured reflections as a colossal serpent reared up, its body coiling with effortless power.
Its blue eyes locked onto Therion in pure anger.
Azerion.
He released a low, menacing hiss that vibrated through my bones, aimed directly at Therion.
Therion went pale.
His grip faltered—just for a second.
Then a voice spoke. Dangerously calm.
"I’d advise you," the voice said, "to take your hands off her—if you know what’s good for you."
I turned and saw Zorathys standing there, no disguise left to hide him. Shadows clung to his form like loyal hounds, his ruby eyes darker than I had ever seen them.
And now the missing king shows himself. I rolled my eyes internally.
Therion must have realized he was already dead—because desperation twisted him fast.
His hand shot up, fingers elongating into claws, and suddenly they were wrapped around my throat.
Hard.
"If you take one step closer," he snarled, his voice shaking, "she dies."
I sighed internally.
Did he really think I was that helpless?
Zorathys didn’t move.
But the air around him shifted—thickened with restrained violence. His gaze locked on Therion with something far worse than rage. And I knew then that if I didn’t intervene, Zorathys would reduce the entire shop to rubble.
And I didn’t need his help.
Not for this.
I shifted my weight subtly, relaxing my body instead of fighting him. Therion’s grip adjusted instinctively—
That was his mistake.
I twisted sharply, turning into him instead of away, wrenching his wrist at an unnatural angle while driving my elbow into his ribs, cracking his bones.
He screamed.
I wrenched free, spun, and in one smooth motion snatched the knife from his belt.
Steel kissed his throat.
"Don’t move," I said calmly, my breath steady despite the ache in my neck.
Therion shrieked. "Unhand me! You—ugly monster. You’re lucky I even approached you, you vile thing!"
Zorathys smiled at that.
With a flick of his fingers, my disguise melted away.
Therion gulped loudly as he stared at me.
His eyes widened as he took in my true form—my face, my hair, my eyes unobscured.
Zorathys leaned slightly closer to him. "You might want to look again."
"W-we can start over," Therion said weakly, his eyes flicking between us. "I—I didn’t know—"
I rolled my eyes just as I heard Zorathys order Azerion to eat Therion.
Azerion’s head lowered eagerly. But I couldn’t let that happen.
"Wait," I said quickly. "Don’t."
Both of them paused, looking at me, just as Therion trembled.
"He may be useful," I continued, pressing the blade a little harder. "He knows about the trafficking."
Therion swallowed again, his voice barely audible. "W-what child trafficking?"
I smiled.
Because he’d just told me everything I needed to know.