Chapter 280: Tamed
[Music recommendation: Jacob’s Piano - Winter Melody]
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Gavriel had been ready to unleash his own power and reduce the demoness to ash, but he had sensed Aliana’s need to exact her own vengeance.
So while she fought, he had silently supported her from behind, ensuring that not a single piece of falling debris touched a hair on her head while remaining ready to aid her should the demoness unleash an attack beyond what she could handle.
Without even realising it, he had extended that same protection to Cedric’s body.
When Aliana went limp in his arms, Gavriel pressed his forehead against hers, wasting no time in channeling his energy into her in an attempt to heal her, just as he had done countless times before.
Behind him, the monstrous dragon-like hydra roared into the underground chamber. Its terrible screech shook the foundation beneath them, echoing the storm of emotions raging inside Gavriel.
The surviving cultists huddled on the ground, screaming in absolute terror. A few tried to scramble to their feet and make a run for it while they thought he was distracted.
Right as one man tried to sneak toward the exit, a shadowy dragon head struck. It clamped its jaw around the man’s head and yanked him into the air. Two other heads lunged in, and with savage brutality, they tore him apart, reducing his body to mangled limbs before hurling the remains across the chamber.
The sickening display froze everyone else in their tracks.
At that very moment, another pair of footsteps came to an abrupt halt at the entrance, arriving just in time to witness the hydra spitting the man’s severed limbs onto the blood-soaked floor.
Cillian’s eyes locked onto Gavriel, then dropped down to the unconscious woman cradled gently in his arms, and his heart sank straight into his stomach.
"Fuck! Was I late?" Cillian swore, sprinting toward Gavriel while trying to ignore the seven shadowy hydra heads coiling protectively around them.
Coming to a stop a safe distance away so as not to provoke the monstrous creature, Cillian’s eyes immediately fell upon the unconscious Aliana before lifting to meet Gavriel’s crimson gaze.
"What the fuck happened?"
"Get her out of here, Cillian," Gavriel ordered quietly. His slit pupils shifted towards Cedric before he added, "Take his body with you."
Cillian instinctively followed his gaze, and the words caught in his throat as he stared at Cedric’s motionless body. His mouth parted in shock at the sight of the gaping wound in the man’s chest before he turned back to Gavriel. Countless questions burned in his eyes.
Instead of offering an explanation, Gavriel simply commanded, "Now."
Swallowing the questions bubbling inside him, Cillian stepped closer and reached out to take Aliana.
But before his fingers could so much as brush against her, all seven hydra heads snapped towards him in unison. Their glowing red eyes locked onto him as a deep, threatening growl rumbled through the chamber, forcing Cillian to instinctively recoil several steps.
Cillian raised his hands defensively, murmuring, "Alright, no need to bite my head off. I mean no harm. I am only following your master’s orders."
Even though he kept his tone light, a cold sweat broke out across Cillian’s back.
He was rarely rattled by anyone, but Gavriel’s power was no joke.
His darkness was the most violent, unpredictable force Cillian had ever witnessed, making Gavriel the most dangerous being in existence. He knew better than to provoke them.
Looking back at Gavriel, Cillian let out a helpless sigh. "You might want to control them."
Cillian could clearly see the deep reluctance in Gavriel’s eyes at the thought of handing Aliana over to anyone else. And he could only sigh inwardly, knowing that Gavriel’s power was simply a reflection of his own heart.
’No wonder the beast reacted like that. Good lord, what am I going to do with him?’
Gavriel lowered his gaze to Aliana’s unconscious face, his expression softening as memories of everything she had endured flashed through his mind.
Slowly, he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, as though she were the most precious treasure in the world.
Behind him, the seven-headed hydra mirrored his actions.
One by one, the colossal heads lowered around her, their shadows enveloping her protectively as they gently nuzzled against her form with surprising tenderness.
A deep, rumbling growl resonated through the chamber, no longer carrying menace, but sounding almost as though they were trying to comfort her aching heart alongside their master.
Cillian could only watch the scene in utter disbelief.
Never in his life had he seen Gavriel’s darkness behave like a tame pet around anyone.
Hell, even Gavriel himself often struggled to keep his own darkness under control.
Yet watching it act so gentle toward Aliana, Cillian couldn’t help but wonder what it was about her that commanded such devotion.
Gavriel finally lifted his head. His jaw remained tightly clenched with visible reluctance before he slowly extended Aliana towards Cillian.
Cillian didn’t reach for her immediately.
Instead, his gaze shifted to the seven colossal hydra heads hovering over Gavriel. Their crimson eyes remained fixed on him, low growls vibrating through them. Yet this time none of them moved, but the warning was unmistakable.
After a brief hesitation, Cillian slowly stepped forward and carefully took Aliana into his arms.
The instant Gavriel let go, Cillian’s eyes glowed a brilliant crimson. With a subtle flick of his fingers, Cedric’s lifeless body gently lifted from the bloodstained floor and floated silently behind him.
Only then did he meet Gavriel’s eyes once more.
"They’re here," he said quietly. "You might want to finish things here quickly."
Gavriel answered with nothing more than a faint nod.
Without another word, Cillian turned and walked away, carrying Aliana while Cedric’s body followed silently behind him.
Gavriel’s crimson eyes remained fixed on her until she disappeared beyond the entrance.
Only then did he turn back.
The tenderness that had filled his gaze moments ago vanished completely, swallowed by something infinitely colder.
His eyes slowly swept across the chamber before settling on the three people standing at the very top of his list.
A slow, terrifying smile curved across his lips.
"Let’s begin... shall we?" he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.