Mist of Doom

19. From Grief to Wrath

Katrina's eyes widened at the sudden change of environment. The marble tiles split open, and mist poured out of the fissures. Silver tendrils slithered across the wall, the floor, and the pillars. In just a few seconds, everything was silver and brainlike with pulsating veins. The place now smelled like fresh carrots.

David turned into a cocoon with the face of a crying boy, while Mika transformed into a tearful rabbit woman who knelt before the cocoon. A syringe filled with fluorescent cyan fluid rested in her furry hand.

Crack!

The syringe exploded into plastic shards, spilling the cyan liquid everywhere. "Damn you, Cepheus!" The rabbit woman wailed and banged her fists against the grooved, veiny terrain. "I'll get back at you someday! Nobody can take away my son and get away with it!"

Katrina clutched her head and winced, cold sweat dribbling down her temple, hot tears stinging her eyes. Had she known about David's combat prowess, she would've taken Mika away and thus, that scene wouldn't have replayed in her mind.

But what had made the dean so proficient with his snake powers? None of Katrina's "comrades" had ever reported about his presence in the misty area.

"You resisted my poison quite well and beat my giant snake, but those weren't impressive enough." David's voice echoed from the distance, and the environment reverted. Metallic stench replaced the fragrance of carrots. "I didn't even have to resort to my naga to knock you out. Speaking of naga..." He slammed his fists against each other and pounded the bloodstained marble floor.

A portal of swirling cyan light appeared on the ground in front of him, at which Katrina wiped off her tears and stood up. What now?

A pair of scaly silver hands clung to the edge of the marble floor, and a brawny being shot out of the vanishing portal. Its serpentine lower-half crashed into the ground, sending dust and shattered tiles everywhere. It flicked its forked tongue as it bowed at David.

"Take this slum girl out of the university."

"Hold it!" With blue ethereal aura coating her body, Katrina dashed at the advancing naga. Her knuckles slammed into the serpent's side, and the creature burst into silver dust.

David inhaled the particles through his mouth, his eyes widening. "The...hell?"

Katrina's aura faded, and she pointed at Mika. The girl lay still, blood gushing out of the stump of her left arm and the bite wounds along her limbs. "Letting a girl to live in such a state..." Katrina mumbled. "That's so low for an important figure like you."

"If she has a high-quality folk in her, the bleeding won't be a big deal."

"The lost arm is a thing, you despicable man." Katrina crouched and ripped off Mika's tattered sleeve. After wrapping it tightly around the bleeding stump of Mika's left arm, she picked up the girl and walked towards the building's exit. "I'll take care of her."

"Why would you do that? You're someone from the depths of the mist." David paused. "You destroyed my naga in one blow, too. You should leave this slum girl alone and join my cause."

Katrina glanced over her shoulder. "I'll join you if you let her come along. I'll also teach her how to use her power well. Deal?"

"I don't need a slum girl around."

"You'll need her. She's Grave's sole reason to live and fight for humanity."

Scrunching his brow, David raised his voice. "Nonsense!"

"So, you're willing to take the risk? Grave won't be pleased when he learns what is actually happening."

David spoke even louder, "A magnificent being like Grave will never associate himself with a slum girl!"