Chapter XLVIII

  Jerome followed behind as they walked through the mine’s tunnel. He, Sab, and the young blond man who had introduced himself as Seres carried torches to light their path. Sab walked alongside Mercy in front of this group, while Seres stayed in the middle with Nero and the mule.

  Jerome wanted to keep his eyes on the mysterious Nero, still pondering what he had overheard before entering the mine and the ominous dangers his companions had mentioned.

  But every time Mercy turned back, Jerome’s gaze was irresistibly drawn to her. After a while, he noticed that she seemed uneasy and confused each time she looked back as if she didn’t quite understand something she saw. Jerome initially thought she was trying to get a better look at Nero. Trying to figure out what he was up to, much like Jerome was. But her eyes didn’t seem focused on Nero.

  “Haven’t you figured it out yet?” Nero’s amused voice sounded when Mercy turned back again.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Mercy snapped, though her voice rising betrayed her nerves.

  “Well, maybe you just really like mules,” Nero added with a soft ugh. “Sorry to disappoint you, but this mule doesn’t share your affections.” His tone sounded almost sincere, but the grin on his face revealed that he was teasing her.

  “What?!” Mercy asked, baffled, before realizing what Nero was implying. “How dare you?”

  Even the usually impassive Sab turned to gre at Nero, his face clearly showing displeasure. Jerome tightened his grip on the torch, reminded of Adar’s words about how Nero was too powerful.

  “Don’t be offended,” Nero said calmly, still smiling. “Not noticing what this mule is… that’s much more embarrassing.”

  Once again, Jerome didn’t quite understand Nero’s cryptic words. He knew there was a hidden meaning, and judging by Mercy’s expression, she was just as confused. What could Nero be implying about his own mule?

  Nero, unconcerned with the hostile stares, casually touched the wooden beams supporting the tunnel, something he had been doing since they entered the mine. Meanwhile, Seres gnced around, looking worried. Jerome assumed it was because of the mine’s hidden dangers or Nero’s annoying comments.

  “What do you mean by that?” Mercy finally asked, her voice controlled as she attempted a friendly smile—a difficult task given Nero’s constant mocking.

  Nero pulled away from the beam, not looking too pleased, and turned to face her, blocking Jerome’s view of his expression. “Honestly, I’m shocked you still haven’t realized what this mule is.” His voice was calm, but this time it carried a serious, even disappointed, tone. “Of all people, you should have been the one to notice it first.”

  Jerome saw that Mercy was even more confused, but before she could respond, Nero continued. “I thought this game would have ended sooner. But this miserable mine is proving more difficult than I expected.”

  “Nero, I don’t...” Mercy started to speak, looking hurt, but Nero cut her off again.

  “If you want to dey this dance a bit longer, I don’t mind. Maybe I’ll find a pce I like better where we can settle this.”

  “I really don’t...” she tried again.

  “You want me to believe you haven’t realized, that I know?” Nero’s voice was once again filled with amusement.

  Mercy stepped closer to Nero, csping her hands together as tears welled in her eyes. When she spoke, her voice was fragile. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but...”

  Jerome’s heart broke at the sight of her distress, and all he wanted to do was embrace her and take away her pain.

  Nero let out a sigh, interrupting her once more. “You’re a bit dense, aren’t you? Blondie, give us a bit more light. I think she’s not seeing this clearly.”

  Seres looked at him and extended his free hand, saying, “The st light of magic.” A bright orb of light formed above his hand, illuminating the entire tunnel.

  A mage, Jerome thought, the word echoing in his mind. At least Seres was a mage. But based on what Adar had said, Jerome doubted he was the only one. Looking at Nero’s back, Jerome wondered what powers he might possess.

  “They must have told you that your tricks don’t work well against magic users, especially one skilled in illusions,” Nero said, calm and matter-of-fact. Jerome was confused by his words—what tricks was he referring to? Mercy’s shocked expression suggested she didn’t understand either, but something in her eyes...

  “Young man, mage or not, you should have some manners,” Sab’s voice finally broke through, fed up with Nero.

  Jerome agreed with Sab and trusted in his abilities. But Adar’s warning about Nero being too powerful echoed in his mind, making him worry about the outcome of this confrontation. He had to defuse the situation.

  “Please, we need to focus on our mission. There are people lost down here. We don’t have time for this,” Jerome said, trying to steer them back to the task at hand.

  “People...?” Nero’s voice was tinged with amusement.

  “I don’t know what you’re trying to imply with all these comments, but Jerome is right. We need to find my family.” Mercy turned her back on Nero and continued walking. Seeing this, Sab shot Nero an irritated look before following her.

  After a moment, Nero, Seres, and the mule resumed their walk, allowing Jerome to do the same. The more he learned about Nero, the less reassured he felt. Discovering that Nero might be a powerful mage only made the situation more dangerous. At this moment, Jerome bitterly regretted approaching Adar.

  “Family, that’s funny. Which family are you referring to? The one that gave birth to you? Or the one that...” Nero started to taunt again, seemingly not done with Mercy. Jerome barely registered the strange remark, focusing more on the tension in the air.

  But suddenly, Nero stopped mid-sentence and froze in his tracks. The surprise is such that even Seres excims, “Nero!!”

  Nero pced a hand on his face and said, “Shut up. Let me think.”

  Mercy and Sab, sensing the confusion, turned to face Nero, who stood frozen in the tunnel. The situation ended when Nero let out a frustrated, “Damn it!”

  Jerome, unsure what to make of the scene, watched as Nero lowered his hand and spoke again. “I’ve messed up, Blondie. We need to act now.”

  Only now did Jerome notice that Nero only referred to Seres by his hair color. He wasn’t sure why he was suddenly picking up on this detail, perhaps because the torch Seres held, perfectly illuminated his paling face.

  Jerome didn’t doubt that something had just changed in Nero’s pns. Not just from their conversation, but from the look of arm on Seres’ face as he turned toward Jerome.

  Seres dropped the torch he was holding and rushed at Jerome, knocking them both to the ground. As Jerome struggled to get up, the boy wrestled with him, trying to keep him down.

  Looking toward the others for help, Jerome saw that the mule was blocking Sab’s attempts to move. While he was trying to push the animal away, but its sheer size made it impossible.

  “What are you doing?!” Jerome shouted, confused by the senseless behavior.

  “I’ve messed up, haven’t I?” Nero said, addressing Mercy.

  “I don’t...” Mercy stammered, still trying to make sense of the situation.

  “Please stop. I know what you are. And now I know that I shouldn’t have come here. Hubris, right?” Nero sounded almost tired, his voice calm. He even shrugged his shoulders.

  “I...” Mercy tried to speak again, her voice fragile, prompting Jerome and Sab to redouble their efforts to break free.

  “Stop. Let him do what must be done,” Seres said, trying to keep Jerome subdued.

  “I’m going to destroy you now,” Nero said coldly to Mercy. Hearing this triggered a surge of panic in Jerome, giving him the strength to shove Seres off and begin standing up.

  “You think so,” a cold, malevolent voice replied. A voice Jerome struggled to recognize, but one he realized belonged to Mercy.

  This strange voice made him pause while seeing Mercy lunging at Nero. It took Jerome a moment to register that this was Mercy—the figure he saw looked more like a monster, something human-like but not quite human.

  Seres tackled him again, pinning him down, and Jerome, though confused, lost some of his will to fight. He found himself more interested in watching the struggle between Nero and Mercy.

  What he saw was almost ridiculous. Mercy was clinging to Nero, biting his neck, while Nero remained still, completely passive.

  “Get away, you cursed beast,” Sab shouted at the mule, though it seemed to have no effect on the animal. Even propping him to draw his hunting knife.

  “Are you going to keep trying?” Nero’s calm voice cut through the sounds of Sab struggling with the mule.

  Mercy released Nero and stepped back, looking confused.

  “Magic,” Nero said as he seemed to wipe his neck. “When Blondie cast his spell. I used the opportunity to cast one of my own. One that makes me resistant to physical attacks.”

  “That was...” Mercy began to speak, only to be interrupted once again.

  “You never stood a chance,” Nero said, approaching her and looking directly into her eyes. “Vampires capable of controlling so many people are usually quite weak.” Jerome heard this but couldn’t make sense of it. He wanted to scream that nothing made sense, but...

  "Not recognizing the mule only ensured that you could hardly have the age to compensate for that physical weakness." Nero continues to expin calmly as if the absurdity of his words made any sense.

  "Now it's the end!" he decres while extending his hand toward her.

  "Bastard. Wait until you see what real power is," Mercy shouts back, her fangs visible in the tunnel, illuminated only by the fallen torches and the ball of magical light.

  Then, she starts to run away from Nero. Jerome can only watch her run, faster than he had ever seen anyone move.

  Part of Jerome feels relief, joy even, watching her flee. But another part of him begins to feel a cold dread at what this might mean.

  Neros keeps his hand extended while watching her run without any visible reaction as if he was waiting for something. For now, they all just watch her flee.

  When she had already covered a great distance, almost reaching a bend in the tunnel, Jerome heard Nero speak again. "Finally! Draco's Fmes."

  With that, fire concentrates in Nero's hand until it forms a ball, which shoots down the tunnel. A faint "No!" escapes Jerome's mouth as he guesses what's about to happen.

  "Take cover!" Nero's voice echoes. But nothing can tear Jerome’s eyes away from the figure running in the distance.

  As the fireball approaches her, Mercy leaps and clings to the tunnel ceiling, allowing her to avoid it. A new relief appears in Jerome's heart seeing this.

  But when the fireball strikes the wall ahead of Mercy, it expands to engulf the entire tunnel, then surges back in her direction.

  In an instant, Mercy is caught by the fmes, letting out a horrific scream of agony before going silent forever. The fire, however, continues to rush toward them. And now, even after everything that had happened, after witnessing Mercy's end. Jerome hears Adar’s words in his mind once again. He finally understands what Adar meant by "Nero's too powerful."

  They are in the middle of this tunnel section, with no hiding pce. So, it doesn't take long before they, too, are caught by the spell’s effects.

  Luckily, the distance seems to have reduced the spell's power. Though it feels like his entire body has been scorched by fmes, leaving his face and hands aching as if burned, Jerome doesn't suffer any real burns.

  After this experience, where they all likely felt their lives hanging by a thread, they stood, looking at each other.

  This situation is abruptly interrupted by Sab, who lunges at Nero with his knife, shouting "Murderer!"—only to be immediately knocked to the ground by their mule.

  Nero approaches Sab, commanding the mule, "Move aside."

  With one hand, he grabs the knife's bde and yanks it out of Sab's hand. With the other, he grabs Sab by the colr, pulling him to his feet.

  "I don't have time or patience for this," the impatience clear in his voice. "If you try this again, you'll be tied up and thrown over the mule."

  "Nero, now that you've dealt with the vampire, maybe..." Seres begins to say to Nero, but he is cut off sharply.

  "We don't have time. Her family should be showing up any minute now. That’s why she dragged this farce on for so long."

  "Family?" Seres asks.

  "Yes. I stupidly never thought of it. But when she mentioned it, it made perfect sense. That’s why she wanted so many people to enter these mines." Jerome and the others hear Nero, but none of them seem to be following his train of thought.

  "To feed the rest of her family," Nero crifies. "The vampires who turned her."

  With this, Jerome begins to understand—they're in the middle of these abandoned mines, being hunted by a vampire coven.

  Mjrsd