Blood Oath of the Shadow

Chapter 3

Demon blood was always thick black and reeked of rot. But the fluid spilled across the floor of this old building ran deep red and even caught Axel’s flashlight with a faint silvery sheen.

Axel crouched low tracing the path Rena had taken as she fled. The thin gouges in the wood were proof enough his spear had truly found the Shadow Mage. Yet that was not what made his chest tighten so sharply. He brushed the stain with his fingertip and found it still warm still fresh. And strangest of all there was no burn. No sharp sting he always felt whenever demon blood touched his skin.

"Human blood." He murmured though his voice held no certainty.

The very first lesson from the Order drifted back to him. 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. But the wetness on his finger felt entirely ordinary. There was even a warmth that for some impossible reason felt soothing.

Axel shook his head fast. He could not let this sway him. This was a trap. Shadow Mages surely knew how to twist a hunter’s senses—an illusion perhaps or a spell that made venom look pure. But when he rubbed the fluid between his thumb and forefinger he felt nothing but dampness and the faint metallic tang of iron.

A soft scraping from behind the wall cut through the quiet. Two small parasitic demons crept out through rotting gaps in the planks their starving yellow eyes locked straight on Rena’s spilled blood. Their bodies were thin and twisted like shadows struggling to take solid form. They moved fast ready to lap up every precious drop.

Axel had already started to reach for his spear but he held back. He needed to see.

The moment the first parasite’s claw grazed the blood a shriek tore through the air so raw and sharp it raised goosebumps along Axel’s arms. The creature froze solid then split open from its fingertips all the way to its crown before crumbling into fine pure white ash nothing more than grains like salt. The second tried to turn and run but before it could even take a step it shattered the very same way.

No trace of darkness lingered. No corrosion. No sulfur stench that always clung to demon death. Only silence and that pale ash glowing faintly under his beam of light.

Axel went still. His knees turned weak and he sank fully to the floor beside the pile his gaze fixed on what lay before him. Ten years as a hunter had taught him every detail of how thousands of dark things died. He knew exactly how their blood reacted to holy objects silver runes anything touched by pure light—always billowing black smoke always leaving scorch marks always eating away at whatever it touched.

But this was the opposite. Rena’s blood the blood of the Shadow Mage the Order had marked as their greatest threat had purified what it touched.

Every rule he had lived by his whole life suddenly felt hollow nothing more than empty words. Thoughts he had never dared to think crept in slow and sure. What if he had walked the wrong path all along? What if everything the Order taught everything he fought for everything he sacrificed was nothing but a grand lie wrapped in the guise of truth?

"All shadow mages spread corruption," he whispered fighting to convince himself. He clenched his fists tight. "They are the source of blight. They swallow light. They..."

But the truth right in front of him said otherwise. Rena’s blood had erased the lingering dark energy clinging to this building. Even the white ash felt warm like embers long dead yet still holding a spark of life.

He pictured Rena’s face again from their fight those pale white eyes holding no hunger no rage only bone deep weariness. Eyes of someone who even at death’s door had chosen not to strike him down. "𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴."

If he reported this to the Grandmaster what would happen? The Order never accepted anomalies. They hated questions they could not answer. They would call this blood a new poison a trick more devious than any they had seen before. And they would hunt Rena with terrible force—no mere elite squad this time but every hunter they could muster. They would burn half of Jakarta just to make sure no trace remained.

Axel looked at the stain once more. In the flashlight glow it seemed to form faint patterns like a map he could not read. He stood at a crossroads now. Report what he had found or bury this secret forever.

The Old Commander’s voice echoed in his head. "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘈𝘹𝘦𝘭. 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬."

But for the first time in his life Axel wanted more than anything to ask.

"I will not let them kill you without cause," he said softly to no one in particular. "Not until I know the truth."

With hands that trembled just a little he pulled a clean white cloth from his coat pocket. It had never been used but tonight it would hold the first lie he ever told the Order.

He wiped the floor with careful strokes. Scrape by scrape drop by drop he erased every mark until nothing remained. Slowly the cracked wood looked ordinary again only dust and dirt where the blood had been. No sign would show a Shadow Mage had ever fallen here.

He worked fast yet his heart hammered wild. Every time the cloth brushed the stain he felt that strange warm thrum as if the fluid itself was alive and answering his touch. He could not let another hunter find this truth. A truth that would bring ruin down on something that might not be evil at all.

Minutes later the floor was spotless. Not a single red mark remained. Axel folded the stained cloth tight and tucked it deep inside his coat pressed close to his chest. For a moment he felt that faint warmth spreading through the fabric against his skin.

It was done. But as he stood the backup compass on his wrist went dead. The screen that usually blinked with target signals turned pitch black lifeless as stone. Rena’s trail was gone entirely. He was blind now in the vast sprawl of Jakarta with no clue where she had fled. All he had was the cloth in his pocket and questions that gnawed at him endlessly.

Axel stepped out of the old building and drew deep breaths to steady himself. Damp night air stung his face carrying the sharp tang of rain and wet asphalt. He closed his eyes for a moment letting the cold seep in. Far off the city hummed on lights glimmering through thin mist and somewhere among millions of those lights Rena hid.

He had barely cleared the back door when his earpiece blared sharp and sudden like a needle driven into his ear.

"𝘈𝘹𝘦𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥," the cold voice from command cut through him. It was the night operator who always worked the quiet hours usually flat and unemotional but now edged with something sharper. "𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳?"

Axel froze. His heart raced and the blood in his veins felt suddenly cold. He breathed slow and deep fighting to keep his voice steady.

"My compass exploded," he said. "The target was too strong. I lost the trail."

Silence stretched across the line long too long to be mere waiting. Axel could picture her staring at her screen reading the data from his backup unit showing no signal at all.

"𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦," she said colder than before. "𝘈 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘸."

The night air suddenly felt heavy and thick. Far off he heard the low rumble of engines or perhaps footsteps bounding across rooftops. His eyes scanned the dark straining to pierce the gathering mist.

"𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮," he asked struggling to keep panic from his tone. "𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥."

No answer came. Only the low static hum that meant the line was still open and a silence that felt like a threat.

Then so soft he almost missed it over the wind a whisper brushed the back of his neck.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸"

He spun around fast but no one stood there. Only the long dark corridor of the empty building. Far down its length he saw a shadow flicker for an instant like black cloth caught in a breeze then vanish completely.

Axel swallowed hard. The earpiece still hummed and the rumble of engines drew closer every second.

To be continued