Chapter Two :
Chapter Title:The Game Begins
"…And where do you think you're going?"
The words dropped into the ruined hall like a verdict.
The two men froze.
Then they ran.
"Move! Move!"
Their footsteps shattered the silence as they sprinted over blood-slick marble.
Annalisa didn't chase them at first, she only tilted her head slightly.
As if watching something predictable.
With a flick of her wrist adagger left her hand.
One man collapsed instantly, screaming as the blade buried itself in his shoulder.
The other spun around. Gun raised but hands trembling.
"Don't come any closer!"
"I'll shoot!"
Annalisa walked forward unhurried, unbothered. Her gaze never left him, he fired.
The bullet cut through the air. She leaned slightly and it missed.
His breath caught. He fired again.
This time she vanished his eyes widened.
"What??"
A voice came from behind him.
"Too slow."
Blood sprayed across the marble yhe man dropped without a sound.
Only one remained, the wounded man dragged himself backward, leaving a streak of red behind him.
Annalisa stopped in front of him.
Looked down.
"Why."
Not a question but an order. The man clenched his teeth he didn't answer.
Annalisa moved.
Her blade pierced his shoulder.
"AAAHH!!"
His scream broke sharply through the hall.
She didn't react.
"Why."
Same word but colder now.
He coughed, shaking violently.
"I'll talk… I'll talk!!"
Annalisa twisted the blade slightly.
He broke immediately.
"It's the Dark Council!"
"They hired us!"
"Capture… or kill… you and your sister!"
At the mention of her sister, she pause not because she was getting emotional just stillness.
The man kept going, desperate now.
"We didn't know it would be like this…"
"We thought it would be easy…"
His eyes flicked around the hall.
Dead bodies everywhere.
The reality of it finally settling in.
"…You're not normal."
His voice dropped.
"You're a monster."
Silence.
Annalisa pulled her blade free.
The man collapsed, gasping he thought it was over. He smiled faintly relief flashing across his face.
Then.
Annalisa crouched slightly.
For the first time…
She spoke softly.
"Dark Council."
She repeated it like she was memorizing it.
Then she stood. The man's smile vanished.
Something in her tone changed. Not anger and also not rage.
Decision.
He began to shake again.
"W-wait… I told you everything—"
Annalisa lifted her blade.
"No."
One word but it was final.
The man's eyes widened in terror.
"PLEASE—!"
The blade fell, the severed head rolled to a stop and silence reclaimed the mansion.
Not a single intruder remained alive.
The only sounds left were the soft crackle of distant flames...
...and the steady drip of blood onto marb
Annalisa stood motionless.
Her sword hung loosely at her side.
Her eyes drifted across the hall, stopping on the countless bodies that littered the floor.
Friends, servants, guards, family.
Then...
Eliora.
Her chest tightened, for the first time since she had buried her emotions beneath vengeance...
She looked away.
A faint vibration broke the silence.
Bzz... Bzz...
Her phone.
She stared at the screen for a moment before answering.
"...Anna!"
The familiar voice on the other end was strained with panic.
"Where are you? I've been trying to reach you for the last twenty minutes!"
She remained silent.
"...Anna?"
A long pause followed.
Finally, she spoke.
"...Main hall."
The call ended with no explanation, no emotion. Just two words.
Less than a minute later the mansion doors burst open.
Rapid footsteps echoed through the hall.
"Anna!"
Damien rushed inside only to stop dead in his tracks, his breathing faltered.
The smell of blood hit him first,then the bodies. Dozens of them.
Some slumped against the walls.
Others lay scattered across the marble like discarded dolls.
His eyes searched frantically...
Until they found her.
Annalisa stood in the middle of it all, her black dress soaked in blood.
For one terrifying second...
He couldn't tell if it was hers.
Relief washed over him when he saw there wasn't a single wound on her.
Then...
His gaze shifted.
Past her.
To the silver-haired girl lying peacefully on the floor.
His face went pale.
"...No..." His voice barely came out.
He walked toward Eliora as though refusing to believe what he was seeing.
Each step grew heavier than the last.
When he finally reached her...
He slowly knelt.
His trembling hand brushed a strand of silver hair away from her face.
Cold.
She was already cold.
Damien lowered his head.
His eyes closed.
"...I'm sorry."
The apology wasn't for himself.
It was for arriving too late.
He rose slowly and turned toward Annalisa.
She hadn't moved nor had she cried, she simply stood there empty. His heart ached more than it ever had before.
He walked over without saying a word.
Then gently pulled her into his arms.
For a moment...
She resisted her body remained stiff. As though she had forgotten how to be comforted.
Damien tightened his embrace.
"It's over..."
he whispered softly.
"You don't have to carry it alone anymore.
Those words...
Broke the wall she had built around herself.
Her fingers slowly clutched the back of his coat.
Then...
She broke a choked sob escaped her lips then another followed. Before long, the tears came rushing out like a dam that had finally given way.
"Damien..."
Her voice trembled.
"...She's gone."
He closed his eyes.
"I know."
"I couldn't save her..."
"I was right here..."
"I was so close..."
Her shoulders shook violently.
"I promised I'd protect her."
"I promised..."
Her voice cracked into another sob.
"But I failed."
Damien said nothing there were no words capable of easing that kind of pain.
So he simply held her.
Letting her cry.
Letting her grieve.
The once-feared woman who had stood unshaken before dozens of armed men...
Now cried like nothing more than an older sister who had lost the person she loved most.
Minutes passed or perhaps hours neither of them knew.
Eventually...
Annalisa slowly pulled away, she wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.
"...Sorry."
Damien gave a small shake of his head.
"You never have to apologize for grieving."
Her gaze drifted toward Eliora once more.
The smile, she could still see it.
The promise.
The little finger curled toward hers.
"Don't let them take your heart too."
Her chest tightened.
Slowly...
She walked over and knelt beside Eliora one last time.
She gently took her sister's hand, it was still cold, still silent.
Annalisa hooked her little finger around Eliora's once again.
"...I'll keep my promise."
She whispered it so softly that only the silence heard her.
"I'll come back to you."
"But before that..."
Her eyes slowly opened.
They no longer held despair.
Only resolve.
"...I'll make them answer for this."
She carefully laid Eliora's hand back onto her chest before standing.
Damien watched her quietly.
He recognized that look.
It wasn't grief anymore.
It was purpose.
"So..."
he asked softly.
"What now?"
Annalisa remained silent for several moments.
Then...
A faint smile appeared.
It wasn't warm.
It wasn't kind.
It was the smile of someone who had already made up her mind.
"They wanted a war..."
She let out a quiet, humorless laugh.
"Then I'll give them one." A cold breeze drifted through the broken mansion.
Lifting strands of her bloodstained hair.
"I'll find every single person responsible."
"No matter where they hide."
"No matter how long it takes."
"I'll make them regret the day they stepped into this house."
Damien lowered his eyes.
He had expected that answer.
He just wished It hadn't come at such a terrible price.Damien lowered his gaze.
"I'll help you."
Annalisa looked at him.
"You don't have to."
"I know."
He gave a faint smile.
"But I'm not asking."
Silence settled between them.
It wasn't awkward.
It was the silence shared by two people mourning the same loss.
Then Damien spoke again.
"We should leave."
His eyes swept over the ruined mansion.
"The people behind this won't stop here. Once they realize their team hasn't reported back, they'll send more."
Annalisa said nothing, she simply stared toward the shattered entrance.
The night beyond was unnaturally quiet.
Almost...
Too quiet.
"I'm not leaving."
Damien frowned.
"Anna."
"They'll come."
"I know."
"They'll surround this place."
"I know."
"They'll try to kill you."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"I know."
Damien's heart sank.
He knew that smile.
Whenever Annalisa wore it...
Someone was about to die, she stepped past him. Each footstep echoed through the empty mansion.
She stopped beside Eliora one last time.
Without a word, she removed the silver pendant from around her own neck.
It was identical to the one Eliora wore.
A gift they had exchanged on their sixteenth birthday. She placed it gently into Eliora's hand and closed her sister's fingers around it.
"I'll come back for you."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I promise."
She stood.
Never looking back again.
Damien watched her walk toward the broken entrance.
His chest tightened.
"Anna..." She paused.
Without turning around, she leaned back slightly and placed a light kiss on his forehead.
It lasted only a second.
But it carried the weight of a farewell.
"Take care of her..."
She whispered, before Damien could ask what she meant...
She continued walking, his eyes widened.
"No..."
He finally understood.
"What are you doing?"
She stepped out through the broken gates.
Moonlight washed over her bloodstained figure.
In the distance...
Headlights appeared, one pair at a time.
Black SUVs rolled toward the Laurel Estate one after another until they formed a long line outside the gates.
Their engines rumbled through the night.
Doors swung open and rmed men poured out. More than before, far more.
Damien rushed forward.
"Anna!"
"They're here!"
"I know."
She slowly raised both hands.
A gesture of surrender.
Damien froze.
"What the hell are you doing?!" His voice echoed through the night. She didn't answer immediately.
A gentle breeze swept through her hair.
Then...
She glanced back over her shoulder.
And smiled.
Not the smile of a grieving sister. Not the smile of a broken woman.
It was the smile of a hunter who had finally found her prey.
"Why should I run..."
Her voice was calm.
Almost amused.
"...when the game..." She looked toward the convoy of enemies gathering before her.
"...has only just begun?".