The blinding white light erupted from the carriage, searing against my eyes.
A high-pitched screech followed, like some twisted, shattering echo which sent the men around me staggering back, rubbing violently at their faces.
I blinked rapidly, trying to focus. My vision swam, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the men closest to the carriage. Their curses and grunts filled the air as they frantically rubbed their eyes.
Before I could process more, a small vial hurtled out of the carriage, spinning through the air. It hit the ground—and shattered.
A wave of red, hungry flames erupted, crawling along the forest floor and licking toward the men, swallowing everything in its path. Some barely managed to escape, coughing and dazed, while others weren't so lucky, caught and consumed almost instantly.
Then came the sound of a heavy grunt from inside the carriage, followed by a thud against the ground. I looked just in time to see a figure fly out of the carriage window—my eyes widened as I recognized him: the driver—or rather his corpse. It hit the dirt with a sickening thump.
The flames hissed around the carriage, the smoke curling upward. Some of the archers aimed at the carriage, fingers tight on their bowstrings.
My chest tightened—Liona was still inside! I couldn't let them fire. I had to do something.
I looked down at my chains and an idea struck me.
Of course!
I twisted the chains around my arms, feeling them shift into a makeshift, reinforced whip. Before they could even register me, I lashed out, smashing the chains into the archers faces over and over again with a force that sent more than one staggering back.
As I held back the archers, my eyes caught a silhouette of what looked like a person perched in a tree, silent and watching.
"That bastard!" the leader bellowed, his voice sharp and filled with rage. "Kill him!"
The men surged forward almost immediately, nearly twenty of them, daggers glinting. My mreath grew shallow and my eyes widened in panic. For the first time, I felt fear.
The fear of death.
Nearly twenty men, bloodthirsty and closing in, and I was chained, defenseless… I could barely hold my own against a full grown man, talk less of twenty.
But still... I had to move. I had to.
Then, movement from the carriage caught my eye. Liona's head appeared first, peeking out from the door. Her legs followed, moving fast but cautious, scanning the chaos around her. Panic radiated off her—she was looking for me.
When her gaze finally locked onto me, her eyes widened further as she saw the men rushing towards me.
"Ren!" she shouted, her voice frantic and full of desperation.
She sprinted towards me—but an arrow flew from above. She twisted instinctively, trying to dodge, but it still struck her side. She grunted sharply, staggering as pain hit her, slowing her just enough for the leader to advance towards her, his dagger raised.
Time seemed to stretch.
I raised my fist—a simple punch against a horde of armed men. What was I thinking? Against numbers like that, I might as well be dead.
And then it happened.
Jagged spikes erupted from my fist, haphazard, furious, tearing through the nearest attackers. Most were impaled, shrieking in pain and shock. One spike shot forward toward the leader, grazing his cheek, severing his right ear before burying itself in a tree behind him.