Everyone was gasping for breath, the signs of their escape still clearly written across their faces, but Mohamed did not allow fear to take hold of them.
Five of Jeros’s creatures burst into the house with savage speed.
Their twisted, deformed bodies moved with almost animal instinct, their red eyes gleaming with merciless madness.
They leapt over tables and walls, moving with terrifying fluidity.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9retU87qP
Mustafa shouted as he fought one back.
Mustafa:
“They’re too fast!”
Mohamed struck one of the creatures with his sword and drove it backward.
Mohamed:
“Aim for the heart or the head! Don’t waste your strength on the limbs!”
Jacky retreated step by step.
Jacky:
“They don’t feel pain!”
As the battle raged violently, Jeros stood at the entrance of the house, leaning upon a twisted staff, watching the chaos with a wicked smile curling across his lips.
Jeros (mockingly):
“Where is the brave warrior who sold everything for fleeting power? Mohamed, do you remember Youssef... and the others? You left them to die only to become a leader!”
Mohamed cut through another creature with force and shouted back.
Mohamed:
“I did what I had to do so the others could survive!”
Jeros narrowed his glowing eyes.
Jeros:
“You lied... and you will pay for it here... in this house.”
As the sounds of battle rose around them, Mohamed advanced toward Jeros, his eyes burning with rage that had lived inside him for years.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0XWvfDK2b
His sword flashed beneath the trembling light as he charged with unshakable determination, a cry tearing from the depths of his heart.
Mohamed (shouting as he attacked):
“Youssef... Today, we leave this world together forever!”
Jeros smiled coldly and raised his twisted staff to block the first strike.
Swords and staff collided.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8FsYO0gp6
A burst of sparks tore through the darkness.
Jeros shoved Mohamed backward.
Jeros:
“I have waited so long for this moment... to die beside a friend of the past... and an enemy of the present. What a fitting end.”
Mohamed lunged again, unleashing a storm of furious strikes.
He attacked without pause, pouring years of rage and grief into every blow.
Yet Jeros, hardened by countless years, moved with eerie grace around him, deflecting each strike, turning aside every thrust, as though the two were locked in a deadly dance.
Every clash.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43hbfS5QKh
Every cry.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYk33xk1JgT
Every movement carried the scent of betrayal and regrets left unspoken.
The scene shifted briefly to the others.
Mustafa battled fiercely against two monstrous creatures.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikZZzrHTa1
Adam stood before Sarah and Omar, shielding them while they searched desperately for a way out.
Meanwhile, Ryan stood frozen, watching Mohamed and Jeros fight, dread and sorrow filling his eyes.
Mustafa shouted as he impaled one creature through the chest.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIi1mv3wKM
Mustafa:
“Mohamed needs us!”
Adam smashed another creature’s skull with a heavy bat.
Adam:
“No! This fight is his alone!”
The focus returned to Mohamed and Jeros.
Jeros circled him slowly.
Jeros:
“Tell me, Mohamed... do you dream of them every night? Do you hear the screams of those you abandoned?”
Mohamed struck with trembling hands.
Mohamed:
“Every night... until I memorized their screams more than my prayers!”
Jeros let out a deep, bitter laugh, then lunged with his staff, nearly breaking through Mohamed’s guard.
But Mohamed spun sharply and countered, slashing a deep wound across Jeros’s arm.
Jeros gritted his teeth...28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTfOo1meWN
and smiled.
Jeros:
“Well done... murderer.”
The battle grew more savage.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHEI3DPmjg
Every second dragged them closer to the end.
Amid blood and ragged breathing, Mustafa stood swaying, blood pouring from a deep wound in his shoulder.
Omar, Sarah, Adam, Ryan, and the two remaining survivors Fahd and Layla gathered nearby, panting heavily as they watched the bodies of Jeros’s followers collapse one after another.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPjszVLoNp
They had won...28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYcyFlmO2A
but the cost was terrible.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RPQsp9Fqw
Only six remained from the once-large team.
Omar stepped forward and shouted with a broken voice.
Omar:
“Show them, father... show them who you are!”
Sarah screamed through tears.
Sarah:
“Kill him! Show no mercy, just as he showed none to us!”
Adam shouted in fury.
Adam:
“Burn his heart as he burned ours!”
Fahd gripped his bleeding side.
Fahd:
“That dog betrayed us all! Don’t hesitate!”
Layla sobbed as she cried out.
Layla:
“You are our last hope, Mohamed!”
The focus returned once more to the duel.
Mohamed charged again, striking with savage, relentless force.
Jeros barely managed to block him.
Each blow carried pain.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1kMSK6hqPR
Anger.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXwiWsXFAt
Years of buried regret.
Jeros screamed as he parried.
Jeros:
“You were one of us, Mohamed! You were my brother! You betrayed us! You betrayed everyone! You betrayed me!”
Mohamed attacked wildly.
Mohamed:
“I betrayed myself before I betrayed any of you!”
Jeros moved around him, dodging.
Jeros:
“All those who died... they died for your empty dreams of power! Do you remember my blood on your hands?!”
Mohamed’s voice shook with sorrow and rage.
Mohamed:
“I carry their blood within my soul!”
Then, with sudden deception, Mohamed feinted toward Jeros’s chest28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSCqJ8zZ9T
and drove his blade brutally into Jeros’s leg.
Jeros collapsed with a scream.
Jeros:
“Aaargh!”
He sat upon the floor, breathing heavily, lifting one hand toward Mohamed.
Jeros (broken voice):
“Please... kill me... end this suffering...”
Everyone shouted at once.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIdBXGushi
Sarah, Omar, Adam, Ryan, Fahd, Layla:
“Kill him! Show no mercy!”
But Mohamed shocked them all.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILj0u42zD7
He lowered his sword.
His voice cracked with grief.
Mohamed:
“No... I will not kill my friend and my brother... I will die with him.”
He lifted his eyes upward, shining with tears.
Mohamed (whispering deeply):
“Go, Yusuf... prepare yourself... I can already smell the scent of Paradise...”
Jeros, barely able to stand, leaned upon his twisted staff and rose slowly.
Jeros (weakly):
“We will meet again, Mohamed... but before I go, there is something you must know...”
Everyone fell silent.
Their hearts pounded in their chests.
Jeros laughed bitterly.
Jeros:
“The leader of the People of the Last Silence is preparing to attack every sector here... and seize them all.”
Then Jeros staggered from the house and disappeared into the shadows.
Everyone stood stunned.
Omar spoke first.
Omar:
“All the sectors...?!”
Sarah gripped Mohamed’s hand.
Sarah:
“Impossible... If that happens... no one will survive...”
Adam stumbled backward.
Adam:
“That means... we were only the beginning...”
Ryan spoke in a low grim voice.
Ryan:
“We are not ready for this war...”
Mohamed slowly lowered his head.
Mohamed:
“Yes... yes, Ryan... This is not the end... it is only the beginning of the end.”
A heavy silence descended over them.
The air itself seemed heavier now as though it carried the scent of an approaching catastrophe.
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDOPVpot6f
and then Add to home screen.