Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 568: The end... Or...

Arabella’s screams haunted Ada long after they had ceased. Long after her body turned motionless at the prince’s feet.

But he kept on kicking her and demanding that she wake up to watch the rest of them being hanged even upon getting no response.

Eventually, another man ascended the stairs to the scene with a bucket which Ada believed to be full of water.

He dumped its content right on her head but to no avail. Even that did not help bring her back to their reality. How could it... After what she was made to witness and after all the blows that were rained upon her without an ounce of mercy?

Speaking of mercy, there was none for them to spare either, was there?

It was the end for all of them and by no one else’s fault but hers. At least, according to Zarah who did not hold back on telling Ada how her little visit to the training room was the line that helped connect the dots which already danced in plain sight.

Oh, how foolish it was of her! She was warned time and time again but never learned...

To her side stood Edgar, calm as ever. As if they were simply living through another day that would come to an end just like the previous.

Except, when the sun would rise the next morning, they wouldn’t be there to behold or feel its blessings, would they?

None of the men next to her made a peep. They shed not a single tear despite being fully aware of their impending doom.

How could they manage? How could they stop their bodies from shaking? How could they have such precise control over their features? How did they stop their faces from crumbling?

From the corner of her teary eyes, Ada noted a new movement on the platform facing them as one of the Generals, seemingly the youngest rose from his seat, folded fabric in hand.

He appeared to say something close to the prince’s ear before the latter walked away, near the edge of the platform to open his arms wide and raise them high before his subjects, a big grin on.

Meanwhile, the General behind him threw the fabric over Arabella’s body then scooped her up only to walk away with her in his arms. And just like, they vanished down the stairs behind the stage.

"Alright! Alright! I know you all are impatient!" the prince declared into the voice amplifier, "Let us proceed with the rest of them and rid ourselves of these filthy traitors, shall we?" his voice rose with every syllable, so proud of his words and standing.

The racket from the crowd below exploded in volume, deafening everything else.

The next in line to have the noose around their neck was Rubius Sterling.

He too did not flinch as the soldiers manhandled him, dragging him onto the trap door that would fold downward, ensuring his doom.

Who’s idea was it to have them go one by one instead of all at once? Was it the prince’s? It would make a lot of sense if it was the case.

Null doubt, a ploy to draw Arabella’s suffering by making her watch as her family and friends were plucked one after the other from life in front of her powerless eyes and hands.

The sounds, the smells, the sight... Those totally eclipsed the rough ropes breaking the skin around Ada’s wrists open behind her back.

With every heartbeat that drummed her ears, every second that slipped by, the soldier’s hand wrapped around the lever. His fingers gripped it tighter, prompting the muscles that made his arm to contract in preparation for the action he was about to take.

Incredible, beyond belief was the manner in which the fabric of time stretched so thinly in such dire moments, rendering every drop of sweat, every breath perceivable to the crazed human eye.

However, and right as the lever sang its first creak, a guttural, chest rumbling roar boomed from the very side of the vast courtyard.

It muted it all. The crowd, the executioners even the prince and the panel of monsters that always profited from the suffering of the people. All of their heads, including Ada’s, turned to seek the source of that head splitting growl.

The silence that followed did not last as the screams and stomping of the ground began. More growling ensued topped by bodies being tossed in every way from one single point in the courtyard.

Things did not calm down. On the contrary, soldiers from all ranks converged towards that one point, nearly toppling each other to put a stop to whatever was mauling their comrades.

To no avail, the assault continued, racing in quick flashes across the space, tearing at the men as if they were nothing but helpless pawns in the way or fickle herbs being uprooted from the ground.

Ada’s legs threatened to give out as the roaring grew closer to their scaffolding. Her body only held in place when she connected with Edgar right next to her.

"Don’t be afraid," he smiled down at her when their eyes locked.

The solemn expression on him returned as quickly as he lifted his head back towards the origin of the chaos that traveled their way.

The platform upon which they stood wabbled as the soldiers below it turned agitated, thus colliding with its pillars.

From the sea of bodies that the soldiers had become emerged a creature. A ferocious, four legged and fury animal skipped all of the steps up the stage, clamping down on three swords between its sharp teeth.

The cracking of their bones began before their feet touched the wood and by then, it no longer looked like the beast it used to but a man instead.

Alpha Cynric rushed and cut the ropes binding their wrists before handing the swords to the men that stood next to Ada.

"Guard the stage. I’ll handle the audience," he said.

"What about miss Allegra and madame Morgana? Are they not with you?" Edgar took one of the swords in hand.

"Oh, the party is just starting," those were the only words that alpha Cynric had uttered before diving back among the enraged soldiers in his wolf form.