One by one, creepy mutants started to appear. They were coming from the ceiling, the floor, and even from behind the big columns, slowly moving closer. Ren pulled out his blade, cut his hand to coat the blade with his own blood, turning it into the red sword.

He moved forward, by himself, with just a sword to face the swarm of enemies that were appearing from the ground. No one was there to help him, so retreating wasn’t an option. Behind him were his injured friends and the person he was determined to protect no matter what.

Suddenly, a mutant jumped down from the dark spaces near the ceiling, trying to attack the still-standing Kestrel from behind. Its really hard, long claws were shining with a scary, cold light.

The big orca got really mad, its tail swung to hit away the frightening mutant.

The mutant was thrown hard against a stone column, screaming before it fell to the floor. The solid column got cracked and bent, but the attack also left some deep cuts on the killer whale’s dark back.

The opponent was really strong, showing amazing fighting skills. But this time, the orca didn’t cry out; its small eyes were glowing fiercely, and it was showing off its pointy teeth, letting the blood flow from its injuries. It realized that nobody was there to soothe it this time — Kestrel and her tendrils were battling in the psychic world, so no one would comfort it.

So, it turned into a fierce and bossy sea creature, not caring about the pain.

More and more enemies were coming straight at them. Ren was doing his best to protect the small area around the couch, against the foes coming from everywhere. Both he and the orca got hurt quickly.

The lighting in the castle was really faint, resembling a scary dream. Strong mutants that were sleeping under the floor kept coming up, one after another, non-stop.

This was Queen of Mantidale’s castle, where the Backbone resided, far different from the peaceful and pretty abandoned place as it looked.

Underneath the floor, numerous strong mutants were lying in wait, ready to guard the castle at any time.

The red glow from Ren’s blade kept flashing in the dark, revealing Ren’s face.

The orca’s far-away cries could be heard, its powerful dark shape was flying through the air, with drops of blood falling from it, disappearing into thin air slowly.

Things were getting more and more horrific and ugly, with crushed insect bodies leaving sticky liquids behind, and the cut nerves in their legs were still reacting, moving and twitching on the floor.

There were just too many enemies coming at them, one after the other, tightening the circle around them. Ren was practically trapped; moving even a bit would leave his friends behind him vulnerable.

All he could do was use his sword, his strong physic, and his psychic incarnation to fight back against the monsters and the onslaught in the dark.

Ren moved back until he bumped into the couch. He quickly looked over at Kestrel, trying to figure out how much longer he could keep this up.

One of his legs was badly hurt, so he couldn’t jump far. Blood was running down his arm, feeding the long blade.

Behind him, Kestrel stood still, her eyes shut. She didn’t make a sound, didn’t open her eyes, and none of her tendrils were showing.

It was obvious that her fight in the psychic landscape was really tough, making her unable to pay attention to anything else, and it was unclear how she was doing.

Ren understood that he couldn’t bother her or take her focus away, which meant he couldn’t back up even a little more. So he got the blood out of his mouth, changed his focus, and held his knife really tight.

At some point, one of Kestrel’s cool tendrils came out, touching Ren’s finger and softly rubbing the back of his hand.

Ren’s eyes widened. At that moment, that little touch felt like a big, comforting hug, calming his worried, fluttering heart.

Kestrel had never been so inactive in a fight before. In Ren’s memory, she always had strong and trustworthy psychic powers, almost unbeatable, never showing any weak points while fighting. Seeing her like this, totally unable to protect herself, completely focused on a mental battle, was something new for Ren.

Ren was really scared for her, but the only thing he could do was to protect her physical form, hoping she could give a tiny sign that she was still okay.

A small tendril, a kind touch, calmed Ren’s racing heart right away.

Kestrel didn’t have the strength to do more for him now, so she just touched his skin gently. But, at that moment, the harsh impacts of the blood loss and wounds seemed to fade, and Ren felt like he could keep going for a long time.

Ren was aware that this feeling was just in his mind, and he knew he couldn’t keep up with the endless injuries and loss of blood forever, but at least for now, he was able to stand strong once more, holding onto his knife tightly. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

In the harsh and bloody fight, Ren found the strength to softly hold onto Kestrel’s tendril in response.

In the dim ancient castle, with broken stained glass windows casting eerie shadows, enemies were closing in. Amidst this chaos, Ren stood, feeling the tiny tendril in his grasp, drawing strength from this small psychic incarnation. It felt like a lifeline, a magical elixir, as if it had the power to heal all his injuries and ease his pain instantly.

The tendril he held gently squirmed against his skin, only pulling away contentedly when he let it go, readying itself for the next fight.

It slithered its way up to the couch, branching out into several thin tendrils. They burrowed into the forehead of Olivia, the sleeping Nicole, and into the minds of other alphas resting on the couch.

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