Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 348: Underground Labyrinth I

Chapter 348: Underground Labyrinth I

Silas choked weakly as Alistair’s claws curled around his neck. His older brother’s long nails dug into his skin, quickly drawing blood as they punctured through the surface.

For some reason, this demonic transformation had also given him incredible strength and resilience. Silas was never a particularly strong man, especially when compared to Alistair and Leonora who had been through military training before. However, he usually could still hold his own against others in an arm wrestle.

This time, unfortunately, Silas was quickly turning blue and losing his strength. His neck felt as though it was close to snapping and there was nothing much he could do.

Alistair’s face was nearly pressed up against his. There were wounds all over his face, open cuts that had his blood — a dark red rather than a fresh scarlet like an ordinary human — dripping down Silas’s face.

As Silas struggled left and right, so did Alistair. More and more droplets dripped from his wound, some even touching Silas’s lips. It tasted metallic and foul, smelling just like a rotting corpse, causing Silas to gag.

"Argh!" Silas groaned out as he channeled the last of his strength, tapping into his fire magic.

The searing flames of the royal family burned through his veins, rushing through his blood vessels before eventually bursting forth from his palms, right onto Alistair’s wrists where Silas held him.

The monster growled, letting go when Silas’s fire sizzled through his skin and seared his flesh. The smell of burned human meat quickly flooded the air and Silas took the opportunity to get to his feet and dash ahead.

Curses. He deeply regretted all those times Leonora had tried to drag him to train with her, only for him to outsmart her and sneak away and out of the palace to have his fun. If he had stayed back to practice his magic, perhaps he wouldn’t be having such a hard time now.

Silas dashed through the red light district, curving corners and sharply turning down seemingly random alleys with Alistair hot on his heels. Most of the red light district was quiet― hard for it not to be when everyone was dead. The remaining survivors kept their doors and windows tightly locked shut, too afraid to even peek out to see if the danger had passed.

It wasn’t difficult to guess from the sounds that it hadn’t, of course. Alistair’s movements were heavy and sluggish, causing havoc and wreckage wherever he went.

Silas had noticed that in the few minutes they had been playing cat and mouse. Even though this demon looked and sounded like Alistair, he was just the shell of his brother. There wasn’t much humanity left in him― perhaps it was more accurate to say that Silas’s older brother had gone insane with bloodlust.

As such, he wasn’t as smart as he once was before his mind had been poisoned and his body changed. Silas also realized that Alistair was now less resistant to heat as compared to before and almost entirely depended on his physical prowess, not his magic despite his high affinity with fire magic.

That worked well for Silas. He didn’t dare dream of fighting against an enhanced, demonic version of Alistair with the same brains and was also a pyromaniac. If that were the case, Silas might not have even made it out of the brothel Lottie worked at.

For now, he still had some hope. Not a lot, but enough.

He dashed down the streets until he came to a stop in front of a seemingly inconspicuous manhole. Without hesitating, he grabbed the metal lock and melted the steel right off, yanking the door open before jumping in.

Inside, it was nearly completely dark, but Silas needed no light to know where he was going. This was one of the secret pathways that would lead to various parts of the city― including the royal palace. He just needed to get back home and leave the rest to his twin sister. Leonora would know what to do.

Unlike the open streets of Reaweth, where Alistair would have an abundance of victims to feed on, the tunnels would be empty and void of life. By leading him here into the labyrinth-like catacombs, Alistair would deal less damage to the civilians.

Underground, the smell of the sewage system was also much stronger. That would hopefully mess with Alistair’s sense of smell.

Silas expertly weaved through the tunnel system, his legs leading him closer and closer to home. He had been through here hundreds of times, the way in and out ingrained into his muscle memory. However, it seemed like the bastard had a stronger sense of hearing than he had hoped.

Alistair was still hot on his tail, seemingly able to perfectly track down Silas wherever he went.

Maybe it was also because of the blood. Silas’s entire body had bruises and wounds all over. He was leaving a trail of red wherever he went. Even if Alistair didn’t get to him, if he didn’t receive medical attention in time, he would no doubt bleed out and die.

Internally, Silas cursed a thousand and one times. He should’ve stayed home today. His sodalite had been crushed earlier on in the fight with Alistair and he couldn’t even call for backup. For now, he was entirely on his own.

There was a gate near the end of the tunnel with a lever that operated it. The lever was situated on the palace’s side so Silas just needed to get to that and pull it. If he succeeded, Alistair wouldn’t be able to follow him through. He would then either be trapped in the labyrinth or take a long time before finding the exit. By then, Silas could have the knights situated at the exits, ready to apprehend the monster.

Silas could already see it― the light at the end of the tunnel. Just the sight of it alone was enough motivation for him. His footsteps felt lighter and he began to sprint even faster than before. Just then, a loud roar came from behind him.

Before Silas could even turn back to look, something hard knocked into his back and sent him tumbling onto the ground.