Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Treason, 叛國罪

The dark subsided slightly as some grey light trickled down from tiny lights at the sides of the giant chamber; there was no sign of the warm red glow of a fire. The sides of the endless chamber were bare and made of a cold alabaster stone, which had darkened over time to a dark grey. An eerie frost hung in the air, adding to the already-glacial ambience of the room. I shivered on the inside as the voice drew in a long breath; I could see the air from their breath coming from the deepest corner of the room where no light reached. Something in the corner stirred and I felt my heart race faster. I noticed that Kiyoshi's presence was frighteningly absent.

Where did he go?

A ghostly figure slithered from the darkness and slowly crept towards me confidently. It was a tall man with paper-white skin, long fingernails, blonde shoulder-length hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, blood red eyes with thin slits for the pupils, and an evil sneer playing across his face that showed all of his remarkably white teeth and unusually long canines. Everything about him was cold.

This must be Ronin.

He casually sauntered toward me, analyzing me with his pure crimson eyes.

"I commend you for your excellent work, Sorrel." Ronin praised to someone that stood behind me. To my utter surprise, Sorrel stepped out of the shadows with a pleased smile on her face. She bowed to Ronin.

"Thank you, sire. I could never have done it if it weren't for this little Mew's utter gullibility." Sorrel said, ruffling my hair, taking in my expression of betrayal.

"W-where's Kiyoshi?" I demanded shakily. Sorrel and Ronin started cackling in unison.

"Don't you get it, you idiotic girl? This was a setup! Takara is safely at school and your beloved Kiyoshi has no idea where you are…he probably just thinks that you're sick!" Ronin gloated. I looked down shamefully.

How could I have been so stupid?

"And I must say that playing as Kiyoshi was way too easy." Sorrel laughed.

I gave her a look of utmost repulsion. "I thought you couldn't speak English?...And more importantly, I thought you were my friend!" I yelled at her. She immediately ceased laughing and leaned closer to me.

"Number One: I lied. And Number Two: I'm nobody's friend. The only person I serve is Lord Ronin." She hissed, her breath cold. Ronin held up his pale hand.

"Enough! I have let you live for far too long, Mew. You have interrupted my plans for the last time!" Before I could even think, a cold punch flew into my cheek, sending me flying back into the frigid wall. I felt my cheek, finding it sensitive to the touch.

I'm gonna be feeling that tomorrow…hopefully.

Ronin furiously marched from his position in the middle of the room to where I laid. I scrambled to my feet and summoned my sword—but not soon enough. Ronin was on me before I could block him.

Punches and jabs came in a quick succession, not allowing me any time to get up, let alone get anything in with my sword. All I could do was sit in a crumpled heap, wincing in pain until it was all over. Until I couldn't take the pain any more and finally died.

"Come on, Komori! I was hoping for more of a fight from you!" Ronin taunted as he kept his incessant series of punches and jabs.

I have to at least try…

I mustered up the strength to lift my sword and hit Ronin on the back; no blood shed, I hadn't hit him near hard enough, but it was enough to distract him. I shoved him off and sprinted to the opposite side of the room. Sorrel had coolly walked to the edge of the room to watch the fight. Ronin grinned as he rubbed his back.

"That's more like it!" he ran towards me, forming a sphere of orange energy in his hand, hurling it at me like a curve ball. Not expecting to be bombarded by energy spheres, I was stupid and didn't duck. The sphere erupted in my abdomen, sending huge, unending pulses of pain through my midriff and lower chest. I collapsed to my knees, gasping for air and a reprieve from the fiery pain that burned all over my body.

So this is what it feels like to die…

I felt the familiar light-headedness and knew that I was going to lose consciousness if I tried to hit Ronin again.

"Feeling weak?" Ronin asked in mock pity as he approached me.

"I never…did anything to you!" I cried airily. Ronin's face contorted in anger; Ronin's foot jammed into my side and a deep ripple of pain spread to my side and torso.

"AHH!" I fell onto the floor, writhing in agony.

So…this… is the end. It's funny how life seems so short now.

I smiled slightly despite the sharp, stabbing pain that rippled through every single nerve. I knew that all the pain would be completely gone in a few seconds. I squeezed my eyes together in anticipation for the final blow, but there wasn't one. A giant crash echoed through the empty chamber; I heard Ronin's gasps of horror and Sorrel's terrified footsteps running out of the chamber.

What? What's going on? Why are you running away?

Ronin screamed in true terror. I heard a sickening ripping sound and hasty footsteps running out of the chamber after Sorrel.

He…he got away…

I felt slightly happier. I knew that since Ronin wasn't there, the pain would stop…at least for a while. But right now I had to deal with whatever it was that had scared away Ronin and Sorrel.

The crashing stopped and three sets of footsteps came closer to where I laid.

Oh no. Please, give me more time to rest. I'm not ready to die yet.

"Please…" I thought aloud. The footsteps stopped in front of me, but I couldn't lift my head to see their faces. A gentle hand brushed the side of my face that had taken the first punch, but I barely felt the pain. I had almost gone completely numb.

"How bad is it?" a familiar voice asked worriedly.

"She's lost a lot of blood; we need to get her to the lab immediately." said another familiar voice.

Three sets of hands gently lifted me and laid me on what I thought was a stretcher. It felt like I was playing 'Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board'.

I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. A shroud of warm darkness swept over me as I finally lost all consciousness.