Chapter 135: Arrow of Will

Time to Hunt[12]

Chapter 135: Arrow of Will

Noctis felt the tight grip on his horns.

Dorian was lifting him off the floor.

Sharp pain shot from the base of his horn to the back of his neck, making his body tense involuntarily.

He grabbed Dorian’s wrist with both hands.

He tried to pry the fingers open.

But no matter how much strength he used, he couldn’t move that hand.

His feet left the floor.

A moment later, Dorian swung his arm.

Noctis’s body swept through a wide arc.

The laboratory spun before his eyes.

When Dorian let go, Noctis went flying toward the ceiling.

BOOM!

His back slammed into concrete.

His mouth opened in pain, but no sound came out.

He began to fall, surrounded by chunks of stone and concrete torn from the ceiling.

He never reached the floor.

Dorian was already beneath him.

The massive fist struck him from the side as he fell.

Noctis hurtled across the laboratory.

When he hit the wall, the last of his breath left him.

For a moment, it felt as though his body had sunk into the concrete.

Then his back slid off the wall.

And he collapsed.

His vision was growing darker.

Noctis struggled to keep his eyes open.

He tried to move his fingers.

He wasn’t even sure he’d managed it.

Then he felt the glass beneath his palm dig into his skin. He could still control his hand.

He lifted his head with an effort.

Dorian was approaching.

Blood covered the area around the diagonal cut on his chest. A red line showed through his torn clothing.

But the wound didn’t seem to have slowed him much.

He wasn’t even in a hurry anymore.

He walked with slow, confident steps.

As if he knew Noctis couldn’t escape.

Noctis noticed Marven standing behind him.

The man looked bored.

His gaze shifted from Noctis to Dorian. He moved his fingers impatiently and shifted his weight.

He was clearly waiting for the fight to end.

Noctis clenched his teeth.

It’s not over yet.

He pressed his trembling palm against the floor.

His arm struggled to support his weight. Even so, he pushed upward with everything he had.

First, he pulled one knee beneath him.

The pain in his stomach flared again.

He spat the blood in his mouth to the side and braced himself against the wall.

It took several attempts to stand.

But he managed it.

Dorian stopped.

He studied Noctis.

Noctis leaned back against the wall, trying to keep his balance.

He couldn’t even hide the shaking in his legs anymore.

He knew what would happen if he raised his sword again.

He didn’t have enough strength left to do any more damage than the cut on Dorian’s chest.

But that didn’t mean he was going to give up.

Noctis ordered Umbrella to change shape one last time.

The blade came apart and reshaped itself.

Within seconds, he was holding a bow.

Dorian’s gaze shifted to the weapon.

Noctis raised his left arm.

Pain stabbed through his shoulder, blurring his vision again. He held the bow firmly anyway.

He gripped the string with his right hand.

And pulled.

An arrow began to form between his fingers.

Azure Flame appeared at its tip.

Then blue fire wrapped around the shaft and spread along the bow’s limbs.

Its light illuminated the blood on Noctis’s hands.

He drew the string back a little farther.

Dorian’s expression changed.

His indifference was gone. Now he was watching closely.

He started forward again.

"I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s too late, little hero. You can barely stand."

Noctis paid him no attention. All he could think about was pouring every bit of energy left in his body into the arrow.

His knees were shaking.

The pain in his stomach had become unbearable.

The ringing in his ears kept getting louder.

But he kept drawing the string.

Azure Flame began to spiral around the arrow. As the flames twisted together, they grew denser, the blue light burning brighter.

Cold sweat ran down Noctis’s face.

Just a little more...

He drew the bow to its limit.

His right hand was almost touching his cheek.

A terrible pressure filled his chest. It felt as if another punch had exploded inside him, squeezing all his organs from within.

He couldn’t hold on any longer.

For a moment, he wanted to lower the bow.

Sit down...

Close his eyes...

Breathe freely, just once...

But he didn’t allow himself that luxury.

He poured even the last scraps of his will into the arrow.

Dorian picked up speed.

Noctis had the bow aimed straight at him.

The distance between them kept shrinking.

Dorian took another step.

Then another...

And at that moment, Noctis turned his wrist.

The arrow’s aim shifted abruptly.

It was no longer pointed at Dorian.

Its tip was aimed at Marven, standing behind him.

Dorian’s eyes widened.

Noctis saw the change in his face.

It was an expression he hadn’t seen once since the fight began.

Fear.

For the first time, Dorian was truly afraid.

Despite everything his body had suffered, the sight was enough to make Noctis smile.

Dorian was no longer coming toward him.

He spun around, planted his heel against the floor, and launched his massive body toward Marven with all his strength.

But Noctis had already made his choice.

He opened his fingers.

The string snapped forward.

As the arrow left the bow, the dust in front of Noctis swept to either side.

Trailing blue fire, it crossed the laboratory like a comet.

Dorian lunged forward with everything he had.

He made it in front of Marven.

Raised his right arm.

And a moment later...

Everything turned blue.

BOOOOOOM!

The explosion shook the entire laboratory.

Blue flames surged outward from the center, reaching the rows of capsules with a violent pressure wave.

Glass burst one capsule after another.

Metal supports were ripped free. Worktables, chairs, and equipment flew through the air and crashed into the walls.

Blue fire swept through the liquid spilling from the shattered capsules.

One capsule tipped sideways and struck the next.

Then both toppled over.

Among the test subjects who fell to the floor with the broken glass, some tried to move in pain. Others lay completely still.

Two lab workers running for the exit were pinned beneath a heavy workbench as it toppled onto them.

The other workers who hadn’t managed to take cover behind the tables were killed by the blast.

When the initial crash faded, no human voice rose from the wreckage.

Red light filtered through the thick smoke, giving the ruined laboratory an eerie look.

Two figures remained standing amid the destruction.

Dorian and Marven.

Dorian stood directly in front of Marven.

His massive body was bent slightly forward.

His outstretched right arm shook uncontrollably.

The burns running from his hand, up his wrist, and along his arm to his shoulder and neck were horrifying.

Much of his skin had blackened.

In places, the burned skin had split, exposing the tissue beneath.

Dorian tried to close his fingers.

They would only curl halfway.

He gritted his teeth against the sharp pain in his arm.

Small blue flames still flickered across the right side of his face.

His right eye was completely burned out.

The swollen lid wouldn’t open. Most of the skin on that side of his face had been scorched.

Dorian tried to survey the room with his remaining eye.

His breathing was uneven.

Each breath stretched the cut on his chest, sending more blood down his torn clothing.

He stood there for a while.

Then he turned his head slightly and looked back at Marven.

Marven was unharmed.

There wasn’t a scratch on his face.

His clothes hadn’t burned, and there were no wounds on his body.

Dorian had clearly taken the entire attack himself.

Marven’s gaze moved across the ruined laboratory.

Shattered capsules...

Overturned equipment...

Test subjects lying motionless on the floor...

And bodies scattered everywhere.

The bored expression was gone from his face.

At last, he looked back at Dorian.

But Dorian was already looking somewhere else.

At the spot where Noctis had last stood.

The smoke was too thick to see what was there.

Dorian took a heavy step forward.

Glass crunched beneath his foot.

Keeping his injured right arm as still as possible, he began to move.

His remaining eye searched the wreckage.

The smoke slowly cleared.

The base of the wall came into view.

Dorian’s gaze sharpened.

No one was there.

The wall Noctis had been leaning against was still standing.

The floor was covered in blood.

But Noctis was gone.

Dorian frowned.

His gaze dropped to the floor.

A large bloodstain marked the base of the wall.

A few steps away was another...

Then another...

Dorian’s head snapped up.

He looked at the overturned capsules.

Checked behind the broken workbenches.

Scanned the wreckage that was still burning.

Noctis was nowhere to be seen.

His breathing quickened.

A short while ago, he’d looked certain of victory. Now his face was filled with anger.

He began following the trail of blood.

It led toward the exit.

Dorian’s jaw tightened.

He strode toward the door.

As the red emergency light above the entrance lit his face, he stopped abruptly.

The door was no longer in place.

The thick metal door had been torn from its frame.

One side was bent out toward the corridor, and pieces of the broken lock lay scattered across the floor.

Beyond the threshold stretched a dark corridor.

The blood trail disappeared into it.

For several seconds, Dorian didn’t move.

He tried to clench his right hand.

But the moment his fingers moved, the burned skin along his arm pulled tight.

He grimaced as pain rose from his wounds.

Still, he didn’t take his eye off the broken doorway.

Noctis had escaped.

After everything that had happened...

He’d managed to escape right in front of him.

The anger on Dorian’s face kept growing.

He clenched his teeth so hard that the muscles in his jaw stood out.

Then a furious roar shattered the laboratory’s silence.

"YOU DAMN RAT!"

---

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