Felicia didn't stop. She spun, fluid as a dancer in a forbidden waltz of death. Using the momentum of her last strike, she lashed the second chain toward the neck of another panicked enemy.
The cold metal wrapped around his throat in a single vicious loop. His hands clawed at it desperately, too late.
Felicia planted her feet and pulled back with inhuman force.
"Guhkk, !"
His body jerked upward for a split second, eyes widening as the last fragment of breath was stolen before it could form a scream. Then everything went limp. He collapsed, silent, final.
Felicia stepped forward. Her face remained still, untouched by the weight of two deaths that had just fallen at her feet. To her, they were only brief notes in the night's grim symphony. But she knew, this wasn't over. She could almost smell the fear approaching from the far end of the corridor, sense the faint tremor of another presence closing in.
Her reflexes moved faster than thought. In an instant, she lunged, her chain clashing against the muzzle of a third attacker's rifle. She twisted her body and sprang upward, delivering a sharp kick to the man's chest.
"UGHK!"
He flew back, spine slamming against the wall. Air burst from his lungs. Before he could regain balance, Felicia was already before him, her fist rising.
"BRAKK!"
His body crumpled. Unconscious. No room for mercy.
Felicia stood alone in the dim corridor. Three enemies lay scattered on the ground, and her fingers still gripped the trembling chain, not from exhaustion, but from the adrenaline still burning through her veins.
In the distance, Ethan and Isabel's footsteps retreated, heading toward Kaivan. Felicia drew in a slow breath, steadying her heartbeat. The fight had only begun. She had no intention of stopping.
Underground at Radio Malabar, the corridor welcomed her with cold air and a metallic scent. Moisture clung to her skin, sharpening every pulse of her senses.
Suddenly, a metal staff cut through the darkness.
Felicia raised her chain on instinct, steel collided with steel, the impact ringing through the narrow hall. The blow sent her stumbling, her back slamming against the wall.
Pain radiated along her spine, but she remained standing. Slowly, she straightened, blood trailing down her temple, chain still firm in her grasp. Her crimson eyes narrowed into the shadows.
Soft, deliberate footsteps approached.
A woman in a black cloak emerged, her movements fluid, precise. Like a shadow that had learned how to kill.
"You're strong," she said coldly. A faint smile tugged at her lips, the kind worn by someone who had already decided the outcome.
Felicia hissed, "Who are you?"
The woman lowered her hood. A beautiful but hardened face appeared, eyes the same crimson shade, holding a calmness that felt dangerous. "Rapi," she said quietly. A name that fell like a whispered death sentence.
Without warning, Rapi attacked.
Her staff shot toward Felicia's head with blinding speed. Felicia spun her chain into a protective arc.
Clang!
Sparks scattered across the darkness. Rapi twisted, striking from the opposite side. Felicia dove away, the staff slicing the air just inches from her cheek.
"You're fast," Rapi sneered.
Felicia's lips curled into a faint grin, breath ragged. "Thank you."
She pivoted sharply, her chain whipping forward, coiling around Rapi's staff in one swift motion.
The force of the pull yanked the weapon, threatening to drag Rapi into Felicia's domain.
For a heartbeat, Rapi froze, surprised.
But instead of resisting, she released the staff entirely. Her body flipped backward in a graceful handspring, her silhouette gliding for a moment before landing lightly on the floor.
Felicia narrowed her eyes. She begrudgingly acknowledged the woman's agility, though she'd never say it aloud.
Rapi rose again, her gaze steady and dissecting. "Interesting," she murmured with a sharp, crooked smile. "But can you last any longer?"
Felicia now held her opponent's weapon, breath slow, calculating her next strike. But Rapi had no intention of waiting.
In a blink, she dashed forward. Her bare hand cut through the air, deadly, precise.
Felicia swung her chain in defense, but Rapi vaulted aside with a swift leap, twisting into a spinning kick that slammed into Felicia's stomach.
The strike was fast, almost invisible.
"Bugh!" Felicia staggered back, the air nearly knocked out of her lungs. She clenched her teeth, fighting against the pain exploding inside her chest.
In the dim corridor, two shadows faced each other. Felicia's breath came fast and sharp, her chest rising and falling. Rapi stood calm and still, eyes sharp enough to slice through the air.
In the blink of an eye, Felicia dashed forward, swinging her staff toward Rapi's head. But the girl spun aside with fluid grace, as if dancing. The triple nunchaku in her hand whirled rapidly, slicing toward Felicia's ribs.
Felicia heard the wind tear open. She leaped back, barely avoiding the strike. But Rapi gave her no room to breathe. She stepped in, unleashing a spinning kick. Felicia blocked with her iron staff.
"BRAKK!" The impact echoed. Felicia skidded back, her boots scraping the floor, but she remained standing. Her eyes glowed with fierce resolve. Her body was tired, but her spirit refused to yield. She tightened her grip on the staff. This battle was only beginning.
"I have to find Kaivan… I can't lose here." Felicia drew strength from that single thought, her breath ragged but her eyes burning.