No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

My heart was racing as I sprinted towards the direction of the sound, my mind spinning over the endless possibilities while beating myself up simultaneously for not going after him immediately. He had survived without me before I arrived, I thought he would be fine. 

Why did I think he would be fine?

I ran through multiple alleys, jumping over fallen objects, not bothering to hide myself from potential other fighters nearby. I didn't care. I had to know what happened. I had to know if I fucked up. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something had happened to him, I'd only known him for a day, but I loved dogs and animals in general and I couldn't stand to see them hurt.

My breath hitched when my eyes fell on the scene. H3 was snickering, standing over Sauron's lifeless body in front of him. It had been pierced with seven arrows and I noticed a smirking V2 standing near the edge of a higher floor from the skyscraper with H2's bow in his hands. The whole thing was under construction, so the outer walls hadn't been built yet, giving him the opportunity to shoot everything that came into sight with ease.

With a grin on his face, H3 nudged Sauron's body with his foot, but he didn't move, so H3 backed up, held up his thumb to V2 and started to walk to the skyscraper, leaving Sauron behind. Tears dwelled up in my eyes as my senses confirmed it.

He was dead.

Sauron was dead.

And they had killed him for sport.

My vision turned red and my inner warrior took over, ignoring all the cameras. Before I knew it I tackled H3 and we rolled over. I ended up on top, keeping him locked between my legs, and my fists made contact with his face, each hit harder and more brutal than the other.

I let out an enraged scream as I punched his face over and over again. Bones broke under my touch as I bashed in his skull, blood and brain matter sputtered everywhere. The ground, my face, his body, it didn't matter, the red substance covered everything.

Not registering he had stopped breathing already, my hand plunged into his chest, tearing through his skin, his muscles, his veins and breaking his ribcage. My hand wrapped around his heart and I ripped it out effortlessly.

Slowly, I got up, breathing heavily, moving my death glare from him to the heart in my bloody hand. My eyes fixed on my hands. Blood dripped from them over my arms onto the ground beneath me and I couldn't stop looking at it.

My mind began to trail while my eyes widened and it hit me when I realized I had done it, I had killed for the first time. I was a killer, a murderer. 

My gaze moved to his body. His head was unrecognizable, it didn't even look like a head anymore, it was just a heap of meat and bone. I tilted my head, the sight of it didn't want to make my stomach turn nor did it make me feel as bad as it should have.

It dawned on me. One of my worst fears had come true, not because I had just done it, but because a part of me found it oddly satisfying, exciting even. I knew it was wrong, human number three had family and friends out there who probably cared for him a lot, but there was a certain contentment to it, because he had deserved it.

Noticing the remaining fighters had gathered around, lurking in the shadows as one of the cameras had broadcasted the whole thing on the screen for everyone to see, I gave his heart one last glance and dropped it on the ground.

Squashing it under my foot, I turned to crouch down next to Sauron's body. I removed the arrows and stroked his soft fur, with tears dwelling up in my eyes again as I allowed myself a brief moment of sadness.

"I'm so sorry, you deserved better. I failed and I should have protected you." I whispered while a couple tears escaped.

As the liquid rolled over my cheeks and dripped down my chest, my expression dropped and my sadness quickly got replaced with fury. What kind of sick individual would kill a dog for fun?

They hadn't even dared to face him up close while he was alive, they had to shoot him down with arrows from afar first. Not to mention humans and vampires were apparently teaming up. For what? Having a chance of defeating the werewolves? I didn't care and it didn't matter anymore. Every single one of us was put in here for a single purpose. We simply had to kill.

And I? I was going to kill them all.

My lips pursed and my jaw twitched as I got up and faced the camera next to me directly, my hands balling into fists.

"You want a battle? I'll give you war." I hissed, meaning every single word.

Afterwards, I made my way over to the skyscraper while the fighters in the shadows refused to move. I didn't give them any attention, their time would come.

I had numbers to kill after all, and V2 was first on my list.

I grabbed my axes with a grin as I walked through the doors. The skyscraper was in its earlier phase of construction. Only the entire frame of the building had been built, along with the elevator and stairs, leading all the way to the 76th floor, the very top of the building. Besides that, nothing else had been built yet, no walls, no windows, no furniture, everything was open, made out of steel or cement.

The elevator worked and was going up with V2 in it. I noticed H1's presence in the building as well, he was standing on top of the building, probably waiting for V2. When the elevator reached the top and V2 stepped out of it, I cut the cables in the elevator shaft, making it crash down hard, destroying it on impact.

Now there were only two ways down. They either had to take the stairs, the very same stairs I had started to ascend, or they had to jump down from the top, dying on impact with the ground. I had given them a choice, they could die willingly or they could die trying to fight me. The decision was theirs.

I sensed them standing near the edge and they debated, eventually deciding they were going to try and fight me. I took my time going up the stairs allowing them to come up with some strategy, it was only fair to them.

It would give them some hope, some fighting spirit, and I would gladly take it away.

I jogged up the final set of stairs, reaching the top of the building. V2 was sitting in the operator's cabin of the construction crane while H1 was busy climbing it. I tilted my head, for a brief moment I contemplated pushing the whole construction crane off the building, but to be honest that would be less entertaining than fighting them one on one.

I put my axes away and started to chase after H1, ignoring V2's occasional arrows that soared past me and the usual drones. H1 was so anxious he slipped up and nearly fell from the crane from time to time, but eventually he reached the top and moved to the very end of the jib, drawing his sword.

I drew my axes again and flipped them in my hands when I set foot on the jib as well, knowing the men were going to do anything in their power to try and make me fall to the ground. H1 gulped when his eyes fell on the distance to the ground beneath him. The sword in his hand was trembling and he lost some of his balance, but didn't fall.

He was afraid of heights, yet he thought it was a great idea to climb a crane on top of a high skyscraper. Marvelous.

I stamped my foot on the jib with force, making the crane shake and grasping his attention. He ran towards me, swinging his sword at me in the process and I cut it in half with one of my axes. I kicked the remaining half out of his hands and send him tumbling backwards.

Just when I was about to kick him off it, V2 jammed the controls of the crane, making it spin around in circles. H1 and I both lost our balance and fell off. I quickly hooked my axes onto a metal railing of the jib, making me hang on the side of it.

As my hands got sweaty and the liquid dripped on my forehead, my gaze snapped to V2 who had left the booth and was running down the stairs like a coward while the jib continued to spin. I pursed my lips and scrunched up my nose, letting out an angry groan as I tensed up my entire body and slowly moved my hands further up my axes.

My eyes noticed H1 struggling on the other side. He had managed to grab the jib as well and he was struggling to pull himself up because of the constant movement of the crane. Soon he would fall and perish to his death. 

I would rather not do that, so I lifted up my legs, thankful for my many workouts, and placed them between some of the metal bars on the bottom side of the jib, allowing me to let go of my axes and grab the actual jib. When my bare hands made contact with the metal of the crane and I tightened my grip, it felt like I was one with the metal. Slow but confident, I hoisted myself up and sat down on my knees on the moving arm beneath me, making sure I had the right balance before I would stand up.

I grabbed my axes which were still hanging around and placed them back in the holster. Carefully, I stood up, keeping the right balance while my hair blew backwards because of the constant wind. I walked over to H1 who was struggling like a fish on dry land, losing his grip. I rolled my eyes, grabbed one of the axes and threw it into the control board, making the jib come to a sudden halt, causing H1 to swing back and forth.

As I looked down on a fearful H1, my lips formed into a grin. I held out my arm to the thrown axe, focusing deeply on the metal it was made off and the air surrounding it. I clenched my jaw a little as I tensed my arm. The axe tremored slightly, but didn't move just yet. I crouched down in front of H1 and grabbed hold of him at his collar with my other hand, lifting him up from the edge.

His gaze shifted between me and the ground very far beneath him. A small hint of relief passed through him as I held on to him and he grabbed my wrist, clenching on to the hope I would hoist him up.

"I admire the effort, but it's time to face your fears, buddy." I said letting him go, causing him to fall down all the way to the ground.

As I watched him plummet to his death, living his greatest fear, my fingers moved slightly while I imagined the axe in my hand. Moments later it flew to me and I put it away. I looked at my hand satisfied, feeling like a Marvel character for a second.

I climbed down the crane and made my way down the many stairs with only one thing on my mind. 

V2 would pay.

I sensed he was still in the square, along with others who had gathered. There were no humans anymore as I probably didn't really count in that department anyway. I stayed out of sight on the first floor, observing the square. 

Men were gathered around the fountain in the middle, werewolves and vampires alike. There were three vampires and four werewolves left. The tension was at an all-time high, but instead of ripping each other to shreds, they were discussing something or rather, someone. Valerio and Haimon stood on opposite sides from one another while the warriors stood next to their respective kings. My eyes fell upon one of the werewolves, who was holding a mirror.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you and your bunch at this very instant Orpheus." Valerio stated seriously, crossing his arms.

"There is no way me or my fighters will be able to beat Iola. Our best chance is to team up." Haimon said blankly.

All but Valerio nodded in agreement and everyone's gaze moved to him again.

He narrowed his eyes at his own fighters, before moving them to Haimon, refusing to even look at the other vampires. "If you do that you're simply giving her the opportunity to take everyone out all at once."

Two of his own fighters pleaded to give it a shot, while another agreed with him. The vampires gave each other multiple looks, unsure what to do and who to agree with.

"We can at least try and find out if it increases our chances. Who says she'll kill all of us at once? We can always fall back and come up with something else if things go south."

"It will definitely go south, and when it does it's every man for himself. I'm not going to get killed because of you incompetent fucks. Got it?" Valerio growled lowly, making the other men nod quietly.

Something brew within me as I watched the men take their positions around the square. With every second that passed, my powers grew, and I knew I was getting close to unlocking their full potential. It was simply a matter of days, hours even.

Eyeing V2 and the other men, I hesitated. I could've stepped out of the shadows then and there to give them what they wanted, a show off, a chance to reveal their strength. I was almost tempted to let them have it, their pathetic moment of fame and hope, before I would destroy it and quickly break them one by one.

But I thought not. I didn't intend to play their little game. They didn't deserve a quick death, especially V2. So as much as I wanted to let my rage take over and kill him now, I was going to have to wait a little longer to have it my way.

Time was ticking for the vampires regardless. All humans had been killed and blood had been scarce. There wasn't any in the hospital and animals were almost nowhere to be found, so I knew they had to be starving. Since they couldn't drink my blood, the vampires would eventually start to fight the werewolves out of frustration for the conquest taking too long.

Grey clouds covered the sky and fallen raindrops darkened the ground drop by drop. Not long after, a roaring sound boomed through the sky followed by a force of electricity that cracked it open as I retreated further up into the skyscraper and eventually lowered myself against a metal frame on the edge of the thirteenth floor. I rested my pounding head against it, looking down on the square where the men were still standing.

They anxiously looked around, keeping their guard up since they couldn't sense me. Terror began to surround them as they flinched at every movement, keeping an eye on the shadows, realizing I could be lurking around anywhere I wanted. And I grinned because it was good, their fear was excellent.

After all, I wasn't stuck in this conquest with them, they were stuck in here with me.