Chapter 233: The Man Behind It All

The sound of Shaan and Theo’s footsteps echoed through the long corridor as they hurried forward. They had already covered a considerable distance and were nearing the far end, but the dimming light made it increasingly difficult to find the staircase Miss Khaya had mentioned earlier.

"Dammit, where is that staircase?" Theo stopped for a moment and raised his oil lamp toward the darkness. "I don’t see any stairs leading down."

"Keep searching." Shaan moved ahead, calmly scanning their surroundings. "I’m sure the staircase must be somewhere—"

"Hey, what’s wrong?"

Theo snapped his fingers when he noticed Shaan standing completely still. "What are you—"

Shaan spun around, clamped a hand over Theo’s mouth, and pulled him behind one of the few intact columns nearby. Keep your voice down, Theo," Shaan whispered. Theo fell silent. "Don’t let them know we’re here."

Shaan peeked around the column and raised his oil lamp toward the side. Several silhouettes stood in the distance, each holding an oil lamp identical to theirs. They formed a long line, almost as if they were waiting for someone—or something—to arrive.

’Strange. What are they—’

Tap! Tap! Tap!

"Guard this area. Make sure no one gets past these stairs."

A man’s voice rang out among the silhouettes.

"Understood!"

"We understand, Resistance Commander!" they shouted in unison.

A moment later, the Resistance Commander descended the staircase. His footsteps echoed through the corridor, growing fainter with every step until they eventually disappeared.

The Resistance members then took up positions around the staircase, making sure no one could pass through.

"Eight... nine... ten." Shaan counted each silhouette with his index finger. ’This is bad. There are too many of them. We need to come up with a plan if we’re going to take them all down.’

"No. That’ll take too long." Theo immediately shook his head. "We don’t have much time. We can’t let that bastard carry out his twisted plan." Theo swung his sword to the side. A flash of lightning instantly crackled along the blade. "We’re attacking them head-on."

"W-Wait. Have you lost your mind?" Shaan stepped in front of Theo and blocked his path. "There are only two of us, and they outnumber us by a lot. How are we supposed to take them down?" he asked, his voice filled with doubt. "Those Resistance members aren’t easy opponents."

"Oh... so you still think I’m weak." Theo merely smiled and walked past Shaan. "Fine. Stay here, weakling. I’ll show you exactly what my strength can do. I’ll crush them in an instant."

"Theo, don’t get too confident. We don’t even know what they’re capable—"

Theo ignored him and dashed toward the group of Resistance members. Within seconds, flashes of lightning erupted across the corridor. They darted from one target to another, striking the Resistance members before any of them could react. One by one, they collapsed.

"Hey, weakling! Get over here!" Theo shouted. "I told you I’d take care of these nuisances."

’His attitude is seriously getting on my nerves.’ Shaan let out a long sigh. ’Still, at least they’re down.’

"Yeah, I’m coming." Shaan quickened his pace and soon caught up with Theo. "Impressive... You actually took all of them down."

"See?" Theo puffed out his chest proudly. "I told you I could handle them. They were far too weak to challenge me."

"Now we need to catch up to the Resistance leader and put an end to this mess."

Shaan raised his oil lamp toward the staircase directly ahead. "Come on. We don’t have much time."

"Agreed."

However, just as Shaan was about to follow Theo down the stairs, something caught his attention from the side.

He stopped. "What the hell—"

Before Shaan could draw his twin short swords, something slammed into him with tremendous force. His body flew several meters through the air before crashing into one of the remaining stone columns.

CRASH!

"Ugh... damn it."

Shaan slowly pushed himself to his feet and wiped the blood from his lips. "What... what just happened?"

Footsteps echoed through the corridor. At first, they sounded distant. Then they grew louder. Closer. Shaan’s eyes narrowed as a figure gradually emerged from the darkness.

"Hello, Shaan." A tall man stepped into the dim light and smiled. It’s nice to see you again."

Shaan froze. His eyes widened. His jaw tightened as he stared at the man standing before him. He knew that face.

"My plan to lure you into a trap almost worked," the man said with a sinister smile. "But I never expected you to be clever enough to turn the tables and escape that trial."

"Wait..." Shaan’s eyes widened. "So... it was you..."

The man laughed at Shaan’s realization.

"That’s right. I was the one who used that destruction spell to erase the evidence."

His grin widened. "I was so certain you’d rot in prison."

"Bastard!"

Shaan clenched his fists so tightly that the veins in his hands bulged. "I’m not letting you get away with this!"

Shaan lunged forward with all his strength and swung both short swords at the man. But his opponent saw the attack coming and sidestepped it with ease. Before Shaan could recover, the man hurled a barrage of small daggers at him.

"Oh, shit!" Shaan quickly crossed his twin short swords and deflected every dagger hurtling toward him.

Cling! Clang! Cling!

’Damn it... that was close.’ Shaan exhaled sharply. ’I have to stop him before he—’

Clang!

A powerful blow struck his crossed blades.

"Lucky." The man’s voice carried a hint of amusement. "I never expected you to notice my attack after deflecting all those daggers."

"D-Damn you..."

Shaan’s entire body trembled as he struggled against the man’s overwhelming strength. ’He’s much stronger than I expected.’

"You escaped death once before." The man’s gaze hardened as he stared down Shaan. "But this time, no one will come to save you." He pressed his weapon against Shaan’s blades. "I’ll make sure you don’t escape death a second time."

The man suddenly swept Shaan’s legs out from under him, throwing him off balance. Before Shaan could recover, the man drove his fist straight into his face.

BAM!

Shaan flew backward and crashed into a pile of rubble. "Ugh!"

He slowly pushed himself up and wiped the blood from his lips. ’I... I need to figure out how to beat this bastard. And I need to do it fast.’