Parallel Memory

Chapter 583: Clash with the Wardens

Zero’s Perspective

The corridor seemed to shrink to nothing but breath and bloodlust. The torchlight guttered under the weight of the wardens’ auras, and for a fleeting moment, Zero wondered if the air itself sought to smother him. His grip tightened around his blade. Every instinct screamed at him to strike first, but his body refused haste.

The right warden lunged first. No wasted motion, no theatrics—just raw, lethal speed. His wings beat once, a violent snap that sent him blurring forward like an arrow. Zero met him halfway, steel ringing out as his blade intercepted claw. The impact shuddered through his arm, numbing his wrist.

Strong... stronger than what I expected

The warden’s grin widened, eyes gleaming in the torchlight. "Not bad."

But the second was already moving, circling with frightening precision toward Lilith. Zero pivoted, angling his blade to keep both in his sightline, but the first warden pressed harder. Claws slashed in a flurry, each strike meant not to kill outright but to test—to probe for weakness. Zero parried, redirected, stepped back just enough.

"Zero!" Lilith’s voice cut through, sharp and steady. He didn’t have to look to know—her mana was already spilling into the corridor, shadows curling along the stone floor like serpents.

The second warden raised his hand, gathering a sphere of crimson flame, but Lilith was faster. The shadows lashed upward, coiling around his wrist and dragging the spell off course. Fire roared against the ceiling, blackening the stone. The smell of sulfur choked the air.

Zero seized the opening. His blade flared pale blue, mana coating its edge, and he struck at the first warden’s chest. Sparks erupted as steel scraped horn, the devil jerking aside at the last instant. A shallow cut marked his ribs, and instead of fury, laughter spilled from his lips.

(Zero could use his cryomancy art and shadow art he wanted to keep it minimal so that he does not leave a trace of his mana and he understood that this was not a dungeon boss where he could rest and be safe afterwards he was in the enemy territory he had to be extra careful)

"Yes! That’s it! Show me more!"

The warden slammed his wings outward, the shockwave of air slamming into Zero like a wall. His back crashed against the cold stone, his lungs seizing from the impact. Before he could draw breath, claws slashed for his throat.

Instinct screamed. Zero twisted, blade rising just in time, steel clashing against bone-tipped fingers. Sparks spat across the wall.

Too close.

He gritted his teeth, shoving the warden back with all the strength he could muster. His arm trembled from the force, but his eyes never wavered. If this turned into a prolonged duel, exhaustion would swallow him whole as he could see that in terms of physical strength they were almost equal.

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Lilith’s Perspective

The prison corridor was no longer stone and shadow. To Lilith, it felt like stepping back into a nightmare—her childhood home, the place where laughter once echoed, now desecrated by the cruelty of Aamon’s chosen. And here, at the threshold of her father’s prison, stood these wardens, treating her life and Zero’s as a game.

Her chest tightened with fury. They don’t even recognize me. The daughter of the king they guard against, standing here—and they laugh.

The second warden advanced, his wings unfurling fully now, black and vast, brushing the corridor walls. He moved with deliberate cruelty, savoring each step. His claws glistened in the firelight as he swiped through her shadows, shredding the tendrils with sheer force.

"You fight well for a rebel," he sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. "But do you really think shadows can hold one such as me?"

Lilith’s eyes narrowed. She whispered under her breath, weaving mana through her veins. The shadows shivered, then multiplied, a dozen tendrils snapping forward from the ground. They lashed at his arms, his wings, his throat—unrelenting.

For an instant, his smirk faltered. He twisted, claws tearing through one tendril after another, but two managed to coil around his ankle. Lilith seized the chance, surging forward with her hand that has now turned into claw.

The warden’s eyes widened as she thrust, the edge slipping past his guard to graze his side. Dark blood welled, hissing faintly where it met the stone.

He snarled, wings flaring with rage, the corridor vibrating with his aura. "You dare?!"

Lilith’s heart pounded, but she did not retreat. This is not your palace anymore. It never was yours.

A roar of impact made her glance aside—Zero, slammed against the wall, barely fending off the first warden’s relentless strikes. His face was pale but determined, every movement tight, controlled.

The sight lit a fire within her. If he fell, they would both die here. And if she faltered, her father’s fate would be sealed forever.

She extended her hand, shadows pooling at her fingertips like liquid night. "Zero—strike now!"

At her command, the shadows surged again, this time not at her opponent but the first warden—snaring at his legs, anchoring his wings. The warden snarled, slashing at them, but the split-second hesitation was enough.

Zero’s Perspective

Her voice cut through the haze of pain, and Zero didn’t waste a heartbeat. The shadows locked the first warden just enough, his momentum faltering. Zero’s blade flared with concentrated mana, a piercing light against the choking dark, and he drove it forward.

The warden caught the strike, claws sparking as they scraped against steel, but the force drove him back a step, then another. The grin faltered, replaced by the sharp focus of someone who had finally realized—this was no simple game.

"Better," the warden hissed, blood dripping from a shallow gash on his arm. "Much better. Perhaps you are worth killing."

The clash of steel and claw rang out again, reverberating through the stone corridor, shadows writhing in Lilith’s wake as the four combatants collided in the dimly lit corridor.

The prison corridor had become a crucible—two intruders against two wardens, each strike sparking against stone, each breath carrying the weight of survival.

And with every heartbeat, the fight edged closer to consuming them all.