Joyce sat in the dark, her back pressed to the cold, unforgiving trunk of the tree, the night wrapping itself around her like a suffocating shroud. Every breath she drew was shallow, strained. Her body was a battleground, blood soaking through, staining her clothes a deeper shade of red with each passing second. The pain was sharp, gnawing at her, but it wasn’t the physical agony that clawed at her mind. It was the horror of knowing she was running out of time. Out of breath. Out of options.
She tried to move, her body stiff and uncooperative, but each small shift brought another wave of pain, sharp and hot, forcing a gasp from her lips. She coughed, harsh and wet, and black blood dripped down her chin, staining the ground beneath her. Her vision blurred, the world around her twisting, warping. Darkness crept in from the corners of her eyes, and with it, the unbearable weight of sleep, threatening to pull her under. She couldn’t let it. Not yet.
With trembling hands, she pressed the earpiece into place, her fingers slick with blood.
“Please… Can you… hear me?” Her voice cracked, faint and fragile, as though it might break at any moment. Her heart pounded in her chest, each beat a reminder of how little time was left.
For a long, agonizing moment, there was nothing but silence. Then, through the static, she heard it. His voice, rough and apologetic, cutting through the void.
“Yes… Sorry, couldn’t answer before…”
Relief should have flooded through her, but it didn’t. It was swallowed by the bitter taste of regret, the harsh reality that she could no longer pretend everything would be okay. She coughed again, blood spilling from her lips, the metallic taste flooding her mouth. Her vision wavered. Every breath was a battle, each one harder to take.
“Are you okay, Joyce!? I hear you coughing. Where are you!? I will come to take you.” His voice cracked with fear, with panic, and it was the only thing keeping her tethered to the world. The desperation in his tone made her heart twist.
“That’s already too late…” Her voice barely rose above a whisper, breaking under the weight of everything unsaid. She fought to stay conscious, to hold onto whatever fragment of strength was left. “Listen—”
The words caught in her throat, suffocated by the growing darkness that was threatening to swallow her whole. She knew what she had to say, what he needed to understand, but it was hard to find the strength to speak.
“Wait… You’re infected, yes!? Don’t worry about this. You know that…” His voice faltered as he tried to reassure her, but Joyce couldn’t afford his false hope.
“Stop it! Listen…” She forced the words out, even though they felt like they were being ripped from her. “Your distraction wasn’t enough… I’m sorry… I tried to warn you…”
Another violent cough wracked her body, and she could feel the blood spilling from her, the sickness that had begun to eat away at her insides.
“Did she attack you!?” Notori’s voice cracked with worry, a tremor of panic threading through the words.
“Yes…” Joyce whispered, her voice weak, distant. “You need to watch your back…”
She could hear the sound of his breath catching, could feel his frustration and fear radiating through the earpiece.
“Don’t you dare die saying it was my fault!” His voice cracked with raw emotion, and for a brief moment, Joyce felt a pang of guilt. “Where are you, Joyce!? You can’t just leave your team like this!“
Her body was failing her, slipping away, piece by piece. The pain was a distant memory now, replaced by the numbing cold of inevitability.
“I’m sorry… I couldn’t do more…” The words barely escaped her lips, strained and broken. She wanted to say more—wanted to tell him how sorry she was, how much she cared—but there wasn’t time. The darkness was closing in, and she could feel herself slipping further from the world.
And then, just as Joyce thought the world would slip completely away from her, consumed by the relentless darkness, she gathered the last of her strength and managed to whisper through the earpiece, her voice a fragile thread barely hanging on.
“Please… don’t let them win. You can stop them. I know you can.”
“Joyce—” Notori’s voice crackled through, strained, breaking as if something inside him was already giving way. He was about to say more, but the words faltered in his throat, lost to the urgency of the moment. “We are trying to track you. You hear me? We will save you! I promise I—”
But before he could finish, a sharp movement at her side snapped Joyce attention. A cold hand reached out, fingers wrapping around the earpiece, and in one swift motion, the device was ripped from her ear. Joyce’s bleary, blood-smeared gaze turned slowly forward, and though her vision blurred with each passing second, she saw the shape of a woman standing before her—a figure she could barely recognize in her fading state.
The woman’s presence was unnerving, her aura powerful. But Joyce’s body was too numb, too broken to respond in any useful way but by staring, helpless and afraid.
Lili stood there, her gaze cold, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She didn’t need to speak for Joyce to understand: she was no longer in control of her fate.
“Joyce, are you okay!? Talk to me, please!” Notori’s voice cracked through the static, his panic slicing through the silence between them. But Lili cut him off with a laugh—a cold, cruel sound that sent a chill straight through Joyce’s bones. Her presence was so commanding, so oppressive, that it felt as though the very air around them thickened, suffocating.
“I’m a Princess of Death. You know this name, yes?” Lili’s voice oozed dark amusement, but the malice in her eyes was unmistakable, a silent threat that Joyce could feel like ice running through her veins.
Notori’s voice came through again, trembling with fear. “You don’t understand… She is sick!”
Lili’s laughter deepened, richer and more mocking this time, as if she were enjoying the desperation in his voice. “Don’t worry about her.” Her words were dismissive, as if Joyce’s fate was already sealed.
Lili’s expression darkened further, her lips curling into a smirk as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Her eyes narrowed with deadly intent. “It won’t be long before I find you too.”
Notori’s voice cracked with fury, the rage in him threatening to break free. “If you touch her, I will find you first! And believe me, it won’t be pleasant.”
Lili’s lips curled into a taunting smile, her amusement laced with a dangerous edge. “You think you can challenge me!?”
Notori’s voice came again, low and full of grim determination, like a growl waiting to rip free. “Princess, I can do more than just burn down your factories.”
The tension between them crackled like the calm before a storm. Lili’s gaze remained unflinching. But inside, something stirred—a deep, seething fury. As she crushed the earpiece in her hand, she thought about this man words, about the burning of her boss’s facilities. The act was far more than just an attack; it had been a personal insult.
The audacity of it—how they thought they could simply destroy what she had worked for, what she had fought for. It wasn’t just business—it was a declaration of war.
Lili’s eyes narrowed, her mind racing with thoughts of vengeance. She wasn’t just going to hunt them down for revenge. No, it was more than that. She would make them pay for their transgression. Every single one of them. Their reckoning would be slow and painful, their hope vanishing with each day they thought they had escaped her wrath.
Someone else moved behind Lili. Five men emerged from the shadows, their presence silent but undeniable. The faint gleam of their weapons catching the dim light. They stood rigid, waiting for her command. Lili didn’t need to glance at them to know they were ready. They were always ready.
“Take her with us. We will question her on our way back,” Lili ordered, her tone as cold and unforgiving as the night itself.
The men obeyed without hesitation. Two of them stepped forward, grabbing Joyce by the arms. The roughness of their touch sent a fresh jolt of panic through her fading consciousness.
“No!” Joyce’s voice cracked as she struggled, her limbs flailing weakly against their hold. She barely had the strength to lift her head, but she fought anyway. She had to. She wouldn’t let them take her without a fight.
Her throat burned with each word, but the defiance in her heart kept her going. “I won’t… tell you… anything!”
One of the men yanked her up with little effort, hoisting her like dead weight. The movement sent fresh agony rippling through her body.
“Don’t touch me!” she screamed, her voice hoarse, raw with desperation. She twisted against their hold, but it was useless.
Lili watched in silence as Joyce’s frail body was lifted from the ground. She made no move to stop the struggle, no effort to interfere. There was something almost entertaining about watching the last flickers of resistance in someone who had already lost.
The night air was thick with tension, but Lili’s expression remained unreadable. Only when Joyce’s movements slowed, her exhaustion finally overtaking her, the faintest smirk tugging at Lili’s lips. She followed soon after.
This operation had been meant to go smoothly. Instead, it had turned into this—a mess. A complication. One that she fully intended to clean up.
Lili slid into the van, her movements fluid and confident as she settled beside Joyce, who was slumped against the cold metal interior. The other five men, who had escorted the injured woman inside, took their places around. The van rumbled to life, its engine humming a steady rhythm as it sped into the darkness.
Lili’s sharp eyes fixed on Joyce, who was barely holding onto consciousness, her face pale, streaked with blood, her body bruised and broken. Lili leaned in, her voice calm, but threaded with a deadly intent that made it impossible for Joyce to ignore. “Let’s make a deal,” she said, her tone as cold as the air between them. “You tell me everything you know, and I will help you.”
Joyce’s head jerked up, defiance flashing in her eyes despite the pain. “Screw you, bitch!” Her voice was raspy, but there was fire in her words. “I’m not betraying my friends.”
Lili’s lips curled into a small, knowing smile. The words came out with the smoothness of someone who was in complete control. “So, it’s not only that one I talked with,” she said, her voice low and deliberate, watching for the flicker of recognition in Joyce’s eyes.
Joyce’s face tightened, her lips pressed into a thin line, but she couldn’t hide the shift in her expression. A small flicker of doubt crossed her features, and Lili caught it immediately.
“Guess I was right,” Lili continued, her voice a little quieter now, but just as cutting. “They didn’t care too much about you, did they? I mean, somehow, you magically survived my attack, but they left you here, alone.” She let the words hang in the air, like poison seeping into Joyce’s mind. “They must have thought you were expendable.”
Joyce flinched, the words sinking in deeper than she would have liked to admit. For a moment, her resolve faltered, just enough for Lili to see the crack. She leaned closer, her breath warm against Joyce’s ear, her voice now laced with something far more dangerous. “Who else is out there?”
The injured woman’s chest heaved with the effort to hold on to her defiance, but the words were slipping out before she could stop them. “You won’t get anything from me, you sick freak…”
Lili chuckled softly, the sound dark and knowing. “You think you’re biting back, don’t you?” she murmured, watching Joyce’s trembling hands. “But really, you’re just feeding me exactly what I need.” The smile on her face was slow, purposeful, as if she had already won. “Tell me, was it worth it?”
Joyce’s breath hitched as she glared at her captor, but the anger was mixing with fear now. The crack had widened, and Lili was prepared to widen it further. Her voice softened just enough to seem sincere, just enough to make Joyce wonder if she had any choice. “You’re already here, and there’s no way out unless you help me. All I need is for you to talk.”
Joyce turned her head away, but Lili could see the tension in her jaw, the way she was fighting to hold on to whatever semblance of control she had left.
“You’re just a pawn,” Lili said quietly, almost sympathetically. “They’ve used you. And now, you’re just waiting for the pieces to fall. Help me, and I’ll make sure you don’t end up like the rest of them.”
The silence between them grew heavy, suffocating. And then, slowly, Joyce spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, but Lili caught every word.
“They… They have a base,” Joyce murmured, almost to herself, as if she couldn’t stop it. “They’ve been working with—”
Lili’s smile deepened, her victory already sealed. She leaned back, her eyes glinting with satisfaction. Joyce had cracked wide open, and the floodgates of information had started to pour. All Lili had to do now was listen—and the pieces would fall into place.
Joyce suddenly froze, her body trembling violently as if something deep within her had snapped. Her muscles tensed in spasm. Lili’s smile faltered instantly, her calm exterior cracking, and she leaned in closer, hands shaking, as she gripped Joyce’s shoulders with a force.
“Say it!” Lili’s voice rose, raw and commanding, the desperation slipping through her icy facade. “Tell me everything!”
Joyce’s body continued to writhe, her breath ragged, eyes wide and clouded with pain. Lili’s hand tightened, fingers digging into the woman’s frail form. “Talk to me!”
For a fleeting moment, there was no response. The van seemed to grow colder, the air thick with the tension of Lili’s mounting frustration. Her heart began to beat faster, the weight of the situation pressing on her chest. This was supposed to be easy.
“Talk!” Lili shouted again, her voice breaking with the strain of control, pushing the words out like a command. Her gaze darted around, desperate, as if she could will the answers into existence.
One of the men in the back of the van lowered himself down to the ground beside Joyce. His face was grim, his eyes locked on Lili for a moment before he reached into the medical supplies. A needle gleamed in his hand as he buried it into Joyce’s trembling hand with a swift motion.
The transformation was instant and chilling. Joyce’s convulsions ceased as suddenly as they had begun. Her eyes, once clouded with pain, now darkened entirely—solid black, as if the very essence of her soul had been swallowed by something far darker. A twisted smile, cold and sinister, spread across her face. It was a smile that made Lili’s blood run cold, as though it was not even this women smiling, but something else.
Then, in a fluid motion, Joyce’s head snapped toward Lili. The speed of the movement was terrifying, the sound of cracking bones echoing in the van as her neck twisted unnaturally.
“You’re next,” Joyce whispered, her voice smooth and eerie, like it was no longer her own. The words slithered through the air, chilling Lili to her core.
Lili recoiled, her body instinctively pulling back, but the weight of those words hit her like a stone to the chest, leaving her stunned and breathless. For a split second, time seemed to slow, her mind struggling to catch up with the impossible reality unfolding before her. You’re next. The words echoed in her head, far louder than they had been spoken. It wasn’t just a threat—it was a promise.
Before Lili could even react, the air around her seemed to crack, shifting with a surge of power, invisible and uncontainable. It slammed into her with brutal force, crashing against her like an invisible tide. Her breath was ripped from her lungs as her body was hurled backward, as though some unseen hand had seized her and tossed her.
The world spun into chaos. Shapes, dark and indistinct, blurred into a swirl of fractured reality as the force pushed her mercilessly through the air. She slammed into the van’s doors, the impact splitting the metal open with a screech of bending steel. Her heart hammered in her chest, a frantic pulse of adrenaline, but it did nothing to slow the terrifying freefall. Time stretched out into an endless void—each second feeling like an eternity, each breath a desperate gasp.
How was she doing this? The question swirled in her mind, but no answers came. The power, the force, the control—none of it made sense. Lili had never been in a situation like this. She had always been in control, always had the upper hand. Always. But now? Now she was helpless.
Before she could even process the gravity of her situation, her body crashed into the front of a car moving behind the van. The impact was sickening. Bones rattled as the force reverberated through her spine. The sharp pain exploded through her, every nerve screaming in agony. Her body, already battered, rebelled against her attempts to move, her limbs refusing to obey as the world blurred further, slipping away from her grasp.
There was no fight left in her. No defiance. No power. Just a crushing sense of defeat that squeezed the air from her lungs. The edges of her vision darkened, the bright flashes of pain now replaced by the dull throb of failure. She tried to push herself up, but her muscles trembled, her strength completely drained. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t win. She was defeated, plain and simple.
I failed. The thought hit her with a crushing weight, heavier than the pain coursing through her. The realization was too much to bear. She had come so far, and yet now… she had nothing.
Her chest heaved with a desperate, uneven breath, but she knew it was pointless. Her mind was slipping, her body a broken vessel, useless in the face of this overwhelming force. The familiar sting of blood in her mouth, the shards of glass cutting into her skin, already seemed distant.
The world around her spun one last time, the darkness closing in. She couldn’t fight it. She couldn’t do anything to defeat it. Her consciousness began to fade, slipping further into the void…
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