The wall they entered through closed behind them with a loud bang, blocking out the sounds of screaming and growling from the maze outside.
But the silence inside? It was even scarier. All she could hear was the boy's heavy breathing.
Strangely, it made her feel a bit better—at least she wasn't alone.
Arinze stood in front of her with his arms crossed. The flickering torchlight made shadows dance on his face.
"I hope you know that anything you do to survive here is allowed. But then, you had some guts to follow me in," he said calmly with a steady smirk .
Raine stepped slightly to the side but kept her hands relaxed by her sides. "Well, here I am. What now? You gonna strangle me?"
He sighed, like she was just another problem to deal with. "You don't even know what you're doing. Sure, I could snap your little neck, but I didn't come this far just to kill you without winning a reward."
"Obviously." Raine looked around. The walls were made of rough stone and felt damp. There had to be a way forward.
Arinze narrowed his eyes at her. Then, without warning, he threw a punch.
She ducked just in time but hit her back against the wall hard. Pain shot through her shoulder, but she moved quickly, dodging again as his fist slammed into the spot she'd just left.
"What the hell is your problem?" she snapped.
"I changed my mind, Vale Junior," he said, still calm.
She had two choices: fight or run.
Running wasn't an option—she didn't even know where she was.
Fighting wasn't a good idea either. She didn't have any real training. But still, she threw a punch.
Arinze dodged like he expected it. But she wasn't aiming for his face—she hit his stomach instead. He flinched.
Her mother was a healer wolf, so she'd learned a few things about weak vital spots for self defense..
Even though she wasn't strong, her hit was enough to annoy him.
He swung at her again, and she just barely moved in time. His punch made her slide back across the stone floor.
"You can't beat me," he said, shaking his hand like it wasn't worth the trouble.
Raine wiped her mouth and took a deep breath. Her heart was racing. This guy could kill her any second.
And she had walked right into his trap
But if she was going to die, she wouldn't make it easy for him.
"You're wasting time," she said and threw a harder punch but again she missed "You are a bloody asshole"
He stepped back and ran his fingers through his hair. "Maybe you're not totally useless."
She didn't relax. "What does that mean?"
He turned and pointed toward the hallway. "It means you're coming with me."
She hesitated. "Why?"
A small smirk showed on his face.
"Because you're too dumb to survive alone. And we're running out of time. If we don't get to the main hall soon, they'll think we failed."
"And?"
"Our heads will be hung on that first gate. Also, I need someone to walk ahead—in case there's danger."
She gasped, but didn't argue. She followed him quietly since she has no choice. But she was very skeptical and careful..
They walked for a while until Arinze stopped. He touched the wall and pressed something. A part of the stone wall moved, making a grinding sound. A hidden path opened.
Without looking back, he walked inside.
Raine let out a breath. Being stuck with an annoying jerk who wanted her dead was still better than being hunted by monsters.
She needed to survive.
"How do you know about these paths?" she asked softly.Arinze walked like he knew the place
"I'm not a new recruit," he replied. "Thanks to you, I kept getting myself expelled from this school just to meet Rowan vale. Thankfully, not anymore—not until I get revenge for my father."
"Seriously? So all these years, you were kicked out because I didn't show up as a candidate?"
"I don't need you or anyone to believe me."
"Following you feels like the dumbest thing I've ever done," Raine muttered.
Arinze didn't look back. "Did you just realize? You can leave though. I'm not even sure this path is safe. Out there, those creatures aren't real, but they'll still tear a Gemini wolf apart. By morning, maybe only a hundred people will still be alive. You can go back if you want. I won't enjoy watching you die, but at least I'll feel like I've done something right."
Raine clenched her fists but didn't say anything. She'd already tried to punch him once—it didn't help much.
"So your whole life is about revenge?" she asked. "Aren't you too young for that?"
She wanted to keep him away from every Rowan killing thoughts so she thought just maybe she might talk him out of it
Then again, she came here for revenge on her father too. They weren't that different anyways.
They reached another wall. Arinze leaned his ear against it.
"You really act like you know everything," Raine said.
He sighed. "Unlike you, I actually know how to stay alive."
"Sorry I didn't grow up learning how to kill people."
He scoffed. "You don't get it, do you?" He stepped closer, his voice low. "You're not walking out of here alive. I will make sure you die in here . It's better that your record is completely wiped out"
Arinze placed his hands across her neck to strangle her. She strangled helplessly until she was about to choke then she decided to use a better method.
She grabbed his ear with her mouth and bit it so hard that she could taste the metallic taste if blood.
,"You fucking psychopath! " Arinze groaned, he immediately let go of her neck.
Raine staggered breathing heavily to catch her breath " Asshole! I hope the ground breaks under your feet and you disappear, jerk!"
"You talk a lot for a guy. Fight me with your first and stop acting like a woman."
Raine looked away. She used to be too scared to speak. Bullied, ignored—she wasn't able to defend herself before . But now that the Moon Goddess had given her a voice, she was going to use it. No one was going to shut her up.
"
" You think woman aren't strong enough right? You are so disspeakable and hopeless I wish the ground opens and swallow you up! " she stated, and just then, the ground under Arinze suddenly gave way.
He almost fell.
She moved on reflex, grabbing his sleeve before he disappeared.
"What the hell? Did you do this?" he shouted from the hole
"No! How would I have done that? I don't even know how to!... Just stay still I will try my best to drag you up" she assured. Scared and shocked.
He scoffed dangled in the air, his full weight pulling her down.
"You ungrateful idiot!" he snapped.
Raine's hands shook, her boots sliding across the floor. "You're not... Trying to pull me down, right?"
He moved again this time more forcefully and her body moved towards the hole .
"Do that again and I'll let go," she warned.
But he did it again. This time she had to let go to survive
His body dropped into the bottomless pit and disappeared.
"Omg! Is he... gone?" Her voice was shaky. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her arms were still shaking from holding on to him.
She stepped back slowly from the edge.
"Oh no. I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry," she whispered, eyes wide, hands covering her mouth.