Page 158 of The Wishing Game

"An extra point?" he repeats, already walking toward me. Without saying another word, he takes the bar from my hand, peels the wrapper, and bites into it.

"Tell me you're not mad at me," I say as I lean into him, rubbing my shoulder against him playfully.

He frowns.

"What are you on about with this nonsense again, human? Why would I be mad at you?"

"I don't know." I shrug. "You've been ignoring me for the last few hours. If I did something wrong, please tell me so I can fix it," I add hesitantly.

"I was not ignoring you," he states, and I detect no falsehood. "I was just ruminating."

"Oh." I gulp. "About what?"

"About our conversation. About ourfriendship." His face screws up in disgust as he utters the word.

"And?" I ask anxiously. I can't help but think that I did or said something wrong.

He's about to answer when something else grabs his attention. Eyes flashing with determination, he grabs my hand, pulling me into his arms right as a static noise permeates the air.

"Quiet," he whispers in my hair, keeping me close as he glances at the bottom of the canyon. I follow his gaze to a bluish swirling mass of air in the shape of a sphere. The color becomes increasingly more pronounced, and as a loud thud echoes through the valley, a mangled foot steps out of it. Soon after, the owner of that foot makes its appearance—a monstrous demon like the one we encountered at the theatre. And he's not alone.

He steps out of the portal, leaving way for another demon to come after him. And another.

Four demons enter the realm, and just when I think that's it, someone else comes out. Yet this person doesn't have the typical demonic appearance. Dressed in a dark blue suit tinged with red, he appears to be humanoid.

The moment his feet touch the ground, the portal behind him closes.

I sneak a glance at Ze and note the tightening of his jaw.

"What's going on?" I whisper. "Who's that?"

"A son of Tenebreis—an archdemon."

"But what are they doing here? Didn't you say they can't move around in corporeal form?"

"They should not be able to," he answers tersely.

The archdemon is talking to the four demons, seemingly giving them some orders before they flash themselves out of sight. Alone, the archdemon removes something from his pocket. From this distance, I can't see what it is, but as he holds it in his hand, a red light emanates from his palm, surrounding the object. His lips move, too, and I assume he's chanting something just as the light intensifies.

Ze's arms tighten around me, his breathing harsh against my flesh.

When the archdemon has finished chanting, he throws the object onto the ground, the light infiltrating through every crack and crevice, melting onto the very fabric of the earth.

Then he disappears as well.

"What the hell was that, Ze?" I whisper, still staring at the canyon.

"Something that should not have happened," he says with a twitch of his cheek.

"I don't understand..."

"This is bad," he mutters to himself. "This is bad," he repeats, almost like a robot. He takes a step back, his shrewd eyes taking in his surroundings, his body taut and primed for war. "I need to send a message to my generals. Stay here," he orders, but his attention is not on me.

"But... What if they come back?" I blink.

"They are no longer around," he replies absentmindedly, moving away from me without sparing me a glance.

"I'll come with you," I quickly say, hurrying after him.

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