Chapter 304 Aftermath

Elle gritted her teeth and glared at the man in front of her, her body tense with anger and fear. At this moment, she truly regretted her decision and action of leaving Sebastian. Now, she did not even know if she was able to return and see Sebastian again.

"You can try all you want, but I won't be a part of your sick ritual. I refuse!" she spat, her voice shaking slightly. "I'd rather die than be your sacrificial lamb."

"Now, now... don't you start being difficult now, princess. Isn't everything going swimmingly so far?" The masked man's voice was cold. "This is for your own sake as well. If you think someone will come save you from here, you're terribly wrong. You can only come out of this place, if we allow you to. You do understand that, right?" His tone was condescending, as though talking to a child that needed explaining.

The sound of an ancient door creaking open echoed through the labyrinth, startling Elle. She turned her head towards the noise, her eyes widening in surprise. It was not the same door she and Snow had come through earlier. Instead, it was the wall behind the masked man that had opened a crack. It appeared that there were more hidden doors in those seemingly plain walls. Elle wondered how many more secrets this labyrinth held and her curiosity peaked.

But before she could go further down this path, three individuals, all clad in dark garments, entered the room through the newly opened doorway. They wore black cloaks that obscured their figures, and their faces were completely concealed by masks resembling ravens. Elle could not discern their genders or any other distinguishing features due to the heavy cloaks and masks that hide their identities wholly from curious eyes.

However, amidst the fear and confusion, Elle could not help but feel a strange familiarity with the newcomers that were all black. Her mind raced to identify where she might have encountered them before, but with the weight of her situation bearing down on her, she did not have the luxury of time to dwell on the thought for long.

The man stretched his hand towards her. "Now be good and take my hand, Princess Izabelle. Don't worry, I can assure you that this will be quick." She quickly noticed that he did not mention it being painless. And with that alone, she knew that it would probably hurt like hell.

Elle gnashed her teeth, her anger and fear reaching a boiling point. Just as the man lost his patience and lunged towards her, Elle acted on instinct and grabbed at her gun that she had kept concealed at her side. Without a second thought, she pulled the trigger, causing a  thunderous sound to echo through the labyrinth. The force of the gunshot reverberated through her body as the man stumbled back, a look of shock painted across his face.

But the man's movements were too controlled, too purposeful. He had dodged the shot, and he knew it.

Her fears were confirmed when the man did not fall to the ground or collapse in pain. Instead, he straightened up and turned towards her, his eyes blazing with a cold fury that wracked her entire frame with chills. Elle knew she had to act fast if she wanted to survive.

She raised her gun and aimed for his heart, but before she could pull the trigger, the man was already lunging towards her. She stumbled backwards in reflex, her finger slipping on the trigger and sending the shot flying wide. She saw the man's fist coming swiftly at her and barely had the time to react. She ducked under his swing, feeling the sweep of the wind from the force of his attack and quickly fired another shot, this time hitting him square in the shoulder.

The man grunted in pain upon the impact, but he did not stop coming at her. Elle knew right then that she was in big trouble. She had only one bullet left in her gun chamber, and she needed to make this last shot count. She took a deep breath and steadied her aim, waiting for the right moment to fire. As she held her breath, her focus sharpened and her vision centered on the spot she was taking aim at. For that short time, it was like her whole world was narrowed down to just that area.

It finally came when the man lunged at her again, his hand reaching for her throat. She pulled the trigger, and the final shot rang out in the room. The man stumbled backwards, his eyes wide with shock that she was even able to hit him, and crumpled to the ground with a groan. Seeing that, Elle jumped at the opportunity presented before her. This was her chance!

Elle's heart was pounding like a bird fluttering against its cage as she pushed the door open and stepped through, but unfortunately, her moment of triumph was short-lived. As soon as she was across the threshold, she felt a strong hand fisting in her hair, pulling her backwards with a force that made her cry out in pain. She could feel some of the roots of her hair being ripped off her scalp.

Before she knew what was happening, she was slammed against the wall with a sickening thud. Everything went dark for a moment, and then she felt like she was floating - weightless and disoriented.

Voices swirled around her, but she could not make out what was being said. She tried to shake her head and clear the fog from her brain, but the hand in her hair held her firmly in place, occasionally giving her a shake for good measure.

As her mind was still reeling from the impact of the blow, she saw Sebastian's face appear before her. But she knew that this was most likely just a hallucination, a trick of her mind in the aftermath of the attack as she was yearning for him. She suddenly felt that she missed him and if this was really the end for her, she would want to see him for just that one last time.

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