Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 25: Chapter 25 — Region G

Chapter 25 — Region G

A few hours passed as Team Fifteen continued deeper into Basement Level Five. The cavern seemed to grow larger the farther they traveled. Tunnels branched into other tunnels, some barely wide enough for the group to pass through, while others opened into enormous chambers that disappeared into darkness. Victor slowly lost track of how far they had traveled.

Eventually, Jennifer, who had been scouting ahead, stopped and looked back at the group. "We’re here." Leo followed her gaze toward the cavern ahead. "Region G."

Victor stepped forward and stopped.

A massive underground cavern stretched before him, so enormous that it felt more like an underground world than a simple cave. Hundreds of feet above, jagged rock formations disappeared into darkness. Scattered throughout the cavern walls were clusters of glowing crystals, casting a soft greenish-blue light across the stone. The glow reflected off the surface of a wide, dark river that cut through the cavern. The river flowed toward the edge of a gigantic cliff, where it suddenly plunged into a towering waterfall. The waterfall disappeared into a deep abyss below, with mist rising from somewhere far beneath. Along the cavern floor, patches of strange vegetation grew around the rocks, adding small touches of life to the otherwise ancient and imposing environment.

Victor stared for several seconds. He had never seen anything like it. Even after spending weeks inside the Tower, he had never imagined something like this could exist beneath it. Jacob stood beside him, equally quiet, while the others seemed far less impressed. They had clearly been here before.

Leo motioned for everyone to follow, leading them toward a relatively flat section of stone near the river. Victor noticed several blackened stones scattered across the ground. Old campfires. Someone had stayed here before.

Victor and Jacob followed the others toward the campsite. Leo stopped and slowly looked back at Victor. A smile appeared across his face, and something about it made Victor’s stomach tighten. That smile didn’t bode well.

"Well," Leo said, glancing around the cavern, "I guess it’s about time we get to business." His eyes settled on Victor. "I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that bringing you all the way to Region G wasn’t just a random assignment."

Victor didn’t respond. Somewhere along the way, he had already begun to suspect something was wrong. Leo glanced toward Jacob, then toward the rest of his team before returning his attention to Victor. "You really have to watch who you offend. When you offend the wrong people, things tend to become unpleasant. Especially when you’re nothing but a slave."

Victor remained silent.

"Alex told us to send you his regards."

Victor’s expression remained still, but inside, the pieces finally came together. The strange look on the guard’s face. The sudden reassignment. Being assigned directly to Team Fifteen. Leo already knowing his name. The questions about his fighting ability. The little birdie. It all made sense now.

Victor looked at Leo. "So Alex paid you to take care of us."

Leo chuckled. "To be fair, whether Alex paid me or not, I’d still end up doing this." His smile became vicious. "But getting paid while doing it? Now that’s a bargain."

Victor’s stomach tightened. There was no negotiating. No chance of talking their way out.

Leo’s eyes shifted toward his team. He didn’t give an order. He didn’t need to. The others immediately began moving. Janet stepped to one side, Jennifer disappeared from Victor’s sight, Kyle moved behind them, and Jefferson drew his sword. They were surrounding Victor and Jacob.

Victor glanced toward Jacob. The older man’s face had gone pale. Jacob wasn’t a fighter. At forty-five, after years of slavery, he had neither the cultivation nor the physical condition to stand against a team like this. Victor wasn’t much better. He had become stronger, much stronger than when he first arrived, but he had never fought someone like Leo.

His hand slowly moved toward his sword.

Leo smiled.

Then he disappeared.

Victor’s pupils contracted as a flash of steel came toward him. The sword descended with enough force to split him in two, and his body moved before his mind could catch up. He threw himself backward, feeling the blade tear through the space where his body had been only a moment earlier.

He barely regained his footing before something massive came rushing toward him.

Kyle.

The large man lowered his shield and charged. Victor’s eyes widened, but instead of retreating, he planted his feet. Kyle slammed into him with enough force to make the impact echo through the cavern, but Victor didn’t move. For a brief moment, it was almost as if Kyle had crashed into a stone wall. Victor’s feet dug into the ground as his muscles tightened, and then he drove his shoulder forward. The counterattack caught Kyle completely off guard, sending him stumbling backward several steps as he struggled to regain his balance.

Victor barely had time to react before a flash of steel flew toward him.

Leo had thrown a dagger.

Victor twisted, but he was too late. The dagger buried itself in his shoulder, and he winced as pain shot down his arm. He reached toward the weapon, but another attack came immediately.

Jefferson swept his sword low, aiming for Victor’s legs. Victor jumped as the blade passed beneath his feet, then twisted in midair and drove his heel directly into Jefferson’s face. The impact snapped Jefferson’s head backward and sent his body flying several feet before he hit the ground and rolled across the stone.

Victor landed, but he barely had time to breathe.

Leo was already there.

The white-haired man dashed forward, his sword flashing toward Victor’s body. Victor’s instincts screamed, and he bent his knees, dropping his body backward just as the sword swept over his face. For a split second, he could see the edge of the blade perfectly as it passed inches above his nose.

Then Leo’s foot slammed into his side.

The impact knocked the air from Victor’s lungs and sent him flying sideways. He hit the ground hard, rolled across the stone, and stopped beside Jacob. Victor pushed himself up, his vision blurring for a moment, but before he could fully regain his footing, Leo was already on him again.

Another slash came.

Victor raised his arm too late.

The sword cut across his stomach.

Pain exploded through his body, and Victor stumbled backward, immediately pressing a hand against the wound. Blood began soaking through his clothes. The cut wasn’t deep enough to kill him immediately, but it was enough to remind him exactly how wide the gap between them was.

Leo didn’t give him time to recover. Victor stumbled backward again when a sharp sound suddenly cut through the cavern.

Whoosh.

Arrows.

Victor’s eyes widened as several arrows flew directly toward him. He couldn’t dodge them.

Jacob saw them too. "Victor!"

Jacob slammed into him, throwing him sideways. The arrows struck almost immediately. One buried itself in Jacob’s shoulder while another pierced his thigh, forcing him down onto one knee.

"Jacob!"

Victor barely had time to react.

Something moved behind him.

He turned.

Nothing.

Then pain exploded through his lower back.

A dagger had been driven into his abdomen from behind.

Victor’s body locked up. He looked down at the blade protruding from his stomach, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. Everything became strangely quiet. The cavern disappeared. The river, the waterfall, the glowing crystals—none of it mattered.

His vision blurred as his legs trembled beneath him.

I’m going to die.

The thought came with terrifying clarity.

Then he looked toward Jacob. The older man was struggling to remain conscious, blood running down his leg and arm.

Jacob is going to die too.

Because of him.

Victor’s breathing became ragged. He had survived the Tower. He had survived the experiments. He had survived monsters and everything else that had been thrown at him. But this time, there was nowhere to run. No way to fight. No way to escape.

If he did nothing, they would both die.

Something inside Victor stirred.

At first, he thought the burning sensation came from the dagger. Then the heat intensified, spreading through his body until his blood felt like it was boiling. Victor’s eyes widened.

What... is this?

The heat became unbearable.

Deep inside his body, something awakened.

The Black Phoenix Flame surged, pulling violently at the energy within his Core and devouring it faster than Victor had ever experienced before. He didn’t have time to enter his inner world, but he could feel what was happening. The tiny flame that had always burned quietly inside him was no longer a spark.

It was raging.

Heat erupted from Victor’s body as black flames began crawling across his skin, twisting around his arms, his chest, and his legs. The entire cavern seemed to grow darker as the unnatural fire spread around him. Everyone stopped.

Even Leo’s smile disappeared.

Victor slowly raised his head.

Black flames danced around his body.

And somewhere deep inside him...

Something ancient opened its eyes.

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