The Devil's Crown

LI The Impossible Happening

“A secret underground tunnel, Bingo”.

“A-Are you serious?” Allen inhaled sharply to the point that you could hear his breath.

Elfric was dumbfounded for a moment at how easy-going Allen was with him. He has never seen him before yet he is giving this almost…pleasured look at his presence. Not that Elfric minded that at all. In fact, it only made his work easier.

“See for yourself”. Elfric took a step back making way for Allen to step forward.

Something told him that he needn’t explain to him how to make it work. For someone like him, that was child’s play. A smirk formed on his covered lips as he watched Allen get to work, his finger tracing over the engraved letters before he took a deep breath while pushing at it with little force.

As the letters seemed to sink down like a key on another one of his keyboards. West’s fascination didn’t go unnoticed. This was what Allen meant by a secret passage that he might not know anything about. He was right, there was no way anyone would know that this was here unless he knew what he was searching for.

West glanced over at the unknown man. Now, how in the world did this man know that this thing even exists?

Elfric couldn’t help but notice the deadly glare from West. He has pulled out quite a stunt back there with the other but there was no hiding that he was having his doubts. Was it his fault? No, Elfric didn’t blame him. It was something that he has agreed to come this far, Elfric gave him that.

“I know that you still have your doubts, West”. Elfric stated with his eyes – well eye, in this case, were glued to the way the formidable wall slide open with ease. Allen stumbling to the back as he watched the impossible happen.

West was still looking hard at Elfric with his eyes narrowed.

“You will get your doubts cleared after this. You have my word” said Elfric. “Now we have more important matters to attend to. All the way till the end of this hallway and across is where the White Cross men are. They are making their way to the spot where the rest of your friends are. They are smart, they already know that you are going to be waiting for them there”.

“What about Scarlet and Julian?! Are they…” Allen exclaimed.

“They are going to be fine if we get there on time”. Elfric interrupted as he led the way inside the tunnel that was slanted down taking them deeper underneath the ground.

“Wait a minute!” Allen exclaimed with a scoff. The way that he saw West silently and obediently follow the man silently made him question his mentality at the moment. Has the stress finally gotten to his brain? Allen couldn’t help but think.

“You mean if we aren’t there on time then…then what?” Allen said. His eyes still scanning the tunnels.”Oh my God, there are even emergency lights here?”

The way that he changed the subjects so quickly made Elfric rethink that he even need an answer for the first question. He could deal with Allen’s astonishment but, he didn’t think that he could do the same to West. His gaze was digging holes even now.

“T-That’s why they have such auxiliary power! I thought why they would limit the power to only the basement and the halls when they had enough power to keep this whole building running for hours!” Allen paused just to take his breath. “They needed to light this tunnel system as well! Why didn’t I think of it before”.

His voice faded at the end into almost a cry of disappointment at his own self. Allen was a step behind West, his heart ached as he saw the way he limped in front of him. If he was in pain, then he did a good job in hiding it. Allen never remembers West struggling to keep up with the rest with that limp. Moreover, he was always in the lead.

But this time he wasn’t. West found comfort in walking a step behind just so that he could watch this unidentified man. He felt much more secure with his eyes fixed to his back.

Seeing all this happen ate on Allen’s inside. If only he has been able to catch up with all the clues that have been all over the place. Such a big system underneath the hotel, required maintenance, power to keep running. Yet all the clues, all the hints have gone unnoticed by him as if they weren’t even there. Part of him believed that this was his fault, all his fault.

He raised his head to look at West from underneath his raven black hair. His bowl-cut hair was falling around his forehead like a curtain. His brows frowned in fury at his own helplessness.

“West I’m so…”

“Later Allen”. West interrupted. The thought of thinking whose fault this was, isn’t the issue at the moment. Also, something was telling him that it didn’t matter…

This man was going to come all along.

“We are here,” Elfric jolted into a halt unconsciously raising a hand to prevent the other from taking another step.

As they all came to a stop, the only thing audible was their own heavy breathes. They couldn’t help but try to focus to hear whatever that man was hearing and there it was. Careful footsteps – several actually, and they were heading this way.

“Ready your weapons,” Elfric stated spreading his legs a little over shoulder width to secure his foothold and he heard the others do the same.

‘Elfric Woods,’ Orathan surfaced. For a while, there Elfric forgot that he was even there – thankful for the silence in his own head. ‘You know that your body isn’t at its best.’

Elfric hated to admit it but it was the truth. “Whose fault do you think that is?” Elfric whispered under his breath. “You knew that I won’t withstand it!”

Orathan sighed. ‘You know better than I do that it helped you.

He was right yet again. Elfric couldn’t deny it.

‘Don’t overdo it, Woods,’ said Orathan, his voice had sensations for the first time – worry even. ‘Don’t rely on your powers too much.

Elfric glanced behind him at West and Allen, both were at the ready. Their masks were now zipped up. If it hadn’t been for their physic, it would have been impossible to set them apart.

“I will have to rely on them I guess,” he mumbled.

West noticed the movement from underneath his mask. Before he could question what he said. The White Cross was right on top of them.

“They are here!” one of the men in white exclaimed. Obviously, they haven’t been expecting them to here, thanks to Rick that is.

“I hope you like the surprise!” Rick smirked as he felt the rush of blood in his veins.

 Leaping off his feet to grab the first one by the head. Bullets started to rain around him, he heard West in the background there was no need to check. Elfric’s golden pupils fell back on his target as it struggled to bring up the gun and point it at his chest.

“Too slow”. In a swift move without letting go of the man's head, he disarmed him of his gun pointing it right at his head.

The man screamed and begged but the only mercy he got was a bullet in the leg. Finally, Elfric released him from the grip that was holding him up. He fell to the ground in his own blood.

Damn it, he cursed under his breath. He was so taken with one man that he forgot the others. He glanced over his shoulder at Allen surrounded by three men as he tried his best to hide behind one of the pillars. West didn’t seem to be doing better either.

Another leap and Elfric was tossing one of the three men in front of Allen to crash a foot apart from West on the other side. Was it on purpose?...maybe.

Allen for a moment was locked in a daze. This unknown man tossed a man that looked double his weight like trash.

“Focus Allen”.

Despite the deafening bullets that coated the whole place, he was able to hear this man’s voice like his own. Encouraging, that’s what he felt. By the time that Allen was out of his daze, Elfric has already handled another one leaving the last one for Allen to knock down, and that was exactly what he did.

Allen stood straight as he got the time to stand by and see the men that fell in Elfric’s path like flies. Blood coated the place like paint while the smell of it intoxicated the air.

The 20 men of the White Cross are all either dead or dying. Who the hell was that man? He didn’t need their help in the first place to clear this all up so why? Allen was deep in thought until he saw that golden gleam in the dark.

The man in black was standing face to face with West as he shot down his last target. It all happened too quickly for his eyes to notice how West was pointing his gun at Elfric.

The moment that Elfric raised his hands in response to West…Allen heard the trigger getting pulled in the now pin-drop silence.

“NO!” Allen didn’t realize he even fell to the blood-stained tiles. But the cry came from the wrong side.

West stumbled to the side as his bad leg gave in to the surprise. His blue eyes dilated as he saw the last man in white struggling with his neck as if he was being choked with invisible hands. West darted to look at Elfric.

He pulled the trigger. He was sure of it! Even Allen heard the shot! How was he still standing?

Elfric’s golden eyes darkened as he focused on what was left of his strength to knocking down the guy…not kill him. He needed him. The man in white fell to the ground at the same time a metal clattered on the ground.

Allen eyed the floor beneath Elfric’s feet, to see a bullet bouncing on blood-stained tiles before it came to a halt.