Chapter 16: The Manor of Death

Val stepped through a set of steel double doors at the far end of the laboratory. They opened into a narrow stairwell, slanting sharply upward. Unlike the sterile white walls of the lab or the cold stone corridors of the dungeon, this part of the facility felt different. Older, but well maintained.

The stairs beneath her boots were wood, polished, but creaking with age. Oak-paneled walls rose on either side, warm and finely crafted. Decorative molding lined their edges, curling in floral, baroque patterns that gave the space an almost regal character.

It reminded her of the lecture halls during her brief time in medical school—before she had to withdraw, before the accident that took her parents. For a moment, she let the thought linger. What if she had stayed? Would she have become a surgeon? Where would she be now? Paris? America?

No, she thought. She knew better. She’d either be dead, or still holding a front-row seat to the end of civilization.

She hadn’t even seen combat until this all began. And now, she’d survived more life-or-death moments than most soldiers would face in an entire career.

And the lives she’d taken—how would those weigh on her, once the madness stopped?

If it ever did.

Reaching the top of the stairwell, she came to a large wooden oak door, thick and hand-carved. She paused, pressing her ear gently against the surface, listening for movement on the other side.

Nothing.

She reached for the doorknob, an old bronze fixture sculpted in the shape of a woman’s face, her expression serene and unknowable. It turned easily beneath her fingers. Unlocked.

Val pushed the door open and stepped into a grand dining hall, dimly lit by the flicker of candlelight. Moonlight filtered in through tall, arched windows that lined the length of the chamber, its glow refracted and muted by the dense fog pressing up against the glass. Shadows danced across the long table that stretched toward the far wall, its surface set as if awaiting guests who would never arrive.

Val moved forward slowly, her boots barely making a sound on the polished floor. On the wall to her right hung a massive oil painting, its gilded frame dulled with age but still imposing. It depicted a young man with a stern expression, dressed in a dark suit, one hand resting on the head of a sleek black cat perched in his lap. The brushwork was meticulous, the subject’s gaze almost lifelike, piercing and watchful.

Beside it hung a much smaller black-and-white photograph. Two men stood in profile, facing away from the camera, their attention fixed on a distant cave half-hidden in thick jungle foliage. The image was grainy, faded by time, and in the bottom corner, a year had been scrawled in ink: 1902.

Val pressed on, reaching a set of towering double doors at the far end of the dining hall, ornate and imposing. Guessing they led to the manor’s main entryway, she gripped both handles, and pulled them open with effort, the hinges groaning softly as the doors swung inward.

Beyond them lay the grand hall of the estate.

To her right, a sweeping staircase curved upward toward a shadowed second floor. To her left, the main entrance doors loomed beneath tall, stained glass windows. But it was the center of the hall that made Val freeze.

Standing there, illuminated by moonlight filtering through the fog, was the old man in the lab coat.

He was calm, composed, with an expression unreadable. Around him stood two Acolytes, robed and still as statues. Kneeling at his side, bound and trembling… was Ellie.

“Ellie!” Val cried, surging a step forward before instinct halted her.

“Stop,” the old man said, his voice sharp yet cold.

Val's eyes locked on the syringe in his hand, its needle already pressed against Ellie’s neck, the tip just beneath her skin. The fluid inside shimmered with a faint black sheen.

“Val! He took Sam! The masked one took Sam!” Ellie cried, her voice sharp and panicked, eyes wide with terror.

“Shut up,” the old man snapped, his irritation flaring as he shoved the needle deeper into Ellie’s neck. She shrieked in pain, the sound echoing through the grand hall, then collapsed into sobs, shoulders trembling beneath the weight of fear.

Val’s hand moved instinctively to the grip of her pistol. Her eyes flicked between the old man, the syringe, and the Acolytes. Two of them. Neither appeared armed; except one, who held a pair of heavy, iron shackles that looked centuries old.

Then the old man spoke again, his tone cold and cutting. “Drop your weapons now, and we’ll let this one live. Do as I say, and I’ll even grant you a powerful analgesic before your dissection begins.”

He smiled thinly, eyes narrowing.

“Disobey me…” He leaned in toward Ellie, pressing the needle just a little deeper. “And I’ll make sure you feel every incision. Every flay. Every turn of the saw.”

As Val weighed her options, eyes locked on the syringe pressed to Ellie’s throat, she failed to notice the creature crawling silently down the wall behind her; its limbs long and skeletal, movements unnatural.

“He’s never going to let either of us go,” she said, her voice steady but low, meeting Ellie’s eyes.

Then, without hesitation, she drew her pistol.

Her aim snapped up, crosshairs aligning perfectly on the old man’s skull.

But before she could pull the trigger, a sudden impact hit her like a freight train.

The daemon collided with her at full speed, slamming into her back and lifting her off the ground. Her weapon flew from her grip as she was hurled across the dining hall, crashing hard and sliding across the polished wood floor, limbs sprawled and breath knocked from her chest.

New Character

Name Daemon Occupation Unknown Health 100% Weapons Daemon Arms (Lanced)

Battle Damage

Name Val Health 95% to 65% Source Daemon Body Impact

Val turned, breathless, just in time to see the syringe plunge into Ellie’s neck. Ellie screamed, a raw, piercing cry, as the poison coursed through her veins. Val tried to scream with her, but there was no air left in her lungs, no strength in her voice. She struggled to rise, limbs shaking, but froze as a sudden movement caught her eye.

The creature was already mid-leap.

It looked similar to the daemons she’d fought before. It had the same muscular frame, the same bony, bulbous skull, but it was larger. More developed. Instead of clawed hands and hooved feet, it had four insect-like appendages sprouting from where arms and legs would be, each ending in a long, razor-sharp exoskeletal lance.

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Val planted her palms against the slick wooden floor and shoved herself backward, sliding several feet down the hall just as the creature crashed down where she'd been moments before. Its bladed limbs punched deep into the floorboards, splintering the wood with terrifying force.

"Down, dog," the old man barked, irritation rising in his voice. "I want her alive."

One of the Acolytes rushed toward the daemon, hands raised in a calming gesture as he moved to intercept. The beast turned on him without hesitation. With a single, brutal swipe of one of its limbs, it carved through the man’s neck and sent his head tumbling to the floor.

Battle Damage

Name Acolyte of The Good Doctor Health 100% to 0% Source Daemon Arm (Lanced)

Suppressing the shock of the sudden violence, Val sprang to her feet and bolted across the hall toward the mirrored staircase leading to the second floor. Behind her, she heard the beast give chase on all fours, its heavy limbs thundering against the floor. Desperate to put something, anything, between them, she vaulted over the stairway railing. But the strength in her legs, still unfamiliar and unnaturally powerful, betrayed her. She soared farther than intended, overshooting the landing by a full meter and slamming into the wall past the staircase railing. The impact cracked the wood behind her, knocking the breath from her lungs again as she crumpled onto her back on the stairs.

Val pushed herself up, locking eyes with the daemon at the base of the stairs. It hesitated, staring at her with something like surprise, maybe even confusion at the unnatural distance she'd leapt. The moment was brief however. Its instincts took over, and it began climbing the staircase after her, slower now, more caution in its step.

Wasting no time, Val turned and sprinted upward, each step thudding beneath her boots. Behind her, she heard sharp cracks of splintering wood as the creature’s armored appendages slammed into the stairs as it gained speed. Glancing over her shoulder, she caught sight of movement in the hall below—one of the remaining Acolytes was dragging the old man through the grand front doors of the manor.

As Val reached the top of the staircase, she could feel the daemon gaining on her. Without hesitating, she veered sharply to the right and leapt over the second-floor railing. For a brief moment, she was suspended above the grand hall below—a dizzying drop—but she cleared the banister cleanly and landed on her feet with a jarring thud.

The corridor stretched before her, dimly lit and lined with three statues suited with grey armor, each holding a long polearm. Wasting no time, she turned to the nearest one, gripped the weapon, and yanked it free with a sharp twist. The statue's gauntlet, still clutching the shaft, tore away with it, dangling uselessly from the base as Val brought the polearm across her body and turned to face the charging beast.

As the daemon closed within a meter, Val swung the polearm in a wide, clumsy arc. The creature jerked back, avoiding the blade just enough for it to glance off the railing, where it snapped halfway up the shaft with a sharp crack. She stared for the briefest moment at the jagged, broken weapon, just long enough for the daemon to counter. One of its bladed limbs sliced toward her head, missing by inches as Val ducked low beneath it.

It lunged immediately after, but Val threw herself sideways, crashing into the armored knight statue beside her just as the daemon struck where she’d been. Metal groaned and shifted as she collided with the suit, its pieces rattling from the impact.

Lifting herself off the ground, Val lunged at the daemon without thinking, her body moving on pure instinct. She slammed into it, wrapping one arm around its torso as they crashed together into the railing. The wood gave way beneath their combined weight, shattering like twigs.

As both of them plunged through open air, tumbling toward the floor below, Val felt time around her slow. She caught every detail around her, the blur of the grand hall below rising to meet them, the daemon's flailing limbs, its bladed arms slicing at the air, and its jagged teeth snapping just centimeters from her face.

Both slammed into the ground with a deafening crash, Val bouncing off the daemon’s chest as it took the brunt of the impact. Stunned, she stared at the ceiling for a heartbeat, only to snap back to reality as a sharpened limb spiked into the floor just inches from her head. In quick response, she rolled to the side, landing in a crouch.

Battle Damage

Name Val Health 65% to 55% Source Fall Damage

Name Daemon Health 100% to 25% Source Fall Damage

The creature was mangled. Three of its limbs were twisted and broken, hanging limp. But it wasn’t finished with her. Using its one remaining arm, it began to drag itself toward her, clawing across the floor with eerie determination.

Val rose to her feet and side-stepped the last flailing appendage. She grabbed it with both hands, planted her foot at the base of its shoulder, and wrenched hard. With a crack of splintering bone and sinew, the limb tore free.

The creature writhed on the floor, face down, now helpless.

It looked up at her one final time, black eyes filled with something between rage and despair. Val drove the broken limb down into its skull, ending its reign of terror.

Battle Damage

Name Daemon Health 25% to 0% Source Daemon Arm (Lanced)

Pulling the severed limb from the daemon’s skull, ensuring it was dead, Val sensed movement behind her. She spun instinctively, just in time to catch Ellie by the neck as she lunged at her, eyes black and teeth snapping.

“Ellie—no…” Val whispered, sorrow welling in her voice.

But Ellie clawed at her face, snarling like an animal. Val’s sadness hardened into resolve. “No!” she barked, her grip tightening. With a quick motion, she twisted Ellie’s arm, spinning her to the floor and pinning her with a knee between her shoulder blades.

One-handed, she tore the backpack from her shoulders and fumbled with the zipper. Ellie thrashed wildly beneath her, growling and jerking, but Val managed to wrest the helm free. Flipping Ellie over, straddling her to hold her down, Val forced the helm onto Ellie’s head.

Holding her wrists tight, Val met Ellie’s wild gaze, searching for a flicker of recognition. “Come back, Ellie,” she pleaded. “Fight it. Please…”

As if responding to her plea, the helm began to emit a low, resonant hum. Ellie’s eyes—once black and lifeless—started to glow, a bright light blooming behind them like fire catching air. She let out a scream, not the hollow, soulless wail from before, but one laced with pain and humanity. Val’s heart surged with hope as she gripped her tighter, steadying her thrashing form.

“That’s it, Ellie,” she whispered, her voice cracking as she watched the light intensify. Ellie’s scream weakened, her body trembling violently. The brightness flared one last time, casting harsh shadows across her face.

Then, in a voice barely more than a whisper, Ellie spoke. “Val… save my Sam…”

The words came with a final breath. Her body slackened, her head slumping forward as the glow vanished completely. Where the light had been, only hollow, burned-out sockets remained. Val stared in silent horror, her grip tightening around Ellie’s limp body.

She pulled Ellie close, cradling her gently against her chest.

“I will,” she said at last, the words barely audible. Her eyes welled, and as the truth of it sank in, the tears finally came.

End of Chapter Stats

Name Val Occupation Combat Medical Technician (CMT) Health 55% Hunger 65% Thirst 90% Gear Light Clothing, Lighter Backpack Helm of the Valkyrie Weapons Glock 17, Engraved Dagger Ammo 9mm – 41 rounds Skills Battlefield Medicine, Standard Weapons Trained, Enhanced Strength Kills 18

Name Ellie (Deceased) Occupation Unknown Health 0% Gear Light Clothing

Name Daemon (Terminated) Occupation Unknown Health 0% Weapons Daemon Arms (Lanced)