Ethan tried to maintain his composure as he stood before Yassmin and her brother Yassir. He knew he was in a precarious situation, but he couldn't show any weakness. He adopted an expression of calculated bewilderment.
"Apophis?" Ethan asked, feigning ignorance. "I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about."
"Even if you don't remember, we met before. At that time, I made a mistake, and I believe a demon called Apophis took refuge in your body. If you could let us verify it, we'll leave quickly," Yassir intervened before his sister could lose patience.
Yassmin, with rapidly waning patience, took a step towards him. Her violet eyes glowed with a menacing intensity.
"Don't play games with me, Blackwood. I can sense his presence. He is inside you," she said firmly.
Ethan swallowed hard, trying to buy time as his thoughts raced.
"I assure you, I don't know what you're talking about. Don't waste my time with these childish nonsense," he replied in a tone that tried to be convincing.
Yassmin's patience was exhausted. With a fluid motion, her hair transformed into a mass of writhing snakes, ready to strike. The sight of the snakes made Ethan instinctively recoil.
"I regret having to do this, but you leave me no choice," Yassmin said with a tone of regret but with unwavering determination.
Ethan wasted no more time. With a quick gesture, he released fifteen of his modified skeletal soldiers. The creatures emerged from his pocket dimension, armed and ready for combat. The eyes of both al-Rashid siblings widened in surprise.
They never expected Ethan to know necromancy. They had bought all the information about him, but there was nothing to indicate he knew any form of magic. They couldn't conceive that Ethan could hide such a key piece of information as this; it was not possible.
Quickly, they dismissed their doubts. Yassir rapidly transformed into his werewolf form, an imposing being with powerful musculature and sharp claws. Yassmin also transformed, becoming a half-snake, half-human woman, her serpentine and agile body perfectly adapted for battle.
But before the fight could begin, Yassmin stepped forward and used a scroll, reciting some words in an arcane language. Immediately, the atmosphere around them changed, enveloping them in an isolated field known as the "Veil of Discretion." This spell, commonly used by those involved in magic, allowed magical battles to be fought without affecting the outside world and without revealing the truth to the public.
The fight began with unleashed fury. The fifteen skeletons, though weak, were stronger than an ordinary human and were still at the bottom of the pyramid in comparison. Even so, the fifteen together, coordinated, began their attacks without hesitation. Yassir, in his werewolf form, unleashed his fury in a dance of violence, while Yassmin supported him from the rear with various shadow spells.
For a moment, the fight was evenly matched. The skeletons moved with surprising coordination thanks to the artificial intelligence Ethan had developed, executing attack and defense maneuvers with an unsettling efficiency. Although they had never faced a necromancer before, Yassmin and Yassir were surprised by the autonomy and independence of the skeletons. Each of them moved in a unique way, as if Ethan could control them individually.
Yassmin, who had studied the characteristics of all magics, knew well the weaknesses of a necromancer. She knew it was impossible for any ordinary necromancer to command their undead like this. To make matters worse, the skeletal soldiers seemed to learn about the fighting style of the siblings and became increasingly difficult to deal with.
As the fight progressed, Yassmin realized that although they could eventually defeat all the skeletons, they themselves were receiving too many injuries. And there was still Ethan and the demon to deal with; they couldn't afford to become too weakened.
"Yassir, fall back!" Yassmin shouted, seeing that the fight was at a standstill.
Yassir growled but obeyed, retreating to her side. Yassmin stepped forward, her eyes glowing with a mix of fury and determination.
"Blackwood, listen to me. I don't want to fight. I just want Apophis. I'm willing to buy it from you; we can come to an agreement."
Ethan was completely tempted by this; he wanted to get rid of the demon inside him, so it was a very good offer. But at that moment, just before accepting, Apophis's voice echoed in his mind, stopping him.
Apophis had been silent since he was rejected a second time by Ethan when he wanted to teach him abilities. Now, however, he had decided to break the silence since his life was at risk.
"You can't hand me over to them, Ethan. Our lives are connected. If I die at the hands of that woman, you will die too."
Ethan froze. He hadn't heard that before, which meant he couldn't get rid of him. As he looked at Yassmin and Yassir, he knew he was in an even more dangerous situation than he had imagined.
"I can't do it," Ethan said, his voice firm but with a tinge of desperation. "I can't hand Apophis over to you. According to him, our lives are linked. I won't risk dying because of you."
Yassmin frowned, quickly understanding the situation. The tension in the air was palpable; she knew that a direct confrontation would only lead to more losses and bloodshed.
"Then, we must find another solution," Yassmin said, her voice low but laden with intent. "Because I don't plan on leaving here without Apophis."
"To find another solution, I first need to know why you need this demon."
Yassmin sighed to herself. Although she would have avoided it if possible, there was no harm in telling Ethan her story. Anyway, if he couldn't find a way to help her, the only option left was to fight to the death.