Chapter 12 · Bound to the Executioner: Leveling Up With My Enemy - Chapter 12: Hounds at the Gate

"Get behind me and stay there. Now."

Soren didn’t look back. He didn't have to. The sheer pressure of his mana slammed into my chest like a physical wall, shoving me back three steps into the damp grit of the tunnel. He stepped into the breach, his blade already humming, a sliver of cold silver that looked far too thin to stop what was coming.

Then the howling started. Not dogs. Not even animals. These were Mana Hounds—Tribunal constructs made of teeth, shadow, and a hunger for illegal magic. And since I was currently walking around with a forbidden divine system grafted to my soul, I was basically a five-course meal with a side of dessert.

"Stay behind me?" I snapped, sliding my boots into a wider stance. "I'm a combat medic, not a damsel in a dress, Soren. I can actually help if you stop acting like a martyr."

"You're a beacon," he spat, his voice low and jagged. "Every time you breathe, you're screaming your location to every hunter within ten miles. Shut up and let me bottleneck the gap."

He shifted his weight, his shoulder muscles bunching under the dark leather of his inquisitor's gear.