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--donation bonus (day #2, post 4/5)--
Hector had a better idea. He coated his hands in iron dust and gripped the blade again. There it was. The friction he needed. He yanked the blade out and hit the ground rolling. He could hear Geoffrey’s elongated blades digging into the floor behind.

‘The main entrance is straight ahead of you,’ said Garovel.

He ran but felt something slowing him down. A bit of the red shadow was still wrapped around his helm, he realized. He pulled on it, but it stretched like taffy.

Geoffrey soon caught up. “Keep struggling,” he said, smiling. “Perhaps you’ll break it eventually.” When he saw Hector turn and walk towards him, his smile disappeared, however. He slashed Hector’s helm, but the sharp edge didn’t hit cleanly and just ricocheted off. Hector’s punch sent him bouncing from wall to ceiling to floor and out of sight around a corner.

He started for the entrance again, but Garovel stopped him.

‘Wait! You have to make sure Geoffrey stays on you! He has every reason to go after Colt, right now!’

“Shit.” He turned and ran back but didn’t have far to go. A red streak came soaring after him, and he rolled to the side. Seeing Geoffrey again was confirmation enough, so Hector bolted for the entrance.

Past the broad welcoming chamber and outside the house at last, he found no one but Garovel. Still underground and surrounded by dark rock formations, it would have been pitch black if not for the pathway lamps showing the way to a slew of elevators some dozen meters away.

Glancing back, he saw twin red lashes gunning for him. He avoided the first but caught the second through the gut, and a moment later, the first returned to hack his leg off.