The twenty remaining elite guards looked at one another, torn between fear and duty, but eventually rushed towards the two traitors, forming a shield wall around them.
"Hold the line. As you can see, those two girls are a lot stronger than us. But if we succeed, we will protect you all!" The first yelled, spinning a web of lies to buy time. The Guards nodded with relief and hope, ignorant of their fate.
The two men nodded to each other and reached into their robes. They brought out two red needles, glowing with a sinister, chaotic light. These were different from the ones used against Zach.
"Here we go!"
They held each other's hand, cementing their pact, and stabbed the needles into their own foreheads. Instantly, their eyes turned white and lifeless as the forbidden concoction rewrote their biology.
While the two were busy initiating their monstrous transformation, Ellen and Jinx squatted down before Zach. Ellen turned him around to face them.
