Chapter 70
I knew this guy was bad news! Whatever he was planning, we had to get to the school before she did anything else. I called it the other way, makers, and we stuck out. The challenge had a clock counting down close to midnight.
We raced to stop her. Once we gathered at the school, we had to get to her before the clock struck midnight. We split up and looked for her individually.
We started scouting the school grounds. However, she was nowhere to be found, and it was nearing midnight. Then we heard a loud sound only 10 minutes before midnight.
Her voice echoed through the darkness. "Woohoo! All my followers, @Shadowmaster, have given me one final challenge! Do you want fame? Follow him, and you'll be as popular as me!"
Once we located the source of the sound, we saw her—standing on the school's rooftop, waving to her followers. She had a selfie stick in her hand, holding her phone.
I bolted inside and up the stairs, my heart pounding. "She's going to jump!"
By the time I reached the roof, she was debating with her phone. "I don't think this is a good idea. I might not survive."
A voice crept from the speaker, smooth as poison. "Back out now? After everything? You'll be nothing. Forgotten. Weak."
Her breath came in short gasps. I am not weak; I had fought for this—popularity, recognition, a purpose.
Her phone screen flickered. A face—warped, shifting, eyes like black voids—smirked back at her.
Her body trembled. But her feet... they moved on their own. As she stepped onto the ledge, the whole city stretched below her. She seemed to be in a trance. The wind was pulling at her; the drop was calling to her. The demon's voice was more apparent now, whispering, urging her.
"You were always meant for something greater. End this. Step forward."
She closed her eyes, as sleep deprivation must have made her light-headed and dizzy; her balance was shifting.
Then—
A hand grabbed her wrist. "SERENA!" the voice yelled from the darkness.
She spun around, heart pounding. Kayla, along with Micah and James, stood behind her.
"I saw the @Shadowmaster in your live stream challenge you at the schoolhouse." She cried. "I came here, and I saw you on the roof. What the hell are you doing? " Kayla shouted, eyes full of panic.
Sienna's vision blurred. "I… I don't know."
Micah pointed at her phone. "Step away from the edge. Now."
She hesitated, then looked at the screen.
The comments flooded the screen one after another.
THE @SHADOWMASTER HAS ENTERED THE CHAT.
[DON'T LISTEN TO THEM.]
[THEY'RE JEALOUS OF YOU...JUMP!]
[JUMP BE #1!]
[YOU'RE NOTHING WITHOUT ME!]
[YOU'RE A WEAK NOBODY...]
[I AM COMING FOR YOU!!!]
The screen glitched violently. Then—
An ear-piercing screech erupted from the phone. Sienna screamed and dropped the device. The moment it hit the ground, black smoke erupted from it, swirling and twisting into a monstrous form.
The @Shadowmaster wasn't a person.
It was a demon!
The creature loomed, stretching unnaturally tall, its hollow eyes locking onto Sienna; its voice was an echo of distorted whispers. "You belong to me now."
Micah stepped forward. "Not a chance in hell." With a summoning of energy, light radiated around her tessen war fans.
I drew my sword. "Serena, get back!"
The demon lunged. A clawed shadow slashed where she had stood seconds before, barely missing her.
Micah struck first; her energy blast struck the demon in the chest, knocking the creature back. It shrieked, its body flickering and glitching like broken static.
Duke and Baby arrived, their voices steady in an exorcism chant. "In the name of the Lord, I cast you out—"
The demon screeched, its form glitching and distorting, but it wasn't giving up. It reached toward Sienna, shadows curling around her ankle like snakes.
Her phone vibrated.
A single message appeared on the cracked screen:
"Don't let them win. If I leave, you're nothing without me."
Sienna's breath caught.
Kayla grabbed her hands, her grip firm and steady. "Listen to me, Sienna. This thing is lying to you. You're not nothing. You never were; you have many friends around you."
Sienna's chest tightened. She stared at the demon—the thing that had whispered to her, manipulated her, and fed on her insecurities.
Her eyes narrowed, and she clenched her jaw. "You don't control me!" —She stomped on her phone.
The screen shattered. The demon let out a horrible, ear-splitting scream as its form twisted into ash. Baby had finished the exorcism, and the demon was ripped apart, vanishing into the night.
Silence.
Sienna collapsed to her knees, gasping for air.
I knelt beside her. "Are you okay?" lending her my hand.
She nodded weakly, her hands still shaking. "That… thing… It was in my head for months. I didn't even realize what it was."
Kayla squeezed her shoulder. "You don't have to go through this alone."
Sienna looked at them, her throat tight. "Thank you. If you hadn't stopped me…"
"But we were here," James said, cutting her off. "That's what matters."
She took a deep breath, wiping her eyes. "Yeah… I'm here—alive."
In the distance, the city lights flickered. The night was still cold, but the weight of the demon was gone.
For the first time in weeks, Sienna felt a sense of freedom.
Once we were alone, I said to everyone. That terrifies me. We need to be extra cautious. The demons are no longer limited to possessing humans. They use technology to manipulate them.