The air was robbed from Cedric's throat as he watched in horror when an inky black water formed under Selena's feet. His jaw tightened, and he quickly extended his palm out. "Bolt!" he shouted, but he froze when hands tore through the water and yanked Selena down into it.

Cedric collapsed to his knees when the puddle dried up and disappeared. This is all my fault, he thought. "Damn it," he cried out as he slammed his fists down on the floor.

His heart rate accelerated, making it hurt to even take a breath. Panic sank its fangs into his senses, driving him into madness. He stared down at his hands, which were now soaked in fresh scarlet. He quickly placed a hand over his mouth as vomit threatened to expel from his mouth.

Cedric threw himself back, crawling away from the giant puddle of blood that slithered toward him from the body of a woman with long sea-green hair, who was lying lifeless on the floor. "No! No! It can't happen again; I won't let it!" he shouted as he closed his eyes and clutched the sides of his head. Tears welled up in his eyes as memories from his past whispered sweetly in his ear like a melody.

Cedric shook his head from side to side. "No, it's not real. You're just seeing things," Cedric mentioned to himself, trying to calm down his erratic heartbeat. He slowly opened up his eyes, afraid to see anything else. There's nothing here, he repeated thought as he shakily rose to his feet. Anxiety still pumped strongly through his veins as he looked around.

Cedric sharply turned his head to the left when he heard footsteps approaching him. He watched the people slowly drag themselves into the room with knives in their hands, still obeying the rules that Ava had set for them.

You're running out of time to save her; you have to save her. It'll be all your fault if something happens to her, Cedric frantically thought, clenching the handle of his platinum key tightly. He twirled his key around, transforming it into a double-bladed staff.

But how can I do that when I'm supposed to keep damage to this building at a minimum? Cedric wondered while he unsteadily held onto his weapon.

"You have to die! You need to die! It's what Ava wants!" a woman shouted before charging at Cedric. She gripped the handle of the knife she was holding and swung it at him.

Cedric swiftly twisted his body back to avoid her strike. He crouched low to the floor and swept the woman off her feet with his right leg, causing her to tumble to the ground.

"You shouldn't have done that. You little pest!" the woman roared. She rose back to her feet, her body swaying like a broken mannequin.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Terror consumed Cedric's body as the woman's bones cracked. She cried out in pain as she went forward, collapsing to the ground. Dark purple energy chewed away at her until it swallowed her up whole.

Howl!

A mutated wolf emerged out of the black mist. Bones poked out of its mangy gray fur. It pulled its mouth back in a snarl as it bared its sharp canines at Cedric, prowling toward him. Its ominous glowing yellow eyes refused to let him out of its sight.

Cedric tightly gripped the handle of his staff until his knuckles turned white when the people behind the wolf transformed into the same thing. He let out a yelp when the wolf lunged at him with its claws drawn. He twisted his body and dove to the right, narrowly avoiding its sharp nails that were ready to shred him to pieces.

They're still people, aren't they? They're just under a spell. But they're wasting my time; I need to get to Selena, Cedric thought before he raised up his weapon to block one of the wolf's incoming attacks. He ground his teeth when his feet slowly slid backward from the force of its attack.

Cedric's chest rapidly heaved in and out. What spell can I use to subdue them without causing them any damage? He thought in a frenzied state, unable to fully focus. His eyes widened in bewilderment when one of the wolf's mouths opened wide, causing a purple hand to shoot out of its throat.

A pained hiss left Cedric's mouth when the hand wrapped around his neck, slamming him into a nearby wall. The force caused him to loosen his grip on his weapon, sending it clattering to the ground. It turned back into a key as it rolled across the room. He flinched when the hand squeezed tightly, crushing the air out of him.

Darkness slowly consumed his vision as his lungs burned from the lack of air. Cedric snapped his fingers, causing his key to come flying back toward him. He swiftly caught it and swirled it in a circle, transforming it into a gun. "You're in my way," he stated with dull blue eyes.

Cedric pulled the trigger. The bullet flew upward, tearing right through the middle of the hand, forcing it to release him. He collapsed to the ground, taking in sharp breaths.

The expression on Cedric's face morphed into an annoyed one as he rose to his feet. "You're all still in my way, so I'll just force you out of it," he threatened with a dark look in his eyes. A bright light surrounded his weapon as it transformed back into a staff. He gripped it in the middle and tore it apart, forcing it to form into two swords that he held in each hand.

Cedric ducked and slid on the ground when a wolf lunged at him, forcing it to fly above him. He swiftly slashed its back legs, causing it to tumble head-first into the floor behind him.

He twisted his body around and pushed himself to the right when a wolf tried to pounce on him, forcing the floor to cave in under its weight.

Cedric threw his head back as wild laughter escaped his throat. He reached up to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye with his gloved right hand. "It's funny how I realized I'm just wasting my time to minimize damage. If I slice through every last one of you, I'm sure I can reach her in time," he stated, while an insane grin graced his lips.

"Repeated slice!" Cedric roared. He threw both of the swords into the air, causing them to merge into one. Swirling around like a hurricane, they tore through the center of a wolf that attempted to fly at him. He ran forward and used his left leg to propel himself into the air. He twisted his body around into a backflip; he easily reached forward, gripping the handle of his weapon.

Cedic twirled his body around, bringing his shoe down on the upper body of the wolf, slamming the monster into the ground, creating a large crater on the floor.

Cedric winced when a wolf dove by him, slicing his cheek slightly. He felt the warmth of his blood run down his cheek, crawling down to his chin. He reached up using the back of his hand to wipe it off, only to end up smearing it across his skin.

"Let's see you all dodge this!" Cedric screamed as he jumped off the wolf he was standing on. His weapon glowed bright red. He swung it down, the blade sinking into the floor, causing a violent vibration to travel through it.

Crack!

The floor caved inward from where Cedric hit. The entire thing crumbled, sending him and the wolves to the floor below. He craned his head back when he heard numerous footsteps racing toward him. A bored expression etched into his face as he watched wolves bolt out from everywhere in the club.

They used their back legs to lift them into the air; each wolf opened its mouth wide, revealing the hand lurking inside that reached out toward Cedric. A wide, amused grin danced along his lips. "Ignite," he mentioned, and with a snap of his fingers, they became engulfed in flames.

"It's getting too hot in here," Cedric mumbled as he fanned himself with his hand.

Cedric maneuvered around the wolves on fire and headed up a staircase that led to more upper floors. This is going to take too long, he thought as he gazed up at all the steps before him.

"I guess I'm just going to have to break through the whole building," Cedric stated lowly as he craned his head back. "Cobra!" he shouted the spell, causing a brightly colored blue snake to twirl around his body and burst through the ceiling. He placed his weapon into its side, allowing him to go with it.

The cobra burst through the roof, sending tiles flying in every direction. Cedric removed his weapon from the snake, allowing himself to descend. He carefully spun around and landed perfectly on his feet. He looked up only for his eyes to widen in terror at the sight before him.