The Daughter of Cursed Steel Chapter 25: Chapter 25: The Crumbling Hall

Read chapter 25 of The Daughter of Cursed Steel by Ashfell on NovelPedia.

Chapter 25: The Crumbling Hall Rachel started coughing as the area filled with dirt and dust. As the dirt and dust slowly began to clear, the first thing she saw was the barely intact roof above her. The upper floors of the castle had collapsed on top of the Great Hall, creating a makeshift ceiling from broken beams, shattered stone, and piles of rubble. The entire structure groaned overhead, sounding as though it could give way at any moment. The slow crunch of shifting wood and grinding stone echoed through the ruined hall as debris occasionally broke loose and fell to the floor below. Rachel stared up at it for a moment. The roof looked like it was being held together but would collapse at any time now. From around her, she could hear the groans of soldiers and maids who were either injured or terrified by what had just happened. Rachel tried to sit up. The moment she leaned forward, she nearly slipped. Right beside her was a massive crack in the ground that disappeared into darkness, extending far below the surface. Keeping close to the wall, she carefully pushed herself to her feet. Her body swayed as she took an unsteady step toward the maids gathered at the far end of the room. She did her best not to stumble and fall, her head still spinning from the head injury. As she approached them, one of the maids suddenly pointed and screamed. “Princess, behind you!” Rachel turned just in time to see an angel standing behind her, his sword already raised as he brought it down toward her. There was no room to dodge. Instead of trying to run forward, Rachel pushed off the floor with all the strength she could muster and threw herself backward. Her back slammed into the angel's chest just as the sword came down. The unexpected impact caused the angel to stumble backward. He lost his footing and crashed to the ground, with Rachel falling on top of him. The angel released his sword and immediately grabbed hold of Rachel. The two of them struggled across the floor, neither willing to let the other gain the advantage. As they rolled across the ruined hall, the ground beneath them began to creak and groan. They were dangerously close to the edge of the massive crack that split the floor in two. The angel refused to let go, a fanatical look filling his eyes as he deliberately forced the struggle closer and closer to the edge, trying to drag Rachel down into the darkness with him. Then Rachel spotted something from the corner of her eye. One of her battle axes was nearby. She immediately reached for it and wrapped her fingers around the handle, giving the battle axe a high choke before driving the spike on the top of the axe into the angel's side again and again. The spike punched through armor and flesh as blood poured from the wounds, but instead of weakening, the angel seemed to become even more desperate. With a roar, he rolled against her and forced them both toward the edge. The floor suddenly gave way beneath them, and for a brief moment Rachel felt the world drop out from under her. But with the beak of the battle axe, she slammed it into the stone floor and dug deep into the rock. The sudden stop nearly tore the weapon from her hand as her legs dangled over the abyss while the angel hung below her, his wings too badly damaged by the collapse to fly. As long as she held onto the battle axe, she wouldn't fall. The wounded angel clung tightly to Rachel's waist. Even now he refused to give up. He kicked, pulled, and struggled, trying with all his remaining strength to drag her into the darkness below. Rachel could feel her grip slowly slipping and knew she couldn't hold on forever, so she had to free herself quickly. Mana began gathering in her free hand as a bright red glow illuminated her fingers. Magical energy rapidly condensed into her palm while the angel continued clawing at her armor and pulling at her legs. Rachel lowered her glowing hand and pointed it directly at his face. “Explosion.” The spell detonated instantly. A burs