Jason stood on the edge of the top-floor landing, heart slamming against his ribs. Tauriel stood barely ten feet away, flanked by four armed female elves in gleaming armor, their hands glowing with crackling mana. He knew he stood no chance against the female elves in front of him. Even with his partial adaptation, he was still just one human against an entire palace of powerful elves who had centuries of training and magic on their side.

Fighting right now was pointless. Even if he could somehow defeat them, it would not change the fact that this was their city. The last thing Jason wanted or needed was to become a wanted person in a place where they could dissect him like the broken males he had seen in the dungeon.

He sighed heavily and slowly raised both hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright," he said, voice steady despite the fear clawing at his throat. "You win. I’m not running anymore."

Tauriel’s lips curled into a satisfied smirk. "Wise choice, imposter. I knew you would see reason." She flicked her wrist at the guards. "Handcuff him and bring him to my chambers. Gently. I still have plans for that body of his."

Two elves stepped forward, pulling out glowing mana cuffs. One of them grabbed Jason’s wrist roughly.

But then Jason’s mind flashed back to the dungeon — the male elves with their skin flayed open, organs hanging out, ribs showing through paper-thin flesh. He knew a similar fate awaited him if he allowed her to capture him. They would experiment on him, break him, and use him until there was nothing left.

No. He wasn’t going out like that.

Without thinking, Jason took a leap of faith. Just like in those Assassin’s Creed games he used to play back on Earth, he turned and sprinted the last few steps to the open edge of the tower and jumped.

The wind roared in his ears as he plummeted. The ground rushed up to meet him far below.

He knew he would die upon impact, there would be nothing left ofhim but a splatter of what he used to be.

"JASON!" Ylva screamed from the roof below.

She launched herself into the air like a missile. Her powerful body collided with his mid-fall. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, burying her claws deep into the side of the building to slow their descent. Stone and mortar cracked and sprayed as they slid down the wall in a controlled, terrifying drop. Ylva’s claws left long gouges in the stone until they finally hit the ground with a heavy thud, her legs absorbing most of the impact.

This showed just how strong her claws were otherwise they should have snapped into two.

Jason was amazed by her durability and strength, he felt like a little princess being carried away by a prince. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Jason was still clutching her shoulders, eyes wide. "You caught me! Holy shit! You actually caught me!"

Jason didn’t believe she would be able to do that, this felt like something straight out of a movie.

Ylva’s ears flattened in embarrassment. Her face turned a deep shade under her fur as she set him down. "Of course I caught you, you idiot! What the hell were you thinking jumping like that?!"

Jason laughed breathlessly, adrenaline still pumping. "I was thinking I’d rather die falling than get turned into elf furniture. Where are we? Did we make it out?"

Ylva looked up at the building they had just slid down from. The top floor was still smoking from the earlier explosion. "We’re in the outer courtyard. But we’re not safe yet—"

Before she could finish, a figure shot into the air above them. A female elf hovered in the sky, robes billowing, eyes glowing with rage as she scanned the ground.

Jason shook his head, staring up at the flying elf. "I think we might have released Homelander."

Ylva blinked at him, completely lost. "Who? What are you talking about? That’s just Thalion but I had no idea he could fly! If he could, why did he let me carry him?"

Jason let out a nervous laugh. "Never mind. Bad reference. Point is, we need to keep moving before things get worse."

Jason knew now was the perfect time because that crazy flyimg fucker thought this was Ragnarok.

Ylva grabbed his wrist and started pulling him toward the nearest alley. "You are unbelievable. First you jump off a tower, now you’re making jokes while we’re being hunted. If we die because of you, I’m going to kill you again in the afterlife."

Jason ran beside her, still grinning despite everything. "Hey, at least I trusted you to catch me. That counts for something, right?"

Ylva growled but didn’t let go of his wrist. "It counts for you owing me big time. Now shut up and run before that flying elf rains magic down on us."

The moment she said this, a loud explosion rang at the entrance of the gate. Jason looked backed and made eye contact with Thalion.

"I will find you," Thalion mouthed before swiping his wrist down and bringing down the entire building on Tauriel alongside the two other elves in it.

This motherfucker was fueled by pure hatred.

They sprinted deeper into the shadows of Eldrath and thw crack created by Thalion, the palace looming behind them like a watchful giant. Jason’s mind raced with everything that had just happened — the dungeon, the elf, Tauriel, and now this new flying threat. But for the first time since waking up in this world, he felt like he wasn’t completely alone.

Ylva was still here. Still fighting beside him, he expected her to have lefr him long ago.

And somehow, that made the impossible odds feel just a little less impossible.

"Wait a minute? Has she been dickmatized!?" Jason wondered to himself.

"What stupid thing are you thinking about this time!?" Ylva asked and Jason realized his face gave him away.

"Hey! Be nice to me you brat!" Jason barked at her as they made their escape.