Leonardo drew his blade the moment those words left Vaun'Zareth's cracked lips.
The man—if one could still call him that—arched his back in glee, lifting his arms toward the jagged ceiling of the cave as the flickering torchlight danced across the jagged surface of his bloodstained robe. The cultists surrounding him let out soft sobs of ecstasy and dread, their voices weaving into one incoherent hymn.
"AHA~! Yes! Yes! That's it! That's the fire! That's the fear! That's the divine wrath I long to see!" Vaun'Zareth shrieked, snapping his fingers violently. His followers responded instantly, lifting their heads and crying out in a discordant chorus that shook the cavern walls.
"FOR THE PROPHET! FOR THE BEAST! FOR THE NIGHT!"
"ELIAS!!" Rajin's voice thundered over the chants. He stepped forward, sparks trailing from his fingertips. His eyes were already beginning to glow, his breathing shallow with fury.
Elias hung limply from the chains, his face battered, bloodied, but still conscious. His eyes widened with recognition when he saw the squad enter, his lips parting in a cracked, desperate whisper.
"Help…"
Vaun'Zareth bent backwards at an impossible angle, his head nearly touching his heels, before jerking upright again with a convulsive giggle. "Ohhh, precious child, you weren't supposed to cry yet! The gospel says you scream after the tongues begin to feed!"
He pointed at the intruders, his long, pale finger quivering with excitement. "But behold! The sinners! The false flock! COME TO ME! Let us PURGE the filth that clings to your spirits!"
He raised the bloodied gospel and began to chant in a tongue none of them recognized—a string of wet, guttural syllables that made Ubel's stomach turn.
"RAE'TUL… GHAAR VESH… ELTHARU! ZI'MATH!"
At once, the cultists turned to face the squad, hollow eyes glinting in the dark as they rose from their kneeling positions. Some carried rusted weapons, others bore claws far too long and gnarled to be natural. A few bared jagged, inhuman teeth.
"Back up," Leonardo growled. "They're not human anymore."
"I'm getting Elias," Rajin muttered, lightning crackling around him.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Kouneli said darkly. He stepped forward, his normally guarded face now a grim mask. "We're going together."
Ubel didn't wait. "Kurona, try not to die. And don't forget Elias is the kid who told you where to buy ice cream—maybe that'll jog your stupid memory this time."
Kurona tilted his head, completely unfazed by the swarm of cultists preparing to lunge at them. "Wait, that's who Elias is? I thought he was the coat rack at the inn."
Ubel groaned loudly. "I'm gonna strangle you myself after this."
"Wait till after the fight, at least," Leonardo snapped, slicing through the first cultist that lunged at him. His blade cut clean, spraying black blood across the stone floor.
Then the cavern erupted into chaos.
Rajin launched forward, lightning exploding from his hands as he slammed into a cluster of enemies. His body blurred through the darkness, arcs of energy disintegrating those who got too close.
Ubel danced between two cultists, twirling his blade with frightening precision, carving out a path toward the chained Elias. His eyes flicked toward Vaun'Zareth—who stood perfectly still, watching the carnage with a delighted, twitching smile.
Kouneli moved with eerie silence, crushing enemies with swift, brutal efficiency. But there was a fury in his movements, a hidden force behind every strike—one that hadn't been there before the trial. Something was different about him now.
Leonardo caught a glimpse of it mid-fight. The way Kouneli moved, the way he grit his teeth. As though something had snapped.
Kouneli… what happened in that room?
"ENOUGH!" Vaun'Zareth's voice exploded like a thunderclap. He raised his arms, and the air itself seemed to twist around him. Shadows swirled, condensing into monstrous shapes behind him—hulking beasts with eyes like burning coals and mouths filled with rows of mismatched teeth.
"I have read the signs in the sacred blood!" Vaun'Zareth cried, tearing a chunk of his own hair out and tossing it into the fire. "And they told me of the SINS YOU BEAR!"
The beasts lunged.
Leonardo took the front, intercepting one of the shadow-creatures with a clash of metal and flame. "Keep going! We'll hold them off!"
Rajin threw himself toward the chains holding Elias. With a burst of thunder, he shattered one of them. Elias cried out but didn't collapse.
"I've got you," Rajin muttered. "Hang on."
Elias looked up, his face contorted with pain. "That man—he's insane. Don't let him get close."
"Oh don't worry," Ubel said, stepping up beside Rajin with a furious glare. "I'll personally make sure he keeps his distance. Preferably with a hole in his chest."
Vaun'Zareth tilted his head so sharply it cracked. "OHHH? Promises? Promises from the mouths of those who have not KNEELED?!"
He pulled back his gospel, flipping it to a page already soaked in blood. He read aloud again, voice rising with each word:
"And the beasts shall rise from below, hungry for confession. They will tear flesh from liars, drink marrow from cowards, and dance upon the bones of the faithless. And the false prophet, the boy in chains, will witness the feast."
"Nope," Ubel growled, pointing his sword toward the general. "We're not doing this creepy 'feast' thing. Not today."
With a roar, Ubel lunged forward.
Vaun'Zareth clapped his hands once. The stone beneath his feet cracked open, and from the depths below, something began to stir.
Kouneli's eyes widened as the temperature plummeted. "That's… not just a spell."
The walls trembled. Cracks splintered along the cavern ceiling. From the pit Vaun'Zareth stood on, a clawed, skeletal limb began to rise.
Elias whimpered, panic returning to his swollen eyes. "He's summoning it. The beast of the night—that's what he called it."
Kurona, who had been surprisingly quiet amidst the chaos, stepped forward, watching the limb emerge.
"…Should we be worried?"
"YES, YOU ABSOLUTE MORON," Ubel shouted mid-swing. "This is LITERALLY the one time I want you to panic!"
Kurona looked genuinely surprised. "Noted."
The beast's second arm emerged. Then a third.
Vaun'Zareth began smashing his head into the stone altar, bleeding profusely as he screamed.
"DAWNBREAK IS FALSE! MIDNIGHT IS TRUTH! THE NEW GOD SHALL RISE! SHALL RIIIIIIIISE!"
Leonardo clashed with another shadow-creature, knocking it aside before shouting, "We have to stop the summoning!"
Rajin reached down, picked Elias up in his arms, and turned to flee.
"Go," Leonardo ordered. "Get him out of here. We'll handle the rest."
"But—"
"Rajin, go!!" Kouneli shouted, finally stabbing one last cultist through the chest. "He needs you more than we do right now."
Rajin hesitated… then nodded. With a burst of electricity, he vanished in a trail of sparks, taking Elias with him.
"We either kill this bastard now, or something big and very wrong is coming out of that hole." Ubel said, gritting his teeth.
Kurona blinked. "So… punch him?"
"Yes, Kurona," Leonardo growled. "Punch the psychotic general."
"Got it."
Before anyone could stop him, Kurona charged Vaun'Zareth—no weapon, no plan, just a perfectly straightforward flying kick to the head.
It connected.
Vaun'Zareth's body flew backwards, landing in a heap beside his pulsing gospel.
Everything went silent for half a second.
Then the beast's limb froze, halfway out of the pit. The summoning halted.
Vaun'Zareth twitched.
And then he laughed.
"OOHHHHHHH!! Ah! Ahhh! THAT HURT! THAT HURT SO GOOD!"
He stood up, blood running down his face, eyes wide with unholy glee. "A TRUE blow! A worthy mark of pain! YES! YES! INFLICT ME MORE! SHOW ME YOUR LOVE THROUGH VIOLENCE!!"
Kurona looked horrified. "I regret everything."
Ubel lunged next, slamming his leg into the side of Vaun'Zareth's stomach. The impact knocked him back again, but this time, he didn't get up so fast.
Leonardo stepped forward, blade at the ready. "You done screaming yet?"
Vaun'Zareth coughed up blood… and smiled.
"Perhaps. But you… you've yet to scream at all."
With that, the altar cracked completely—and the half-summoned beast began to stir again.
"No," Leonardo hissed. "No, no, no—"
Kouneli grabbed him. "We're not stopping it. Not like this. Get out!"
"But—"
"We regroup. Bring this cave down if we have to. But we're not dying here."
Ubel threw down a collapsing sphere, and the explosion of fire and smoke blanketed the room.
They ran.