The Blood Priest stood tall.
Beside him, a second figure was present — much smaller, yet her movements were barely noticeable. The man in black armor, as if part of the night itself, disappeared and reappeared several meters away from where Kano stood.
The Shadow Hunter.
— "Wonderful," muttered Naira, her lips curling in disdain. — "Now we don't just have a bunch of fanatics, but their leaders too."
The Blood Priest raised his hand.
The ground beneath their feet trembled, and dark magical circles began to manifest on the cobblestones. They burned with red light, as if something worse than anyone could imagine was awakening beneath them.
— "You won't save them," the Priest spoke, addressing Kano.
In the same instant, the Shadow Hunter vanished.
Kano barely had time to turn around when a sharp gust of air made his body move on its own. He felt something rush past his back and, thanks to his instincts, managed to dodge at the last moment.
A heavy dagger sliced through the air, mere centimeters from his neck.
Kano leaped back, spinning sharply.
The Shadow Hunter was already beside him. He moved so fast that his silhouette merged with the surrounding darkness. In his hands were two short blades, their dull reflection faintly gleaming in the barrier's light.
Kano thrust his sword forward.
The Hunter no longer waited.
He lunged forward, and the world around him dissolved in explosive speed.
Kano barely managed to react. His body instinctively told him how to move, how to dodge. The blades flashed so quickly that his eyes couldn't keep up with them.
But he felt every move.
Inside him, something was awakening.
Suddenly, the Shadow Hunter stopped and vanished again, only to reappear to the side, making a sharp strike from below.
Kano felt a warmth inside him. Something flared. His body performed a move he hadn't expected — he didn't just dodge, but intercepted the Hunter's arm, halting the blow for a split second.
The Blood Priest watched this, tilting his head.
— "Interesting," he said.
Kano took a deep breath. He could feel it.
Something was breaking free.
The barrier quivered again, and the darkness began to spread through the streets of the city.
The air still vibrated with the remnants of magic. It was as if the city itself was trying to regain its balance after the storm that had just passed through its streets. The stone cobblestones were marred by cracks left behind by the battle. The barrier no longer flickered chaotically — it stabilized, though its light was no longer as bright as before.
Kano breathed heavily, his body feeling every muscle working to the limit. He still gripped his sword, even though the flames that had burst from it earlier had long since faded.
— "Did we win?" asked Rudgard, wiping sweat and blood from his brow. His voice sounded muffled.
— "We survived," corrected Lianel, though her eyes were still fixed on the ground before them.
Kano slowly lifted his gaze.
Where the Blood Priest had stood just moments ago, there were only dark stains on the stone, as if even the shadow didn't want to leave this place. But it wasn't that which caught everyone's attention.
In the center of the square, near the junction of the barrier, something moved.
Tiny fragments of black smoke, not yet fully dissipated, began to clump together, forming a strange, almost living mass.
— "What is that..." Selina sharply covered her mouth with her palm, feeling something freeze inside her.
The black fragment, no larger than a fist, remained still for just a moment. And then — as if it inhaled the air.
Almost imperceptible, but Kano saw it.
The shadow fragment began to stir.
— "Step back!" shouted Lianel, quickly pulling the string of her bow.
Kano didn't hesitate. His body moved on its own.
He rushed forward, swinging his sword to destroy the remnants of dark magic before it could do anything more.
But as soon as his blade touched the fragment, something exploded.
Not physically — but magically.
The black substance expanded, as if touching it had activated something deeper. The space around Kano trembled, and for a split second, he felt everything around him become distorted — as if he were looking through water.
And then, it disappeared.
The darkness faded. The fragment simply... vanished.
Kano stood with his sword raised, his chest heaving from rapid breaths.
— "Where did it go?" Naira asked, gripping her axe tightly.
Lianel lowered her bow, her gaze still tense.
— "It didn't vanish."
— "What?" Rudgard asked again.
— "It... ran away," she said softly.
Selina closed her eyes, her hands glowing faintly with a blue light as she tried to sense the magical currents around them. But there was nothing.
— "I can't feel it anymore..." Her voice cracked. "This isn't just a fragment of magic... This is something else."
Kano remained motionless.
He didn't understand what had just happened. But he felt that it was important. That this darkness wasn't just magic.
Something had slipped into the depths of the city.
And it was waiting for its time.
Everyone around felt that this wasn't the end. But no one spoke a word.
The streets fell silent once again.
The barrier stood firm.
But the night grew even darker.
The darkness enveloping the city was only the beginning.
Kano and his squad knew: the real battle would take place underground.
They didn't wait — they raced through the narrow tunnels, knowing that every second of delay could be the last for the entire city.
When they burst into the large hall beneath the central square, a sense of danger enveloped them like a tight throat.
In the center stood a large magical mechanism that supported the city's barrier. Around it, runic rings spun, maintaining the balance of the mana flow. And at its core, like a heart, pulsed an orange crystal, the only thing that could protect the city.
But now, it was in danger.
Before the mechanism stood the Demon of Shadows.
It was a creature made of pure darkness, shifting its form, pulsing, breathing — as if it lived by its own rules. Its body flowed over the stone like thin shadow, and the runes on its skin emitted a black glow.
Its eyes... they didn't reflect the light. They absorbed it.
And beside it stood the Blood Priest and the Shadow Hunter.
— "So, you really decided to show up?" The Blood Priest smiled, his voice dissolving into the cold space. — "How touching, your devotion..."
— "You're too late," the Shadow Hunter spoke coldly.
But his voice lacked the confidence it once had.
He knew this was the end.
Lianel was the first to react.
She didn't reach for her quiver.
She no longer needed arrows.
She created them from pure magic, her bow flaring with flames.
— "I won't let you run anymore," she said, her eyes burning with determination.
Naira slammed her axe into the ground and took a step forward.
— "Enough talking. I want to see them bleed!"
And the battle erupted.
The dwarf didn't retreat.
He didn't strike the ground — he struck straight at the enemy's chest.
The Shadow Hunter dodged — he was fast, like a blurred image. But Rudgard had learned to read his movements.
— "Did you think you could move faster than me?" he roared, landing a blow to the Hunter's leg.
The bone cracked.
The Shadow Hunter bent, his movements slowing.
Lianel seized the opportunity instantly.
Her fiery arrow struck the enemy, forcing him to retreat, and another pierced his shoulder.
The Hunter screamed, but didn't fall.
His body was covered in blood.
But he was still breathing.
— "Forward!" Naira shouted and charged straight into the crowd of cultists.
Her axe was a machine of destruction.
The cultists tried to attack, but she bulldozed through them like a storm.
And then one of them stabbed her in the leg with a dagger.
Blood splattered onto the floor.
Naira froze.
A cold, ruthless gleam appeared in her eyes.
— "You... made a mistake."
Her body trembled with wild rage.
She ripped the dagger out of her own body.
And in a second, her axe tore through dozens of enemies.
Kano fought nearby, but his thoughts were muddled.
He felt the mana inside him begin to bubble.
But if he lost control again, if he exploded, he could destroy all his friends.
What should he do?!
— "Kano!" Lianel shouted.
— "If not you, then who?!" Rudgard barked, closing his eyes in pain after another strike.
Naira glanced at him.
She smiled through the blood.
— "We're together... let's do this together!"
Kano understood.
He wasn't alone.
Kano gathered all his magic.
He no longer hesitated.
He poured all the mana into his sword, then raised it high.
— "Naira, now!"
She understood.
They surged forward together.
Naira leapt and severed the demon's head with a single blow.
Kano drove his sword straight into the monster's heart.
The darkness trembled.
And then...
An explosion from within the demon.
Flames burst from its insides, tearing it apart.
A shockwave swept through the hall, but none of the friends were harmed.
The demon was destroyed.
Kano dropped to one knee.
His sword cracked.
And in a second, it broke in half.
The Blood Priest gasped as Lianel's giant arrow pierced him through.
His body exploded in a whirlwind of ash.
The Shadow Hunter lay there, breathing heavily.
He smiled.
— "You... fight well..."
And drank the poison.
His eyes went out forever.
They all breathed heavily.
Selina began healing everyone.
Rudgard could barely hold on, but he smiled.
Kano looked at the shards of his sword.
The cultists and the darkness were defeated... and they could finally catch their breath.