The darkness didn't last long.
From the far end of the cavern, a guttural chant echoed, sounding like stones grinding together.
"Krak-ta! Ignis!"
WHOOSH.
A massive fireball exploded in the center of the room. It didn't hit anyone, but the shockwave knocked the Healer onto his back.
The cavern was instantly illuminated by the flickering, violent orange glow of the flames.
Atop a natural stone throne, a Goblin Shaman (E+ Rank) stood, waving a totem made of skulls. It was summoning fire elementals.
"Damn it! A Shaman?!" Jack roared, slashing a goblin in half. His armor was dented, and sweat stung his eyes. "Where is everyone?! Mage! Healer!"
The Healer was crawling on the ground, sobbing, clutching his bleeding leg. "I... I'm out of mana!"
"Useless trash!" Jack kicked a goblin away and spun around, looking for his only remaining asset: the Mage.
Through the chaotic strobe-light effect of the fireballs, Jack saw a silhouette standing near the cavern wall.
It was holding a staff. It wore the Mage's robes.
"Mage!" Jack screamed, his voice cracking with desperation. "Barrier! Cast a Holy Barrier on me! Now!"
The silhouette stood motionless for a second.
Then, slowly, jerkily, it raised the staff.
Jack let out a breath of relief. Finally. With a barrier, he could charge the Shaman and end this.
He turned his back on the "Mage," preparing to dash forward.
In the shadows behind a pillar, Kai watched the scene with cold amusement. He moved his index finger, pointing directly at Jack's right knee.
The same knee Jack had shattered on Kai just days ago.
"Fire," Kai whispered.
The Shadow Mage obeyed.
It didn't channel the white light of a Holy Barrier.
Instead, the darkness around the staff coalesced into a solid, spinning lance of black ice.
[Skill: Shadow Bolt]
Zip.
The projectile flew silently through the air, cutting through the chaos.
Jack was mid-step, ready to charge.
He expected the warm embrace of a shield.
What he got was agony.
CRACK-THUD.
The Shadow Bolt pierced the back of his knee joint, punching straight through the greaves and coming out the kneecap.
"AAAAHHH!!"
Jack's scream drowned out the goblins. His leg buckled instantly, and he crashed face-first into the dirt.
His broadsword skittered away across the stone floor.
"You missed!" Jack howled, rolling onto his back, clutching his shattered leg. He glared at the Mage. "You blind idiot! You hit ME!"
But the "Mage" didn't apologize.
It didn't run over to help.
In the flickering light of the Shaman's fire, Jack finally got a good look at his teammate.
The robe was tattered.
The skin was... gone.
The face was a void of swirling black smoke, illuminated only by two cold, spectral blue flames where the eyes should be.
Jack's anger vanished, replaced by a primal, confused terror.
"What... what are you?"
The Shadow Mage didn't answer. It simply lowered its staff and dissolved into the floor, moving like ink across the stone, sliding toward Jack.
"Get away!" Jack tried to crawl backward, dragging his useless leg. "Stay back!"
Then, a foot stepped onto his chest, pinning him down.
Jack looked up.
Standing over him was the "Thief" in the gas mask.
The Thief wasn't cowering anymore. He stood tall, the rusted dagger spinning lazily in his hand.
Behind him, the shadows writhed. The Shadow Scout emerged from the wall on the left. Fang (The Naga) uncoiled from the ceiling.
They formed a circle. A court of monsters.
And Jack was the prisoner.
"You..." Jack gasped, his eyes darting between the monsters and the masked man. "You're doing this? Who are you?!"
The masked man reached up.
Hiss.
The respirator seal broke.
He pulled the mask off and tossed it aside.
Jack stared at the face.
It was covered in dried blood and grime, but he recognized it.
The skinny F-Rank Porter he had left for dead in the sewers.
"Kai?" Jack whispered, his brain refusing to process the reality. "Impossible. You... you're a cripple. A nobody."
Kai smiled. It wasn't a happy smile.
It was the smile of a man collecting a debt.
"Hello, Captain," Kai said softly. "I brought your team back together."
（"Enjoying the massacre? Drop a Power Stone to feed the Clone Army!"）