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The initial section of the cave was shallow, suggesting that until recently, this space beneath the massive rock had been the den of a bear or some other wild beast.
The natural cave ended after about ten meters. Beyond that, the tunnel bore clear signs of human excavation.
Small iron braziers hung from the walls on either side, and as Rey and Helena walked past, they could feel the heat radiating from the flames.
After passing through the rough entrance, the tunnel took a sharp downward turn. Less than five minutes of walking later, the view suddenly opened up.
A massive, man-made underground hall stretched out before them.
Rey and Helena stopped just before exiting the tunnel, hiding behind the Black Prison Wizard to observe the scene from the shadows.
The hall was vast—easily the size of a soccer field.
The space was divided into two halves. On the side where Rey stood, a magical circle glowed with a translucent, pale red light.
The red light from the circle shot straight up to the ceiling, where it mirrored another circle above. A column of red light connected the two, forming a perfect cylinder. The source of this pale red glow seemed to be piles of red crystals stacked within the array.
The other half of the hall was empty, save for a large tunnel entrance on the far side that led deeper underground—destination unknown.
However, the "empty" space wasn't unguarded. A ring of snarling Fallen Werewolves lined the perimeter. Among them stood the Church Ascetic named Tabos, who was commanding the beasts. Behind him stood two other Black Prison Wizards.
Opposite this trio, standing right at the edge of the summoning circle, was a House Elf that was freakishly strong.
Long bat-like ears, a pencil nose, and bulging eyes—but unlike the others, he was completely hairless and stood much taller and more muscular than the average elf. In his hand, he gripped a black iron rod tipped with a heavy sphere. He was clearly the chieftain; at the very least, he held the highest status among the summoned creatures.
BOOM.
The summoning circle gave a low rumble. The column of red light suddenly flared brighter. Figures blurred within the array, and a moment later, no fewer than a hundred House Elves materialized.
The newly arrived elves looked around in confusion, disoriented by the shift between worlds.
The chieftain with the iron rod roared at the dazed group, barking out a string of guttural commands Rey couldn't understand. Snap, as if a switch had been flipped, the confused elves let out frenzied shrieks and bounded toward the dark tunnel on the far side, disappearing into the depths.
---
This was the summoning circle. Destroying it meant cutting off the enemy's reinforcements.
Rey eyed the piles of red crystals arranged in small cones within the array. If destroyed, it wouldn't be easy for the Church to set up another cross-dimensional portal.
Destroying this was half the battle won.
Rey stared at the magic circle, his grip tightening on his wand. The urge to launch a powerful devastating spell right now was overwhelming.
However, just as he was about to strike, a voice he hadn't heard in a long time echoed in the depths of his mind. It was Reypel, the Queen of Evil Spirits.
"You are looking for death!"
Rey mentally slammed on the brakes, his eyes darting around. "Looking for death?" he asked internally.
"If you want to die, don't drag me down with you. That is a three-dimensional magical array. Standard attacks will be reflected directly back at you unless your raw power exceeds its reflection limit."
Reypel was as scathing as ever, offering no comfort in her critique.
Hearing her explanation, Rey felt a lingering fear. If the Spirit Queen hadn't stopped him, the consequences could have been catastrophic.
"You have a way to break it, don't you?" Rey hesitated for a moment before asking.
Since Reypel knew the characteristics of the array, she surely knew its weakness.
"If I were at my peak, it would be child's play. As for now... well, you can try attacking it at the moment of its peak consumption."
"When is peak consumption?" Rey pressed.
"Right when it connects to the other world to transport those elves over," Reypel explained with a mental eye-roll, her tone indifferent.
"If one person isn't enough, then two. If Helena and I attack simultaneously, do we have a chance to destroy it?"
Rey wasn't ready to give up. If they couldn't destroy this thing, infiltrating this deep was pointless.
"You can try," Reypel replied after a two-second silence. It wasn't exactly a yes, but it was an answer.
"You can try." The phrase implied two outcomes: either the array breaks, or the spell reflects.
---
Rey was having an internal conversation, which naturally made him look distracted on the outside. Helena noticed.
"What's wrong?" she whispered, concerned.
"Nothing. I'm just thinking about how we should destroy this circle," Rey replied with a helpless shrug.
"We attack it directly..."
Helena's thought process mirrored Rey's initial impulse. But as Rey explained the risk of reflection, her delicate brows furrowed. Aside from a simultaneous strike, they couldn't think of a better plan.
"Carlo, what are you doing standing in the tunnel?"
Just as Rey and Helena were agonizing over a strategy, the earless Black Prison Wizard across the hall shouted at them.
The three of them had been lingering at the entrance for too long, raising suspicion.
"Just finished dealing with some damn rats. I only just got back in," the one-legged wizard (Carlo) replied casually. But something about his tone felt off.
The earless wizard was instantly alert. The three of them had worked together as a cell for a long time; they knew each other's habits.
They were separated by the magical array, and the shimmering red light obscured their vision, making it hard to see details clearly. Since Rey and Helena were hiding behind Carlo, the other wizards hadn't spotted them yet.
However, the earless wizard noticed that Carlo was acting differently than usual.
To buy time, Rey and Helena pressed themselves flat against the tunnel wall, staying out of the line of sight. They mentally commanded Carlo to walk out of the tunnel and return to the other side.
Shortly after Carlo left the tunnel, the underground hall suddenly rumbled again. The red light of the array flared intensely. It was the rhythm of another summoning.
They had to destroy the circle. There was no other choice.
Rey and Helena exchanged a glance. They had discussed this: the moment the array drew massive energy to teleport the elves was the moment its defenses were weakest.
They nodded slightly. Stepping out, they raised their wands simultaneously and slashed them toward the cylindrical column of light.
CRACK!
Two bolts of lightning erupted from their wands with blinding speed. Rey's bolt, fueled by his unreserved power, was as thick as a ten-year-old's arm.
---
Inside the summoning circle, the figures of the incoming elves were blurry, not yet fully materialized.
The two aggressive lightning bolts slammed into the humming array.
BOOM!
The moment the spells connected, a deafening explosion shook the underground hall.
Hit by two powerful magical attacks at its most critical moment, the array destabilized. Arcs of lightning danced wildly across its surface, crackling and snapping before blasting into the surrounding rock walls.
The energy wasn't fully reflected. Instead, it scattered chaotically.
Because of this, the magical energy inside the array went haywire. In the violent turbulence, the elves that hadn't fully materialized were brutally torn apart by spatial distortion.
Some were sliced in half at the waist; others had their heads severed. Some were split vertically from the forehead down.
The underground hall was instantly painted with blood and filled with agonizing screams. Of the batch of elves being summoned, those that weren't killed instantly were left maimed, not a single one intact enough to stand.