The magical energy scattered wildly, forcing everyone to dodge—even the massive Fallen Werewolves.
The entire underground hall was thrown into chaos; several werewolves were struck by the erratic blasts, smoking as they collapsed to the ground. The light of the summoning circle began to dim, the red glow becoming as thin as paper, yet it persisted. This was a clear message to Rey: his combined full-force strike with Helena had failed to destroy the array. It was close, but not enough.
The energy storm didn't last long and soon subsided.
"Intruders!"
The earless Black Prison Wizard roared. If he hadn't figured out what was happening by now, he deserved to die for stupidity alone.
Having dodged the wave of magical backlash, Tabos the Ascetic pointed a finger at Rey's position. With a howl, the Fallen Werewolves skirted the magic circle and charged.
"We have to hit it again," Rey thought, muttering to himself as he sprinted out of the tunnel mouth with Helena close behind.
The tunnel entrance was wide enough for two werewolves to enter and move freely. If Rey and Helena stayed inside, they would have nowhere to dodge once the pack breached the opening. Furthermore, the exit back to the surface was blocked by a ward; retreating now would just leave them trapped.
Since the magic circle wasn't destroyed, Rey and Helena fired another curse at it the moment they burst into the hall.
BOOM!
A loud explosion shook the room, sending magical energy scattering once more. The attack was reflected by the array, but this time the backlash wasn't as chaotic as the first. There were fewer stray lightning bolts, and the deflection was more targeted. If Rey and Helena hadn't been constantly moving, they would have been hit squarely by their own spells.
The magic circle was stabilizing, making its reflection mechanism more efficient.
The wolf pack closed in, and the one-legged Black Prison Wizard, Carlo, was the first to fall. Before he could even raise his wand, a frenzied Fallen Werewolf snatched him up and tore him in half mid-air.
Blood rained down, and the wolves howled. The scent of fresh blood seemed to drive them into an even greater frenzy.
Rey and Helena circled the edge of the array, firing spells at it occasionally. Even if the attacks were reflected, the ricochets added to the chaos. With so many wolves packing the room, the reflected spells managed to take down a few beasts by pure luck.
---
At this moment, the werewolves were the cats, and Rey and Helena were two desperate mice. One slip-up meant severe injury or death.
" Ventus! " (Wind Charm)
Helena shouted a spell, pointing her wand at Rey. Rey, who was pulling her along, felt his body lighten as a gentle tailwind wrapped around them, significantly boosting their speed.
Thud!
With a heavy impact, a wolf stomped on the spot they had just occupied. They narrowly avoided being crushed.
While they were dodging by the skin of their teeth, Tabos was losing his patience. With this many wolves, killing two intruders should have taken seconds.
This defense had been personally established by Cardinal Alofman. If the Cardinal found out the site had been breached, Tabos would be in serious trouble. He had to eliminate these intruders immediately.
He pulled a small vial of blood from his pouch and poured the entire contents over his head, chanting an obscure, guttural incantation.
As the spell took hold, the already violent werewolves suddenly froze. They began to tremble, as if injected with pure adrenaline, and their eyes turned a glowing crimson. An unseen force seemed to inflate their bodies from the inside; their muscles bulged, and they physically grew taller. Tabos himself underwent the same transformation.
Every werewolf grew in size, their fangs lengthening and becoming more jagged, with thick saliva dripping to the floor in strings.
But that wasn't the worst of it. To the side, the muscular Elf Chieftain pointed his iron rod at the pile of dying, mangled elves near the circle.
Flashes of white light washed over them. In an instant, the elves that had been sliced apart or critically injured sprang back to life. After a quick exchange of gibberish, the resurrected elves joined the fray, lunging at Rey and Helena.
The underground hall wasn't large to begin with, and now the space available for Rey and Helena to maneuver was shrinking rapidly.
"Relax your mind and body. Give me all the dark magic in your Soul Orb."
In this critical moment, Reypel's voice echoed in Rey's mind. Instantly, Rey understood what she intended to do.
"You're going to use that? Are you sure?" Rey asked internally, hesitant.
"That" referred to injecting both Reypel's and Rey's dark magic into her black cloak to trigger its ultimate form.
The move required a massive amount of dark energy. Since Reypel wasn't at full power, they could only do this once by combining their strength. After this, Reypel would likely be forced into a deep slumber to recover.
"Spare me the fake concern. If my life wasn't tied to yours, do you think I'd risk going into a coma just to save you?"
Reypel snapped back, venting her frustration. In her view, Rey was constantly getting into life-threatening situations, forcing her to go all out to save him. When she chose to leave the valley with him, she hadn't signed up for a life of constant near-death experiences.
---
Reypel's mind was made up, and Rey had no better solution. The enemy numbers were overwhelming; they needed an area-of-effect attack to clear the board.
The frenzied werewolves were already mid-pounce.
Rey yanked Helena's hand, pulling her hard into his chest. He dove to the ground, curling his body over hers to shield her completely.
The claws of the Fallen Werewolves were descending, but Rey lay there, exposing his back to the attack. Helena struggled in his arms, but Rey pressed his lips to her ear and whispered, "Trust me. Don't move."
The simple sentence seemed to carry its own magic. Helena's heart steadied, and she stopped struggling.
She didn't know why Rey was doing this, but hearing his voice, she obediently let him cover her. She trusted him implicitly—no logic needed. If they were to be torn apart together, she would have no complaints. His voice was so calm.
In that moment, Helena couldn't hear the roaring of the wolves or the cursing of the elves. She only felt Rey's warmth and smelled his unique scent. A wave of warmth and inexplicable peace washed over her. She found herself thinking: If only he could hold me like this forever.
All the wolves and elves pounced on the huddled pair.
If Reypel failed, they would be shredded into confetti.
But just as the blow was about to land, Rey felt the Soul Orb in his mental world pulse. Dark magic surged out of it like a broken dam.
Simultaneously, Reypel's black cloak materialized over Rey, completely covering him and Helena.
As the dark magic flooded into the fabric, the black cloak emitted a blinding, dark radiance.
Thwip... Thwip!
The air filled with the sound of rapid-fire projectiles. Countless long, sharp spikes erupted from the black cloak on Rey's back.
In a split second—in the blink of an eye—after consuming every drop of dark magic, the fully liberated cloak transformed into a massive, deadly sea urchin.
The spikes extended outward with terrifying speed, reaching every single corner of the great hall.