The plaza remained shrouded in an unnatural darkness.
Emily slowly raised her hand.
Her trembling finger pointed toward the governor's residence.
—There...
Her voice was barely a whisper.
—The mana... it's coming from there.
Enzo did not hesitate.
—We're going in!
The masters rushed through the gate.
But they had barely taken two steps...
when the air changed.
A crushing pressure of mana descended upon them like a mountain.
—Watch out!
A gigantic shadow emerged from within the residence.
An arm covered in grotesque, blackened flesh armor descended with brutal force.
Enzo barely managed to raise his sword.
The blow struck him directly.
The wall behind him exploded.
Stone, wood, and dust filled the courtyard as the master vanished beneath the rubble.
—Master Enzo!
There was no answer.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then...
the doors of the residence began to open.
One after another.
From the corridors.
From the rooms.
From the stairways.
The cult followers emerged as if they had been waiting for that exact moment.
They were not protecting the entrance.
They were not trying to stop the invasion.
They were all looking at the same place.
The ground.
One of the masters blocked an attack and was forced several steps backward.
His sword scraped against the stone.
That was when he saw it.
Beneath the dust, something was glowing.
A black line.
It did not look like a crack.
It looked like a mark carved into the earth.
—What the hell...?
The master brushed the surface with his foot.
The line continued.
It crossed the floor.
Climbed up a wall.
And disappeared beneath the foundations.
—There's magic here!
Another master turned his head while launching a spell at the cultists.
—A summoning circle?
—No...
Enzo's voice came from the rubble.
Covered in dust and blood, he managed to stand.
His eyes followed the black lines.
A serious expression appeared on his face.
—A circle would have a boundary.
Everyone fell silent.
Enzo looked outside.
Beyond the residence.
Toward the streets.
Toward the houses.
Then they understood.
The same lines beneath their feet...
were there as well.
Across the entire village.
The silence was worse than any explosion.
The residence was not the ritual.
It was not even the center.
It was only one piece.
A piece of something far greater.
Enzo clenched his jaw.
—The entire village...
The dark mana pulsed beneath their feet.
As if something buried underground had just awakened.
—The entire village is the spell.
Enzo stepped out from the rubble, breathing heavily.
Blood ran down his face.
But he did not look at the wound.
He looked at the black lines beneath his feet.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he understood.
—So...
His voice was low.
—We are not inside a ritual.
He raised his gaze toward the streets covered in darkness.
—We are inside a trap.
A nearby cultist let out a laugh.
It was not the laugh of someone who had already won.
It was the laugh of someone who believed he was witnessing something inevitable.
—Now you understand.
He spread his arms.
—You can destroy this room.
You can destroy this house.
You can even kill all of us.
His smile widened.
—But the spell has already begun.
The words hung in the air.
Several masters clenched their teeth.
For a moment, it seemed as if all their efforts had been meaningless.
Then...
Enzo began to laugh.
The others looked at him in confusion.
The old master wiped the blood from his mouth and rested his sword on his shoulder.
—Is that all?
The cultist frowned.
Enzo smiled.
—You just told me something important.
Mana began flowing through his sword.
—You never said we couldn't stop it.
He looked at the other masters.
—You said we could only delay it.
The cultist's expression changed slightly.
Enzo raised his sword.
For years, he had taught inside a classroom.
He had corrected mistakes.
He had trained others for the battles he no longer fought.
But a sword never forgets how to cut.
And a warrior does not stop being one simply because he has grown older.
The blade became covered in the glow of mana.
—Then we'll buy that time.
His voice echoed throughout the residence.
—Destroy the core!
The masters answered without hesitation.
Dozens of spells were unleashed at the same time.
The residence vanished beneath a storm of fire, ice, and wind.
The roof collapsed.
The walls exploded.
Jerges gritted his teeth.
The masters' footsteps echoed closer and closer.
Too close.
They had arrived earlier than expected.
The core of the ritual was exposed.
If they opened that door...
they would see the altar.
They would see everything.
And months of preparation would vanish in seconds.
Jerges looked at the runes beneath his feet.
The flow of mana was unstable.
It was not time yet.
But he had no other choice.
He closed his eyes.
—Forgive the interruption...
he whispered.
He raised one hand.
Beside the altar, a body covered in ancient cloth began to move.
It was not just any corpse.
It was a woman.
The wife of the village's former chief.
She had died months ago.
But no one had ever found her grave.
Because she never had one.
Her body had remained beneath that residence...
waiting.
The runes beneath her began to glow.
Not with the purple light of the main ritual.
With something much darker.
Something far older.
The air changed.
The flames of the torches went out one after another.
Even the cultists stopped moving.
Some of them knew the ritual.
And yet...
they stepped back.
The corpse's flesh began to disappear.
It was being consumed by the magic that had preserved it there for months.
Then space itself split open.
A black crack appeared above the altar.
From the other side came a skeletal hand.
Then another.
And slowly...
something crossed into this world.
A warrior covered in dark flames descended onto the stone.
A Lich.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
The creature raised its head.
Its empty eye sockets scanned the room.
There was no hatred.
No fury.
Only absolute obedience.
Beside the altar rested a rusted sword.
The Lich extended its hand.
The weapon flew toward it.
When its fingers closed around the hilt...
the metal lost every trace of life.
The rust vanished.
The blade turned black.
The pressure of its presence descended upon the residence.
Even Jerges felt his breath stop.
Yet he did not look away.
—Protect the core.
The creature did not answer.
Not because it refused.
Because it could not.
It was an order engraved into its very existence.
Nothing more.
Jerges turned back to the circle.
He knelt down and placed both hands over the runes.
A bead of sweat ran down his face.
He had taken an enormous risk.
He had summoned the guardian too early.
Now he had to sustain it.
If he stopped feeding the ritual, even for a few seconds...
all the energy accumulated over months would disperse.
He could no longer fight.
He could no longer aid his followers.
All he could do was trust what he had just brought into this world.
The Lich took a step.
The ground trembled.
Jerges closed his eyes.
—Give me time...
Enzo was the first to move.
If they did not reach the altar...
everything would end.
Earth mana covered his body.
His skin shone with the metallic glow of Haxrok.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
—Fall back!
His sword came down with all his strength.
The Lich did not move.
It simply raised its sword.
One hand.
The collision shook the entire residence.
For a moment, everything disappeared beneath the dust.
When visibility returned...
Enzo's sword was lying far away.
And he had been sent through three columns before crashing into the rubble outside.
No one spoke.
A Magister had just lost a contest of pure strength.
The Lich slowly lowered its sword.
As if nothing had happened.
—Now!
The masters reacted.
Dozens of spells crossed the room.
Fire.
Ice.
Rocks.
Gales.
The entire residence was engulfed by a storm of magic.
But when the smoke cleared...
the Lich was still standing.
A barrier of dark mana protected it.
No wounds.
No signs of retreat.
The creature advanced.
The masters began to fall back.
One fell.
Then another.
The defensive line began to break.
Then a voice cut through the chaos.
—Professor Clara!
The shattered door exploded inward.
Lusian entered alongside Clara, Agustín, and several Lord-level masters.
Clara did not look at the Lich.
She looked at the ground.
The black lines.
The altar.
The ashes.
Her expression changed.
—What is that...?
she murmured.
Agustín had already moved.
The Lich's sword descended toward Enzo.
A shield appeared between them.
The impact shook the entire residence.
Agustín felt his arms give under the pressure.
His boots sank into the stone.
But he endured.
With a roar, he deflected the blade just a few inches.
Enough.
Enzo was still alive.
A few meters away from the battle, Emily kept both hands pressed against the sealing circle.
Her breathing grew heavier with every passing second.
Threads of light flowed from her palms and traveled across the black runes beneath her feet.
—Sanctus Purificatio.
The circle responded.
The light spread through the ritual's lines like crystal-clear water, colliding with the corruption that covered the entire residence.
For a moment...
neither force gave way.
Then the air exploded.
The darkness retreated.
The runes began to crack.
One.
Two.
Dozens.
Emily gritted her teeth.
Blood slipped from the corner of her mouth.
—Still...!
She released all the light mana she had left.
The cracks continued spreading.
Until they stopped.
The ritual reacted.
The black lines began glowing violently once more.
The fractures started to close.
Emily felt the strength leave her legs.
She couldn't break it.
Not yet.
But then...
a wave of mana swept through the entire residence.
The pressure that had crushed the masters and students suddenly weakened.
The air became lighter.
As if everyone could finally breathe again.
Casandra was the first to react.
Her golden eagle soared through the rain.
The salamander opened its jaws.
A torrent of fire crashed down on the village entrance, wiping out the cultists who were trying to maintain their formation.
On the other side of the battlefield, Allan smiled.
His sword became wrapped in mana once again.
With a single movement, he pierced through the Magister who had held him back for minutes.
The enemy fell.
But Clara never took her eyes off the ground.
The runes were still active.
Though weaker.
Emily lifted her head, exhausted.
—It didn't work...?
Clara slowly shook her head.
—It did work.
Emily looked at her in confusion.
—You broke the main connection.
Clara pointed toward the lines disappearing beneath the streets.
—But it seems the ritual does not depend on this one point alone.
The entire village is part of the spell.
The answer came in the form of screams.
Across different parts of the village...
more students collapsed.
The mana drain was weaker.
But it was still happening.
Clara clenched her teeth.
—We only bought time.
From the altar, Jerges watched the weakened runes.
For the first time...
his expression changed.
Fear appeared in his eyes.
They had destroyed the most important piece.
That did not stop the ritual.
But it had slowed it down far too much.
The reinforcements could arrive.
—!!Hold the line!!
His voice cut across the battlefield.
The cultists turned toward him.
—!!The final phase begins now!!
They abandoned their battles.
They no longer tried to chase their enemies.
They retreated toward the guide points.
One after another, the hooded figures knelt beside the runes.
They placed their hands upon them.
Their own mana began feeding the ritual.
Jerges raised both arms.
Beneath the residence...
the altar responded.
The black lines began pulsing again.
Weak.
Unstable.
But alive.
—!!Protect the guide points!!
The cultists shouted at the same time.
—!!For the Demon Kingdom!!
The sky split open.
Columns of energy descended onto the runes.
The ground began to tremble.
Emily felt her legs give out.
Her face was pale.
She could barely remain standing.
But she looked at the circle one last time.
The runes were still weak.
The ritual was still resisting.
She could still break it.
She brought her hands together with the little mana she had left.
The light surged again.
Weaker.
More unstable.
But enough.
—Sanctus...
Her voice barely escaped.
The circle began to crack.
One fracture.
Then another.
The black lines trembled as if they were trying to resist.
Emily gritted her teeth.
Every part of her body begged her to stop.
But she didn't.
The final burst of light pierced through the node.
And this time...
it gave way.
The explosion of light swept through the residence.
The black lines began breaking one after another.
Like a crystal web pushed beyond its limit.
For an instant...
everything fell silent.
A wave of mana swept through the residence.
The invisible weight that had crushed the masters and students suddenly diminished.
It did not disappear.
It was like being able to breathe again after spending far too long underwater.
Emily collapsed to her knees.
Her body no longer responded.
She had broken the main connection.
Clara silently watched the ground.
The black lines continued spreading throughout the village.
—It wasn't enough...
Emily raised her exhausted gaze.
Clara slowly shook her head.
—You did an incredible job.
It was enough to change the battle.
Her eyes followed the ritual's remaining lines.
Across different parts of the village, several students collapsed once again.
The drain had weakened.
The pressure was lower.
But the sacrificial ritual...
was still active.
Clara gritted her teeth.
—As long as those points remain active...
the ritual will continue.
Jerges stared at the fractured runes.
For the first time since the attack began...
the confidence disappeared from his face.
They had destroyed the core of the structure.
The summoning was still possible.
But he no longer had the time he had calculated.
The reinforcements would arrive before then.
He clenched his fists.
—Damn them...
Then he raised his voice.
—!!Change formation!!
The cultists who were still fighting stopped.
—!!Stop trying to hold them back one by one!!
He pointed toward the black lines spreading throughout the village.
—!!Protect the guide points!!
The followers obeyed.
They abandoned the more distant battles and began retreating.
—!!Do not allow them to destroy any more!!
Jerges' voice echoed across the ruins.
—!!The ritual only needs time!!
The cultists responded in unison.
—!!For the Demon Kingdom!!
Lusian watched the ritual lines spreading throughout the village. He understood the severity of the situation. He still did not have the strength to fight monsters of that level, but he could not simply stand there and wait for death.
Clara raised her staff.
There was no time to wait.
The sky answered.
A bolt of lightning struck the village.
The rain amplified the discharge, turning the soaked ground into a web of electricity.
Several cultists fell instantly.
Their formations collapsed.
Jerges frowned.
Even weakened...
that Archmage was still a problem.
He extended one hand.
Darkness gathered above Clara.
Spears of demonic mana descended from the sky.
She answered with lightning.
The storm and darkness collided above the ruins of the residence.
The clash between the two Archmages shook the village.
Meanwhile, Agustín barely managed to block another strike from the Lich.
The impact made his shield groan.
His boots sank into the stone.
He was forced several steps backward.
The creature did not stop.
It slowly turned its head.
Its only command was to protect the core.
Its empty eyes locked onto Clara.
She was the greatest threat.
The Lich raised its sword.
And advanced.
—UMBER!
The beast responded instantly.
Lusian mounted Umber and unleashed his power.
A sphere of darkness enveloped Clara just as the Lich's sword descended upon her.
Jerges' spells crashed against the barrier.
The black sphere trembled violently.
But it held.
Clara looked at Lusian in surprise.
Lusian did not waste the opportunity.
—Now!
Umber launched forward.
Before leaving his position, Lusian had given a clear order.
—Protect Emily.
Adela and Aureus remained beside her.
Kara and Isabella closed the flanks.
Meanwhile, Umber crossed the battlefield like a shadow.
Its dark aura wrapped around it like armor.
Lusian had no time to cast spells.
His sword was enough.
Dainslein shone, wrapped in dark mana, as he advanced.
Jerges saw him approaching.
The Lich slowly turned toward him.
The dark sword rose.
But Clara gave him no chance.
—No.
Five spheres of lightning appeared around her.
The explosion forced Jerges to raise a barrier.
His spell broke before it could be completed.
That instant was enough.
Umber crossed the battlefield like a shadow.
The beast crashed into the Lich with all its strength.
The guardian reacted immediately.
Its sword descended and blocked the impact.
The roar of the collision shook the entire residence.
The stone beneath its feet cracked.
It had stopped Umber.
But not Lusian.
A figure appeared at its side.
Dainslein descended.
The Lich tried to turn.
Too late.
The blade pierced through its defense and forced it several steps backward.
Staggered by the impact, the guardian lost its balance.
Umber did not waste the opportunity.
The beast's shadow expanded beneath its paws, and it launched itself forward once more.
This time...
the Lich could not stop it.