A Few Moments Earlier

Dean hurtled forward, his hammer raised above his head ready to swing. Every swing was with purpose. The ground trembled beneath his boots as he charged toward the altar. Cultist after cultist rushed to intercept him, dozens coming from the shadows with hunger for blood in their eyes.

Clang!!!!

Clang!!!!

He swung his warhammer in wide arcs, the stone faced head ablaze with earthen energy. Each strike sent shockwaves across the floor,

Boom!!!

The ground beneath one of the cultist's shattered by the force of Dean's blow.

Crack!!!!

Another's skull split open, brains splattering against the altar's side.

The battle lines blurred as Dean fought through the wave of hatred and dark ritual. Spells flew towards him bolts of black lightning, shards of bone laced ice, torrents of blood tinted fire. But he waded through them without hesitation. He was indomitable.

A cultist lunged from the left, dagger aimed for Dean's thigh. He blocked with his gauntlet, sending the blade skittering across the floor. The cultist stumbled forward, Dean seized him by the collar and drove his hammer into the man's back.

Crunch!!!

The cultist collapsed into a heap.

Ahead, the altar loomed, altar railings spattered with gore and torn flesh. Dean's eyes narrowed as he sprinted but an agile cultist darted out from behind a decapitated pillar.

"Step aside, braggart!" the cultist barked as he slashed downward with a wicked curved blade.

Dean's world slowed. He planted his feet and braced for impact.

"Stand aside or die!" Dean roared.

The cultist laughed, a cruel rasp.

"Pathetic! You like your hammer is a toy"

With a sudden burst, the cultist attacked again lightning infused strikes aimed at Dean's ribs. Dean caught the first blade with his forearm guard, the impact ringing like a bell. Pain bloomed along his side but he gritted his teeth.

Seizing an opening, Dean lunged forward. He twisted the cultist's wrist, displacing the dagger then spun to bring the hammer crashing down into the man's shoulder.

Snap!!!

Bone fractured under the force flesh parted. The cultist screamed as Dean's hammer slammed across his chest, sending him airborne. He landed near the altar, twitching as life bled out from him.

Dean exhaled, glancing up to see more cultists closing in. His fury flared just one more step. He lifted his hammer for another strike,

Suddenly, pain exploded in Dean's back. He stumbled, his knee buckling. A cultist he hadn't noticed lunged, plunging a poisoned blade into his side. Dean gasped, his eyes widening at the betrayal of his own inattention.

He fell to one knee as the cultist sneered.

"Pathetic guardian," the cultist spat. "You are too slow."

Dean braced himself on the altar's edge as blood was seeping from the wound. Rage roared in his chest. He forced himself up to swing his hammer but his strength wavered. The cultist pressed the attack, a swift slash across Dean's unarmored forearm.

Slash!!!

Pain flared as Dean's arm hung limp as the crimson blood stained his gauntlet.

The cultist raised his dagger for the final blow.

"This is the end of your rampage!"

Dean's vision blurred as he raised his hammer in one last, desperate block. The cultist's blade slammed into the hammer's haft,

Crack!!!!

Dean's jaw dropped as his hammer shattered in half, splinters skittering outward. The cultist kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling backward.

Dean's vision darkened at the edges. His breath came in ragged heaves. The altar below him felt impossibly distant.

"Begone, priest of stones" the cultist jeered as he approached. "Your strength fails…"

"DEAN!!!!!"

A blazing lance of fire tore through the cultist, igniting him in searing light. He tumbled forward, consumed instantly.

Flame lances stabbed into the ground around Dean, erupting in spirals of white hot heat. He looked up to see Lia's furious silhouette, crimson aura radiating from her hands.

"FIRE WALL"

A bulwark of roaring flame expanded, repelling cultists and shielding Dean's battered form. Lia's hair whipped in the heat as she knelt beside him.

Lia's voice was a tether in his chaos-thirsted mind. "Hold on! We are here"

Behind her stood Arthur and Ryker, flanked by the remaining students, emerged with their weapons ignited and determination etched on every face.

******

Arthur knelt beside Lucas, gently grasping his shoulders as he guided him from the shattered barrier. Lucas's knees trembled the echo of his panic still rattling his heart.

"Breathe, Lucas…" Arthur urged his voice firm yet soothing.

Lucas swayed, vision bobbing as he stared at Arthur's red eyes. The roar of battle hammered in his ears but Arthur's presence stilled the storm.

"Trust me," Arthur continued, voice unwavering. "We are in this together."

Lucas clutched his spear, his knuckles were white. Every fiber of his being ached with relief and terror. He nodded slowly, forcing himself to focus.

"Let's go," Arthur said.

He lifted Lucas, supporting his weight as they advanced into the chamber's floor. From the corner of his eye, Lucas saw Dean's battered form shielded by Lia's flames and Ryker's black coat gliding through students to issue orders. The entire chamber was a maelstrom of violence, students cleaving through cultists, elemental spells igniting against dark barriers, limbs severed, screams of triumph and pain mingling.

Lucas steadied himself, his chest was feeling heavy. The heat of the ritual flames, the stench of spilled blood and the roar of battle assaulted his senses but he clenched his jaw.

"Crying won't help," he whispered. "This is real. This is the real deal. I am wide awake now."

"No more fear."

With renewed purpose, Lucas joined Arthur and climbed over shattered stones, stepping closer to the altar's edge.

****

Standing behind Lia, Ryker watched the battlefield unfold like a symphony of slaughter. Students fell, cultists died and the altar's ritual blazed ever brighter. He studied the unfolding chaos with clinical detachment, a thin smile lurking at the corner of his lips.

'Not yet,' he thought, eyes narrowing. 'A few more of them must fall…'

A notification flickered before Ryker's eyes:

[Lucas's Mind – 7% Stability]

.

.

[Warning: Imminent Mental Collapse Imminence]

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. Lucas was still fragile on the verge of shattering but not shattered.

'Perfect… soon he will break completely.'

But another alert interrupted his plans,

[Chronicle Divergence Detected]

.

.

[The story is exceeding original parameters]

.

.

[Risk: Total Collapse of All Existence]

[Recommendation: Intervene to Realign or Expect Failure.]

Ryker's grin widened. The story teetered beyond its intended course. Everyone including Lucas, now risked death.

'This is even better'

A third notification gleamed in front of him.

[New Sub-Quest has been created]

[•Quest Scorch of the Abyss]

[Objective: Defeat the Summoned Demon And the Cult Leader. While preserving as Many Students as Possible.]

[Reward: Class Advancement and Mass Growth for Main Cast]

[Difficulty: Improbable….]

Ryker let the words sink in. The rift above the altar flared violently, responding to the ritual's crescendo.

Lia's voice snapped him back to reality. "Ryker! Are you even listening? These students need your help"

Ryker exhaled and he brushed off her concern. "All is well," he murmured. "Focus on them."

He raised a hand, activating Sacrificial Restoration on the nearest wounded students. Light cascaded over gashes and broken bones, healing at once. The rescued students gasped in wonder.

'Time to taste real chaos,' Ryker thought as his eyes flicked to the rift.

*****

Above the altar, the demonic portal was forming in a tendrils of darkness fracturing outward. With a thunderous crack, the rift shattered and a colossal form descended into the chamber.

A massive demon hulking, scaled, wings outstretched. It plunged through the portal. Its skin was ashen, veins glowing with hellfire. Eyes like molten gold locked onto the slaughter below. A deafening roar rent the air, shaking the very rafters.

Students and cultists alike staggered, horror etched on every face. The demon's wingspan blotted out torchlight, plunging one side of the chamber into deep shadow.

Boom!!!

The demon landed in a crater, its impact threw the cultists like ragdolls. Bones shattered under its crushing weight. Students were thrown off balance, screams of terror echoing as the demonic presence exhaled a blast of infernal heat.

Ryker's expression cooled. He stepped forward, his boots crunching on broken rubble. From the corner of his eye, he saw more system notifications:

[A New Quest has been updated]

[•Quest: Demonic Nexus Activity]

[Failure Warning: If the demon is not eliminated, the fabric of reality will collapse.]

[A new Sub-Quest has been added]

[Slay Abyssal Leviathan & Cult Leader]

Ryker's heart thrummed with exhilaration.

'Impossible quest? Perhaps. But the reward…'

He glanced at Lia whose eyes flickered with worry and then towards Lucas as he was steadying himself beside Arthur. The future remained unwritten.

'Let the game begin'

And in this moment, Ryker embraced the storm that was approaching

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