Jack didn't have time to process any of it.

The five demons who'd driven him underground were already moving.

They spread out in a loose circle formation, cutting off escape routes, their movements coordinated in a way that showed they had fought together for a while now.

Jack activated Flawed Sight, his eyes rapidly scanning each demon.

[Target: Unnamed Nightmare Demon]

[Level: 44]

[Rank: Nightmare]

[HP: 48,000]

[Agility: 150]

[Target: Unnamed Nightmare Demon]

[Level: 45]

[Rank: Nightmare]

[HP: 49,500]

[Agility: 150]

[Target: Unnamed Nightmare Demon]

[Level: 150]

[Rank: Nightmare]

[HP: 51,000]

[Agility: 150]

[Target: Unnamed Nightmare Demon]

[Level: 44]

[Rank: Nightmare]

[HP: 48,000]

[Agility: 170]

[Target: Unnamed Nightmare Demon]

[Level: 45]

[Rank: Nightmare]

[HP: 49,500]

[Agility: 190]

Five Nightmare-class demons. All of them with Agility stats that exceeded his own. And from the way they moved, circling him, they knew exactly what they were doing.

Jack looked at all their stats, but the only thing that stuck out was their agility.

'Where's Kyren?' Jack thought, his eyes darting around the cavern. His reanimated servant should have fallen with him, but there was no sign of the undead demon.

The fastest of the three demons lunged.

Jack barely got his spear up in time. The demon's claws scraped against the Lightning Spear's shaft, sending sparks flying as metal met demonic energy.

The force of the blow drove Jack back three steps, his boots scraping against stone.

The second demon attacked from his left, its speed making it a blur of motion. Jack twisted, using his spear's length to keep distance, but the demon ducked under his guard and raked claws across his ribs.

[-234 HP]

Pain lanced through Jack's side. His armor held, but the force of the impact cracked something, maybe a rib, maybe just the metal plating. He didn't have time to check.

The third demon came from behind.

Jack threw himself forward into a roll, feeling claws whistle past where his head had been a moment before. He came up in a crouch, spear extended, but all three demons were already repositioning.

They were faster than him. He could barely track all of them simultaneously. And they were smart, using tactics to keep him off-balance, never giving him a chance to focus on a single target.

'I need to even the odds,' Jack thought. His mind racing through options.

The demons attacked again, all three moving in perfect synchronization.

Jack activated Spear Barrage, his weapon becoming a blur of strikes that forced the demons to back off momentarily. But the moment his skill ended, they pressed forward again, their claws finding gaps in his defense.

[-456 HP]

[-425 HP]

[-400 HP]

Jack's health was dropping steadily. Not catastrophically, but enough that he'd be in serious trouble if this kept up.

The mining demons had backed away from the fight, creating a wide circle around the combatants. Some looked scared. Others looked excited, as if this was entertainment they hadn't expected.

None of them moved to help either side, they just watched with glowing eyes that reflected the blue Aethrium light.

One of the attacking demons grinned, revealing rows of nasty, sharp teeth. "The Soul Warden bleeds like any other human."

"Pho sends his regards," another added, its voice carrying dark amusement. "Your head will make a fine gift for Cho's brother."

'Pho,' Jack thought, the name clicking into place. 'The Disaster-class demon who witnessed Vok'thar's humiliation. He's behind this.'

But knowing who'd sent the assassins didn't help him survive them.

The fastest demon blurred forward again, and this time Jack wasn't quick enough to fully dodge. Claws pierced his shoulder, tearing through armor and flesh.

He stuck his foot on Jack's chest and kicked him off.

[-900 HP]

Jack stumbled, his footing slipping on the smooth cavern floor. The demons sensed weakness and pressed their advantage, all three converging on him simultaneously.

Then something flashed in the corner of Jack's vision.

Brilliant white light exploded through the cavern, so bright that even Jack had to squint against it. The attacking demons screamed, their hands flying to their faces as the light seared their eyes.

[-2,500 HP]

The notification appeared above each demon's head.

The light faded as quickly as it had appeared, revealing Kyren standing at the edge of the circle of miners.

The reanimated demon's hollow eyes were fixed on the three assassins, and his single remaining arm was extended, wisps of light magic still dissipating from his fingers.

But it wasn't his arm that caught Jack's attention.

Where Kyren's missing arm should have been, where nothing but empty space had existed moments before, a blade of pure light now extended.

It looked like a longsword, solid and real despite being made entirely of light energy. The blade hummed with power, casting sharp shadows across Kyren's burnt features.

The three demons recovered from the flash, blinking away spots from their vision. When they saw Kyren, confusion flickered across their faces.

"You're Aurion," one of them said, squinting at the light blade. "Why are you helping the human?"

Kyren didn't respond. He burst forward.

Kyren suddenly displayed speed and grace that shouldn't have been possible.

He closed the distance to the nearest demon in three swift strides, his light blade cutting through the air in a perfect arc.

The demon tried to dodge, but Kyren's strike was faster. The light blade caught the demon across the chest, carving a deep line from shoulder to hip.

[-3,847 HP]

The demon screamed, stumbling backward as light energy seared the wound. Kyren didn't give it time to recover. He pressed forward, his blade moving in controlled patterns that spoke of training Jack hadn't known his servant possessed.

Two more strikes. One across the demon's arm. Another through its thigh.

[-3,847 HP]

[-3,847 HP]

The wounded demon tried to retreat, but Kyren was relentless. He closed the distance again, and this time his light blade found the demon's throat.

The blade punched through demonic flesh like it was paper, emerging from the back of the demon's neck in a spray of dark blood and radiant energy.

Kyren held the demon there for a moment, impaled on his sword of light, then spoke in that hollow voice.

"Solar Flare."

The light blade erupted.

Pure radiant energy exploded from the point of impalement, flooding through the demon's body with devastating force.

The demon's head simply disintegrated, vaporized by concentrated light magic that left nothing but a cauterized stump where its neck had been.

The headless body collapsed, and Kyren pulled his blade free, turning to face the remaining four demons with emotionless eyes.

The cavern fell silent except for the dripping of water and the quiet gasps of the mining demons who'd just witnessed an Aurion warrior kill one of Pho's assassins.

Jack stared at his servant, blood still running from his own wounds, his mind trying to process what he'd just seen.

Kyren had skills. Real combat skills. Light magic that could blind and burn.

And technique that suggested he'd been a great warrior before death.

The way Kyren had moved, the precision of his strikes, the controlled application of magic, all of it spoke to training that took decades to master.

This wasn't some grunt who'd died in a skirmish. This was someone who'd been important when he was alive.

'Who the hell was this demon when he was alive?' Jack thought, making a mental note to question Kyren about his past once they survived this fight.

The four remaining assassins exchanged glances, and Jack saw the look in their eyes. One target had become two.

One of those targets had just killed their companion in seconds. The odds had shifted from comfortable to uncertain.

Their body language changed. The casual confidence they'd displayed moments ago evaporated, replaced by the wariness of predators who'd just realized their prey might not be so helpless.

But they didn't retreat. Whatever Pho had promised them, whatever orders he'd given, were enough to keep them committed despite the changed circumstances.

The faster of the two demons looked at Jack, then at Kyren, then smiled. The expression didn't reach its eyes, which remained cold and calculating.

"Interesting," it said, cracking its knuckles with sounds like breaking branches. "Pho said to bring the Soul Warden's head. He didn't say we couldn't have fun first."

The demon's claws extended, growing longer and sharper until they resembled curved daggers. Dark energy began to coil around its arms, some kind of enhancement magic that made the air around it go black.

Its companions did the same.

All four demons lunged simultaneously, and the cavern erupted into violence once more.

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