The outer wall exploded. Stone and metal sprayed across the courtyard as Lena's summoned Bark Behemoth punched through the weakened section. The creature's wooden fist withdrew, leaving a ragged hole wide enough for three people to walk through side by side. The metal wall was gone, replaced by a maw of steel and stone.

"Here they come," Lena said as a wave of Zealots charged through the smoke. There were at least fifty of them, and although their armor was scuffed, they were ready as they yelled battle cries to intimidate the intruders.

Jake didn't wait, stepping forward and raising his hand to cast Summon War Mastiffs. The air rippled as dozens of massive hounds materialized.

A wall of heaving muscle and snapping jaws crashed into the Zealots as steel met bone. Screams erupted as the Mastiffs shredded the front line.

Lena danced between the guards. Her blades bit through tendons and opened throats, leaving a trail of collapsing bodies in the silence behind her until she was on the other side.

"Clear," she said, wiping her blade on her leg as they stepped through the breach.

It wasn't what they expected, for the interior was a maze of industrial catwalks and half-destroyed heavy machinery.

"There sure will be traps," Jake said, pointing to a faint ripple in mana in front of them.

"And a lot of them," Lena said. "We can't disarm all of this. We don't have time."

Jake looked at his Mastiffs and realized he didn't have to disarm them. He whistled, and the hounds looked at him before charging.

The base burst as the traps detonated, turning the Mastiffs into ash, while lightning arcs fried some more and spikes shot from the ground, skewering the rest. When the smoke cleared, the area was a mess of scorched metal and dead summons, but the path was clear.

Lena looked at the carnage, then at Jake. "That was a good idea." She gave him a smile.

Jake shrugged. "They're just mana. They'll come back."

They moved deeper into the compound, crossing the giant courtyard toward the main facility that served as the entrance to the labyrinth of repurposed mining tunnels, and when they rounded the corner of the perimeter wall, they ran straight into a blockade where a squad of Elite Guards stood behind a barricade. Behind were the soldiers, led by a chanting priest in purple robes.

—[Thomas Bradley—Level 224]—

—[Marcus Chen—Level 228]—

—[David Foster—Level 221]—

—[Priest Alaric—Level 230]—

"Intruders!" one of the zealots yelled. "Heretics. You will not—"

Lena didn't let him finish, snapping her wrist to send a throwing knife that buried itself in the man's throat. He gargled and collapsed, causing the other Guards to hesitate. They were Level 220, strong for normal survivors, but their comrades' death left them flabbergasted. They were weak compared to Lena and Jake.

The young boy looked at them.

"Move," he said.

The guards looked at the boy, then at the woman who had just killed their priest from twenty meters away, and after looking at each other, they charged.

"Idiots," Lena muttered.

Lena summoned her Shadow Operative Team. Fifteen figures materialized, spreading across the area. They met the charging guards head-on. Jake summoned more War Mastiffs. The hounds crashed into the guards' flanks, tearing at armor and limbs.

The fight was as brutal as it was swift. Steel clashed against shadow. Guards screamed. Mastiffs snarled. Blood sprayed across the concrete floor.

Jake walked over to the barricade and saw a map of the facility on the wall behind where the priest had stood. It was crude, drawn in marker on a metal sheet, but it showed the layout.

"Found it," Lena said. She held up the map. "The circle's on the lowest level. Main building, three floors down."

Jake joined her and studied the map. "How do we get there?"

Lena traced her finger along the corridors. "Through the main hall, past the barracks, down the central stairwell." She looked up. "We'll need to move fast. Viren will realize we're inside soon. If he hasn't already."

"If he has, Reidar's keeping him busy."

"Let's hope," Lena said. She folded the map and tucked it into her belt. "Let's move."

Jake then looked at the bodies on the floor and noticed one guard was still twitching, trying to crawl away. Jake raised his dagger but paused, seeing that the man was beaten and was just a guy in armor bleeding out on a cold floor.

"Jake, take care of him."

The boy hesitated.

"Do it."

Jake looked at her.

"He's an enemy, Jake. If you leave him, he might do something troubling." But it was more likely he would just suffer for hours.

"Hesitation gets you killed. Mercy is for people who aren't trying to end the world."

Jake tightened his grip and ended him. He took a breath. "Okay. Let's go."

They reached the heavy blast doors leading to the main building, where the metal was thick and designed to withstand cave-ins.

"Locked," Lena said, checking the panel. "Magically sealed."

"Stand back," Jake said. With a groan, the locks disengaged, and the doors slid open because of Jake's strength.

The main hall stretched before them. It was massive—fifty meters across, a hundred long. Industrial scaffolding lined the walls. The ceiling was high, crisscrossed with steel beams and pipes. At the far end, a wide staircase descended into darkness.

Zealots filled the hall.

Hundreds of them. Behind the cluster of enemies, there were more Elite Guards. And at the base of a staircase, there were three priests.

The nearest priest raised his staff. "You dare defile this holy place?"

Lena didn't answer. She summoned two Bark Behemoths. The wooden giants materialized on either side of her. They were massive but at least provided cover for Jake and Lena.

Jake summoned a full pack of War Mastiffs. Twenty hounds appeared, filling the space between them and the Zealots.

They waded into the crowd, but it wasn't a fight; it was a harvest.

The Behemoths charged, crushing Zealots with each strike. The Mastiffs followed, tearing into the formation's flanks.

Bodies piled up as the Zealots threw themselves at the intruders, but they couldn't land a hit because the level gap was too wide, their armor was paper, and their weapons were slow.

They carved a path through the hall, leaving a trail of broken bodies until they reached the stairwell at the back of the room.

The hall ended up empty.

"Are you okay?" Lena asked.

"I'm fine," Jake said. "Just... winded."

"Good. Because the hard part starts now. The circle is down."

The air grew heavy as they descended. Beneath their boots, the stone floor thrummed with a low, bone-rattling vibration. They reached the second sub-level. The corridor here was different. It was older, carved from stone instead of poured concrete. The walls were lined with pipes that dripped water, and the air was rusty.

The last staircase was at the end of a corridor. They started down at the mass of darkness below. Lena summoned a small flame to light their way and started their descent until they reached another corridor at the bottom.

Ahead, the corridor led to a slightly ajar door, from which light spilled. The two crept forward to see what was on the other side of that door, but it was clear that was the ritual chamber.

Inside, they saw a Shadow Construct. It was just one of them, blocking the path to the ritual chamber, but that thing was strong.

—[Shadow Construct—Level 315]—

Behind it, deeper in the chamber, the ritual circle glowed. Lena pulled back from the opening. She looked at Jake.

"Viren's last line of defense," she said. "We'll have to go through it." Jake stared at the creature.

"Get ready," she said. "This will be a hard fight."

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