The elevator doors slid open.

  A dozen heavily armed guards stood waiting, their weapons gleaming under the cold artificial lights. Their captain, a scarred man with a cruel smirk, rested a massive halberd against his shoulder.

  “Well, well,” he drawled. “You must be the rats scurrying through my Spire.”

  Kael exhaled. “Really hoped we’d get a breather first.”

  Phantom didn’t hesitate. A throwing knife shot forward, aimed directly for the captain’s throat.

  Clang.

  The blade stopped midair—hovering, spinning slowly. A deep crimson glow surrounded it.

  The captain grinned. “Tsk. Magic’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it?”

  Kael’s stomach twisted. That wasn’t normal magic.

  It felt wrong.

  Elysia stepped forward. Her violet eyes narrowed as she murmured, “Void magic.”

  The air around her shivered.

  The captain’s smirk didn’t falter. “Ah, the little princess does know her history.”

  Kael barely had time to process the insult before the room exploded into motion.

  Phantom blurred forward, blades flashing.

  Lyria arrived at the last second, skidding to a halt beside Kael, blood streaking her daggers. “Took you long enough.”

  Kael smirked. “Good to see you too.”

  Then the fight swallowed them.

  Steel rang against steel. Bullets whizzed past. Elysia lifted a hand, and the very air seemed to warp, sending shockwaves through the guards’ ranks.

  But the captain—he didn’t move like a normal soldier.

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  Kael fired two quick shots. The bullets stopped midair, crushed in an invisible grip.

  “Void magic?” Kael muttered. “That’s not standard issue.”

  Lyria ducked under a spear thrust. “You think?”

  Then the captain moved.

  He surged forward, halberd blurring, a force like a storm behind him. Kael barely dodged as the weapon shattered the metal flooring where he stood.

  “We need to go,” Phantom barked.

  Kael didn’t argue.

  Lyria threw a smoke bomb, the world vanishing into thick gray mist.

  They ran.

  They burst into the lower courtyard—a vast open space surrounded by towering walls, with only a single massive gate leading outside.

  And then Kael saw it.

  A rift.

  A jagged tear in reality, hovering just beyond the gate.

  Dark energy bled from it like ink in water.

  Elysia stiffened. “They’ve been experimenting with summoning magic.”

  Kael frowned. “Summoning what?”

  A deep, guttural growl rumbled from the other side of the rift.

  Something stepped through.

  A towering figure, clad in darkened steel, horns curling from its skull. Its molten eyes locked onto them, hunger in their depths.

  A demon.

  Lyria hissed a curse. “Oh, come on!”

  The captain strode out behind them, grinning. “You understand now, don’t you? The Spire isn’t just a prison.”

  Kael swore under his breath. “It’s a summoning facility.”

  Elysia clenched her fists. “They’re trying to break the old seals.”

  The demon exhaled, smoke curling from its fanged mouth.

  Then it charged.

  Phantom moved first.

  His daggers flashed, carving glowing runes in the air. Chains of light shot forward, wrapping around the demon’s limbs.

  It barely slowed.

  Kael raised his pistol. “I’m gonna need bigger bullets.”

  Lyria darted to the side, trying to flank. “You think?”

  Elysia didn’t wait.

  She lifted both hands, and the air cracked. A shockwave erupted, slamming into the demon like a tidal wave.

  For a second, it staggered.

  Then it roared and swung its massive clawed fist.

  Kael tackled Elysia out of the way as the impact shattered the ground where they stood.

  “This thing’s a nightmare!” he gasped.

  Elysia pushed herself up, eyes blazing. “Then let’s wake it up.”

  She extended a hand.

  Purple lightning arced between her fingers.

  And then she let it loose.

  The courtyard flashed white as the bolt struck home.

  The demon howled.

  Its molten eyes flickered.

  And then, slowly… it collapsed.

  A stillness settled.

  Kael exhaled. “Remind me never to piss you off.”

  Elysia smirked. “Too late.”

  Lyria was already sprinting for the gate controls. “Less flirting, more escaping!”

  Phantom covered her as she worked. “We have company.”

  Kael turned.

  The captain was still standing.

  Still grinning.

  “You have no idea what you’ve just stepped into,” he murmured.

  The ground trembled.

  The rift… wasn’t closing.

  More figures began to stir beyond it.

  Elysia’s expression darkened. “We have to go.”

  The gates groaned open.

  Lyria yelled, “Move!”

  They ran, the Spire fading behind them.

  And the last thing Kael saw, before the gates slammed shut, was the captain standing before the rift—

  Welcoming whatever came next.