They arrived at a large circular chamber illuminated by a greenish glow emanating from a mural on the wall. The mural depicted a humanoid figure surrounded by shadows of corrupted essence, while smaller figures appeared to kneel before it. In front of the mural stood a man in a dark robe, his hands extended toward the drawing as he murmured softly.

"Hey!" Towan shouted, unable to contain himself. "What are you doing here?!"

The man turned slowly, revealing a face covered by a metallic mask that exposed cold, calculating eyes. His robe was adorned with a symbol resembling a spiral of dark essence.

"Intruders? How inconvenient..." he said calmly, though with a tone dripping with disdain.

"Step away from the mural!" Rhys ordered, advancing confidently.

"And what will you do if I don’t?" the man replied with a mocking smile as he extended a hand. A dark aura began to envelop him, and out of nowhere, humanoid figures of corrupted essence appeared around him.

The two young men charged at the enemy enthusiastically, but their attacks were easily blocked. Every strike seemed to bounce off an invisible barrier formed by corrupted essence. "It’s useless!" Towan shouted as he tried to break through the humanoid figures’ defense.

Seeing the boys struggle, Rhys and Kade stepped in. With coordinated movements, they managed to eliminate the corrupted essence figures, exploiting small openings during their attacks. But when they attacked the man directly, he stopped them, grabbing their fists with his hands and pushing them back effortlessly.

"You’re more persistent than I expected," the terrorist commented, now sounding impatient.

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With a swift movement, he unleashed a barrage of strikes imbued with corrupted essence, hitting Towan and sending him crashing against the wall. Elliot tried to help but met the same fate.

Rhys and Kade intensified their combined attacks, but instead of being intimidated, the man began countering with faster and more precise movements, forcing them to retreat.

"This guy is stronger than he looks!" Kade exclaimed, struggling to block a powerful strike.

"That’s enough," said Eryndar, who until then had remained silent, observing from the entrance.

The user of corrupted essence turned toward him, evaluating him with a calculating look. "Are you their leader? The one hiding behind these youngsters?"

"Something like that," Eryndar replied as he began walking toward him.

"Let’s see if you can handle this," the man said, launching a wave of corrupted essence at Eryndar.

The master didn’t move. With a subtle gesture, he redirected the energy toward the ground, where it dissipated harmlessly.

"Impossible..." the man murmured, visibly unsettled now.

Eryndar advanced calmly but with evident intent. His speed was overwhelming. In an instant, he appeared in front of the terrorist and struck him cleanly in the torso, breaking through his corrupted essence defense. The impact sent him flying several meters, slamming into the wall.

The man tried to rise, summoning more dark essence around him, but Eryndar stopped him with another strike that made the air heavy.

"This ends here," Eryndar said firmly.

The man fell unconscious, and the corrupted essence surrounding him began to dissipate slowly. Rhys and Kade, though impressed, remained on guard.

"Who is this guy?" Towan asked while helping Elliot to his feet.

"I don’t know, but this confirms my fears," Eryndar replied as he inspected the mural. "Someone else is behind these acts—someone seeking to revive corrupted essence."

"What do we do with him?" Kade asked, pointing to the unconscious man.

"We’ll hand him over to the tournament authorities. Perhaps they can get more information," Rhys said.

Eryndar nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on the mural. Something about the central figure seemed to trouble him more than the defeated man.

"We have much to discuss," he murmured to himself before turning back to the group. "Let’s return. This night will be long."