Cal’s hand shot out as if to stop Zach, but it was too late. The damage was done. He stared at the lifeless body of the researcher and let out a long, frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. “Damn it, Zach. We could have gotten more information out of him.”
Sam threw up his hands in exasperation, stepping away from the scene. “Who cares, Cal? That man was a sick, twisted bastard preaching about peace while cutting open kids. We’ll find someone else to interrogate. He deserved worse.”
Zach wiped his hands on his tunic, still breathing heavily from the adrenaline. “We didn’t need him. He was too far gone.”
Sam, shaking his head, asked, “What was that even about, anyway? Peace through... cutting open children?” His voice was filled with disbelief and disgust.
Quin, his focus still on calming the girl, felt the weight of the situation pressing down on him. The cult wasn’t just experimenting on children—they were justifying it through twisted interpretations of Serenity’s teachings, manipulating the idea of peace into something grotesque. But what exactly were they trying to achieve?
Zach wiped more blood off his hands, frowning. “They’ve lost their way. They think they’re creating peace, but they’re just torturing children.”
Cal crouched down, looking at the now-dead researcher, his eyes still filled with frustration. “Whatever their plan is, it’s tied to these children. And Loma… she was their only success. We need to figure out what they did to her.”
Quin glanced down at the child in his arms, her tiny body trembling with fear. He tightened his hold, a promise forming silently in his heart. They would find out the truth. They would stop this madness. And they would save these children—no matter the cost.
Cal shook his head, his brow furrowed in confusion. “I don’t know,” he muttered. “Everything about this is just too strange. None of it makes sense.”
The group’s attention shifted toward Quin, who had successfully calmed the girl down again. She clung to him like a lifeline, her tiny arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Quin knelt beside her, whispering soothing words, and gradually, her sobs subsided. When he gently asked for her name, she hesitated for a moment before answering in a soft voice.
“My name’s Asper,” she said.
Quin smiled warmly and said, “That’s a beautiful name. It suits you perfectly.”
Asper giggled faintly, the sound a brief respite from the fear and darkness surrounding them. Quin’s smile deepened, but then his expression grew serious.
“We’re here to help,” Quin said softly, still holding the girl. “We’re going to get you out of here, I promise.”
Asper nodded timidly, her wide eyes filled with both hope and uncertainty. “What about my friends?” she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.
Quin gave her a reassuring smile. “We’re going to save them too. But I need to ask you a few questions first so we know where to find them and how to help everyone. Can you do that?”
The girl hesitated but then nodded again. Quin’s voice remained gentle as he asked, “Do you know why you’re down here?”
Asper bit her lip, thinking for a moment. “They take us down here sometimes,” she said slowly, her small hands clutching at the fabric of Quin’s tunic. “It’s always scary. The village is fun, and we play and learn up above, but… down here, it’s always dark and scary.”
Quin’s heart tightened at the contrast between the surface world and the underground nightmare. “What do they do to you and your friends when they bring you down?” he asked, his voice calm but tense.
Asper shrugged a little, her face scrunching up in confusion. “They measure us… and poke us, sometimes. It hurts, but it’s not always bad. But then, some of us… get led away, and we don’t see them again.”
Quin’s expression darkened. “What happens to the ones who get led away?”
“The older ones come back sometimes… but they’re not the same anymore,” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. “They don’t talk or play with us. They just wear black and stand around.”
Quin’s eyes flicked to the others. The black-clad figures—the Guardians—were once children from the village, molded into mindless enforcers of the cult’s twisted doctrine. Sam’s face tightened with fury while Westin muttered a curse under his breath. Zach clenched his fists, his knuckles white as he stood rigid with anger.
The girl continued her voice small and filled with fear. “This time, they took me, and that man… he said he was going to cut me open. He said he’d make me better. He said I had to be like the others to really follow Serenity as they preach in the village.” She shuddered. “I didn’t like the knives… and then you came.”
Quin stroked her hair gently, keeping his voice steady. “No one’s going to hurt you anymore. We’re going to make sure of that.”
As the girl calmed once more, Quin’s thoughts churned. The pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together. This cult was a twisted offshoot of followers of Serenity, bent on creating an impossible version of peace—perhaps a world without violence? Isn’t that something all followers of Serenity wanted? This group performed experiments on children in an attempt to modify their Divine Conduits. Why would followers of Serenity who would no longer Ascend and cultivate spirit need modified Divine Conduits? Whatever they were doing was perverting Serenity’s teachings and abandoning their faith while claiming to uphold it.
And then there was his mother.
The realization struck Quin like a bolt of lightning. He had been investigating rumors about his mother, Loma, for months—rumors that claimed she had ascended without ever killing a beast. It had always seemed impossible, but now… now it made sense.
His mother had been their only success. She had escaped Cremoor, fled, and disappeared into the mountains. The rumors weren’t just rumors. She had Ascended without killing, and that was what made her so special. It was why they had been so desperate to find her again—why they had experimented on countless children to replicate what had happened to her.
The cult had been trying for decades to find a way to bypass the natural order of spirit cultivation, all in the name of peace. And Loma had been the key. She had been their success, their one proof that it could be done.
Quin’s chest tightened as he recalled the vision Solarius had sent him through Divine Insight. His father couldn’t interfere directly, not with something that pertained to another deity like Serenity. But Solarius had helped him nonetheless, guiding him to this place, to the truth.
The truth that his mother had been experimented on.
The truth that she had fled to protect her child and herself from this nightmare.
The truth that now lay before him, hidden deep underground, in a twisted pursuit of an impossible ideal.
Quin swallowed hard, feeling the weight of it all settle over him. This cult was attempting to create a path to power using the lives of the innocent. He had to stop this cult, once and for all.
“They’re trying to create a world of peace,” Quin muttered, more to himself than anyone else, “but they’re doing it by tearing apart children’s lives.”
Quin took a deep breath, steadying his thoughts before he spoke. “I get it now,” he said, his voice low but firm. “I know what the cult here is trying to do.” He turned to the others, who were watching him closely. “They’re trying to create a way to cultivate spirit without violence, without killing beasts. They want to Ascend in Rank through peaceful means, but they’re doing it by experimenting on children. My mother… she was their only success. Somehow, she managed to Ascend without ever killing a beast, and now they’ve been chasing this idea for decades.”
The others stared at Quin, shell-shocked by the revelation. They had expected something sinister, but this was beyond anything they could have imagined.
Cal ran a hand through his hair, still trying to process. “So… they’re trying to rewrite the entire process of cultivation? By using children?”
Sam clenched his fists, his face hardening with anger. “Twisting Serenity’s teachings to justify torture and experimentation on kids… it’s sick.”
Zach paced, frustration radiating off him. “We need to shut this down. Now.”
Westin, still stunned, shook his head. “But how? We can’t just waltz in there and take them all down. There are too many of them.”
They all fell silent, weighing the gravity of Quin’s discovery and what it meant for their next move. Quin’s conclusion was undeniable, and the others agreed—it all made sense now. The experiments, the cult’s obsession with Serenity’s teachings, the Guardians in black. It was all tied to this twisted attempt to ascend without violence.
The question remained: What were they going to do about it?
“We could retreat,” Westin suggested, “go back to Cremoor and bring reinforcements. Lief would bring the firepower we need to take this place down.”
Before anyone could agree or disagree, Asper, in Quin’s arms, whispered, “What about my friends?”
The group fell silent, her words cutting through the discussion like a knife. Any talk of retreat vanished as they looked at the child, still clinging to Quin, her tear-streaked face full of fear for her friends. They couldn’t abandon the children—not now, not after what they had learned. The thought of leaving them behind, subject to whatever twisted fate awaited them under the scalpel, was unbearable.
Zach broke the silence. “We can’t just walk away from this. Those kids… they need us.”
Cal nodded, his jaw set. “We need to find a way to whittle down their numbers without alerting the entire cult. A full-on assault would be suicide.”
The group fell into a quiet discussion, going over every possible tactic. They considered ambushes, distractions, or somehow breaking the children out without being noticed. But each plan seemed to hit a dead end—there were just too many variables, too many enemies, and not enough time.
Then, after several minutes of frustrating debate, Cal’s face lit up with an idea. “Wait,” he said, “I think I’ve got it.”
The others turned to him, curious.
Cal outlined his plan, a strategy that relied on stealth, precision, and a well-timed distraction to draw out the Guardians and researchers while the group made their move. As Cal explained, a grin spread across the group’s faces. It was risky, but it just might work.
With a new sense of purpose, the group leapt into action.
Quin, Cal, Sam, and Asper moved silently through the tunnels, creeping toward the large cavern where the children were gathered. As they approached the cavern, they dropped onto their stomachs and crawled to the edge, peering out from their elevated position. The tunnel they had chosen sat high up on the cavern wall, overlooking the spiraling pathways that led down to the cavern floor below. The steep slope of the tunnel would make for a rapid descent, though scaling it in reverse would have been incredibly inconvenient.
For now, they lay in wait, hidden from view. Quin kept Asper close, whispering soft reassurances to keep her calm. Every now and then, she hiccuped or twitched, but she did her best to remain as still as the warriors around her.
Minutes passed—five, ten, thirty—each one feeling like an eternity. The group watched from above as the children below milled about, occasionally led away by researchers or asked questions. The researchers had become increasingly sparse, disappearing into side tunnels for various errands. The Guardians, still dressed in their ominous black uniforms, remained stationed along the cavern walls, keeping a watchful eye on everything.
It was during the thirty-minute mark when it happened.
There was a low rumble, followed by a massive boom from one of the tunnels. A blast of flame shot out, pinwheeling in every direction. The fire moved with unnatural precision as if guided by unseen hands, each tendril of fire seeking out a specific target.
The black-clad Guardians.
The flames hit several of the Guardians directly, setting them ablaze. Screams echoed through the cavern as some of the Guardians dropped to the ground, dead, while others staggered, their bodies engulfed in flames. A few managed to survive the initial blast, though badly burned.
Despite the damage, dozens of Guardians remained, and their numbers were still substantial. The ones who had escaped the flames moved quickly, their training apparent as they dashed toward the tunnel where the fire had originated, ready to retaliate against whatever had caused the explosion.
Cal, still lying beside Quin, muttered under his breath, “It’s started.”
Quin nodded, his muscles tensed, ready for the next step in their plan. The explosion had been part of their distraction—a gambit to draw the Guardians out of the cavern and into the tunnels.
But the real challenge was still ahead. Now that the Guardians were distracted, it was time for the next phase: saving the children.
As the explosion rocked the cavern, Quin couldn’t help but smile slightly. The explosion was due to a Firework Cannon that Westin had conjured with his Imaginative Arsenal spell. It had exceeded expectations. The eruption of flames pinwheeling across the cavern had been the signal they were waiting for—a calculated, devastating opening blow to throw the cultists into disarray.
Quin had been skeptical when Westin first explained the idea, especially when Westin, in his usual mocking tone, had said, “You’ve never heard of it because I imagined it, Quin. Imaginative Arsenal, duh. It’s in the name.” Quin had rolled his eyes at the time, but now, seeing the panic and chaos that followed the explosion, he had to admit it had worked perfectly.
He knew that right now, Westin and Zach were drawing the Guardians away, sprinting for their lives through one of the tunnels as the surviving black-clad enforcers flooded after them in a mad pursuit. Meanwhile, the remaining Guardians had no idea the real threat was coming from above.
Quin lay flat against the cavern’s edge, watching the scene below. The researchers were panicking, running in every direction as the children screamed and cried in terror. A few Guardians remained behind, attempting to tend to their fallen comrades while simultaneously trying to keep the children from bolting into the chaos.
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"Now," Quin whispered, turning to Cal and Sam.
They nodded back, their faces set in grim determination. Quin rose to his feet, grabbing Asper in one arm while his other hand drew his broadsword. The weapon gleamed faintly in the glow of the crystals lining the cavern and with the light of Radiant Shield as Quin activated it, covering his body in a golden aura of protection. Quin then activated Luminary Empowerment.
Together, they charged down the steep slope, boots skidding slightly on the uneven ground as they rushed toward the chaos below. Quin kept Asper close, his sword ready, as they descended rapidly. At the bottom of the slope, he set the girl down gently, his focus shifting back to the battle ahead.
The seven remaining Guardians turned at the sound of the group’s approach, their eyes narrowing beneath their black hoods. They had seen the explosion, they had witnessed the chaos, but they weren’t running. They stood their ground, weapons drawn, prepared to face whatever came next.
Quin didn’t hesitate. He surged forward, his broadsword held high, and unleashed a mighty swing at the first Guardian in his path. The man barely had time to raise his sword in defense before the force of Quin’s strike sent him staggering back. Radiant Shield protected Quin as the Guardian slashed at him in return, the black-clad figure’s blade glancing off the golden barrier harmlessly. Quin countered with a precise upward slash, catching the Guardian across the chest and sending him crashing to the ground.
Behind Quin, Cal darted to the left, his shortsword glinting as he slipped into a defensive stance. Two Guardians rushed at him, their movements swift and coordinated, but Cal was quicker. His Strategic Grid ability flared to life, a green chessboard-like pattern briefly illuminating the air around him as he analyzed their movements using Tactical Insight. With practiced ease, Cal dodged the first strike, slipping past the blade aimed at his torso, and retaliated with a swift jab to the second Guardian’s ribs. The man grunted in pain, but Cal didn’t give him a chance to recover, spinning around to deliver a quick strike to the other Guardian’s thigh. Both opponents faltered, thrown off balance by Cal’s precision.
Sam was next into the fray, his mace already raised high as he charged into the cluster of Guardians. With a mighty swing, he brought his weapon crashing down onto the shoulder of a Guardian who had been preoccupied with tending to the injured. The force of Judgment Strike coursed through Sam’s weapon, radiating with the energy of Justicar’s law. The Guardian cried out as the blow shattered bone, sending him crumpling to the ground. Sam spun, activating Justicar’s Gaze, his eyes locking onto another Guardian who was charging at him with reckless fury. The Guardian faltered mid-step, his body slowing as the weight of Sam’s power mentally attacked him, leaving him open for the final blow—a crushing strike to the side of the head.
Quin engaged the next two Guardians in a flurry of strikes, his Luminary Empowerment enhancing his speed and strength. Their swords clanged together in a series of quick exchanges, sparks flying from each impact. Quin’s golden aura from Radiant Shield absorbed the hits with ease, allowing him to fight aggressively without worrying about defense. One of the Guardians feinted to the left, attempting to get around Quin’s defenses, but Quin anticipated the move. With a quick pivot, he brought his sword down in a diagonal arc, cutting through the man’s guard and sending him sprawling onto the stone floor.
The last of the seven Guardians, a tall figure with a wicked curved blade, rushed at Quin from the side, his eyes blazing with anger beneath his hood. Quin barely had time to raise his sword before the Guardian’s blade crashed into him, the force of the blow sending a shockwave through his body. His Radiant Shield shimmered under the impact but held firm.
Cal, seeing the attack, dashed forward and used Strategic Strike. A thin, dark green needle of spirit energy appeared in the air, striking the Guardian in the side with pinpoint precision. The Guardian let out a pained grunt and staggered, leaving himself open for Quin’s counterattack. With a powerful upward slash, Quin cut through the man’s defenses and struck him down.
Sam, who had just finished off his own opponent, surveyed the scene. Seven Guardians lay dead at their feet, their bodies strewn across the cavern floor.
“Good work,” Sam muttered, wiping blood from his mace.
As the last Guardian collapsed to the ground, a researcher nearby began cursing loudly, his face red with anger. “You fools!” he spat. “You’re trying to stop the path of peace and progress! You don’t understand what you’re—"
Sam, without missing a beat, raised his mace and clubbed the man in the back of the head with the bottom of the handle. The researcher crumpled to the floor with a groan; his curses silenced as he slipped into unconsciousness.
During the exchange, Cal moved on to try to corral the children into some semblance of order, but it wasn’t going well. The younger ones were still crying, confused, and frightened, some clinging to each other while others wailed, calling for their caretakers. The older children stood in stunned silence, their eyes wide with shock, but their expressions betrayed a deeper understanding of what had been happening in the cavern.
"We need to get them moving!" Cal muttered, frustration creeping into his voice as he waved his arms, trying to gather the children together.
It wasn’t until Asper, the girl they had saved stepped forward, her voice strong and clear despite her small stature, that the chaos started to subside. “Listen to me!” she shouted, her hands on her hips, trying to mimic the authority of the adults around her. “These men are here to help us! We have to listen to them, or we’ll be in big trouble!”
Her words broke through the confusion. Some of the younger kids quieted down, staring at her with wide eyes. The older ones, having suspected something was wrong all along, took her lead and began to gather the younger children, helping them form lines and clusters as best they could.
Cal breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for the girl’s quick thinking. He crouched down to address the group of children, his tone gentle but firm. “We’re going to get you all out of here, alright? We’re taking you to Cremoor, a big city nearby, where you’ll be safe. But we need you to be brave and follow us closely. No one gets left behind. Stick together, and we’ll protect you.”
The children nodded, some of them still sniffling but beginning to grasp the situation. Just as Cal was about to signal them to move, a figure appeared in the far tunnel, flanked by more black-clad Guardians.
It was Eloria, the town mayor, her face twisted in a mixture of fury and contempt. She strode forward, her eyes gleaming with authority, her presence commanding the attention of everyone in the cavern.
“Stop!” Eloria barked, her voice slicing through the air like a whip. The children froze in fear, their tiny bodies instinctively recoiling at her words. “Do not take another step!”
Quin could see the fear gripping the children again. He had no doubt that many of them had been conditioned to obey Eloria and the cult members—her mere presence was enough to make them hesitate, their eyes flicking between her and their potential rescuers.
Eloria’s gaze swept over the group before settling on Quin, her lips curling into a sneer. “You foolish boy. You should never have come to Vistow. You’ve meddled in things far beyond your understanding.”
Quin stepped forward, his sword still drawn, his face set in grim determination. “Your ‘affairs’ involve torturing and murdering children. That’s not something any God or Goddess in the Light Pantheon would condone.”
Eloria laughed, a sharp, cold sound that echoed in the cavern. “You think you know better than us? Everything we do here is blessed by Serenity herself. This is the true path to peace—one that you, in your arrogance, cannot see. You’re nothing but an ignorant interloper, and interfering with Serenity’s will is heresy.”
Quin’s jaw clenched in anger, but he forced himself to stay calm. “Serenity would never condone this madness,” he replied, his voice steady but filled with conviction. “What you’re doing here—experimenting on children, turning them into mindless tools for your twisted version of peace—isn’t the will of any Goddess. It’s insanity.”
Eloria’s eyes narrowed, her voice venomous as she shot back, “You think you understand Serenity’s will? You think she’s some kind of Goddess of weakness? No, child. Serenity’s peace is absolute, and sometimes peace requires sacrifice. We will uncover the way to cultivate spirit without bloodshed, without violence—and you’ve come here to destroy that!”
“That’s not peace,” Sam interjected, stepping forward with his mace. “That’s a perversion of everything the Light Pantheon stands for. You’re torturing these children, using them like tools to further your own ends.”
Eloria’s expression darkened further, her hand clenching into a fist. “You’re all blind. We’re on the cusp of something great, something that will change the entire Light Pantheon. And you… you’re nothing but obstacles in our way.”
The tension in the cavern was palpable. The remaining Guardians shifted restlessly, their hands on their weapons, waiting for Eloria’s signal. The children stood frozen in fear, unsure of what would happen next.
Quin turned to the children, his voice rising above the growing tension. “Don’t listen to her! She’s trying to keep you here, to use you for their twisted experiments. We’re here to save you. We will protect you.”
But the children’s fear of Eloria was deep-rooted, and they hesitated, torn between the comfort of familiar faces and the terrifying reality Quin and his friends had revealed. Eloria took a step forward, her presence commanding their obedience.
“Stay where you are,” she ordered, her voice filled with dark authority.
Quin could see the children wavering, their resolve weakening under Eloria’s influence. He knew that if they didn’t act quickly, they might lose their chance to escape.
His heart pounded in his chest as he turned to his companions, his eyes filled with urgency. They had to make a choice—and fast.
Eloria's cold, echoing laughter filled the cavern, her voice dripping with condescension. "You don't get it, Quin. Everyone sacrifices in the name of world peace. Every follower of the Light Pantheon has shed blood, lost friends, and endured suffering in the crusade against the Dark Pantheon. For millennia, it’s been the way of things—kill or be killed. But here, through our work, the Followers of Eternal Peace will revolutionize spirit cultivation. No one will have to kill again to advance. No one will need to wield a weapon to become powerful."
She lifted her arms as if presenting a grand vision of the future, her eyes gleaming with fervor. "With our methods, everyone will have the ability to cultivate spirit without violence. We will create a bastion of followers so powerful no one will dare oppose Serenity or the Light Pantheon. And when power is so common, and no blood needs to be shed for it, what, then? War itself will cease. Isn't that the true path of peace?"
Quin shook his head, disgusted. "Nothing is worth the sacrifice of children. No world is worth torturing and mutilating the innocent."
Eloria’s gaze hardened. “Every person that dies in service to Serenity is blessed with eternal life in her domain. The children… they are martyrs, paving the way to a peaceful world.”
Quin’s fists clenched around his sword. "You don’t see the madness in what you’re saying. You’re perverting the very thing you claim to uphold."
Eloria’s eyes flashed with frustration as she took a step closer. “Why don't you understand?” Her voice rose with growing anger. “I spoke with Elisa. She told me you claimed that Loma was your mother—Loma… our greatest success. Your mother was the very embodiment of what we strive for here. She transcended violence; she Ascended without the need to kill. Why wouldn’t you see that she was special and that others should follow her path?”
Quin’s face darkened, his rage barely contained. He stepped forward, locking eyes with Eloria. “You don’t know anything about my mother. You couldn’t possibly understand her path or what she sacrificed. My mother wouldn’t have condoned this—any of this. She hated violence, but she never would have allowed you to twist Serenity’s teachings like this.”
His voice lowered, filled with barely suppressed fury. "You think your little cult is revolutionizing the Light Pantheon? You’re a speck. Whatever you believe my mother accomplished, whatever you’re trying to recreate, you’ll never match her. You’ll never understand what she was truly part of or the sacrifices she made. Your Followers of Eternal Peace cult is nothing but an illusion, a blip in the Light Pantheon’s history, and nothing more.”
Eloria’s face twisted in fury at his words. Her calm, composed demeanor shattered. "You arrogant boy!" she hissed. "You speak as if you know what’s best! As if you are something greater than us! As if you know more!" She raised her hand in a sharp command. "Guardians, attack! But leave Quin alive. We’ll dissect him and see if there’s something in his blood—something passed down from Loma—that can guide us to another breakthrough."
At her command, the remaining Guardians surged forward, their black cloaks billowing as they drew their weapons, closing in on the group like a dark tide.
Cal activated Preemptive Barrier, summoning green-hued shields of energy that flickered in the air, ready to block the incoming assault.
Quin, still burning with fury from Eloria’s words, gripped his broadsword tighter and felt the familiar surge of power from Luminary Empowerment flooding through him. His entire body seemed to glow with the light of Solarius as he prepared to face the onslaught.
Sam, standing resolute at Quin’s side, muttered a quick prayer to Justicar before channeling Judgement Strike, his mace glowing with divine energy. “These heretics will be judged,” he said, his voice cold with determination.
Sam and Quin sprinted forward, weapons raised as the seven Guardians rushed to meet them. These were not the lesser Acolytes they had faced before—these Guardians moved with precision, their blades gleaming in the cavern’s light as they closed the distance with practiced ease. Quin could feel the tension in the air, every footstep on the stone ground echoing the weight of the coming clash.
The first Guardian swung his sword at Sam, a sweeping blow aimed at his torso. Sam, quick on his feet despite the weight of his armor, sidestepped and brought his mace down with a brutal arc, activating Judgment Strike. His weapon glowed with divine energy as it connected with the Guardian’s blade, shattering the man’s defenses and sending a shockwave of Justicar’s judgment through his body. The Guardian staggered back, his grip faltering for a moment, but he quickly recovered and lunged again, his blade aiming for Sam’s exposed side. Sam twisted just in time, but the Guardian's sword grazed his arm, leaving a shallow cut that stung with pain.
Quin, engaged with two Guardians at once, was forced into a deadly dance of swordplay. His broadsword clashed against their shorter blades, sparks flying as he parried one strike only to twist away from another, with Luminary Empowerment coursing through him and the golden light of Solarius flaring around him. With a powerful overhead strike, he knocked one Guardian’s blade to the side and followed up with a devastating thrust to the man’s chest. The Guardian fell to his knees, gasping for breath before Quin delivered the finishing blow, his sword cutting through the air with lethal precision.
But before Quin could catch his breath, another Guardian was upon him, swinging his sword in a deadly arc. Quin barely raised his weapon in time, the force of the impact sending vibrations up his arm. The Guardian was fast—too fast. Quin felt the sting of a blade as it sliced across his thigh, the pain sharp and immediate. The strike had pierced Radiant Shield. He stumbled but quickly regained his footing, his golden barrier quickly repairing itself using the light in the cavern.
“Quin!” Cal’s voice echoed from behind, and a green lance of spirit shot past Quin’s shoulder, striking the Guardian in the leg with pinpoint accuracy. The man cried out, his leg buckling under him as Cal’s Strategic Strike found its mark. Quin didn’t waste the opportunity. He stepped forward and swung his broadsword with all his strength, the blade cleaving through the Guardian’s defenses and sending him crashing to the ground.
Sam, bleeding from multiple shallow cuts, fought valiantly beside Quin. He activated Judgement Strike once more, the power of Justicar’s law radiating from him as he swung his mace in a wide arc, smashing into another Guardian’s chest. The force of the blow knocked the man back several feet, his body crumpling as the divine energy took its toll.
But the remaining Guardians were relentless. One lunged at Sam, his sword aimed for Sam’s chest. Cal, from his position behind them, quickly drew his bow and fired an arrow that pierced the attacker’s shoulder, but not before the Guardian’s blade found its mark, slashing Sam across the ribs. Sam grunted in pain, staggering back but refusing to fall.
Quin was locked in another brutal exchange, his muscles burning from the intensity of the fight. His sword met the Guardian’s blade in a flurry of strikes, each one faster and more precise than the last. But Quin could feel his stamina waning. The Guardian landed a solid hit across Quin’s arm, drawing blood, but Quin retaliated with a powerful strike of his own, his broadsword slashing across the Guardian’s chest and sending him to the ground.
With a final swing, Sam crushed the skull of the last Guardian, his mace glowing with righteous energy as the man collapsed, motionless.
Breathing heavily, Quin spit on the ground, his body aching from the wounds he’d sustained. He turned to face Eloria, his voice filled with contempt. "You’re powerless in the face of those who fight to protect, not those who sacrifice others for power."
Sam stepped forward, his eyes dark and resolute. “Eloria,” he said, his voice cold, “you need to come quietly. You will answer for your crimes in the court of law under the Temple of Justicar. If you resist, I’ll declare you guilty of crimes against the Light Pantheon and its citizens, and I will execute you here and now.”
Eloria’s eyes widened in fear, and she began backing away slowly. It was clear she was calculating her next move. Her hand trembled slightly as she glanced around, looking for an escape.
Just as Eloria tensed, ready to run, Quin and Sam inched closer, their weapons raised in anticipation. But before they could make their move, a figure stepped into view from another tunnel—Elisa, flanked by several more Guardians.
Quin cursed under his breath. Zach and Westin didn’t manage to draw them all away.
Eloria’s fear was quickly replaced by smug confidence as she straightened up, her eyes gleaming with malice. "You thought you could win here, didn’t you?" she sneered. "Fools."
Quin, Sam, and Cal exchanged quick glances, knowing full well that they couldn’t fight this many enemies, especially with their injuries. More Guardians combined with Elisa, a Disciple Ranked combatant, would mean certain defeat if they stayed and fought.
“We have to retreat!” Quin commanded, his voice sharp and urgent. “Get the kids through the tunnel! Now!”
Cal nodded, already moving to usher the children into the nearest tunnel. "Go!" he shouted at the children, trying to sound authoritative without terrifying them even more. "Run! Stay close together and keep moving!"
The children, cowed by the violence they had witnessed and still shaken from Eloria’s ramblings, began to flee into the tunnel as fast as their tiny legs could carry them. Quin and Sam stood their ground, ready to fight and delay the advancing Guardians.
"We’ll cover the retreat!" Sam growled, his mace raised, blood still dripping from his wounds.
Quin’s muscles tensed as he prepared for the coming onslaught, his broadsword raised high, the golden light of Solarius surrounding him. They had no choice but to fight and retreat, buying time for the children to escape.
Eloria, however, wasn’t going to let them leave so quickly.
“Capture them!” she screamed. “I want Quin alive!”