Her transformation was dark magic. Her claws were dark magic. Her summon was dark magic. The runes covering her body were sorcery. All her power was boosted several tens of times over by the legendary armor. She was the one profiting the most from her Sky Dragon Armor, all thanks to Leana's dedication and Seth's skills.
She charged with the power of the Rune Warrior, sending rocks and tiles in the air behind her as she pushed off the ground to rush forward. Pho Fam managed to block her cursed claws just in time. She felt some resistance from the golden aura pulsing from the monk, and his skin had taken on a bronze sheen.
He blocked her hands with his wrist, but couldn't completely evade damage from the claws. Yet, the claws were only able to leave shallow cuts as they slid over the metal-like skin. His defense was phenomenal.
"You ugly beast!" the monk exclaimed indignantly and countered her attack, throwing her hand aside and striking her in the chest. Her defense was great, withstanding her physical strength, but his attack didn't even register thanks to the armor. Maybe if it were the massive palm from earlier, she would have felt something...
"I'm wearing a helmet, what is your excuse?" Cade taunted with a laugh, casting a curse on Pho Fam as she fell back. Meanwhile, the Djinn had engaged Phi Fei, and the two were locked in a contest of strength.
"Your filthy power will not burden me!" the monk exclaimed, shining even brighter, to expel the power of the curse she just cast. However, the bright light quickly dimmed, despite his best efforts. Using the small gap created by his disbelief, her claws effortlessly pierced his abdomen.
With a ripping noise, she single-handedly disemboweled the monk in front of her, destroying his dantian in the process. The moment the core of his power was destroyed by her soul-rending claws, it was like turning off a light bulb.
"Gahhhh!" The incredible power vanished from his body with an excruciating scream. But that was not all. His mountains of muscles deflated like a leaky water balloon, turning into loose flaps, covering the wrinkly body of a man who had just aged 80 years in the blink of an eye.
The bulging eyes had sunken back, looking at her with a blurred, gray gaze, in fear and despair. She looked at the cultivator in shock. She didn't expect it to be THAT bad. The man wallowed as if he had lost everything precious in the world.
"Ermm, sorry, I guess?" she said and squashed the elder's head with a single strike, ending his suffering. She was serious when she said she didn't want them to suffer. That he DID suffer was an accident.
"Stop playing," she commanded the Djinn, who was toying with his pray. His and the monk's hands were interlocked in a contest of strength. Pure physical power clashing. But when Cade gave the order, the hands of Pho Fam suddenly cracked like dry twigs.
With a proper grip, the Djinn broke the monk's hand, and with a twist, the towering spirit broke his lower arms too. With a twist and an echoing crack, radius and ulna of the man's arms poked out to say hello to the world outside.
The monk didn't scream, but he was also unable to react when the Djinn threw his arms to the side and grabbed his neck. A yank and a gut-churning crunch later, the monk collapsed on the ground with a broken neck. Then the Djinn looked at her for approval.
"Not enough. You know they survive that," Cade cautioned him and blasted the man's abdomen to destroy the dantian and nascent soul, or whatever allowed them to survive the death of their bodies. Only then did the golden light that covered the body fade.
"See, he was still kind of alive." Cade admonished her summon. The Djinn silently nodded.
"Anyway, let's see whether someone is-"
"Don't touch that door!" someone commanded. A normal-looking monk with some decency had appeared, properly wearing a set of saffron-colored robes. Was he lured by the tragic scream of his companion? He came with a surprise for Cade.
Her
These guys really popped out one after another; however, Cade had no intention of listening. She grabbed the massive golden ring to pull open the gate while mentally giving the Djinn the command to take care of the newcomers.
A surge of golden, almost liquid light escaped from the open door. It flowed out like a strong wind, but before Cade could see where it came from, the Djinn and the Cultivator crashed into the door, slamming it shut again. They were still grappling, but the monk had the upper hand.
"Fei and Fam were still clumsy because their realm was suddenly raised, but don't think I will be easily- Ugh!" he was interrupted by a claw covered in cursed aura stabbing into his rib cage from the side.
"H-How?" he looked at the claw that had ignored his defensive domain in shock. Maybe he had actually watched her clash with the other two? Too bad for him.
"I was holding back, earlier," she stated and pulled out her hand and half his lung from his torso. "Finish it," she ordered the Djinn and turned back to the door. She didn't have to ask it twice, as the spirit happily started thrashing the monk.
Cade finally got the chance to open the door and peek inside. "What the fuck?" the words echoed in her mind, but got stuck in her throat. The giant temple was completely open inside. Richly decorated walls, filled with obscure and partially demonic visages and statues, reached all the way to the peak of the structure.
The ground was a massive plaza, covered in mosaics of intricate designs. Chained to this beautiful floor were thousands of people, locked into metal harnesses that forced them into a kneeling prayer posture. Thorns on the inside of the harnesses held them in place, adding constant streams of blood to the mosaic floor.
The almost material golden energy wafting through the whole temple and escaping through the door behind her was absolutely unable to take away any of the abstruse horror of this scene. On the contrary, seeing it move in currents that led to the center was even more concerning.
Cade walked inside, entering the rows of believers(?). Walking among them, she got a closer look. Festering wounds, bloody knees, a hazy, barely conscious mind, continuously repeating the same chant over and over.
But what made her heart drop was the realization that the thick golden energy actually emanated from the people assembled here. Before she helped, she had to find out what was happening to the energy concentrating at the center of this place.
In the middle of the bound believers was a circular empty space. There were four people. Three sat on the ground, cross-legged. The other one, an older man in long, mint-colored robes, stood in their center, and it was almost as if he controlled the flow of energy in the vast hall.
Like a conductor, he was throwing around his arms and pulling in the thick golden energy to surround him and the other three. This had to be the abbot. She had no doubt. The other three were what remained of the twelve guardian monks
Suddenly, his piercing, golden gaze looked straight at her.
"So you entered," he said in a calm, quiet voice. However, Cade was able to hear him from over half the plaza away.
"Wish I didn't have to..."