The chamber had become a battleground of chaos and will.
Crimson aura clashed with void-black energy as Zairon danced with the Prophet—if one could call his relentless, berserk movements a dance at all. He fought like a storm unhinged, a wildfire with legs. He wasn't just trying to win—he was trying to break reality around the Prophet.
"You think I'm afraid of monsters?!" Zairon roared, eyes wide, smile wilder. "I am the monster your cult should've feared!"
The Prophet's blade grazed his shoulder. Zairon laughed, blood pouring down his arm. He leaned into the pain, gripping the Prophet's wrist mid-swing and headbutted him so hard the man staggered.
"You're insane," the Prophet coughed, dazed.
"No," Zairon whispered, aura flaring like a detonation. "I'm Zairon."
He kicked the Prophet into the edge of the seal, where Yue and Mira had just redirected several glyphs. Symbols exploded in radiant blue, intercepting the flow of energy. The Prophet screamed as part of the ritual was reversed—some of the invading shadow-creatures howled and melted back into the rift.
But the gate didn't close. Not yet.
"You're stalling!" the Prophet spat, crawling up. "You can't stop it now!"
"I'm not stalling," Zairon said. "I'm letting the moment build. You ever feel it? That second before madness spills into glory?"
He lifted his blade, now ignited in both spiritual aura and raw battle energy. "This is that second."
Behind him, the rest of the team fought like legends—Kai volleying lightning like a war machine, Rysa burning creatures mid-air, Mira shielding Yue as she carved sigils into the pillars. It was chaos. Controlled, glorious chaos.
Zairon stepped onto the seal, crimson energy wrapping around him like a living cloak.
"If this seal feeds on spiritual energy," he grinned, "then let's see how much chaos one madman can make."
Then he poured his spiritual energy directly into it—not to open the gate, but to overload the ritual. Spiritual lightning crackled, the seal howled in pain, and cracks spread wildly like glass shattering under divine pressure.
"Zairon, what the hell are you doing?!" Mira yelled.
"Giving it a taste of my soul!" he shouted, laughing. "Hope this ancient spell likes spicy!"
The ground exploded upward, flinging monsters and debris. The Prophet screamed in horror as his own seal turned on him, consuming his essence.
"No! Stop! You'll—"
The Prophet's form twisted, turning to ash and void.
Zairon stood at the center, arms outstretched, burned but laughing, eyes glowing like suns. "AND STAY DEAD!"
Aftermath
The room fell silent.
No more monsters.
No more screams.
Just Zairon… and his team staring at him like he was insane.
"…What?" he said. "You're welcome."
"You just risked your life to overload a cursed ritual circle with your own soul," Rysa said flatly.
"I call it madcraft. Trademark pending."
"You're literally insane," Mira muttered, rubbing her temples.
Yue just smirked. "And that's why it worked."
Zairon clapped his hands, charred gloves flaking. "Alright team, seal's locked, Prophet's gone, gate's closed. Who's hungry?"
"You just nuked an ancient demonic ritual with your face and now you want to eat?" Kai asked.
"I burn calories fast," Zairon said with a grin. "Let's go grab meat skewers and plot our next bad idea."