StaticBlade gave a sign for the others to stop as he noticed that the figure wasn't alone.
Other figures, similarly robed and silent, began emerging from the gloom, clutching crude, Qi-infused equipment like a pickaxe crackling with dark energy and a blunted staff vibrating with malevolent energy. There were at least six of them.
"Intruders," a raspy voice, devoid of human warmth, echoed from the lead figure. "This place is sacred. These rituals... they are for the hungry ones. The ones who feast on the despair of the city. You will not interfere!"
Jian Hao's analyzer screamed with new readings. "Spark-Prime! Unidentified hostile entities! Cultists, Qi-Condensation Stage 2-3, feeding the curse array directly! And… there's something else. They are using the curse array to summon more malevolent rogue entities!"
"Summoning?" SumpScrapper hissed, her sonic disruptor humming a higher frequency. "That's a whole new level of bad."
