The instant Eli sprinted forward, every nerve in his body screamed.
The priest's molten eyes pinned him, a predator savoring prey, its grotesque stone grin stretching wider with unnatural malice.
And then—
DANGER DETECTION DETONATED.
Agony lanced through his skull like molten iron driven straight into his brain. His vision warped, his legs almost locking mid-stride as if the dungeon itself was trying to freeze him in place.
'—Shit, it's coming!'
The priest's rosary arm swung down with the force of judgment itself, the beads snapping like thunder, each one carrying the weight of a mountain.
Eli didn't think—he moved. Both trembling hands heaved Caelen's golden blade upward.
CRAAAAACK!
The impact split the chamber in half. Shockwaves howled like hurricanes, stone bursting apart in an eruption of dust and shrapnel. The ground beneath him cratered, his knees almost dislocating from the sheer force.
