The air was cool as Kael, Mira, and Erion stepped out of the underground prison. The narrow stone stairwell led them into the main floor of what appeared to be a dilapidated church. Broken pews and shattered stained glass littered the floor, vines creeping in through cracked windows.
Kael looked around, frowning. "A prison beneath a church... that's not something you see every day," he muttered. "At least, not in my old world."
Erion leaned heavily against a wall, still clutching his injured arm. Mira stood close by, eyes darting across the wreckage.
Kael's instincts screamed caution. They couldn't stay here. He considered sending Mira and Erion to hide in the forest while he dealt with the cultists, but a low growl echoed through the distance.
Shadow beasts.
"No... it's not safe out there either."
Kael turned to Mira. "Can you create a block of metal? A big one."
She nodded, raising her hands. With her beginner understanding of Minor Creation, shimmering particles gathered in the air. A 5-foot long, 3-foot wide slab of metal formed before them, clanking to the ground.
Kael grinned. "Perfect."
Activating Omni-Vision, he examined the metal slab's structure, identifying the points of greatest density. One by one, he began teleporting small, spiked metal balls—dense, lethal fragments—out of the slab. Sixty in total.
Then, he focused his vision on the room above. The sanctuary. At least thirty cultists milled about, oblivious to what was coming.
He took a breath.
Then, the spiked balls vanished.
Above, the air shimmered, and with the precision only Omni-Vision could grant, Kael teleported each ball into the lungs of the cultists.
Coughs erupted. Blood sprayed.
The cultists dropped to their knees, gasping and choking as the spiked metal tore through their lungs from the inside out.
All except one.
Kael's eyes narrowed. Through the haze of death, a single figure stood—unmoving. A heavy cloak hid most of their form, but a dense aura of mana shielding surrounded them.
The survivor turned toward the trapdoor with deliberate calm, as though expecting what came next.
Kael tightened his fists. This wasn't over yet.
Not by a long shot.