A deep tremor ripped through the ground beneath Kael, Klee, and Asuka's feet. The stone table shook, scrolls were thrown into the air, and the flickering candlelight went out with a sharp crack. The underground chamber swayed, as if something much larger than the village itself was moving beneath the earth.

"Something is moving," said Kael, bracing himself against the wall, feeling the vibration rise through his bones.

"The seal... has been activated," whispered Asuka, her eyes wide. "Or... violated."

The floor cracked. Dust fell from the ceiling. Klee slipped for a moment, but Kael caught her by the arm.

Asuka then ran—fast, like an arrow shot in desperation—up the stone steps leading to the surface. Her feet pounded the stairs as she struggled to maintain her balance. The tremor still oscillated, a deep hum in the air that seemed to emanate from every corner of the village. Kael and Klee followed close behind, climbing as fast as they could.

As soon as they emerged from the hidden opening and returned to the surface, the world greeted them with a dense fog that now seemed alive. The wind howled at a frequency that made their teeth grind. It was as if the earth itself whispered agony.

Asuka barely had time to look around. A sharp sound—a heavy whistle in the air—announced the impact.

BAAAAM!

A hammer the size of a wagon struck the side of Oni's body with absurd force, launching her like a red arrow against the wall of a nearby house. The structure collapsed with a crack, and Asuka disappeared among the rubble, swallowed by wood and stone.

"Food..." growled a low, animalistic voice.

Kael turned his face toward the sound and saw it.

A grotesque, gigantic Orc emerged from the mist — a humanoid pig nearly ten feet tall, with muscles pulsing beneath grayish skin. Its eyes glowed an unhealthy red, like burning coals. Huge fangs protruded from its lower jaw, and its hands held a double-bladed axe that appeared to be made of bone and raw metal.

The monster let out a roar and charged toward Kael, raising its weapon in fury.

"Damn it," Kael growled, channeling mana into his legs and disappearing into the shadows at the exact moment.

The blade sliced through the air where he had been milliseconds before, striking the ground with a deafening crash.

Kael reappeared beside the monster's head, his hand already wrapped in a cutting wind. With a quick, precise movement, he launched a series of condensed air blades—sharp as dimensional razors. The gusts cut through the thick flesh of the orc's neck like butter.

The head spun in the air and fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The creature's body swayed and fell with a crash, scattering dirt and putrid blood.

Kael landed shortly after, breathing heavily, his body still tense.

"Klee!" he shouted, searching for the girl with his eyes.

She was already running toward the rubble where Asuka had been thrown. The stones were piled up in chaos, but Oni's arm emerged from the wreckage, trembling.

Klee fell to his knees beside her and began to carefully move the larger pieces.

"Asuka! Are you alive?"

Oni coughed, spitting blood. One of her hands grabbed the edge of a broken beam and pushed it aside with surprising strength. Her armor was cracked, her left shoulder dislocated, and a deep cut ran across her side, but her eyes still burned with fury.

"He caught me off guard..." she said hoarsely. "Not again."

Kael approached, looking around.

"You two, stay down," he said tensely.

Klee looked up and saw what he was seeing.

Toward the fog, silhouettes began to form. Tall. Slow. But many.

Dozens.

Orcs.

Each with axes, spears, or improvised weapons, red eyes glowing like embers in the darkness. Some were even bigger than the first one. The armor they wore was made of the leather of unknown creatures, human teeth, shields with human bones embedded in the edges.

And they were coming.

Marching through the fog like a hungry army.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Kael muttered, raising his sword again. Fatigue weighed heavily on his muscles, but he couldn't retreat.

Ahri spoke in his mind:

"They're not natural. They're not normal orcs. Something is feeding them... strengthening them."

Umbra replied with a low growl:

"They're being drawn to the breach in the seal. The breaking of the anchor has awakened predators."

Kael bit his lower lip, his eyes scanning every corner, every shadow, every threat.

"Klee, help her up," he said. "Let's retreat. Let's go to the church. That structure still has barriers underground. We can use it as a point of resistance."

Klee nodded, already pulling Asuka's arm out of the rubble.

"I can walk," the Oni muttered, though her left leg trembled with the effort.

They began to run, skirting the destroyed square, cutting through the ruins of houses. Kael stayed behind for a few seconds, his hands glowing with magical energy. He swung his arms and cast spells behind them—circles of fire that created temporary walls, and currents of air that threw the nearest creatures away.

An orc tried to jump over a roof to surprise them, but Kael saw the silhouette in time. With a gesture, he pulled the shadows beneath his feet and transformed them into black spears that impaled him in midair.

Asuka, even wounded, was already tearing boards from doors and using them as improvised shields to protect Klee.

"How many of them are there?" Klee shouted.

"More than should exist on this plane," Kael replied.

When they reached the church entrance, the main door was ajar. The sacred structure seemed darker than before, its windows broken and walls covered in cursed moss.

"Inside, now!" Kael shouted, pushing them both inside before entering last and slamming the door shut.

Inside the church, silence enveloped them like a thick cloak. Kael ran to the altar, touched the floor with both hands, and began channeling mana.

"Barrier..." he muttered, his eyes shining. "Sealing. Anti-curse... Let's see if you can handle this."

The magic circles began to glow beneath the stone floor. Ancient lines of protection pulsed once more, drawn by priests who no longer existed.

Outside, the orcs were already banging on the doors and windows with tremendous force.

Asuka leaned against a pillar, breathing heavily.

"If you're not the cause of this... then it's someone more dangerous than we imagined."

Kael nodded. "And if these things are coming after the ritual... then its end must be near."

Klee looked at both of them. "What if we can't stop it?"

Kael looked outside, at the fog filled with red eyes and primal hatred.

"Then let hell swallow this village with us inside. But not without us taking something with us."

Asuka smiled, even with blood on the corner of her lips. "Words of a warrior."

Kael let out a sigh. "Words of a tired man."

The ground beneath their feet shook again, but this time... it came from below.

A wet sound, like flesh being torn and rearranged, echoed from the church basement. Kael froze inside. He had heard this kind of noise before—in cursed forests, in the dead alleys of forgotten ruins. This was not just a natural tremor. It was life... rising from death.

"Something's coming," Kael muttered, looking at the altar. "Something right below us."

Klee cowered, her eyes wide. "What do you mean, coming?"

Asuka tried to move forward, but her injured leg failed her. She leaned heavily on her other leg and drew her sheathed katana, ready for anything.

A crack, like breaking ribs, echoed through the stone walls.

Then the floor behind the altar exploded upward, sending fragments of stone and wood flying. Dust invaded the church nave like a dry storm.

Kael reflexively cast a wind shield, protecting the three from the blast. When the dust settled, they saw...

A creature, emerging from a newly opened hole. But it was not an orc.

It was something much, much worse.

It had four legs, but its body was a shapeless mass of pulsating flesh, as if pieces of bodies had been fused together with black magic and kept alive by the force of hatred. Several human hands—and some beastly claws—protruded from places they shouldn't. In the center of the body was a face with no mouth, only eyes—many eyes, all red and constantly moving.

Klee screamed.

Kael gripped his sword tightly, taking a step back. Even he hesitated before that thing.

"This... is no ordinary demon," Ahri murmured in his mind.

"This was built," Umbra said. "Created. Sacrifices fed this flesh."

"This is the heart of the ritual," Kael concluded, his eyes fixed on the aberration. "Someone is feeding this thing with the deaths of the village."

The creature let out a soundless cry—a wave of magical energy that shattered the church's stained glass windows and extinguished the candles once again.

And then it screamed, in all directions.

That scream drew the orcs outside like moths to a flame. They began to pound harder, throwing their bodies against the walls, forcing the doors open with brute force.

"The barrier won't hold if this monster keeps emitting that kind of energy," Kael said, already retreating.