Before my words could reach him, Aziel had already moved. His sword was out of its sheath in a split second, a silvery trail scything through the air. A single slash was all it took to sever the serpent’s head. The body continued to thrash, spewing a viscous liquid that steamed as it hit the ground.

The chimera growled.

It didn’t scream, it didn’t roar. It was a low, deep growl that resonated from its core and seemed to crack the ground beneath our feet. The lids of its many eyes began to open, one after another, revealing pupils of varying sizes, dilated with anger and pain.

"Quick!" I shouted, pouring the rest of my mana into the circle.

The runes responded instantly, unleashing a blinding burst of light. Everything around us distorted: the air vibrated, sounds warped, and an invisible force sucked us violently out of the ground. Just before disappearing completely, the chimera reared up with a roar so brutal it seemed to tear the surroundings apart.

"BOOM!"

We were flung out of the teleportation circle like misdirected projectiles, crashing into the stone walls of the new room. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and for a few seconds I didn’t know where I was. Everything around me spun.

Coughing, my ears still ringing and my vision blurred, I scrambled to my feet. My legs were shaking, but the danger wasn’t over. Amid the vibrating sound of the roar, I heard the sound of hurried footsteps: boots running quickly, their rhythm quite coordinated. Someone was coming. Many, probably guards disturbed by the loud noise.

I searched desperately for Erwing and Aziel. Both were battered, but conscious. Aziel was leaning on his sword, and Erwing was already on his feet, quickly dusting himself off. I breathed a sigh of relief... until horror overtook us again.

The teleportation circle behind us flashed again... and above it, shrouded in a dark mist, the Chimera appeared.

It couldn’t be.

That thing... it had been dragged with us!

Its many eyes scrutinized us with silent fury, opening wide, glowing like burning coals in a fiery blaze about to explode. The creature hunched over, its ragged wings spreading wide while its severed tail twitched in spasms.

"Run!" I shouted hoarsely, pointing down the nearest corridor.

Aziel and Erwing didn’t hesitate, but the Chimera had already noticed our movement. He let out an even more guttural roar, and fragments of wind began to materialize around him—not simple gusts, but blades as sharp as swords, spinning in swift spirals.

Within seconds, the whirlwind of blades shot toward us.

I didn’t have time to think anything; I raised both hands, letting the mana flow throughout my body. The air crackled around me as I hurriedly enveloped my body in a protective dome of fiery reddish energy, with runic inscriptions floating on its surface.

"Shield of Amreth!" I murmured, activating the spell just in time.

CRASH!

Immediately, blades of wind slammed into me with tremendous force, shaking my entire body. The shield absorbed much of the damage, but it wasn’t enough. The gale tore through the barrier, and the shockwave threw me like a rag doll against the nearest wall. The impact made me spit out a mouthful of blood.

A stabbing pain shot through my neck. I raised my hand and felt the warmth of the blood. A cut. Not deep, thankfully. I had managed to deflect the blades just in time... but if I had waited a second longer, I would have been decapitated.

I staggered, carefully getting up as the shield crumbled into very fine particles. I looked at my companions. Erwing had wrapped himself in a containment sphere of earth, protecting himself completely. Aziel, on the other hand, had blocked with his sword wrapped in blasts of frost, deflecting some blades that bounced off the walls or simply froze before reaching it.

"That thing won’t stop!" Erwing shouted, positioning his sword, ready to fight.

The Chimera was preparing for another attack. His dark, spiky, ragged wings were now completely strands of dark, demonic energy that writhed like living veins, pulsing with a sickening glow. I recognized it instantly: This wasn’t simple wild magic, it was something far more corrupt and vicious.

He was channeling an area-of-effect spell, something devastating. If we let him finish it, we could both be seriously injured.

"We can’t let him cast it!" Erwing exclaimed urgently, his voice thick with tension.

"Aziel, distract her! Amelia, immobilize her legs! I... I’ll slow her down as much as I can," Erwing said, looking at Aziel and me.

I didn’t wait any longer and began to channel mana into my hands. A warm energy flowed through my body, moving between my fingers as I summoned a more devastating attack. I was about to unleash the intermediate-level magic, Fire Blast, one I had practiced but never used in combat.

The sphere of fire was beginning to form in front of me, vibrating with a soft sound, almost like a distant chant, when suddenly...

Footsteps. Quick, determined. Approaching.

The sound echoed through the halls like an omen.

A group of men burst through the side corridor. They wore black robes, some reinforced with light armor plates. Their faces were hidden behind hoods, but the darkness they exuded was unmistakable. Demonic cultists.

One of them, taller than the others, walked at the front. The fabric of his robes rippled as if something were moving beneath them, and a shadowy energy enveloped him like an invisible cloak. When his gaze met mine, I felt a chill run down my spine. These were no mere fanatics. That man was strong, there was no doubt about it.

"RUN!" Erwing shouted, and without wasting a second, Aziel had already launched himself into a side corridor. I released the incomplete spell and ran after them.

Behind us, the chimera roared in fury as it sensed its prey escaping. Without a second thought, it launched itself after us, devastating everything in its path, including the newcomers who were thrown from the beast’s impact. The walls shook as the creature stormed down the corridor, ignoring everything but its thirst for destruction.