Terror was a weapon.
Dante had just turned it against the ones who wielded it.
The shadow puppet was a perfect dark copy of the boy Erica had vaporized. It rose from the smoking crater, violet eyes empty of life.
They fixed on its former teammate.
The Wardcraft user scrambled to his feet, staring in horror. The remaining members of Derek's team froze.
Their bloodlust was replaced by deep, primal fear. They had dealt death. But they had never seen it twisted and thrown back at them like this.
"What is that thing?" the Wardcraft user stammered, stumbling backward.
The shadow puppet didn't answer. It simply obeyed.
Dante pointed. "Attack."
The creature lunged forward with unnatural speed. Silent and deadly. A faint, sickly green mist leaked from its shadowy form as it closed the distance.
A ghost of the Toximancy it once used.
The Wardcraft user screamed and threw up a shimmering barrier. The puppet slammed into it, shadowy claws scraping against the magical shield.
That moment of horror was the opening Dante's team needed.
Rina's face was pale but determined. She rushed to Jin's side, her hands glowing as she began healing his battered body.
But Derek was not a man frozen by fear. He was a predator. His rage burned away the shock.
"It's just a puppet!" he roared. His voice snapped his teammates back to reality. "Forget the barrier! Kill the puppet master!"
He pointed his bloody sword at Dante. "He falls, they all fall! Focus on Dante!"
His command gave them new direction.
The Maleficium user was a thin boy with hollow cheeks and dead eyes. He turned his attention from Erica to Dante.
"Curse of the Leaden Mind," he hissed.
A wave of mental fog crashed into Dante. His thoughts slowed to a crawl. His commands felt distant and sluggish, like trying to shout through water.
At the same time, the Phantasm user waved his hands wildly. The battlefield shimmered. Three more versions of Derek's charging brawlers appeared.
"Dante, watch out!" Eric yelled. He planted himself in front of him, a living wall of defiance.
The injured Graviton user clutched his bleeding thigh. He pointed a trembling hand at Dante.
The air around Dante's feet grew heavy. It tried to root him to the spot. The spell was weaker now, but it made directing the battle nearly impossible.
"We have to protect him!" Masha shouted. She launched a volley of ice shards to intercept one of the brawlers.
Talia was a silver blur. She danced between the illusions, her Kinetic Eye struggling to track the true threats through the confusing magic.
She parried a blow meant for Masha. Her rapier rang out in the chaos.
CLANG!
Neil and Juno stood behind the frontline. They desperately tried to provide the information the team needed to survive.
"His greatsword has a flaw!" Neil shouted, his eyes wide with the focus of his Lore Archive skill. "There's a sigil on the hilt! It's an artifact that grants strength but drains stamina with every swing! He can't keep this pace up!"
It was vital information. But in shouting it, he made himself a target.
One of the brawlers was a hulking brute who had been ignored in the chaos. He suddenly broke off his attack on Eric.
The real one, hidden by the phantasm. He had circled around their flank.
He charged from the shadows, mace raised high. His target was clear.
"Neil!" Juno screamed. He saw the threat at the edge of his vision.
But it was too late.
Neil looked up. His face showed sudden, terrible understanding. He had no combat skills. No time to react.
WHOOSH!
The mace came down.
CRUNCH!
The wet, sickening sound echoed through the clearing. Neil collapsed without a word. His vital knowledge silenced forever.
A wave of shock washed over the team.
Erica screamed his name. Her voice cracked with grief. The loss was a physical blow. It staggered them all.
And their enemies took advantage.
"One down!" the Maleficium user cackled. He turned his hateful gaze on Juno. "Your turn, artist!"
He flung another curse. "Hex of Shared Pain!"
Juno had been trying to find Derek's weakness. He suddenly cried out in agony. He clutched his arm as if it had been struck.
CRACK!
A sharp sound echoed as his bones snapped under the sympathetic magic. It mirrored an injury Eric had just sustained.
He fell to his knees. His skill was now useless.
They were falling apart. They had lost their intelligence network in ten seconds.
"Dante!" Derek's voice was a triumphant roar. He had finally pushed past Eric, who was now fighting two brawlers. "Your little tricks are over!"
He charged directly at Dante. His greatsword held high for a killing blow.
Dante's mind was still slow from the curse. His feet heavy from the gravity spell. His shadow puppet was locked in a struggle with the Wardcraft user.
He was defenseless.
Masha tried to form an ice wall. But the Phantasm user created a shimmering distortion in the air. Her spell formed a foot to the left of its target.
Talia was too far. She was locked in combat with the gravity mage and another brawler.
'This is it,' Dante thought. The thought moved like sludge through his cursed mind.
Derek's blade began to fall. Dante could see the cruel victory in his eyes. He saw his own shocked reflection in the polished, blood-stained steel.
Then a spear of pure white plasma screamed past his head. It wasn't aimed at Derek but at the ground right in front of him.
BOOM!
The earth erupted in a blinding flash. The force threw Derek backward, away from Dante.
He turned to see Erica. Tears streamed down her face. Her expression was terrifying.
Grief for Neil mixed with pure, unfiltered rage. Her hands were pressed together. The air around them crackled with unstable, overwhelming power.
She had saved him. But she had poured all her remaining energy, all her pain for Neil, into that one desperate blast.
The battle was not over. They were still alive.
But they were crippled, grieving, and standing on the very edge of destruction.