BOOM!
Jack's steamrune shotgun sang its deadly song. It didn't worked against the little devil though.
Again, she moved with incredible reflex. Deflecting the shot with a casual flick of her hand. The lead pellets scattered. Harmlessly bouncing off the walls.
She didn't stay on the wall further. She used the recoil from the shot to launch herself sideways. Turning into a blur of motion.
But instead of targeting Jack or any other newcomers, she veered sharply to the children. Her objective was clear. She was aiming for one of them. Very likey, for a hostage.
The children were now huddled together in the middle of the cell. Terrified by the sudden violence. And they were now in danger due to the devil in the child form.
However, Father Lynx, moved extremely quickly. Intercepting the devil. His mace, coated with divine light, was swung in a wide arc. Blocking her path.
The devil child hissed. Her momentum was broken.
She didn't engage Father Lynx. Instead, she bounced off his mace. Making a quick, agile retreat. Then, she tried again. Feinting towards one child. Then darting to another.
She was slippery. Incredibly agile for her size. A blur of motion trying to weave through the adults.
Jack and Reina instantly moved to protect the children. Reina used [Absolute Blink] and teleported between the devil and the huddling children. She unleashed a barrage of shots and materialized a thick wall of fog. Forcing her to find another path.
Jack activated his [Chains of Vengeance]. Multiple blazing chains appeared from his bracers and targeted the devil girl. Forcing her to evade and deflect them.
The other adults also realized the devil's intention. They quickly moved to protect the children.
The vanguard combatants, Father Lynx and Senior Inquisitor Lantern, were especially active in this matter. With grim expressions, they moved with coordinated precision. Creating a defensive perimeter around the innocent, terrified captives.
The devil, the Child of Secret Haven, was not particularly strong. Her punches were stronger than normal adults. But, that was it. They were nothing for the transcendent being like them.
She wasn't incredibly fast either. Not in terms of raw sprint speed. But her reflex, agility and evasiveness were phenomenal. She twisted, dodged, and flowed around their attacks like water.
And her naked hands and feet were incredibly extraordinary. It effortlessly blocked bullets, mace strike, and sword slash. Even when those attacks were imbued with elemental or divine power.
Jack and Reina fired their guns repeatedly. But she always managed to deflect or avoid the bullets. Jack activated his [Chains of Vengeance] and Reina conjured tendrils of illusionary fog power. Trying to trap the girl. But the devil always evaded and slipped through their attacks.
Father Lynx swung his divine coated mace again and again. Aiming for a crushing blow. But she always ducked under it. Or deflected it. Or leapt over it.
Inquisitor Lantern's holy sword slashes also seemed to glance off her hands. Leaving no mark. At all.
The supporting combatant buffs worked. Barnaby and Riff's music strengthened their allies and the children. Mirella's [Painting of Arcane Shield] created magical protective barrier for each of them. They worked.
However, the de-buff didn't work. High Priest Mountaine's [Light of Prosperity] and Sister Riverre's [Prayer for Redemption] were supposed to suppress and weaken the devil. But it didn't seem to show any effect.
She was still tough and agile. Her small body was incredibly resilient to their attacks. It was like hitting solid rubber. Or trying to catch smoke.
"You can't touch me!" She sneered contemptuously. "These children are mine! They are the offerings! The sacrifice!"
She was a whirlwind of frustrated malice. Constantly trying to breach their defenses. She feigned left, then darted right. Always aiming for a terrified child.
But Jack, Reina, Father Lynx, and Inquisitor Lantern moved as a great shield. A solid wall of protection. They kept her contained. Blocking every attempt.
"We won't let you!" Inquisitor Lantern growled as he slashed with his holy sword.
The devil child snarled again. Her form was shimmering slightly. As if she was about to unleash her trump card.
She tried another tactic. She launched herself towards a corner. Then, she feigned an attack on a child near the back of the cell.
As Father Lynx moved to intercept, she used the distraction. Instead of following through with the attack, she spun. Moving with a burst of unexpected speed... She bolted straight for the open cell door.
She was through the doorway before anyone could react fully. A small, dark blur. She zipped away down the corridor they had just come from. Towards the horrors of the altar room.
"She's escaping!" Barnaby shouted. About to chase.
"Stay with the children! Protect them!" Jack commanded. His voice was sharp. He didn't hesitate. "We'll handle the devil. Reina, with me!"
He took off. Chasing after the devil. Reina was right beside him. Her long black hair streamed behind her. Rune followed. Glowing with red and orange colors.
Behind them, the acolytes, and the artists were left with the traumatized, silent children. Preparing for the difficult task of bringing them back from the brink of despair. The hunt was on.
...
The footsteps echoed against the damp, cold stone of the corridor. Jack ran with a focused intensity. His eyes were fixed on the small, fleeing silhouette ahead.
Behind him, Reina moved with a predatory grace. Her breathing was rhythmic and controlled.
Rune hovered just over Jack's shoulder. Effortlessly moving with the same speed. Her light was pulsing in a frantic red and orange colors.
They were moving back, toward the heart of the horror they had just passed. The place where children were slaughtered and chopped into pieces.
The air grew thicker, heavier with the metallic scent of blood and the bitter smell of foul energy. Soon, they burst into the Hall of Sacrifice.
They were back into the room of nightmare. In the center, stood the bloody altar. A massive slab of dark granite stained red and black by generations of ritual murder. Piles of children's remains... limbs, torsos, and hollow-eyed skulls... They were stacked haphazardly in several big piles.
The devil girl stopped at the base of the altar. She turned toward them. Her small face twisted into a grin that stretched too wide. Revealing rows of needle-sharp teeth.
"You shouldn't have followed me." She hissed. Her voice was now a discordant blend of a little girl's soprano and the guttural snarl of a beast.
She slammed her palms onto the blood-slicked surface of the altar. The ritual circles carved into the floor ignited with a eerie crimson light. The piles of remains began to vibrate.
Jack watched through his [Eyes of Judgment] as the girl's information panel flickered and surged.
"She's using the collected power of the sacrifices." Jack warned. "She's forcing herself to evolve."
He quickly aimed his shotgun and pulled the trigger. BOOM! Explosive sound reverberated as an enchanted bullet struck the devil. But it couldn't stop her.
The devil's transformation was violent. The girl's spine snapped and elongated. Two curved, obsidian horns tore through her scalp. Slick with dark ichor. Her eyes shifted. Their pupils became vertical slits. Glowing with a frenzied yellow light.
Her mouth widened. Revealing sharp, feline teeth. Claws sprouted from her fingertips. And a long, slick tail lashed out from beneath her tattered brown dress.
Her small, human frame swelled. Not into an adult's frame. But into the size of a more robust, grotesque child-devil. She was radiating an aura of raw, uncontrolled power.
Under his [Eyes of Judgement], Jack saw an alarming development appearing in the devil's information panel. It was the appearance of the three new skills... [Lightning Steps], [Lightning Blast], and [Lightning Web].
"Crap!" Jack swore. "She acquired lightning based power. She'll be troublesome."
"She'll be fast, won't she?" Reina noted. "I can feel it."
"Yeah!" Jack agreed. "Get ready!"
The devil girl seemed to suddenly vanish. She became a streak of yellow-brown light. The [Lightning Steps]... She reappeared instantly behind Reina. Her claws were aimed at the woman's neck.
Reina didn't turn. She didn't have to. With a soft pop of displaced air, she used [Absolute Blink].
She reappeared several meters away. Her long black hair was fluttering. She fired a volley of bullets in retaliation from her two handguns. The muzzle flashes illuminating the dark hall.
The devil girl dodged the bullets with sickening ease. Her body blurred as she skated across the ceiling. She threw her hand forward.
"Die!" The devil screamed.
A [Lightning Blast] erupted from her palm. It was a lightning bolt. A roaring blast of pure electrical destruction. The pillar Reina had been standing near a second ago disintegrated into gravel and dust.
But Reina had already blinked away.
Jack knew it would be hard for his human form to keep up with this speed. He decisively focused his will. The air around him shimmered as he invoked his transformation.
Almost instantly, his body shrank. His limbs shortened and became covered in sleek, grey-and-white fur. In less than a heartbeat, he was no longer a man. But a kamaitachi. A mystical weasel with bladed limbs, goggles, and short cape.
Jack quickly turned into a blur of white and grey. He launched himself off a pile of debris. His claws hummed with latent wind energy. He met the devil girl mid-air as she prepared another blast.
The clash was a frenzy of sparks and fur. Jack's kamaitachi form allowed him to ride the air currents he controlled. He slashed at her face. Drawing a thin line of black blood across her cheek.
The devil girl screamed in rage. Swinging a fist sheathed in electricity. Jack twisted, his body. Letting the punch whistle past his ear.