Round 137

Jeane's crimson eyes widened with terror as she stared at the now-open doorway, the sound of heavy footsteps echoing from the corridor beyond. She grabbed Halie's arm without thinking, fingers digging into soft flesh in a vice grip. "I didn't touch it—I swear I didn't—" Her words trailed off as something moved in the darkness beyond—the sound of heavy footsteps growing louder with each passing moment.

The shadow-kin feeder chose that exact moment to surge forward, her casual cruelty combined with that shadow tendril making her far more dangerous than any magical backlash. Jeane looked at the hooded woman with narrowed eyes—her casual cruelty combined with that shadow tendril made her far more dangerous than any magical backlash. She had to keep Halie safe somehow, even if it meant sacrificing herself.

The ground shuddered violently beneath them, and Zha'thik's breaking sound grew louder—the air vibrated with dark energy as the demon lord drew closer. Jeane knew they were running out of time. She had maybe thirty seconds before her magical reserves completely burned out, leaving them defenseless against both threats.

She took a deep breath—the pain from her arms was distant through shock and exhaustion—and began channeling every last drop of power she possessed into a massive hellfire eruption. The flames consumed everything in their path, spreading across the floor like liquid fire and filling the chamber with blinding heat and acrid smoke.

Halie's eyes widened as she watched, frozen in horror—this was beyond anything she'd ever witnessed. Jeane's arms began to blacken, her skin crackling with energy as the magical backlash burned through her hands like liquid fire. The hooded figure took another step closer, her smile growing wider as she observed the spectacle—such delicious chaos.

The ground shook again, more violently this time—Zha'thik was almost upon them. Jeane knew it wasn't enough, couldn't be enough to stop either threat completely. But maybe—just maybe—it would buy them a few precious moments to escape through one of the other sealed corridors.

She collapsed to her knees as the last of her power drained away, vision dimming from exhaustion and pain. "Move," she gasped to Halie, voice barely audible over the roar of flames. "Now."