---
The ashes of the Abyss Warden's body had barely scattered...
when a new threat emerged.
The ground cracked.
The air shimmered.
And from the broken remnants of reality, portals began to tear open — glowing circles etched in blood-red runes.
Lian's system blared warnings.
> [ Warning! Multiple Tier 3 Entities detected! ]
[ Warning! Abyss Warlocks Initiating Blood Rituals! ]
From the portals stepped figures draped in tattered robes, faces hidden by bone masks.
Each one carried a black staff that pulsed with a heartbeat sound.
The Abyss Warlocks had arrived.
---
System Alert
---
> [ Abyss Warlocks ]
Tier 3 — Summoner Class Entities
Abilities:
Blood Puppeteer: Can enslave wounded or unconscious survivors.
Sacrifice Ritual: Can sacrifice a survivor to create a Blood Golem.
Dark Pact: Gains temporary invincibility after killing a marked target.
Weakness: Ritual Circles — If you destroy their ritual circles, Warlocks become weakened.
---
Lian's mind raced.
This was worse than the Warden.
These things weren't just killers — they were corruptors.
They could turn survivors against each other.
And they already had their first victim.
---
Betrayal of the Fallen
---
Near the largest portal, a small group of survivors screamed for help —
but it was too late.
The Warlocks extended their staffs, and chains of blood wrapped around the survivors.
Their eyes glazed over.
Their bodies twisted unnaturally.
In seconds, they were no longer human — they were mindless puppets wielding broken weapons, ready to attack anything that lived.
Demist snarled.
"They're using our own against us."
Jayce looked sick.
"...This is messed up even for demons."
Elyra, face pale, said quietly:
"We have to decide."
---
The Hard Choice
---
The system gave them two options:
> [ Choice: ]
1. Rescue Attempt — Engage Warlocks directly. Try to free the enslaved survivors before full corruption. High risk.
2. Tactical Retreat — Escape and abandon the enslaved survivors. Secure your team's survival. Low immediate risk but unknown consequences.
If they failed the rescue attempt, the corrupted survivors would permanently strengthen the Warlocks.
If they retreated, they would be safe...
but their Oath to protect would weaken — and their fate points would drop.
Lian gritted his teeth.
They couldn't save everyone.
But abandoning them would cost more in the long run.
He looked at his battered team — Jayce with his cracked slingshot, Demist with bleeding arms, Elyra barely holding up her magic.
Even Elric, who had finally awoken, was too weak to move.
But still — Lian's voice rang out:
"We fight."
---
Assault on the Blood Ritual
---
The team split up:
Lian and Jayce would destroy the ritual circles.
Demist and Elyra would hold the frontline, keeping the blood puppets at bay.
The battlefield was chaos:
The Warlocks floated above, hurling bolts of black lightning.
Blood chains lashed through the air, snaring anything they touched.
The corrupted survivors attacked wildly, without fear or hesitation.
Lian dashed forward, dodging strikes by inches.
He spotted the first ritual circle — a massive blood rune carved into the ground.
Jayce provided cover fire, using his last explosive seeds to blast gaps open.
Lian slammed his weapon down —
CRASH!
— shattering the first circle.
---
First Breakthrough
---
> [ Ritual Circle 1 Destroyed! ] Warlocks weakened by 10%.
One of the Warlocks howled in rage, its blood chains snapping.
Elyra capitalized immediately, firing a barrage of Light Spears that pierced through two blood puppets.
Demist tanked three at once, his battle axe cleaving them apart in brutal sweeps.
But the Warlocks adapted quickly.
They began fusing their blood chains into Blood Golems — hulking monsters of fused flesh and iron, each one bigger than a truck.
The second ritual circle was even more heavily guarded.
Lian's hands were shaking now — fatigue setting in — but he gritted his teeth.
"We have to move faster!"
---
Desperation Moves
---
Jayce laughed breathlessly.
"Good thing... luck is still on our side!"
He yanked out a Lucky Disaster Grenade — a rare item from his inventory — and hurled it at the second ritual.
The grenade bounced, rolled...
...and miraculously detonated right under the Warlocks' summoning node.
BOOM!
A flash of silver fire consumed the second ritual circle.
---
> [ Ritual Circle 2 Destroyed! ] Warlocks weakened by another 10%.
---
The battlefield shifted.
The Warlocks shrieked — their bodies cracking, their spells faltering.
The enslaved survivors collapsed, unconscious but alive.
Victory was near.
But the final ritual circle was protected by something different.
A Blood Pact Champion —
a survivor who had fully given in, willingly.
---
Final Enemy: The Champion
---
The Champion stood seven feet tall, armored in fused blood and metal.
Its weapon was a black halberd dripping with cursed energy.
It locked eyes with Lian — and Lian felt it.
A crushing aura of death.
Demist stepped forward.
"I'll hold him."
"No —" Lian said.
But Demist was already charging.
The Champion met him halfway.
The clash shook the entire battlefield.
---
Demist's Sacrifice
---
The Champion fought like a monster.
Every swing of his halberd could split the earth.
Demist matched him — barely — using every ounce of his strength and skill.
But Demist was still human.
The Champion was something else.
Finally —
the Champion drove his halberd into Demist's side.
Demist roared, blood spraying.
But he didn't fall.
He locked the Champion in a death grip, holding him still.
"NOW, LIAN!" Demist shouted.
Lian didn't hesitate.
He charged and smashed the final ritual circle with everything he had.
---
System Notice
---
> [ Final Ritual Circle Destroyed! ]
[ Abyss Warlocks Severely Weakened! ]
---
The Warlocks screamed as the last of their power was drained.
Without the rituals, they were vulnerable.
Jayce, Elyra, and Lian unleashed a final, desperate assault.
Magic.
Explosives.
Steel.
Until finally —
the last Warlock crumbled into ash.
---
Aftermath
---
They had won.
But the price was brutal.
Demist collapsed, coughing blood, unable to stand.
> [ Warning: Demist severely wounded. Requires high-tier healing or consequences will be permanent. ]
They saved the enslaved survivors.
But they had no time to rest.
Because in the distance, a new tower rose from the ground —
a spire of black crystal pulsing with demonic energy.
The Demon King's Nest had revealed itself.
The true battle for Inferna... was just beginning.
---
End of Chapter 34
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