Loopshard

Adam performed the Heart Lance spell with his flame glove, shooting a penetrating beam of fire that collided with a dark barrier the forlorn ritualist created in the last second. The beam pierced through but was knocked off-course, only grazing its shoulder.

Chien swung his war hammer towards its body, but with a simple spin of its metal staff, it pushed the blow aside, and then a flick of its wand fired a black lance into his cuirass.

The holy nova exploded out from Chien’s body, knocking the ritualist back and momentarily dispelling part of its shadowy robes to reveal a rotten corpse within.

Adam and Seo-Yoon both exploited the opportunity to fire their spells right into its real body, but with a sudden stomp of its metal staff, the ritualist vanished, leaving behind a pulsing dark orb.

“Run!” Seo-Yoon exclaimed, seeing something the others didn’t, and the three of them stormed down the floor, past the heptagram and black candles, aiming for the door.

The orb started sucking in air with great huffs, and then it exploded into three expanding rings.

Chien was struck by the first and launched out through the wooden wall of the church, but Adam was saved by Seo-Yoon pulling him down below its reach.

The ring sheared through the wooden building’s walls, the second blew the walls down, and the third exploded the ceiling. It happened in the span of three seconds, but Adam was quick to roll on top of Seo-Yoon and pull out the material of his raiment to create a protective dome around them, preventing them from being crushed by several tonnes of wood.

Muffled sounds of fighting and yelling came from nearby, and it was clear that the ritualist hadn’t teleported far.