[Leif's POV—Holy Temple Battlefield—The Sealing Begins]
The ground beneath him cracked open—dark sludge bubbling upward, trying to anchor him, trying to keep him from being pulled toward the ring.
"STOP—STOP—STOP—!!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!!"
Luminael's voice burst from my hip—panicked, breaking. "MASTER—THE CAGE IS DRAWING TOO MUCH—IT WILL BREAK YOUR BODY—!!!"
My vision blurred. The world warped at the edges. My legs trembled so violently I nearly collapsed.
Behind me—voices drowned under the roar of power.
"LEIF—!!" Alvar's scream cracked like glass.
"STOP! YOU'LL DIE—!!" Caelum's wings thrashed violently, fighting off corrupted bodies trying to drag him away from me.
"LEIF, LISTEN TO ME—!! PLEASE—STOP—!!" Alvar again.
His voice… sounded like someone being torn apart.
But I couldn't turn back. Couldn't stop.
Not now. Not when the Devil was finally—finally—being forced into the one cage that could hold him.
