The Sinner's Banquet

The Monster Beneath

The giant shadow hand pulled Malakai back up from the black pit, his body completely twisted by core magic.

His red robes were scorched and fused to his skin, while dark purple fire burned inside his empty eye sockets. In our world, taking too much magic from the city’s core without a proper vessel turned a human into a void beast. Malakai was no longer the proud High Priest who ruled the upper city from a golden tower. He was a mindless monster driven by raw hunger for life force.

Lyra did not lose her cool for even a second. She held the ancient silver scroll tight against her ribs with one hand and flipped her sharp dagger into a reverse grip with the other. In the slums, survival meant knowing when a leader had become a wild animal that needed to be put down. Lyra never let fear dictate her choices. She calculated every angle, using every shift in the room to turn danger into an advantage.

"Ethan, his core is unstable!" Lyra called out, taking two fast steps backward toward the locked iron bars. "If he releases that purple fire, this whole vault will cave in on us!"

Lily took a slow step back toward the central pedestal, her face turning pale for the first time. "He absorbed the second core completely. The security grid is failing."

Malakai let out a heavy roar that shook the white stone walls. He swung his massive shadow arm, throwing a wave of purple fire straight toward Lily.

Lily raised her hands, trying to summon a holy light shield, but her golden staff was already broken on the floor. The blast slammed into her shoulders, throwing her across the stone tiles until she crashed hard against the base of the altar.

"Lily!" I shouted.

Even though she had betrayed me and used my blood to break the vault, seeing my own sister bleeding on the cold floor hit me deep in my chest. I rushed forward, raising my right arm to block the next wave of purple fire.

[Skill Activated: Void Shield.]

A thick barrier of black energy formed in front of me. The purple fire slammed into my shield, pushing my boots back three inches against the slick stone. Pain shot through my shoulder as my void core strained against Malakai's wild power.

[Warning: Shield Durability 40%... 20%...]

"Ethan, use your dark hand to absorb his core!" Lyra said, sliding under Malakai's long shadow arm as it swung past her. She drove her blade deep into the back of his knee, forcing the monster to stumble.

Malakai roared again, turning his glowing purple eyes toward Lyra. He raised his heavy fist to crush her against the stone floor.

I did not think. I used my fastest move.

"Shadow Step," I called out.

My body turned into black mist, reappearing right above Malakai's broad shoulders. I drove my shadow claws straight into the back of his neck, right where his skin met the glowing void core.

[Devouring Target...]

[Warning: Raw Void Energy Overflowing!]

The dark energy hit my arm like liquid fire. My vision turned red as Malakai's memories and raw power flooded my mind. I saw the upper city council stealing magic from the slum children. I saw the hidden energy pipes draining the life out of our home district for forty long years.

"Get off me!" Malakai's voice echoed with double tones, half human and half monster.

He slammed his body backward against the white stone wall, trying to crush me beneath his weight. The impact knocked the wind out of my lungs, but I kept my shadow claws locked deep inside his neck. I pulled with everything I had, draining the dark energy directly out of his core.

[Level Up! Level 23 → Level 24.]

[Stored Essence: 1800 Units.]

Malakai's giant body began to shrink. The purple flames in his eyes flickered and died down. With one final, weak gasp, his body crumbled into a pile of gray ash, leaving the second purple core rolling across the floor.

I fell to my knees, gasping for breath as my right arm throbbed with dark heat.

Lyra quickly walked over, kicking the gray ash aside to grab the second void core before anyone else could touch it. She placed it inside her leather pouch next to the silver scroll.

"We have to move," Lyra said, checking her bleeding arm. "The energy collapse is starting."

Crackling white lightning began to jump across the walls. The iron bars blocking the exit shattered under the sudden power surge.

Lily pushed herself up from the altar, holding her bleeding ribs. She looked at me, then at the pouch in Lyra's hands.

"Ethan... you cannot give that scroll to the rebels," Lily said, her voice weak as she took a shaky step toward me. "They will use it to blow up the upper city gates. Thousands of innocent people will die in the crossfire."

"And you were going to let Malakai drain the slums until everyone died of starvation," Lyra countered, her dark eyes flashing with sharp anger. "Your upper city lived on our blood. Now the balance changes."

I stood up slowly, looking between my sister and Lyra. My mind was spinning with everything that had happened since I escaped the mine.

"Lily, come with us," I said, holding out my left hand to her. "We can stop the council together."

Lily looked at my hand, her eyes filled with a cold, sad look. She shook her head slowly.

"I chose my path long ago, Ethan," she said softly.

She pulled a silver whistle from her collar and blew a sharp note.

The stone ceiling above us exploded in a shower of white dust. Five heavy ropes dropped down from the hole, and ten elite royal guards in gold armor slid down, surrounding us with loaded heavy crossbows pointed straight at our chests.

Standing right behind them was a tall woman in silver robes, holding a golden staff.

"Drop your weapons, rebels," the woman commanded, her cold voice filling the room. "The High Council has taken full control of the city."