Dawn Architect

Chapter 69: The Battle in the Catacombs

POV: ???

The air in the catacombs was charged with tension. The runes glowed brightly, resonating with a magical energy that permeated the place. The shogun Hayato, his sword drawn, led his men against the hooded priests. The warriors, trained to meet any threat, deployed their arts with deadly precision.

The priests began to chant, their voices echoing through the subway chamber. The first to act was Hayato, who advanced with determination etched on his face. In one fluid motion, he swung his sword towards one of the priests, but a barrier rose at the last moment, deflecting the attack.

"Hold your positions!" shouted the lead priest, a woman with a firm voice and unwavering determination.

The priests did not use dark magic, but elemental, but their colors were different from the common ones, they were darker something that made it look like they had traits in them. While some protected, others cast spells, creating shock waves that shook the floor and walls.

Hayato barely blocked with his sword a dark yellow beam directed by the attached priest, a four star, one rank below him. Still, he felt his hands go numb from the impact and couldn't help but say:

"Be careful! That dark trait strengthens their attacks."

The priests were outnumbered, a mere twenty against the fifty elite warriors. Slowly, they were beginning to find themselves outnumbered, but the tone of the elements they wielded grew darker and their strength increased, causing casualties among Hayato's subordinates. The dark tone of the elements made the attacks more dangerous and ignored the defenses.

Even when he had the numbers in his favor, Hayato could not get close to the priests. It seemed they were getting help from some runes in the room that kept them at bay. the stalemate lasted for a while, and slowly Hayato's minions were gaining ground thanks to their numbers, although there were some sacrifices the rest didn't falter as they continued to press.

At that moment the red eyed mercenary who had stood aside suddenly cast a spell no one noticed at what moment he cast the spell, but a white lightning spear was formed and shot at the defenses of the priests, they were confident that their defense that even Hayato could not break through would not be broken by a simple spell, but their confident smiles were proto broken when the spear went through them easily and hit a priest who was holding the defenses.

"Impossible " shouted the attached priest when she saw that her defenses were easily breached.

The warriors around them unleashed their own attacks taking advantage of the moment. Kuro, the most loyal to Hayato, wielded his katana skillfully, channeling the power of the wind. With a vertical slash, he unleashed a blast that lifted a priest off the ground, leaving him at the mercy of the attacks of the other warriors, causing the first death among the priests.

The red-eyed mercenary continued unleashing spells of white lightning that zigzagged through the air, impacting the barriers and breaking them easily. Without missing a chance, Hayato and the warriors advanced to finish off the rest of the priests.

One of the priests, a burly man with a scar across his face, counterattacked by summoning a shield of black water. The shield reflected the warriors' attacks, but Hayato was undeterred. With a war cry, he focused his energy into his sword and blue flames rose causing the temperature in the room to soar, With a devastating blow, he shattered the priest's shield, leaving him defenseless.

"Now!" shouted Hayato, pointing to his men.

The warriors advanced with renewed ferocity. Flames, wind and other elements combined in an unstoppable assault. The priests, losing their defensive magic, began to retreat, unable to resist the coordinated offensive of Hayato's warriors.

At that moment, some hooded priests tried to reach the back of the room, where a door revealed many living people, apparently hostages.

When one of the hooded men tried to grab a hostage, he was cut down and fell dead without knowing what happened, as did the rest who had entered the room. Both sides noticed this, but neither had room to pay attention to it.

The lead priest, seeing imminent defeat, began to recite a dark spell, his voice resonating with an unearthly tone. The black of his spell beams began to thicken and, before Hayato could reach her, the near-black hand enveloped her body, giving her a demonic appearance.

Claws, horns and a hideous appearance replaced her human form, transforming her into a demon. With her hands surrounded by now completely black lightning bolts, she parried Hayato's sword that gave off powerful heat, unaffected. Somehow, her strength matched Hayato's.

The demonized priestess launched a black beam towards Hayato, who narrowly dodged it, Without wasting a second, she counterattacked with a sweep of her sword wreathed in blue flames, creating an arc of fire that illuminated the chamber.

The demon dodged the attack with agility, moving with inhuman speed. Its red eyes glowed with malevolence as it launched a blast of black lightning towards Hayato. The shogun raised his sword, blocking the bolts with a shield of blue fire, which sizzled as it came into contact with the dark energy.

"Damn it's too late for you, you've sold your soul to the demons" he said after having a little space to analyze the situation.

The rest of the sods and priests took their distance because of the intensity of the confrontation.

With a quick movement, the demon priestess closed the distance, her black claws trying to tear Hayato's armor. He deflected the attacks with his sword, sparks flying each time steel and claws clashed. The battle was fierce and each blow echoed off the walls of the catacombs.

Hayato countered with a diagonal strike of his art, but the demon blocked with her claws, deflecting Hayato's sword and launching a dark beam from her other hand. The shogun barely had time to turn and avoid the impact, but the beam hit the ground, creating an explosion that threw him backwards.

The demon wasted no time, she took the opportunity to close the distance again, launching a flurry of blows with her claws.

Hayato parried and dodged each blow with impeccable precision, but the force of the attacks was colossal. With a roar of exertion, Hayato focused his energy into his sword, unleashing a sweep of blue fire that forced the demon back.

"You can't win!" roared the demon, lunging back into the attack with unstoppable fury.

Hayato knew he had to end the battle quickly. With a supreme effort, he channeled all his energy into his sword, which now glowed with blinding blue fire. The demoness, sensing danger, tried to stop him with a flurry of lightning, but Hayato advanced through the attacks, enduring the pain and damage.

The demoness priestess attacked him, her claws glowing with dark energy. Hayato, with a cry of exertion, deflected the claws with his sword and spun, delivering a horizontal slash that left a trail of blue fire in its path. The demoness was engulfed in flames, but she stood, fighting through the pain.

With a last-ditch effort, the demoness tried to dig her claws into Hayato, but he blocked the attack with his sword and, with a decisive move, pierced the demoness' stomach . The priestess screamed in agony as her demonic form began to disintegrate under the power of the blue fire.

The priestess, now briefly returning to her human form, glared at Hayato with hate-filled eyes before collapsing to the ground. Hayato, breathing heavily and severely wounded, looked around, seeing that his men had managed to subdue the remaining priests. The battle in the catacombs was over,