Alistair grimaced, still feeling the sensation of where the chain had grasped him as frost covered his arm, having tried to permeate his flesh. Fortunately, it failed to penetrate his augmented skin. He was now certain that Ekhar's concept had to be with chains or binding, as it would have otherwise stood no chance of tying him down due to his Freedom of Movement skill, indicating a frankly ridiculous amount of affinity for the concept and magical proficiency.

  The Gatugoth launched itself from the wall, charging at Alistair with reckless abandon, its massive fist swinging toward him like a battering ram. Alistair caught the man-sized fist with his open palm, stopping the hulking creature dead in its tracks. His glare burned with disdain. “Fuck off, you oversized toad,” Alistair said dismissively, channeling most of the stored kinetic energy into his next strike.

  His punch landed with a deafening crack, shattering the beast’s maw and snapping off one of its tusks, sending it skidding across the chamber floor. Though the Gatugoth was powerful, it hadn’t generated enough kinetic force to trigger his Kinetic Skinguard to form a sphere of stored energy. It had been a while since somebody had managed to create enough kinetic energy for his skill to form a sphere, and he worried he had branched his defensive skill too broadly.

  More chains lashed out at him, but his Force Barrier intercepted them, shimmering as it absorbed the impact. Alistair refocused on the Gatugoth, unleashing a rhythmic series of Kinetic Strikes. Each blast shot forth with devastating power after a short charge, punching through the creature's skull and body until, finally, he heard the familiar chime signaling its defeat.

  Without missing a beat, Alistair turned his gaze to the lich, locking eyes with the unnervingly polished black gems embedded in its skull. The obsidian-colored stones glowed faintly, etched with intricate magical runes that hinted at layers of enchantments and protections. Alistair clicked his tongue in frustration, unable to trace any connection to the lich's phylactery.

  This one knows what hes doing, he thought grimly. Capturing Ekhar would be the only option. Worse yet, he’d have to stop him from self-destructing—a common and dangerous tactic among skilled liches facing defeat. Fortunately, I have a bunch of inquisitors at hand.

  He rolled his shoulders, the tension of battle settling into familiar focus as he glanced toward Eleonora, who had just dispatched another vampire. "High Inquisitor!" he called over the fray, his voice cutting through the noise. "I’ll need some of your best to assist in neutralizing the lich before it pulls any last-ditch stunts."

  Eleonora glanced at the lich, her golden light flaring brighter as she nodded sharply. "Understood. J?ger, on me!" she barked, rallying her second-in-command and several other Inquisitors who moved into position with disciplined precision.

  "Their assistance won't make a difference," Ekhar said coldly, seemingly unimpressed by Alistair's threat.

  Before the Inquisitors could reach them, the Gatugoth staggered back to its feet and lunged forward, its massive arms swinging with brutal intent. Alistair’s eyes widened as he moved to intercept, positioning himself between the monster and the group. He grimaced as the floor around them came alive with motion—bodies that had once littered the battlefield began rising, their twisted forms lashing out in undeath. Some of their fallen allies turned on them, their movements now puppeted by the lich’s necromancy.

  Of course, he would be proficient in necromancy. He is a damn lich, after all, Alistair thought bitterly as he kicked the Gatugoth with a foot enveloped in white-hot flames. The force of the blow sent the hulking beast crashing into a cluster of the newly raised undead, the flames searing and charring its flesh as it collided with its grisly allies.

  Fortunately, the situation wasn’t as dire as it could have been. Most of the bodies Kujo had dispatched were reduced to ash, rendering them useless to the lich’s magic. The same went for many of the fallen Ethos Crusaders and those slain by Inquisitors, whose weapons and powers left no room for reanimation. Still, enough undead remained to be a significant threat, and Alistair gritted his teeth as the battle raged on.

  The lich stood out as a far more magically adept opponent than any of the other Syndicate members present, firmly earning his place as a true elite. Unlike many of the present syndicate members who relied solely on the raw power and advantages of their high-tier species, unable to fully utilize their core and linked concepts due to a lack of magical talent or suitable affinitys, Ekhar wielded his with remarkable precision and skill. There was no doubt he had secured his position within the organization through sheer mastery and cunning—not merely through inherited strength or, worse, political maneuvering.

  "Kujo, burn the big one! I'll help the inquisitor with the lich," Alistair called out.

  "Little busy over here!" Kujo replied, flames raging as he burned through swarms of undead and ice elementals swarming him and those nearby.

  "I got it!" Simon called out, molten rock conjuring around him before being hurled at the massive undead creature, encasing it and eliciting horrid screeches. The molten rock quickly hardened as half-molten spikes of stone impaled and pinned the risen Gatugoth along with some of the other risen around it.

  With the biggest threat to their fighters occupied, Alistair turned his focus back to the lich, charging forward with flames blazing along the edge of his weapon. Beneath and slightly ahead, Inquisitor Seitz carved her way through ice elementals and risen alike, her glowing blade frequently melting her enemies or dispatching them with equally radiant bursts of Judgment Magic. From what Alistair could discern through his Conceptual Awareness skill, it was highly likely her core concept revolved around Balance. While her core concept didn’t appear to be her primary focus, she made great use of the directly linked concepts, which greatly harmonized with her role as an inquisitor. Concepts like Exchange and Energy amplified her faith-aspected magic, significantly enhancing her ability to channel divine power. These connections worked in tandem with her mastery of the Judgment concept—a somewhat rare but powerful concept that synergized exceptionally well with holy and religious-themed abilities, which was on full display as she carved through the enemy ranks.

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  Meanwhile, Riseth and Nomura worked tirelessly to stop the lich from raising more minions or killing their allies with his chains. The deadly bindings lashed out like whips, dragging anyone unable to resist into an icy grave. Alistair charged in, conjuring his Battle Spheres and unleashing a barrage of kinetic strikes. The bombardment rained down on the lich, but he effortlessly conjured a barrier made of rapidly shifting chains, each link shimmering with energy before shattering under the onslaught just to be replaced by more chains as they layered themselves between Alistair and Ekhar.

  Alistair’s sharp senses caught how the lich’s Chain and Sequence concepts intertwined, building the foundation of his boosting skills and drastically reducing the mental effort required to summon and manipulate his numerous spells. Ekhar stood like an emotionless sentinel, his skeletal visage revealing nothing and his aura coldly impenetrable. Despite Alistair’s relentless assault, it was evident that this battle was only beginning.

  "I stayed to kill and feed on every last one of you fuckers," Ekhar’s cold, menacing voice echoed through the chamber, creating a brief lull in the chaos. His gem-like eyes flicked toward Alistair. "I hadn’t expected them to send such monsters to this site," he said, the words laced with disdain. "I suppose killing the rat will suffice."

  With a motion, hundreds of chains shot forth, their icy edges slicing through the air as they lashed toward Syca Vilvic. She froze for a brief moment, wide-eyed, like prey caught in a predator’s sight as his mental attack clashed against her own. This brief instance of hesitation had been enough as the chains arrived wrapped around her, ignoring her last-second attempts at turning ethereal, tightening with a crushing grip, pulling her toward the lich and his icy domain.

  Before she could be dragged into the frozen depths, Nomura darted forward, interposing herself between Syca and the lich. Her brush swept through the air, the ink staining the chains, erasing their form and breaking the link binding the spy to Ekhar.

  Syca let out a piercing scream as the residual freezing energy surged through her body, frost spreading across her skin in jagged patterns as cracks began to form under the strain.

  Meanwhile, Alistair resumed his charge toward the lich with blinding speed, his poleaxe blazing with flames. He tore through the chains attempting to restrain him, their icy constructs shattering as he powered through the barriers with sheer force and kinetic energy. Just as he was about to close the distance, Ekhar turned lazily toward him, the glowing gems acting as his eyes dimming ever so slightly.

  "I shall take my leave," Ekhar said, his tone dripping with cold indifference. "I sincerely hope to never see any of you again."

  Before Alistair could strike, the lich’s skeletal form collapsed, its body falling like a puppet with its strings cut. In mere moments, it crumbled into dust, leaving behind an unsettling silence and the faint echo of his chilling voice.

  Alistair looked at the ashes with disbelief and felt the link between the Lich and his minions rapidly weaken, but not before they accumulated as much energy as they could in the attempt to blow themselves up.

  “Barriers!” Riseth shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos as she and many others raised barriers to prevent further casualties. The chamber shook with a series of low to high-powered explosions, killing some while others were severely wounded.

  Alistair, having conjured his own force barrier to shield nearby fighters, took a deep breath as the dust settled. All of their remaining opponents lay defeated, either already slain or overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of their forces. He surveyed the battlefield, noting the chaotic yet determined efforts to save their wounded.

  Nearby, Nomura knelt beside Syca, her brush moving with precision as she drew glowing healing scripts across the spy’s frost-cracked skin. Syca looked battered but alive. Around them, healers and fighters scrambled to stabilize the most critically injured, their focus unwavering despite the destruction that surrounded them.

  Since healing wasn’t his forte, Alistair opted to guard the final chamber housing the realm, ensuring no more surprises emerged. Stepping into the dimly lit space, he surveyed the aftermath. Most of the captured slaves lay either dead or unconscious on the cold floor, their still forms eerily quiet. Strangely, none of the bodies showed severe wounds—a grim testament to the ritualists’ methods.

  He clenched his jaw, his gaze moving toward the shimmering portal leading into the realm. The ritualists had likely escaped through it, leaving their grim work unfinished. They would need to be hunted down.

  “What’s the situation at the realm portal?” Riseth’s voice came through the Akashic Link, calm but edged with tension.

  Alistair glanced back at the chamber they had fought in, the aftermath of which was a grim tableau of shattered bodies and destruction. He grimaced. “The ritualists fled into the realm, from what I can tell. No hidden escape routes that I can sense. How’s it looking on your end?”

  “Better than you’d expect,” Riseth replied, her tone steady but with a hint of relief. “Most of the wounded will make it. As for the Syndicate’s forces, it seems their elites abandoned the compound before we arrived. Only the lich and a few of the bold—or just plain stupid—stayed behind to fight, which kept casualties lower than expected.”

  "The bold, the stupid, and the lich..." Alistair murmured, shaking his head. "Sounds like the start of a bad joke."

  “Quite,” Elenora replied as she stepped up beside him, her tone sharp and focused. “It’s a shame the lich escaped. Capturing Ekhar the Unchained was always going to be difficult. It’s not the first time he’s stayed behind to kill as many attackers as possible before severing his link to his vessel and retreating to whatever hidden lair houses his phylactery.”

  “Why is he called the Unchained?” Alistair asked, quite sure that he knew the answer already.

  “Because his core concept has been confirmed as chains,” Elenora replied, her annoyance clear. “He’s been ‘captured’ before—or rather, pretended to be—only to turn on his captors, killing them before collapsing into dust. His affinity with the concept of binding and related fields is something he maliciously exploits, making him almost impossible to capture.”

  “I figured chains was his concept,” Alistair said, his tone contemplative. “Quite the unenviable opponent to have.”

  Elenora snickered softly, earning a curious glance from him. “Something wrong, Inquisitor?”

  She shook her head, a faint smirk lingering. “No, excuse me. I just thought—one shouldn’t throw stones from within a castle of glass.”

  Alistair chuckled, the tension easing slightly. “We’ve got a similar saying on my world.” He let out a sigh, his gaze shifting to the portal. “Let’s just hope this realm was worth all the trouble.”