CH.200

Meredith drew on her newly regained powers and unleashed a torrent of energy at the beasts.

The demons recoiled, shrieking in fury and anguish as magic seared their rotting flesh.

The stench of burning meat filled the air, mingling with the miasma that clung to the creatures.

Meredith maintained the onslaught, driving them back through the shattered doorway with relentless determination.

Next, she sealed the room with an impenetrable barrier when the last of the abominations stumbled back into the hall, wailing in pain and wrath.

She turned to face the trembling girl. "Stay here if you wish to live, child," Meredith instructed. "This madness needs to cease, and soon, before it swallows us all."

Then she swept from the chamber and out into the chaos that had engulfed the estate's once-clean halls.

The hallway ahead was a nightmare come true, with claw marks on the walls, bloody paintings, and the crushed bodies of fallen defenders strewn over the floor like discarded objects.

Meredi