The moment Soren finished speaking, Evan rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, the sound swallowed up by the low, constant howling that poured from the rift above.
He let out a slow breath, and the playful ease that usually sat on his face burned away into something sharper, something that matched the drawn blade in his hand.
"Alright then. Let's make this clean."
He stepped out of the tunnel first, boots hitting the cavern floor with a heavy echo, and the monsters at the far end surged with renewed hostility the moment they saw him cross into the open.
*Roar!*
A Rift Hound at the front broke rank and launched itself forward with a screech, its claws raking arcs through the violet-tinged air, but Evan was already moving.
His blade swept in a single diagonal arc, catching the beast mid-lunge across the throat and chest, and it crumpled before it even landed.
*Bang!*
