Murals

Only when the sounds of battle had faded into the distance did Bishop Miller nod. "We can go in."

He clearly trusted Roldo—or rather, he trusted the Sealed Artifact in the Mandated Punishers captain's hands.

Bishop Miller's confidence rubbed off on the others. Even Sifa followed them into the cave without hesitation. Inside, a winding passage sloped gradually downward. It bore signs of excavation, and wooden planks reinforced the ceiling against collapse.

As they walked through the mine-like passage, Sifa soon saw the monsters with no eyes or noses, mouths full of sharp teeth, thin limbs, and swollen bellies.

They were corpses now. Some had been burned black, some cut into pieces, and some had taken such heavy blows to the head that their skulls had burst apart.

They pressed on, stopping now and then. Before long, Sifa spotted Roldo and a stone door ahead of the Mandated Punishers.

The stone door stood more than ten meters tall. A seated figure with indistinct features was carved on either side of it, though the upper half of one had crumbled away.

Between the two statues was a smaller door. It stood open, revealing a pitch-black corridor.

Bishop Miller motioned for everyone to wait and stepped before the small door, facing the dark corridor. Suddenly, they heard a whoosh, as though a gale had burst from his body. His dark-blue clerical robes billowed, and a powerful current of air rushed into the corridor.

Several snarls sounded in the darkness, followed by the thud of bodies striking the walls. Once the gale subsided, Bishop Miller nodded to Roldo. The thick-lipped captain entered the corridor with the Spiritual Longblade in hand and two team members at his side.

Sifa and the others followed. After passing through the short corridor, they emerged into a spacious