I began chanting a spell to transfer the Cursed Spirit into my inventory along with the chains binding it.

Pieces of the collapsing ceiling fell all around me, and I used portals and magic bullets to deflect them.

The Cursed Spirit's form flickered, turning into a streak of dark light that shot toward my palm.

It struggled, but the chains held.

I pulled it in completely and sealed the inventory rune shut.

Once I was done, I opened a portal to the lab and stepped through.

Mira and Selene were already there.

The test tubes could now be opened, and they had taken everyone out.

The civilians and teammates were unconscious, lying on the floor.

A simple healing spell could've woken them up, but none of us were healers.

Then I noticed something strange.

Other tubes around the lab were opening on their own.

Shapes—no, beings—came out of them.

I could look at them, but whenever I tried to think about what I was seeing, my mind glitched.

It was like my brain refused to process their appearance.

So I couldn't understand their appearance.

A low barking sound echoed through the room.

I turned and saw a dog standing near one of the broken tubes, barking at the strange beings.

It looked familiar.

"That dog… I remember it from missing reports in Area 51," I muttered.

So it had woken up already.

Some animals had special bloodlines or mutations (traits).

Those were the ones that sometimes gained sentience, and in rare cases, even became Exorcists.

The whole place was collapsing.

"Mira, Selene, let's go!" I shouted.

Selene chanted a spell, using wind magic to lift every unconscious teammate and civilian into the air.

Mira grabbed Selene like a sack of potatoes and bolted toward me.

The dog followed right after them.

We ran through the portal together, dragging our unconscious teammates and civilians along.

I closed the portal immediately before those strange beings could follow.

They were part of the Cursed Spirit.

If they came through, they would only attack us.

I would have taken them if they were strong, but they were clearly too weak to bother with.

"Where do we go now?" Mira asked, dodging falling pieces of debris.

Now that the personal worlds were merging and breaking apart, there was no danger of accidentally falling into one.

"Look at that," Selene muttered.

We turned around and saw darkness spreading across the collapsing space like spilled ink.

"Oh, crap. That's the domain breaking down! Run, and don't let that darkness touch you!" Mira shouted.

Mira sprinted forward, holding Selene, who was still controlling the floating bodies with her wind magic.

I followed.

"Where do we go?!" Mira shouted, leaping over a broken bookshelf.

"I don't know! Just look for something that screams 'this is the exit!'" I yelled back.

Portals weren't much help now.

We needed to find the actual exit before this place collapsed completely.

With the deputy director gone, the research institution had lost its anchor.

It would be closed now.

That meant there was nothing left to stop experiment subjects like us from escaping.

This narrative meant an exit should've appeared somewhere.

We just had to reach it in time.

"You're too slow!" Mira shouted, then grabbed me mid-run.

Now she was carrying both Selene and me, one on each side.

Honestly, it made sense.

She was faster.

With her aura-enhanced body and high stats—definitely over two hundred fifty—she could move like a blur even with all the weight.

As she jumped over debris, the dog suddenly barked loudly.

"Woof! Woof!"

It stopped, looked back at us, then ran into a side corridor.

"Follow it! Animals have good instincts!" I yelled over the crashing sounds.

Mira didn't hesitate and turned into the corridor.

We reached a dead end a few moments later.

"Damn it! There's nothing here!" Mira shouted.

Behind us, the darkness was quickly catching up.

"Wait, there is vent here," Selene said, pointing.

I focused and used Telekinesis to rip it open.

Inside, far down the vent, there was light.

"That's the way out!" I shouted.

But it was too far.

By the time anyone could crawl through, the darkness would reach us.

"It's too far!" Mira said, frustration clear in her voice.

I quickly opened a portal, one end at the vent opening and the other right before the white light.

"Oh, I forgot you could do that," Mira said.

The dog barked once, then jumped straight into the portal and disappeared into the light.

Selene quickly used her magic to toss our unconscious teammates and civilians through.

Mira didn't waste a second.

She threw Selene in next, then grabbed me and jumped.

The darkness almost touched us as we went through the white light.

…

Chameleon POV

The man walked through the long hotel corridor with his wife beside him.

Soft music from the banquet hall echoed in the distance, blending with the muffled chatter of guests.

His steps were steady at first, but then he suddenly stopped.

His expression hardened.

The woman beside him turned quickly, her hand tightening around his arm.

"Husband, are you okay?" she asked with worry.

He forced a smile and chuckled lightly. "Haha, yes. I think I just ate a bit too much. I'll take a short break."

"Oh…" She looked at him for a moment before letting go of his arm. "Okay. I'll wait for you at the party venue. Come back quickly."

She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek before walking ahead.

From behind, he called out, "We're too old to be acting so lovey-dovey."

The woman only smiled and waved, disappearing around the corner.

As soon as she turned out of sight, the man's expression changed.

The gentle smile vanished, replaced by an eerie calmness that didn't match his face from a moment ago.

He turned sharply and walked toward his hotel suite.

His movements were precise, controlled, and almost mechanical.

Inside the room, he locked the door, loosened his collar, and went straight into the bathroom.

The moment the door closed behind him, he leaned over the sink and spat out a mouthful of blood.

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