"These are mine too."
The instant Gabriel's voice sounded, the silver-masked captain moved.
Of the seven black-robed ritualists, one could barely move his left arm, another bled beneath his robe, and a third stood unsteadily beside the outermost nail. The captain looked past their injuries.
"Pull out the remaining nails!"
The ritualists reacted quickly, but Gabriel was already moving.
The stone beneath his feet exploded as he crossed more than ten meters in an instant. Crimson Judgement descended from his shoulder, though its target wasn't any of the ritualists.
It was the second dark-red nail.
"Stop him!"
A bloodied ritualist thrust both hands forward, condensing three layers of gray-white mana barriers between Gabriel and the withered root.
Crimson Judgement shattered the first barrier and tore through the second less than half a second later. As the third layer formed, Gabriel released one hand from his sword, lowered his shoulder, and continued forward.
Bull Rush!
