The bullet hit the gate's mechanism — the lock, the hinge, the weak point that held the door closed. The metal shattered, the gate swung open, and the monsters — the demons that had been pouring through — were now exposed, the gate no longer funneling them in a controlled stream but letting them scatter.
The adventurers, instead of being trapped, now had room to maneuver. The fight shifted — the demons were no longer herding; they were being flanked.
Vega's eyes — the blind, white eyes — widened. Her internal voice was a flash of surprise:
'He did not kill the humans. He freed them. He — opened the gate. He gave the humans an advantage. Why? If he is Milim's follower, he should—'
"Why are you not killing them?" Vega asked, her voice sharp.
I looked at her. Then at Milim. Then at the fight.
