That look in its eyes.

Slitted pupils, deep and unblinking. A predator's gaze.

I grip my swords tighter.

The creature remains perfectly balanced, floating upside down with effortless ease. Its legs are planted at the very center of the dome's ceiling, as if gravity itself bends to its will.

Its tails rest calmly, no intent to attack… yet.

Then—

A sudden shift.

It crouches again.

It's going to jump back—

"Imani!"

But my warning comes too late.

The creature blurs, nearly vanishing from my senses. A split second later—impact.

A thunderous crash. The ground booms, shattering beneath Imani's feet as a crater forms beneath him. A shockwave of dirt and debris erupts outward, rattling the battlefield.

Imani barely holds.

But the creature doesn't stop there.

Its two obsidian blades descend, almost effortlessly—aiming straight for Imani's neck from behind.

I grit my teeth and push forward with everything I have.

Then—I feel it.

Lukas' link snaps into place, surging through me like a sudden jolt to my nerves. My muscles tighten, my senses sharpen—everything accelerates.

The world stretches for a fraction of a second, movement becoming clearer, sharper—just enough.

And… I make it.

My blades crash against the creature's, intercepting the strike at the last possible moment. Yet even this casual chop sends a violent jolt up my arms, my hands screaming from the recoil—like trying to stop a runaway train with bare hands.

My muscles strain, burning, but I barely manage to redirect the blade. Instead of cleaving into the vulnerable gap in Imani's neck, it collides against his shoulder armor.

And yet—

Crack!

Metal bends inward.

A guttural cry rips from Imani's throat as the armor warps. He reacts on instinct, unleashing his stored charge, but before he can—

The creature moves.

Its blades disengage in an instant, retracting as it pushes off Imani's bent shield, using the force to propel itself backward.

Midair, it twists, its body coiling like a spring before—

A sharp pivot. A brutal downward kick.

The impact slams into Imani's leg, breaking his balance. Not only that—it shifts his entire stance, repositioning him so that his charged strike, meant for the creature, veers off—aimed straight at the incoming Ayu.

My eyes widen. My breath catches.

But Ayu reacts.

Her body twists, evading the worst of it just in time. The sheer force of Imani's burst sends debris flying, but some of the rocks connect. Dents form in her chest armor, bruises blooming beneath the impact.

The battlefield settles for a breath.

And then—

A shiver runs down my spine.

A shadow stretches beneath me.

It's behind me.

I twist, feet grinding against the soil, throwing my body into a desperate turn. My swords rise in a cross, bracing for the attack—

But… nothing comes.

The creature stands there. Still. Watching.

It never attacked.

I pant, my boots digging furrows in the dirt as I skid to a stop. Sweat trails down my brow, my breath sharp and ragged.

It just stares, expression unreadable.

As if mocking me.

Suddenly, its tails shift and swing—missing Ayu that was coming from behind by a fraction of an inch.

She twists midair, her body contorting just out of reach before driving her sword toward its exposed thigh.

I follow up.

Boots digging into the dirt, I launch forward, one blade sweeping in a wide arc toward its shoulder—a feint. The real strike—a thrust aimed straight at its ribs.

The creature reacts. A quick sidestep. A blade raised to block my feint.

I have it.

I shift my weight, channeling all my momentum into the thrust—

Something pushes back.

Resistance. An invisible force slowing me down, like moving through thick water.

My muscles strain. My movements feel sluggish, unnatural. My blade, once fluid, now drags through the air as if trapped in an unseen current.

Its EM field. It's repelling me.

The effect costs me. The creature's sword intercepts my thrust with ease, knocking my blade aside, nearly ripping it from my grip.

I press my feet against the ground, dashing back—

A tail whips past where my head was a fraction of a second ago.

But it doesn't stop.

I feel it—an intent sharper than any blade. It's going to shoot.

I curse, raising my swords as fast as I can—

The resistance is back. Its waves press against mine, wrestling for control, twisting my grip.

I'm not going to make it.

I pivot, left foot digging into the ground, trying to twist away—

A crack.

Something shatters.

The lower half of my mask explodes into fragments. A dull, numbing impact—then searing pain.

My mouth is ripped open.

The round projectile tears through the right side of my jaw.

A flash of white-hot agony.

Bone fractures. Teeth shatter. Flesh rips. The bullet exits, leaving a jagged hole where part of my jaw used to be.

The pain is instant—sharp, blinding.

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A scream claws at my throat, but all that comes out is a strangled, wet gurgle. Blood floods my mouth, thick, hot, metallic—too much. It spills past my lips, mixed with saliva, dripping in thick strands down my chin, seeping into the fabric of my collar.

I stumble. My vision lurches.

Black dots creep at the edges of my sight.

My head snaps back from the impact, my skull rattling, my thoughts momentarily thrown into chaos. For a split second, the battlefield wavers, shapes distorting, figures blurring. A sharp, deafening ring floods my ears, drowning out everything else.

Another shot rings out.

But it's not his.

Arjun and Chiara's bullets streak through the air, cutting toward the creature.

It doesn't even move.

The projectiles veer at the last second, twisting off course, pulled by an invisible force. The sheer power of its EM field sends them spiraling into the walls of the dome, embedding deep into the rock with a sharp crack.

Imani moves.

A heavy step. His shield rises.

He lunges—his entire body a battering ram of raw force, aiming to crush the creature beneath him.

But—

The creature leans back.

Not a parry. Not a block. Not even a proper dodge. Just a slight tilt of its body, letting the attack slip past by the thinnest margin.

The shield misses by a hair.

I force air through my nose, ignoring the sickening warmth running down my chin, the blood still pouring freely. There's no stopping it—my jaw is an open wound, and every breath sends fresh pain searing through my nerves. But I ignore it. I push forward.

Imani's charge left an opening.

I have to take it.

Ayu presses from the right, her strikes fast, precise. I drive in from the left, boots pounding against the dirt, sword gripped tight despite the slickness of my own blood coating my fingers.

I swing—

A wide horizontal slash at its side.

But then—I feel it again. That damn force field.

The invisible resistance presses against my blade, slowing it, pushing back as if I were slicing through unseen currents. I press harder, forcing my sword forward.

The creature moves its blade to intercept.

I shift. My balance tilts as I bring my left sword forward, bending my knee, anchoring my body low—pressing into a full-force thrust. A reckless strike. A dangerous one. But one it won't be able to stop so easily.

I drive forward.

Pain, force, blood—all channeled into the tip of my blade.

It's going to land.

But—

Its body moves.

Not a step. Not a shift of weight.

It glides back.

The point of my sword never reaches.

How?

I detected no movement from its muscles. No shift in footing. Unless—

It didn't dodge—it used its waves to push itself backward, repelling its own body while keeping its stance intact.

Dammit.

I disconnect my thrust, twisting off my anchored foot and rolling to the side just as—

A tail whips through the space I just occupied, slicing through the air with a sharp snap.

"We need to coordinate. The creature's EM force is too strong. Chiara, I'll relocate one of the links to you. Can you do something to affect its control, even for a fraction?"

Lukas' voice rings in my head as he connects with all of us.

I finish my roll, dirt clinging to my armor, blood trailing hot down my neck. It's uncomfortable. Damn uncomfortable. But it could be worse.

I regain my balance and press forward again as Chiara finally answers.

"There's a chance. I can try something. But I need time."

"Something is the best we've got," Lukas sends back immediately. "Ayu, Alonso, I'll keep your links active—buy Chiara time. Imani, wait for Chiara's opening and charge in. Arjun, fire the moment Chiara strikes with her pulse."

I send my confirmation, ignoring the throbbing pain in my jaw, the steady drip of blood mixing with the sweat rolling down my chin.

The air is thick, heavy with dust and the acrid scent of disturbed earth. Every breath tastes of blood, iron, and dirt.

The creature moves again, its foot barely skimming the ground.

I push forward, my boots grinding against loose dirt, each step forcing my body past the pain.

Ayu moves with me, her strikes sharp and quick, forcing the creature to keep adjusting, twisting between her attacks. I follow her rhythm, pressing in from the other side, forcing openings—

Or so I think.

The creature's tails flick—

But it's not just deflecting.

A pulse. A surge of unseen force ripples outward.

A split second too late, I realize what's happening—

My body slows.

Like fighting through thick water. My limbs strain, every motion dragging, my swings delayed just enough.

Ayu feels it too. I see it in the way her step falters, her strike just a fraction too slow.

And the creature takes full advantage.

Its blade meets mine mid-swing—redirecting, twisting my momentum against me. My balance shifts awkwardly, just enough for it to lash out—

A brutal kick slams into my ribs.

Pain erupts through my side as I stagger, feet skidding against the dirt, barely staying upright. The impact steals my breath, my wounded jaw flaring with renewed agony.

Ayu pivots, bringing her blade down in a diagonal cut. The creature doesn't even try to block—

It leans into her, sweeping her legs out from under her with a sharp, upward kick.

She grits her teeth, twisting midair to avoid a clean fall, but—

A tail snaps at her exposed side.

She barely gets her arm up in time, the impact sending her hurtling back.

I force myself forward, cutting in before it can press her—

It knows.

Its eyes flick to me. A shift. A feint.

I recognize the move—

Too late.

Its knee slams into my gut.

A sharp, crushing force drives through my core, knocking the wind out of me. My vision blurs, my breath caught somewhere between a gasp and a choke.

Then—

A blade.

Descending. Fast.

I twist—barely—my own sword coming up in desperation.

Steel meets steel. Sparks fly. The impact rattles my skull.

My arms scream under the force, muscles burning, but I hold.

Through the clash of steel, through the haze of dust and blood, I catch a glimpse of its eyes.

That glint.

It's enjoying this.

It's toying with us.

I suck in a sharp breath, ignoring the pulsing ache in my jaw. My body protests, screaming for a break it won't get.

I glance at Ayu—she's already back on her feet, blood running from a fresh cut along her arm.

Then—

"NOW!"

A pulse.

A sudden shift in the EM field.

Chiara.

Her waves crash into the creature like a silent quake, an unseen force pressing against the invisible field it manipulates. For a fraction of a second, the EM distortion flickers.

Its control stutters.

"GO!" Lukas shouts.

Arjun fires.

Imani moves.

The ground explodes beneath him as he charges, shield raised, body shining, force building—

The creature reacts—tries to adjust—

Too late.

The bullet slams into its right shoulder—

—an instant before Imani crashes into it, the impact cracking through the dome like a thunderclap.

It's not a direct hit. Even in that split second of vulnerability, the creature shifts—angling its body, evading the bullet that would have struck its skull, and twisting into the direction of impact to soften the blow.

But it still gets sent flying.

It crashes—rolling once, twice—before slamming into the dome's edge with a brutal, bone-crushing force.

The impact is absolute. No tremor, no vibration. The dome absorbs it entirely.

A thick cloud of dust erupts from the point of impact, billowing outward in heavy waves. Chunks of displaced dirt scatter across the ground. The acrid scent of scorched earth and static-laced energy chokes the air.

A moment of silence.

A moment too long.

Every alarm in my body screams.

I see it—no, I sense it.

A shift.

A flicker in the air, a distortion so faint I almost miss it—

And then—

A shadow surges forward.

Fast.

My heart lurches.

"Chia—!"

I try to scream, but it comes out distorted—a broken, wet sound, muffled by the blood pooling in my mouth.

I throw myself forward, forcing my body past the pain, past the exhaustion. My feet tear into the loose dirt, my muscles burn, but I already know—

I won't make it in time.

Chiara turns, eyes widening.

She moves—

Not fast enough.

A silver arc cuts through the haze.

A sharp, wet sound.

Her right arm is gone.

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