Alexander stood still, eyes locked on the man who had captured his blade. His breathing slowed gradually, each inhale measured, each exhale steady, as if the chaos of the battlefield had suddenly narrowed into a single point in front of him.
Every muscle in his body settled into focus.
"Alright… I get it now, you contracted your muscles—formed a knot to trap my weapon," Alexander said, his voice calm but edged with steel.
The man smirked, pride curling the corners of his lips as he looked down at the blade pinned against his thigh.
"You're bright. And right!" he said with amusement.
Then his voice rose, swelling into a booming laugh that echoed across the battlefield.
"But you've forgotten something."
His chest puffed outward as he flexed, muscles tightening like coiled cables beneath his skin.
"With the upgrades from the blue points… I am invincible! Hahaha!"
The blade hung uselessly where it had been caught, clamped between iron-hard muscle and bone.
"You are formidable, but I'm sorry… I'm a bad match for you."
The man blinked, confused for only a moment.
"Your words mean nothing to me."
Alexander tilted his head slightly.
"Lemme show you."
He moved instantly.
His sword slashed toward the man's side.
Clang!
The blade bounced off like it had hit steel.
No wound. No cut. Not even a scratch.
"I told you it wouldn't work!" the man roared, throwing his head back as his chest swelled with pride.
"The body has many weak points; strike them correctly… and even the strongest fall."
Then he moved again.
This time his attacks came faster.
His blade sliced through the air again and again, cutting toward flanks, joints, and the narrow seams between hardened muscle.
Each thrust was deliberate, targeted to test a new angle.
Gojo stood where he was, arms spreading wide as if welcoming the assault.
He laughed loudly.
"I told you, you ca—"
His voice stopped abruptly.
A large surge of pain twisted across his face.
Alexander's blade had slipped through past the fortress of muscle.
A thin line of blood appeared, slowly seeping through the skin—bright and undeniable against the man's supposed invincibility.
For the first time in the fight, Gojo staggered.
His confidence cracked like an egg.
He carried his weapon upward in a desperate attempt to counter.
But he was too slow. Alexander's blade flashed once more.
Slash!!
It cut across the man's neck in a single clean arc.
For a moment the world seemed to pause.
Then the head separated from the body, flying through the air in a grotesque arc as blood erupted upward like a crimson fountain.
The headless body stood for half a second before collapsing heavily onto the ground.
"I told you, we're a bad match," Alexander said coldly, his voice completely devoid of mercy.
"Gojo!!!"
A voice shrieked from the attackers.
Shock tore through their ranks like lightning. Several froze where they stood, their faces twisting between disbelief, rage, and fear.
One man's gaze locked onto Alexander.
Hatred burned there so fiercely it seemed to swallow everything else.
He wanted—no, needed—to tear Alexander apart.
But then—
"All builders, retreat!!" the man suddenly barked.
Two figures moved instantly.
They rushed forward, grabbing Gojo's headless body before dragging it away and disappearing through the gate.
"Should we go after them?" Bray asked Alexander, tightening his grip on his weapon.
"Not yet."
Only three attackers remained now.
Black masks covered their faces, leaving only their eyes visible. Their slim black clothing clung tightly to their bodies, blending into the growing shadows of the battlefield.
But their posture was different.
Sharper.
Their footwork crisp and balanced.
Their movements carried a precision that immediately set them apart from the others.
They were faster.
Cleaner.
Dangerous.
One of them glanced toward Alexander before raising his hand and doing a quick sequence of hand gestures.
The others responded instantly, stepping back in perfect unison.
"Their movements are too precise. Be careful—they are pros," Alexander alarmed everyone.
"Don't go away!" Charlotte screamed from behind them, fury burning across her face.
"They would've killed you, they were overwhelming you on purpose," he added, eyes never leaving the masked fighters.
"You're outnumbered!" Bray barked, pointing his blade at them.
"My, my, my…"
A new voice drifted down from above.
Every head tilted upward as if they were looking at Aberdeen in the sky.
And to their surprise, two figures stood on the roof.
The girls from the portraits, former teammates of the girls now marked with the symbol of the Gun group.
Beep.
Bray and Alexander's rings lit up simultaneously.
Their system screens flared to life as a yellow glow spread across the entire base.
Words flashed across the screen.
[+30 Endurance points]
[+20 Strength points]
Then another line appeared beneath it.
[Broken Shields > 0 bases]
[Guns > 2 bases]
For a moment, no one moved.
Their hearts dropped as the blood turned cold.
At those words, terror carved through the group like a blade.
The Broken Shields had fallen.
...........
Broken Shields.
The Guns faction moved through the residence freely now.
Some searched rooms.
Others leaned lazily against walls, their voices filled with arrogance as they laughed among themselves.
At the center of it all stood the Commander.
He looked over a large map spread across a table, smiling as if watching a game board where every piece had fallen exactly where he wanted.
Power radiated from him like heat from a furnace.
None of the soldiers dared challenge him.
The vice commander stood quietly beside him.
Silent, but the tension in his posture was unmistakable.
A hurricane waiting to be unleashed.
Not far from the house, Jamie's body lay motionless on the ground, broken and completely covered in blood.
The Commander's grin widened slowly as he studied the map.
He stood at the very top of the food chain now with no one as powerful as him, completely untouchable.
Suddenly, the floor started to tremble violently.
The Commander's grin faltered instantly with confusion.
The vibrations grew stronger, crawling through the ground and climbing the walls until the entire building began to shake.
"An earthquake? No, it's something else," the Commander's thoughts raced as unease crept beneath his skin.
Then—
Light exploded.
A blinding yellow beam erupted from Jamie's body, blasting upward into the sky like a pillar of pure sunlight.
The shockwave blasted outward.
Soldiers were thrown backward across the ground as the air itself roared.
The divine light grew brighter with every passing second.
Then
Jamie started to rise.
Slowly.
His deadly wounds completely sealed before their eyes.
His hair igniting into a brilliant gold, just like Alexander's but much brighter.
Golden thunder crawled across his skin, alive and crackling like something furious had been awakened inside him.
Soldiers shielded their eyes from the light.
Suddenly, a voice echoed from the center of the storm. It sounded like Jamie's voice but darker and more confident.
"Ever since I arrived here… I've seen humans forced into killers. The powerless murdered. The wicked praised."
His voice rolled through the battlefield like thunder.
As he floated slightly above the ground, his golden aura raging around him, he continued,
"I waited for justice, but nothing came. And in my last moments… I realized something… if no one will bring justice to this cursed world, then I will."
Jamie descended back to the ground.
But he was no longer the same boy; all the innocence was gone.
Golden lightning still crawled along his arms and legs like living scars.
The soldiers stared at him in stunned silence.
One finally moved. With a desperate shout, a soldier rushed forward and swung his katana down toward Jamie's head.
Clang!!
Jamie raised a single finger.
The blade stopped instantly, frozen in place as if it had collided with invisible steel.
The soldier's eyes widened in horror.
Jamie's fist moved.
It slammed into the man's chest, cracking his bones on impact.
The soldier flew backward like a ragdoll, crashing across the yard.
"This message is for you," Jamie said coldly.
Another soldier charged forward in panic.
Jamie stepped aside calmly.
His finger flicked against the man's forehead.
The soldier collapsed instantly, unconscious before his body even hit the ground.
"Those who choose evil… and support it… will fall."
The vice commander moved.
His attack came like lightning. Fast and powerful.
But Jamie's glowing eyes followed everything.
His hand moved.
The strike was deflected easily.
Then his counterattack came.
He pulled out the vice commander's arm from its socket.
"Fuck!!!"
The vice commander screamed in overwhelming pain.
Jamie grabbed his skull, his grip unbreakable.
The vice commander struggled to pull himself out with one hand, but he couldn't escape.
"I will give you all the justice you deserve," Jamie said quietly.
Golden thunder struck into the man's body.
The scream that followed was raw and brutal, like people when getting executed.
The Commander staggered backward.
For the first time since the battle began, fear appeared in his eyes.
"What skill is this? Overhaul? No… it feels hot like the sun… but that's thunder on his body. Does that mean he has two skills? How is that even possible!"
Jamie's eyes slowly shifted toward the Commander.
His hand rose again.
Lightning spread outward from his body like a growing storm.
The vice commander's burnt and crippled body fell to the ground.
"Yellow Sun, a Special Skill that envelops my body with sun and lightning combined as one."
In that moment, jamie wasn't boasting. He was delivering judgment.
"I told you what my skill does. Let's see how you get out of this one," Jamie said as he stepped forward.
Golden thunder illuminating the shattered base like the first light of dawn.