The quiet of the Southern Sector was broken by the rhythmic, heavy thud of military boots.
The Sector 2 backup had arrived, led by the Captains and a specialized medical unit. The street, once a battlefield of golden fire, was now a graveyard of smoking metal and grey ash.
Reid was the first to reach the crater. He dropped to his knees beside the shattered form of Valerius Flare. "Who did this?" Reid hissed, his hands trembling as he checked the valerius pulse.
"The… masked…" Valerius choked out, a spray of blood hitting the pavement as he coughed.
"The Masked Man?" Reid pressed.
"Yes," Julian interjected, struggling to stand. His eyes were wide with a fear that hadn't left them. "His name… he called himself Skull."
"We're sorry," Nyra said, her voice tight as her team approached. Her body filled with battle marks.
"We were intercepted by a swarm of aliens. It was as if they knew our exact route—as if they knew we were coming to reinforce you."
"Yeah, there was a massive Guardian working with them,"Seraphina added, her voice sharp despite her own exhaustion. She continued.
"Valerius killed it, it was at least a rank , it was a big deal, until.....", stop moving, the medics cuts in , you're badly hurt.
Liora stepped forward, her eyes scanning the torn golden vest of valerius, "If he took down Flare this easily, he isn't just a smuggler. He's a monster."
"What about your team?" Liora turned to Drayke.
Drayke pulled out his comms unit, clicking through static. "I can't reach them. The signal is being jammed from , Damn it!"
Liora's eyes widened. The 10th Division could be walking into a trap with no back up.
She stepped forward, her voice bold like that of a lionesses.
"Everyone, listen up! Our top priority is to find the 10th. If Skull is as powerful as he seems, he'll be hunting them next. We'll find them, and then we'll use the 10th as the bait to draw him out. Move!"
The underground
Deep beneath the surface, something interesting was happening.
"Jax, wait!" Kaelen screamed, his voice echoing through the massive vaulted ceiling.
BOOM.
Jax didn't listen. He vaulted over the balcony, a streak of blue lightning that slammed into the center of the fighting ring. He landed in a three-point stance, the impact cracking the reinforced floor and sending a shockwave of static through the air.
The crowd of thousands went dead silent. Then, the announcer's voice boomed. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A NEW CONTENDER! A MYSTERIOUS FIGHTER HAS ENTERED THE PIT! THE STAKES JUST TRIPLED! LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"
A massive, red-skinned alien with steam hissing from its vents stepped forward. "My name is Burn," the creature growled. "What's yours, little spark?"
Jaxen stood up, stretching his neck until it popped. "Wait... Burn? As in, actually burn? Damn. Well, mine is Jaxen. Try not to blink, big guy."
The fight was electric. Burn lunged, his fists trailing licks of flame, but Jaxen was a phantom. He didn't just dodge; he danced. Using the momentum of the alien's heavy swings, Jaxen slid underneath Burn's guard. He delivered a triple-strike combo to the giant's joints, each hit discharging a burst of blue lightning that paralyzed the creature's nerves. With a final, spinning kick to the jaw, Jaxen sent the massive alien crashing out of the arena.
The crowd erupted. Jaxen stood in the center, sparks dancing off his shoulders, looking like he'd just finished a light jog.
Somewhere in the underground
While the pits turned into a riot, the rest of the 10th was in a high-speed hunt.
"They're splitting up!" Mikasa shouted, her boots clicking on the metal grating.
The black-coated smugglers were moving with terrifying familiarity through the "Underground".
They didn't just run; they navigated the chaos of the subterranean city like it was their own backyard.
"Nyx, cut them off!" Elias commanded.
Nyx didn't hesitate. Her body flickered—a blue distortion in the air—as she Teleported. She reappeared fifty feet ahead, right in the path of the lead smuggler. She swung her blade in a horizontal arc, but the smuggler didn't even slow down. He dove through a narrow, spinning fan vent that shouldn't have been accessible, disappearing into the machinery.
"They know the layout too well!" Nyx hissed, flickering again.
She reappeared on a higher catwalk, leaping over a group of gamblers. Below her, the chase was a blur of neon color. Elias was parkouring over holographic signs, his silver eyes tracking the heat signatures. Rook and Cipher were flanking through the side alleys, while Mikasa and Renji moved through the "crowds, dodging dealers, sellers and angry patrons.
"Sloane, stay close!" Rook shouted.
"I'm a medic, not a marathon runner!" Sloane snapped, though she didn't lose a step. "If you trip and break your face, I'm leaving you here!"
The smugglers were using the environment as a weapon. They triggered a series of steam vents, clouding the vision of the 10th. One smuggler leaped from a three-story balcony, landing perfectly on a moving cargo hover-rail.
Nyx blinked onto the rail right behind him. "Got you!"
But the smuggler simply smirked and pulled a lever on the rail. A magnetic pulse exploded, throwing Nyx's teleportation off-balance. She flickered out and reappeared ten feet in the air, forced to tumble back onto a nearby balcony.
By the time Elias and the others reached the warehouse district at the edge of the hall, the smugglers had vanished into the maze of pipes and steam.
"Lost them," Rook growled, slamming a fist against a glowing pipe. "They knew every shortcut, every blind spot."
"They were leading us away from the main vault," Elias said, his silver eyes scanning the environment. "They didn't just run; they lured us."
He turned around, counting heads, but his brow furrowed. "Where's Vela?"
A few yards back, Vela had completely abandoned the chase. She was sitting at a high-stakes holographic poker table, a massive bowl of "snacks" chips in front of her. She was casually tossing a chip into her mouth while staring down a group of nervous-looking gamblers who were sweating under her gaze.
"Vela!" Mikasa yelled, her sword still drawn. "We're in the middle of a literal chase!"
Vela didn't even look up. She pushed a stack of betting chips into the center of the table with a bored expression. "The smugglers are gone, Mikasa. They knew the back of their palm, remember? I wasn't going to catch them in these shoes. Besides, this guy has a terrible bluff and I'm starving. Relax, I'll find them once I've cleaned this table out. These chips are actually seasoned for once."
The 10th Division stood there, exhausted and outplayed by the smugglers, watching their teammate casually bankrupt the Underworld while eating snacks. They hadn't found Skull yet, but the Underground was just getting started with them.