Kael's gravity sense suddenly prickled.
Something was wrong.
His hand was already moving toward his storage ring when the first laser beam hit.
ZAP!
Not one beam. Twelve. Simultaneously coming from different angles.
BOOM!
The vehicle exploded anyway—fire and metal screaming outward in a ball of destruction.
The smoke cleared.
And there they stood. Five figures in a perfect bubble of translucent energy, completely untouched by the explosion. The remains of the vehicle dripped around them like hot wax.
Grey lowered his hand.
"Well," he said mildly. "That was low. Even for villains like you."
Figures emerged from the fog. Twelve of them with black clothes and red masks with curved horns. But these weren't the ragtag operatives from Jabia. These moved with precision, with purpose, with the coordinated confidence of trained soldiers.
Kael's senses swept across them.
Eight Peak Foundation Establishment. Two Mana Heart Rank 5. One Mana Heart Rank 9.
And one more.
