Before everyone stepped into the portal, I stopped Monisha.
"One thing," I said.
She looked at me, confused. "What?"
"Can you open a portal," I pointed upward, "in the air?"
Kazim's voice crackled through the earpiece. "I don't like where this is going."
Monisha hesitated. "How high?"
"Forty feet," I replied.
Kazim sighed. "I officially regret making you indestructible."
The portal opened above the academy grounds—silent, circular, wrong against the sky.
The wind rushed past me.
For a split second, there was nothing under my feet.
Then I fell.
The ground rushed up fast—too fast. I forced the chain-axe into existence mid-air. Black liquid flowed, hardened, locked. I spun it hard, rotating my body, letting centrifugal force fight gravity. The chain screamed as it cut the air, pulling me sideways, bleeding speed.
"Nice," Kazim muttered. "You're only slightly insane."
Two guards stood below, still looking at their screens. They didn't hear me until the shadow covered them.
Too late.
I released the spin, redirected the momentum, and dropped straight between them.
One clean arc.
The axe passed through armor like it wasn't there. Bone, metal, body—paper-thin. Blood sprayed upward, warm, heavy. It splashed across my white armor, soaked into the grooves of the oni mask.
I landed on their bodies.
Hard.
Knees bent. The ground cracked.
For a second, everything went silent.
Then alarms started screaming.
Kazim whistled softly. "You know, if someone sees that footage, they're quitting on the spot."
I straightened slowly.
Guards at the far end of the courtyard froze.
They were staring at me.
White armor.
Red-stained mask.
Black weapon dripping.
I tilted my head.
They ran.
"Security's reacting," Kazim said. "Good news: I'm inside their system. Bad news: they built this place paranoid."
I stepped forward as more staff poured out—not soldiers yet, just armed personnel. Panic in their movements. Bad footing. Worse aim.
The first one fired.
The bullet hit my chest and dropped to the ground.
I didn't even look at it.
"Yeah," Kazim said dryly. "That suit works."
I moved.
The axe snapped forward, chain extending, wrapping around a rifle. I yanked. The guard flew toward me instead of the weapon. One upward slice ended it before he hit the ground.
Another came from the side.
I ducked, spun, and cut him in half at the waist.
"Security drones launching," Kazim warned. "Give me thirty seconds."
"Take your time," I replied.
A drone descended, turrets spinning.
I swung my axe and launched it on the building making a hook.
I jumped.
Forty feet again—straight up this time. I caught the drone mid-air, axe blade biting into its core. It exploded behind me as I landed, rolling, coming up already swinging.
Soon Bodies fell. Half cut. None alive.
One after another. It was raining blood.
They tried formations. They tried numbers.
None of it mattered.
I walked through them.
"Sensors are going blind," Kazim said. "I'm rerouting their cameras to loop footage from ten minutes ago."
Another group rounded the corner—heavier armor, stun lances glowing.
I rushed them.
The first lance hit my shoulder and shattered. I grabbed the wielder by the helmet and slammed his head into the wall until it stopped moving.
The second hesitated.
That hesitation killed him.
Blood coated the mask now, dripping from the horns. My reflection flashed briefly in a broken screen.
I didn't recognize myself.
Kazim was quiet for a moment.
Then, softly: "You still in control?"
I paused.
Breathing steady.
Weapon stable.
"Yes," I said.
"Good," he replied. "Because I just locked down all transport. No exits."
More alarms died suddenly.
Lights flickered.
"The defense grid is down," Kazim continued. "And—" a pause, then a sharp inhale, "—I've got academy staff trying to override me."
"Want me to speed things up?" I asked.
"No," he said. "You're doing perfect."
More footsteps echoed.
Heavier now.
Soldiers.
I rolled my shoulders and tightened my grip on the chain-axe.
"Hey, Kazim," I said.
"Yes?"
"Next time you design a suit," I glanced at the blood soaking into the white plating, "maybe don't pick white."
He laughed.
Then quietly added, "Stay alive. All of you."
I stepped forward to meet the next wave.