Before Squad 4 could retreat, two Section 1 students flashed over the storage tanks with incredible speed, landing on the catwalk behind them and cutting off their escape route.
Julian walked slowly into the alley, his heavy boots echoing against the concrete. His eyes swept over the dark gray uniforms of Auxiliary Squad 4, a sneering smile touching his lips. He was a tall youth with cold eyes, possessing the arrogant demeanor typical of the aristocratic families who dominated Sector 1's political upper crust. His white-and-gold armor was pristine, entirely devoid of the mud and corrosion that coated the gear of the Auxiliary Vanguard.
"Auxiliary trash," Julian said, turning his golden halberd over in his hands. The weapon hummed with a sharp, resonant frequency, its crystalline edge reflecting the gloomy purple twilight of the ruins. "Director Thorne really sends anything out past the wall these days. I suppose he thought a few baseline failures could act as cannon fodder to clear the outer perimeter."
"Julian," Lyra said, stepping forward while keeping her focus rod low, her fingers tightening around the metal casing. "You set off an unsanctioned disruption field in an active training sector. That's a direct violation of Academy law. The energy interference you generated compromised the perimeter grid and lured high-tier beasts into a low-level patrol route."
"Academy law only applies if someone with a voice reports it," Julian replied smoothly. He looked at the crate containing the Dread-Tusk core, then back at the three students. "You three weren't supposed to be in this sector. When the rescue team finds your bodies, they'll assume the Razor-Claw surge killed you. Tragic, but common for low-tier deadweight who lack the power to survive in the Ruin Zones."
"You're going to kill fellow students over a poached core?" Jax yelled, raising his heavy kite shield despite his trembling legs. His defective core flared erratically under his skin, causing waves of heat to shimmer off his shoulders. "We're registered on the Academy roster! You can't just erase a squad deployment!"
"A poached core?" Julian laughed dryly, the sound hollow inside the narrow alleyway. "This core is worth six hundred thousand credits on the open market. It will fund my squad's advancement into the Advanced Division next term. Do you really think Director Thorne or the High Council will care about three nameless Auxiliary cadets when balanced against the interests of the Marcus Syndicate?"
Julian gestured coldly to his two squadmates standing on the catwalk overhead. "Break their weapons first. Make it look like a beast attack. Tear up their vests so the Enforcers find nothing but jagged wounds."
The two Section 1 students drew their weapons. One wielded twin short-swords that crackled with blue lightning; the other unslung a heavy, broad-faced battleaxe infused with dense kinetic energy. Both possessed CHPower ratings well above Level 35—far outclassing the nominal baseline of any standard Auxiliary squad.
They leaped from the catwalk with synchronized precision, their boots striking the pavement with a heavy thud.
Jax stepped up to block the battleaxe wielder, driving his boots into the dirt and raising his shield high. "Lyra, stay behind me!" he roared, channeling every drop of his unstable energy into the shield's metal face.
The axe wielder brought his weapon down in a violent, overhand arc.
CLANG!
The force of the high-tier strike slammed into Jax's shield, shattering the reinforced kinetic dampeners built into the frame. The sheer kinetic weight drove Jax to his knees, cracking the concrete beneath his boots. Heat flared wildly from Jax's chest as his core overloaded from the strain, and the attacker kicked Jax firmly in the chest, sending him sliding backward across the gravel.
"Jax!" Lyra screamed. She aimed her focus rod at the axe wielder, attempting to charge a rapid bind spell, but the second student—the twin-blade user—moved like a shadow. He flashed past her line of sight, his blade flicking outward in a precise, horizontal sweep.
CRACK.
The edge of his short-sword struck the core crystal of Lyra's focus rod, shattering the delicate conduit into worthless fragments. The feedback shock wave knocked Lyra off balance, forcing her onto her hands and knees in the dirt, her weapon completely rendered useless.
In less than ten seconds, Auxiliary Squad 4's defensive line had been entirely dismantled.
Julian chuckled softly, stepping past his men toward Caine, who hadn't moved an inch from his spot near the rusted storage tanks. Caine stood with his hands resting casually inside his jacket pockets, his posture relaxed, his white hair catching the faint blue glow of the distant core crate.
"And then there's you," Julian said, staring down at Caine with pure disdain. "Marcus told me about you. The Level 10 who got lucky and broke an old testing pillar. He was terrified that you were hiding something. But look at you—you don't even have a weapon summoned. You're just a broken baseline waiting to be erased."
Julian raised his golden halberd with both hands, channeling his Level 42 energy into the shaft until the surrounding air distorted from the intense heat. The golden light illuminated the narrow walls of the alley, casting long, sharp shadows across the concrete.
"Let's see how well your 'internal recoil' holds up against a real weapon," Julian declared, driving the golden halberd straight toward Caine's chest with lethal, unwavering intent.