Steel clashed against steel as the Shadow Guard stormed into the warehouse.
Unlike the Hunters, they fought without discipline or mercy. They attacked anyone in their path: Hunter, recruit, or civilian alike.
"They're attacking everyone!" Sam shouted.
"They don't care who's standing in the way!" Sara replied, pulling a frightened recruit behind a support beam.
A Shadow Guard lunged toward two recruits near the back of the warehouse.
Emerald moved first.
She thrust out her hand, and emerald vines burst from the cracked concrete, wrapping around the guard's legs. Before the attacker could cut free, Kael and two recruits disarmed him.
"Get everyone to the lower level!" Kael ordered.
The recruits obeyed immediately.
Commander Darius watched the scene unfold, his gray eyes narrowing.
"They've changed their tactics," he muttered.
"What do you mean?" Noah asked, never lowering his weapon.
"The Queen once wanted prisoners. Now she wants witnesses eliminated."
As if to prove his words, the silver-haired commander raised one of her blades.
"Leave no one alive!"
The Shadow Guard answered with a deafening roar.
The battle intensified.
Lyra recognized the commander's fighting style almost instantly.
"That's Captain Selene," she said, her voice tight.
Emerald glanced at her.
"You know her?"
"I served under her."
Selene's eyes suddenly found Lyra across the battlefield.
For a brief second, the battle around them seemed to disappear.
"So..." Selene called with a mocking smile. "The little traitor still breathes."
Lyra gripped her daggers.
"I stopped following monsters."
Selene laughed.
"You always were too soft."
She charged.
The two women collided in a blur of flashing blades.
Neither gained the advantage.
Every strike was met with another.
Every move anticipated.
"They know each other too well," Sara whispered.
Meanwhile, Darius fought through wave after wave of Shadow Guards with incredible precision. His spear moved like flowing water, knocking weapons aside before delivering clean, controlled strikes.
Emerald couldn't help but notice something.
He never struck to kill.
Only to disable.
A Shadow Guard soldier slipped past him and rushed toward a young recruit frozen in fear.
Before Emerald could react...
...Darius threw his spear.
It spun through the air with deadly accuracy, embedding itself in the floor directly in front of the attacker.
The impact created a burst of blue energy that knocked the soldier backward.
The recruit stared in disbelief.
Darius retrieved his spear without a word.
"You saved him," Emerald said.
"I protected a child."
"Even though they're with me."
Darius didn't answer.
His silence was answer enough.
Across the room, Selene suddenly broke away from Lyra.
She landed gracefully atop a pile of fallen debris, smiling as if she'd been enjoying a game.
"You've improved," she admitted.
"But you're still thinking too small."
She reached into her cloak and pulled out a small black crystal.
Lyra's expression changed instantly.
"No..."
Selene crushed the crystal in her hand.
Dark energy exploded through the warehouse.
The floor trembled violently.
Cracks spread across the concrete in every direction.
Then...
Something answered from below.
A deep, echoing growl rose from beneath the earth.
The entire building shook.
Dust poured from the ceiling.
"What did she do?" Noah asked.
Lyra's face had gone completely pale.
"She broke one of the ancient seals."
"What seal?"
"The prison beneath the city."
The growling became louder.
Long claws scraped against stone somewhere below them.
Even Selene took a cautious step back.
"The Queen was serious," she murmured.
"She really intends to awaken it."
A massive crack split the center of the warehouse floor.
Concrete exploded upward.
From the darkness below emerged a creature unlike anything the recruits had ever seen.
Its body resembled a giant wolf formed from black stone, streaked with glowing crimson veins. Smoke poured from its jaws with every breath, and six burning eyes scanned the room.
The beast let out a roar that shattered every remaining window.
Several Shadow Guards stumbled backward in fear.
One of them whispered, "She released a Guardian..."
"No," Darius said quietly, his voice more serious than Emerald had ever heard.
"That's no Guardian."
He tightened his grip on his spear.
"That's a Devourer."
The monster lowered its enormous head.
It didn't distinguish friend from foe.
To it...
Everyone was prey.
Its six eyes locked onto Emerald.
The glowing mark on her arm burned hotter than ever.
For a heartbeat, neither of them moved.
Then the beast roared again.....
....and charged.