The war did not pause to allow the weary to catch their breath. The battle continued growing louder than ever, Amidst the chaos, the 6th Division was methodically carving their way through the endless soilders.
At the tip of the spear stood Captain Zarek Mayron and his Vice-Captain, Arix Calder.
Zarek sliced his plasma blade through the reinforced armor of a frontline soldier, the superheated edge leaving a trail of melting alloy in its wake. He pivoted, expecting another combatant to step into his guard.
*BAM!*
An invisible, concussive force struck Zarek squarely in the jaw. The impact was clean, heavy, and completely without warning, sending the Captain skidding backward across the blood-slicked metal deck. He dragged his boots, teeth grit as he stabilized his stance.
He touched his lower lip, pulling away a smear of blood. "What... the..." he muttered, his eyes scanning the empty, smoking air in front of him. There was no one, no displaced dust, no shifting shadows. Nothing.
"Is everything alright, Cap—"
Before Arix could finish his sentence, his torso buckled violently inward. An unseen fist buried itself into his midsection, lifting the Vice-Captain off his feet and throwing him roughly into a pile of discarded artillery shells. Arix gasped for air, his ribs aching from the sheer force of the strike.
"What just happened?" Arix wheezed, pushing himself up onto his forearms, his eyes darting frantically across the area.
Zarek lowered his center of gravity, his grip tightening on the hilt of his weapon. "Someone is here... and we can't see him. We're really in a dangerous situation right now ".
Arix wiped the grime from his forehead, his expression hardening. He looked up at Zarek, a silent understanding passing between them. "So... should I begin?"
"Yeah," Zarek replied, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous register. "But let's end it quickly. There's no time to waste"
"Alright, Cap."
Arix closed his eyes, He exhaled a long, steady breath, and as he did, a thick, unnatural midnight-black smoke began to pour rapidly from his palms. Within seconds, the dense fog ballooned outward, swallowing a fifty-meter radius of the battlefield in an absolute, light-blocking shroud.
Deep within the dark cloud, a figure blurred through the shadows, completely unbothered by the illusions. The unseen assailant locked onto Zarek's stationary silhouette, driving a high-speed, lethal pierce straight toward the Captain's throat, Zarek didn't dodge. He waited until the precise millisecond of the impact.
*SNAP.*
Zarek's left hand shot out like a steel trap, his fingers wrapping firmly around a solid, flesh-and-blood wrist that had materialized inches from his neck.
"Gotcha," Zarek said, a cold, predatory smile cutting through his features.
With a massive surge of physical leverage, Zarek twisted his hips and hurled the invisible attacker over his shoulder, slamming them violently into the metallic floorboar, revealing one of Malkor's high-ranking Elites.
He rolled smoothly out of the crater, wiping the soot from his chin as he stood up, completely unfazed by the throw.
"Interesting," the Elite said, his voice dripping with an elegant, condescending tone. "How did you manage to do that? No one catches me in my stride."
Zarek didn't lower his guard, slowly drawing his primary plasma blade, its blue edge humming to life with a fierce, high-frequency hiss. "I'm the one asking the questions. Who are you?"
The Elite smiled, his eyes narrowing with a wicked amusement. "Seriously? That's what you wanted to ask? Fine... anything for a fan. I am Zoom."
The introduction lasted only a fraction of a second before Zoom vanished again.
*BOOM!*
A sonic boom rippled through Arix's smoke screen as Zoom executed a high-speed blitz. He appeared directly at Zarek's left flank, throwing a devastating, kinetic-charged hook aimed at the Captain's temple.
Because Zoom was within the ten-meter radius, Zarek already saw the trajectory line flashing in his mind before the punch was even thrown. Zarek ducked cleanly beneath the strike, his plasma blade flashing upward in a swift, defensive parry.
*CLANG!*
Zoom's armored gauntlets were reinforced with kinetic dampeners, allowing him to strike the flat of Zarek's blade without losing his fingers. The moment the weapons collided, Zoom used the kinetic rebound to pivot on his heel, delivering a blinding sequence of straight jabs and low sweeps.
Zarek's prediction allowed him to anticipate every single movement, but Zoom's raw physical speed was pushing his body to its absolute structural limits. Zarek parried a jab, blocked a knee strike with his forearm, and tilted his head just far enough to let a devastating straight right graze past his ear.
"You're fast, Captain," Zoom mocked mid-combat, his movements a blur of overlapping afterimages inside the smoke.
Zoom suddenly dropped low, sweeping Zarek's ankles. Zarek predicted the sweep, leaping into the air, but Zoom had already anticipated the jump, chambering a massive, kinetic-loaded side kick to Zarek's exposed ribs while he was airborne.
"Arix! Pivot!" Zarek roared mid-air.
From the shadows of the mist, Arix altered the illusion frequency. Zoom's eyes momentarily perceived Zarek's airborne body three feet to the left of his actual position. The micro-second distraction caused Zoom's side kick to veer slightly off course.
That single micro-second was all Zarek needed. He adjusted his weight in mid-air, landing heavily on Zoom's extended leg. Using the Elite's own limb as a springboard, Zarek drove a brutal, downward elbow strike straight into the center of Zoom's chest armor .
*CRACK!*
The armor plating fractured under the concentrated pressure, sending Zoom crashing back down into the deck plates, his breath hitching as the kinetic feedback rattled his spine.
Meanwhile,
Renji and Elias had already separated, renji saw Jaxen, kealen and rook lieing on the ground completely helpless and they were about to be attacked by Malkor soilders so renji left Elias in order to go and save them.
Elias, on the other hand, had been driven toward a deep, cratered valley where the earth itself had been torn open by orbital bombardment. As he slid down the rocky slope, his boots kicking up loose gravel, he stopped short. Standing in the center of the clearing were two familiar silhouettes.
It was his older brothers: Zane and Tyson.
Zane stood with his arms tightly crossed over his chest, Beside him, Tyson was lazily rolling his shoulders, a relaxed, cocky grin plastered across his face despite the thousands of corpses littering the surrounding landscape.
"Elias," Tyson said, his eyes shifting toward his younger brother as he dusted off his vests "Looks like you're alive."
Elias walked toward them, his hands in he's pocket, "Seriously, why do you look surprised?"
"I don't look surprised at all," Tyson said, his grin widening into a confident, easy-going smirk. He cracked his neck from side to side. "In fact, I knew you'd make it this far. "
"Hello, humans."
A cold, multi-tonal voice cut through the sibling reunion, echoing off the high stone walls of the valley. From the upper ridges of the crater, three distinct figures dropped down, landing with heavy, synchronized thuds that shook the loose earth.
They were Malkor's Elites. Their armor was pristine, unaffected by the grime of the battlefield, and their auras radiated a heavy, suffocating weight that signaled absolute lethal intent.
Zane didn't even shift his stance. His cold eyes narrowed into razor-thin slits as he looked at the three elites blocking their path. "Get out of my way, weaklings."
The central Elite, a tall warrior carrying a massive, serrated broadsword, let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Weaklings? Seriously? You think you're stronger than the chosen vanguard of Lord Malkor? Your arrogance will be your grave, child."
Zane's aura began to spike, the ambient air pressure dropping rapidly as his blue energy started to manifest.
"Wait, Zane," Tyson interrupted, stepping out in front of his brother and extending an open palm to hold him back. His smile never wavered, but his eyes had completely lost their lazy, relaxed look. "Let me handle these guys. After all, I need to warm up before we reach malk,no Mallki , whatever his name is "
Zane looked at Tyson's back for a brief moment, the heavy silence between them stretching out over the sound of distant explosions. Finally, Zane's aura receded back into his body. He crossed his arms again, his expression unreadable. "Alright. But be quick. We're losing time."
Elias stepped up beside Zane, his eyes fixed on Tyson, who was currently stretching his arms behind his back as if preparing for a standard training exercise. A deep sense of curiosity and underlying tension gripped Elias's chest.
"I've never actually seen Tyson fight before," Elias muttered, his voice low so only Zane could hear. "I don't actually know what he's capable of ."
Zane didn't look at Elias, his gaze remaining locked onto the three Elites who were now drawing their weapons, amused by Tyson's apparent lack of respect.
"Well," Zane said, his voice flat, steady, and filled with an absolute, terrifying certainty. "This is a good time to see what he can do. Watch closely, Elias. Don't blink."
Tyson stopped stretching. He dropped his hands to his sides, his fingers loose and relaxed. He looked at the three Elites, his smile settling into something sharp, dangerous, and completely unyielding.
"Alright, boys," Tyson said, taking a single, slow step forward into the center of
the crater. "Let's see if you can give me a real workout."