Clans are subfactions of a faction — like states under a country's banner.
A faction is a powerhouse. It's where a clan grows so strong that others hide under its flag for protection. Most factions trace their roots back to the Nine Divine Beings that still walk the earth.
The most popular factions are built on paragons. The most feared? Those tied directly to the divine.
Still, not every clan bends the knee. Some stand alone.
One of them was the Wyndham Clan, still rising.
Another — the Vornshade Clan — stood firm in its defiance. Their independence came not from honor, but from the shadows they thrived in.
For a clan to survive outside any faction's protection and not get devoured? That alone proved their power.
Alex and the others knew that much as they tore through the Vornshade's outer wall.
Gunfire erupted instantly — bursts of light splitting the snow as guards at the gate opened fire.
Bullets tore through the air, slicing down toward the four.
In an instant, a wall of energy exploded from Tamsin. The translucent barrier shimmered like molten glass, humming with force. It rolled forward as he moved, deflecting each bullet with a sharp, metallic ring. Sparks danced off its surface, lighting up the snow.
"Keep moving!" Tamsin barked, his voice steady even under fire.
Gwen darted ahead. Her whip blazed to life — golden, radiant, alive — and when she swung it, the air itself seemed to recoil. The whip shot upward, growing in length until it coiled around the top of the first fence.
With a sharp pull, she yanked herself forward — and Alex along with her.
"Wait, what—!" Alex barely managed to say before his body was jerked clean off the ground.
Tamsin and Merrick leapt right after, closing the gap in one motion.
The moment their feet left the snow, a whoosh cut through the night.
A bazooka shell screamed toward them.
BOOM!
The explosion turned the ground beneath them into a storm of smoke and shrapnel. The force alone could've flattened weaker men. But they were paragons — and paragons didn't fall easy.
Still in midair, Merrick was already retaliating. His sniper was gone — in its place, two compact qi pistols materialized in his hands. His arms moved in blinding rhythm.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Five perfect shots.
Five bodies dropped — Vornshade soldiers torn apart before they even knew what hit them.
The group landed hard on the other side of the first fence — deep inside the Vornshade perimeter. Snow and ash mixed beneath their boots. Ahead loomed two more fences, higher and thicker, between them and the main facility.
Merrick dropped to one knee, rolling and firing suppressive shots to cover them. His bullets whistled past Alex's shoulder, ripping through anything in their path.
Tamsin moved like a phantom — his body blurred, kicking up trails of energy as he sprinted. His qi barrier still flared in front of him, eating bullets like rain on steel.
Tamsin hit the ground running — twin swords in hand, his movements were a blur of precision and violence.
Steel sang as he cut down one Vornshade soldier after another. Each swing was clean, sharp, and fatal — bodies fell before their screams even left their throats.
Gwen was right beside him, her whip glowing gold like a living serpent.
With a smooth flick of her wrist, it snapped out — whhhsshhh! — splitting the air in a blinding arc.
The whip expanded mid-swing, multiplying in its reach. Every strike tore through several enemies at once, sparks of qi and blood bursting with every hit.
Meanwhile, Alex wasn't standing idle.
He clenched his fists, activating Phantom Body — his form shimmered, turning slightly translucent.
Snow scattered beneath his feet as he spun his axe once, then hurled it like a thunderbolt.
Thud!
The weapon buried itself deep into a soldier's chest.
Without missing a beat, Alex raised his hand.
"Come back."
The axe ripped free from its victim with a wet crack and flew back toward him — dragging the body along until Alex caught the handle mid-spin. The corpse slammed against his boot.
He kicked hard.
The body flew off like a rag doll and disappeared into the snow.
A surge of energy burst through Alex's legs.
He bent low and launched himself upward, activating Buster.
The air exploded beneath him.
In seconds, Alex was high above the battlefield, snow whipping around him in wild spirals. From that vantage point, he could see the Vornshade soldiers regrouping below.
"Let's try this…" he muttered.
His right hand moved — a flash, a switch.
The axe vanished.
In its place, the Qi Cannon wrapped around his arm.
Alex aimed.
BOOM!
The recoil hit like a truck.
His body was thrown backward through the air — spinning, tumbling, sent flying even higher — but the attack found its mark.
Down below, the condensed orb of qi slammed into a cluster of Vornshade men who'd been firing on Tamsin.
The impact detonated with a thunderous roar.
Boom!!!
Flames. Smoke. Silence.
When the dust cleared, nothing was left of them.
Tamsin looked up through the haze, a grin tugging at his face.
He gave a small nod of acknowledgment — respect without words.
Alex, however, was already long gone — launched clear over the second fence, vanishing behind a cloud of drifting snow.
'Can't I ever get used to that recoil?' Alex thought, grimacing as he fell through the cold air.
Bang!
Alex came crashing down onto a moving vehicle.
The base was already in chaos — alarms blaring, soldiers shouting, vehicles loaded with weapons screeching across the compound. It was mayhem in motion.
By sheer misfortune—or maybe fate—Alex smashed right into one of those vehicles. The impact tilted it sideways with a metallic groan. His phantom body flickered out, leaving him fully exposed.
Within seconds, several members of the Vornshade Clan had surrounded him, guns trained on his head.
Kneeling amid the wreck, Alex let out a weary sigh.
'Of course I'm the first to get busted,' he thought dryly.
Then came the inevitable.
A storm of bullets tore through the air, shredding the vehicle behind him. Sparks danced like fireflies in the smoke before—boom!—the vehicle erupted in a burst of fire and light.
But before the shooters could celebrate, a sharp whoosh sliced through — the sound of an axe cutting through the wind.
In an instant, Alex's weapon cleaved through necks, arms, and backs with ruthless precision.
Then, from the fire, a hand reached out — gripping the axe's handle.
Out of the inferno walked Alex, calm and unburned, his Faction suit gleaming through the haze.
"It's a good thing none of you with those pea-shooters can damage this suit like Eddie did," he said coolly, eyes glinting behind the visor.
The Vornshade soldiers froze — just for a heartbeat — before the next round of chaos erupted.
The Pendragon Faction had always made the best combat suits — and Alex was wearing one of their finest.
The suit was loaded with layered defenses and energy filters. Even attacks laced with qi could be reduced, depending on their level. It was the same suit that had saved Alex's life against Eddie's buster powers — what were normal bullets compared to that?
One of the Vornshade soldiers, realizing what he was up against, started shouting frantically into the radio clipped to his shoulder.
That was Alex's cue.
With a burst of qi, he hurled his axe. The weapon spun through the air like a blazing comet, tearing toward the clustered base members. At the same time, he drew both qi guns, one in each hand, and opened fire.
Bolts of pure energy streaked through the chaos. Alex's aim wasn't perfect — far from it — but with so many targets, it didn't matter. His shots tore through the ranks, dropping enemies with each pulse.
Then came the deep thoom of a bazooka launch.
A rocket screamed toward him, smoke trailing behind it.
Alex reacted fast — he fired at the incoming projectile, detonating it midair. The explosion rippled through the base like thunder.
But before he could catch his breath, more rockets came slicing through the smoke.
"Damn it," he muttered.
He summoned the axe back to his hand, the weapon returning in a flash. Channeling the buster skill through his arm, he swung — the air cracked as his blade met the rocket head-on.
BOOM!
A shockwave ripped through the area, tossing Alex backward like a ragdoll.
Meanwhile, back at the first line of defense, Tamsin caught sight of the massive explosion lighting up the distance.
"Quick... Gwen, I think Alex is over there. Go help him — Merrick and I will finish this up," Tamsin transmitted through his Pendragon system, his voice clipped and sharp.
Gwen recoiled her whip, its glowing cord still sizzling from slicing clean through a man like a hot knife through butter. She drew her legs together and stomped the ground.
Boom.
Her body shot forward in a blinding arc, slicing through the air like a missile.
If Alex could've seen her just then, he would've been stunned — Gwen had just performed the Buster Skill, and in a way even Eddie himself had never managed.
---
Meanwhile, deep inside the base...
A large office hummed with a suffocating silence. Several figures stood waiting — each radiating an aura heavy enough to crush ordinary men.
At the center stood a broad-shouldered man, dark-skinned, with a thick beard and a monstrous build. He held a phone to his ear, listening quietly.
After a moment, he lowered it and turned toward the others.
"It appears," he said, voice deep and even, "that we're being attacked... by four Paragon warriors."
The room went still.
"That's right," another man replied with a crooked smile. "Good thing we've got some guests here who might be... useful."
A low chuckle rippled through the group.
The bearded man — Varkov, leader of the Vornshade Clan — turned his gaze toward a figure seated apart from the rest. His grin widened, showing teeth.
"I'm sure our honored guest would love to help deal with these uninvited ones... right, Lucius Vanderbilt?"