The wind screamed in Alex's ears as he plummeted, the airship shrinking to a speck above him. In the world of mana-users, falling from ten thousand feet was a death sentence unless you had a [Flight] spell or a [Wind-Glider] artifact.
But Alex Silvester was currently a five-hundred-pound mass of super-condensed muscle and crystalline bone. He didn't fall; he re-entered.
[STATUS: Freefall]
[Velocity: Mach 0.8... 1.2... 1.5...]
[Thermal Friction: 400°C — Extreme Heat Resistance Active]
"Target acquired," Alex muttered, his golden eyes locking onto the Bureau Carrier-Ship 'The Aegis' below.
The Valkyrie Interception
Four Valkyrie Jets peeled off from their formation, their sensors screaming as they detected a "biological projectile" closing in at supersonic speeds.
"It's him! It's the Law-Breaker!" a pilot's voice crackled over the open Bureau channel. "Engage Mana-Autocannons! Do not let that thing touch the hull!"
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
Blue bolts of concentrated mana tore through the air, stitching a pattern of explosions around Alex. He didn't have wings to maneuver, so he used the only thing he had: Mass.
[ Fist of Law-Breaking: Tenth Insight — Kinetic Pivot ]
In mid-air, Alex threw a punch at the empty space to his right. The sheer force of the strike created a localized "Air-Wall," pushing his body sideways with a violent jerk. He danced through the stream of mana-fire like a falling star, dodging beams that should have vaporized a Tier-4 professional.
He closed the gap. One Valkyrie jet tried to pull up, its afterburners glowing bright blue. Alex reached out, his fingers digging into the reinforced titanium wing like it was wet cardboard.
"Gotcha," Alex hissed.
With a grunt of effort, he used the jet's own momentum. He swung his body around the wing and kicked the cockpit canopy. The Thunder-Core in his heart discharged a massive spike of electricity.
CRACK!
The jet's electronics fried instantly. The pilot ejected just as Alex pushed off the fuselage, using the dying aircraft as a stepping stone to launch himself at the main Carrier.
The Boarding Action: Zero Gravity
BOOM!
Alex hit the deck of The Aegis with the force of a tactical missile. The reinforced mana-plating buckled, creating a crater twenty feet deep. Smoke and sparks obscured the area as the alarm sirens of the carrier wailed in a frantic, high-pitched rhythm.
[AREA ENTERED: Bureau Carrier 'The Aegis']
[Enemy Density: HIGH]
[Map Objective: Sabotage the Mana-Core]
As the smoke cleared, fifty Bureau soldiers in Exo-Frame Power Armor surrounded the crater, their rifles leveled. Standing at the front was a man in silver-and-gold plating—Commander Drax, a Tier-5 'Heavy Vanguard.'
"You're a long way from home, student," Drax growled, his mechanical hammer humming with kinetic energy. "This deck is protected by a Grade-6 Anti-Physical Field. Your 'punches' won't even reach our armor."
Alex stood up, his charred shirt falling away to reveal his bronzed, glowing torso. The Thunder-Core pulsed visibly beneath his ribs, sending white veins of light across his chest.
"A field?" Alex asked, tilting his head. "Is that like a wall?"
"It's an absolute barrier!" Drax barked. "Fire!"
Fifty rifles discharged simultaneously. A wall of blue energy slammed into Alex—but it stopped inches from his skin. The Gravity Anchor he had perfected in Rust City was now working in reverse. He wasn't pulling things in; he was pushing the very concept of "Force" away.
[ Martial Domain: The Lawless Zone ]
"My turn," Alex said.
He stepped forward. Every time his foot hit the deck, the "Absolute Barrier" flickered and groaned. He wasn't using magic to break the field; his physical presence was simply too dense for the field to calculate. To the barrier's sensors, Alex wasn't a person; he was a black hole.
He reached Commander Drax in three strides. Drax swung his massive hammer, but Alex caught the head of the weapon with his bare palm.
Clang.
The shockwave shattered the glass visors of every soldier within thirty feet.
"You rely on the field to stay safe," Alex whispered, his grip tightening on the hammer. "But the field is just a cage. And I'm the one who breaks the locks."
Alex twisted. The Tier-5 hammer—a weapon that could level a building—snapped at the handle. He then drove a short, compact punch into Drax's chest.
[ Thunder-Clap Collapse: Stage 2 ]
The discharge was blinding. Drax was sent through three bulkheads, his power armor disintegrating into scrap metal before he even hit the third wall.
The Choice of the Saint
Back on the Roy Flagship, Sujata watched the explosions rocking the Bureau carrier. "Grandfather, he's going to destroy the whole ship! There are hundreds of crew members on there!"
Sword-Saint Roy watched with a grim, proud smile. "He's not destroying it, Sujata. He's 'reclaiming' it. Look."
On the deck of The Aegis, Alex wasn't killing the soldiers. He was disabling their armor, shattering their weapons, and moving toward the bridge with a terrifying, singular purpose.
Suddenly, a communication screen on the deck flickered to life. It was Chancellor White again, his face purple with rage. "Silvester! Stop this madness! You are a single boy against a global empire!"
Alex stopped in front of the screen. He reached out and grabbed the camera, bringing it close to his golden eyes.
"Tell James I'm coming for the rest of the elements," Alex said, his voice broadcasting across the entire Bureau fleet. "And tell your empire... to stop sending sheep to fight a wolf."
He crushed the camera.
[QUEST PROGRESS: The Aegis Sabotaged!]
[Loot Acquired: Bureau Intelligence Drive (Contains 'Glacier-Marrow' coordinates)]
[Exp Gained: 50,000 — LEVEL UP!]
Alex looked toward the North, where the sky turned a dark, frozen blue. The Northern Tundra was waiting. And so was the first of the four missing elements.