Aiko gave Kael a brief glance, sharp and wordless. In the same breath, she dropped low behind the jagged rubble of the partially collapsed back wall, her profile vanishing into the broken silhouette of stone and metal.

  Kael nodded once and took a few quiet steps back, setting distance between them. He positioned himself near the center of the ruined room, just far enough to bait the line of sight—just where the monster’s back would face Aiko if it took the bait.

  Then the tripwire snapped.

  A faint crack, followed by a rush of stillness. The kind that came just before movement.

  The creature appeared in the doorway.

  It was humanoid in shape, but wrong in proportion. Grey-skinned, tall—well over two meters—with a frame built more for function than form. Its hide resembled cracked leather over old armor—thick, crocodilian plates that shifted with its movements. Its limbs were long, slightly bowed, ending in oversized hands tipped with claws like chiseled obsidian.

  And it floated.

  Just a few centimeters above the floor—gliding, not walking. But not high enough to avoid the tripwire. Its body jerked slightly from the snap, then steadied.

  Then its eyes found Kael.

  And Kael froze.

  The creature’s face was lean, angular. Kael felt it watching him—head tilted ever so slightly, as if measuring his worth as prey.

  Do I have to stand against those things…?

  He couldn’t look away. The training projections at the academy had never captured this—the weight of the thing. The pressure it exuded without effort. It wasn’t rage or hatred. A cold, instinctual hunger.

  Images from books, simulations, childhood whisperings… none of them prepared him for this.

  He forced a breath.

  Then, out loud: “You’re one ugly pile of shit.”

  His smirk was weak, but it held. “You better finish him off,” he added, loud enough for Aiko to hear.

  At the edge of his vision, he caught her response—a single nod. Focused. Unshaken.

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  The monster made no sound. It simply leaned forward, claws rising. And then it moved.

  It shot toward him, low and fast, gliding just above the ground, one arm arched high. The claws gleamed faintly, unnaturally long, and as it drew closer, Kael saw it—something shimmered just past the physical edge.

  That’s not just bone, he realized. That’s a blade of essence.

  A lethal aura flared around the claws, like the air itself had been cut open before the impact came.

  Kael reacted.

  He called on the air. Channeled a disk into existence directly in the monster’s path.

  The disk formed cleanly—sharp, placed right in front of its face—but shattered instantly as the monster powered through it.

  It didn’t even slow down.

  Panic clawed at Kael’s chest.

  That didn’t work. I can’t stop it. I can’t even slow it down.

  He dove sideways, barely dodging as the claws carved through the air where his face had been just seconds ago. He rolled hard along the floor, shoulder scraping stone, breath tearing out of him.

  He came out of the roll with a groan, heartbeat hammering in his ears. Panic surged as he realized the motion may have pulled the monster’s gaze toward Aiko’s hiding spot.

  It twisted—body rotating in a fluid snap—and launched again.

  Kael scrambled backward, still low, crawling along the edge of the rubble. He barely slipped aside as the claws came down again, carving through broken stone with a sound like tearing metal. Where they landed, the floor cracked, splintering under pressure. The tips buried deep—deeper than they should have.

  But then, motion—behind the creature.

  Aiko.

  She had already shifted again, circling the room like smoke. Always behind it. Always unseen.

  Her face, usually calm, was now strained. Sweat ran down her brow, jaw clenched tight as she readied herself. She held up three fingers from her left hand—eyes locked onto Kael’s.

  He understood instantly.

  The creature crouched low for another charge, head angling forward.

  Kael didn’t hesitate.

  He summoned one disk—then another—then a third. All in front of the monster’s face, stacked in sequence.

  The air crackled softly.

  This time, they held.

  The monster shot forward—and slammed into them.

  Its head snapped back slightly, momentum slowing. For the first time, something like confusion flickered across its features.

  That was all they needed.

  Behind it, lightning exploded.

  A flash lit the room—sharp, violet, blinding for a second. Aiko’s blade cut through the light, her form like a shadow riding the flash. The monster jerked once.

  Then stilled.

  A thin, perfect red line traced the length of its neck—shoulder to shoulder, just above the collarbone.

  For a breath, nothing happened.

  Then its head shifted.

  And slid away.