— Watedia, Ranth 13, 8054 —

“Alright, I’m here.”

«How’s it look?»

“I just got here. Give me time to actually investigate the thing,” Gavon retorted as he looked over the shield generator standing before him. After dropping Selind off at Tresnon’s hospital, he had quickly returned to the shield generator that he had found her at, and was now set on determining just how damaged the generator was — and if it was salvageable.

«How long do you think it’ll take?» came Selind’s voice over Gavon’s comms.

“It’ll take a while, if you keep contacting me every thirty seconds,” Gavon replied. “Shouldn’t you be focused on treating those burns of yours?”

«I’ll worry about myself once the Compound is safe,» Selind said. «And those shields are the most important part of our defense!»

“I get what you’re saying, but at this point, the attacking force has already penetrated beyond where the shields would protect. Anyways, just give me a minute to look things over. I’ll contact you again when I have an answer.”

«…Alright. But be quick about it!»

Gavon shook his head wearily, but nonetheless turned his attention to the large machine in front of him. Black scorch marks stretched across the concrete walls housing the generator, as well the metal of the generator itself. Sparks occasionally leapt from the control panel, half-powered by the recently recovered power grid — but also the surest sign of significant damage. A grim look spread across Gavon’s face as he continued to carefully inspect the generator, slowly walking all around it and making note of each scorch mark he spotted. I was afraid of this… he thought to himself, and then reactivated his comms. “Selind.”

A second passed. Then, «here. How’s it look?»

“In a word: terrible,” Gavon replied. “The damage is more than you can fix with a quick battlefield repair. You shouldn’t count on getting your shields back anytime soon, not unless you can fully replace the generator.”

«Damn…» Selind muttered.

“It gets worse. The scorch marks I’m seeing on the generator… they’re consistent with what I’ve heard about resonance feedback.”

«…What?»

“It’s too complicated to explain right now. The short of it is, your shields were definitely knocked out by a shield-breaker bomb. But the thing is, shield-breakers are bleeding-edge tech — even the Suns are still trying to work on them, and the process is incredibly expensive. The fact that the SFC has this kind of expensive, advanced tech is a problem.”

«So basically, you’re sayin’ to expect the SFC to pull even more bullshit out of their asses?»

“Essentially? Yes.”

An audible sigh came over the comms. «Damn it all… we really underestimated them.»

“Well, yes and no. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that shield-breakers are expensive. The SFC might have had one, but they’re still a small PMC going rogue; I highly doubt that they have any more. So if you can find a way to replace the shield generators, then the SFC shouldn’t be able to take them down, again.”

“Is that what you think?”

Gavon immediately whirled around, his right arm held defensively in front of him as six individuals rushed into the room, all of them wearing the signature white with green trim uniform of the SFC. Upon spotting Gavon’s own black and navy blue uniform of the Black Suns, however, they all faltered, and settled on forming a half-circle around Gavon.

«Gavon? What’s goin’ on?» Selind questioned.

“I’ll have to get back to you,” Gavon replied, never once taking his eyes off of the SFC soldiers. “…There’s some trash I need to take out, real quick.”

“Trash?” One of the SFC soldiers scoffed. “So says the lone Sun, stationed in this backwater shit-heap.”

“Ah, so you recognize my uniform,” Gavon remarked, his tone and expression filled with airy levity — though his stance was clearly that of a trained Chaotic officer.

“C’mon, there’s no need to be sly with us,” commented another of the SFC soldiers. “It’s pretty clear that your command doesn’t value you, if they put you here, of all places.”

“Is that what the SFC’s famed intel has gotten, for you?” Gavon questioned. “My, you truly are a third-rate PMC.”

“Don’t be stupid,” retorted the first SFC soldier. “We know exactly who you are: Master Captain Gavon Savénos, of Sector 1 of the Black Suns.”

“Ah, so there’s that famed recon ability, of yours. It must have been terribly difficult for you to sift through the public records of the Schools of Chaos.”

The two speaking soldiers glanced at each other, while the remaining four bristled in response to Gavon’s jab. “…Look, all six of us are Chaotics, here,” declared the first soldier.

“But we’d really rather solve this without a fight,” said the second.

“Do you really think the whole ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine is going to work on me?” Gavon scoffed. “And you’re even wearing your uniforms during all of this… the SFC really is a fourth-rate PMC.”

“You’re wearing your uniform, right now!” the first soldier exclaimed defensively.

“Sure, but I’m not teaming up with well-known criminals to raid an innocent city. You all are even showing your faces! You really have no shame, do you? It’s no wonder that you withered in the shadow of the RPF for so long.”

“Bah. Enough with this! We both know that you’re only here because your superiors told you to be here.”

“And as we’ve said, it’s 6-on-1,” added the second soldier. “Do you really think it’s worth it to risk your life, just for your employer?”

Gavon passed the soldier a level glance. He then shook his head. “That lack of care for both life and your own org… the SFC truly is a fifth-rate PMC.”

“You—!”

“Let me ask you a question. You clearly know that I’m with Sector 1 of the Black Suns — and given your hesitation in attacking me, you clearly know what that implies.” A dangerous smirk spread across Gavon’s face. “So why is it that you think that I’m the one risking my life, here?”

“That’s—!” Outrage ripped across the first soldier’s face. Immediately, he gestured dramatically at Gavon, shouting, “the SFC is a perfectly respectable PMC, you’ll see!”

Gavon snorted. “You certainly know how to react like one.”

“Arrrggh!! Everyone! Attack!!”

“Aaand there it finally is…” Gavon muttered, bracing himself for a long fight against the six SFC Chaotics.

---

*

“There y’all are!! I was wonderin’ where y’all went!”

“…Oh. Liask…” Phoenix muttered as she and the other Earthians entered the WCU classroom building. Upon stepping through the doors, they noticed a handful of students cautiously watching the exit — and Liask, Obra, and Minilas were among them.

“How’s everythin’ here?” Spike questioned, his eyes slowly sweeping the hall they now stood in.

“It’s fucked, that’s what,” Obra retorted. “There’s a bunch of fuckin’ outsiders surroundin’ the campus, with gunships, and guns! The fuck is that about?!”

“It’s the Bleeders, teamed up with the SFC…” Twy responded warily. “There’s a lot of fighting down by the Lakefront, too…”

“Then what the hell are we waitin’ for?!” Obra pressed, “we should be goin’ out there to join the fight!”

“Sounds like a great way to get yourself killed,” Minilas deadpanned.

“What—?!”

“She’s right…” Austin said. “The attacking Chaotics are pretty well-trained… and they have guns, too. Without energy shields, that’s really dangerous to go up against.”

“Yeah, but Introtechnics like me and Pierce should be fine,” Liask interjected, only to then sweep her gaze across the group of six Earthians. “…Wait… where’s Pierce…?”

An uneasy silence befell the group, none of the Keys certain how to respond.

“…Well, to put it simply: he was kidnapped.”

“What the— Conrad?!” Phoenix exclaimed as Conrad suddenly became visible next to her. “…Wait— where the hell have you been?! You disappeared as soon as we were attacked!”

“Well, yeah,” Conrad replied. “I’m no use in a fight. I’ve said that many times.”

“Invisibility is far from useless…” Austin muttered.

“Should train,” Kestrel stated. “You have range…”

Conrad responded with a lofty sigh and a shrug. “Sure, sure. Wouldn’t have done much to save Pierce, now, though, would it?”

“What happened to him?!” Liask questioned. “You said he was kidnapped? How?!”

“He gave himself up,” Spike replied. “To save us.”

“Don’t give him too much credit,” Phoenix insisted. “I’m sure he just thought that he’d be able to break himself out, later…”

“But those guys had CENT fields!” Sky pointed out. “How can he escape that?!”

“Well, he’s still nearby, at least…” Twy said. “It seems like the attackers took him to just outside of the Compound walls… he hasn’t moved from there, since.”

“How the hell do you know that?” Obra questioned incredulously.

Twy shook her head. “It’s a long story. But for now, it seems like Pierce is still near the Compound. We could rescue him…”

“But… why Pierce?” Liask asked in confusion. “Why would the outsiders be willin’ to let all of you go, just because they had Pierce…?”

Conrad released a wary sigh. “I think I know. Those guys who attacked us… I think they’re from Rokres.”

“What?!” Liask and Obra exclaimed incredulously.

“Rokres…?” Austin questioned cluelessly. “Where’s that?”

“Wait…” Phoenix scowled. “Rokres is that place in south Treséd, right? Where you guys and Pierce went in the week after Hunger’s Bane?”

“Yep,” Conrad replied.

“Rokres, though?” Obra questioned, “what the hell are they doin’ here? Attackin’ Tresnon?!”

“No… I hate to say it, but it makes sense…” Liask muttered. “I still remember our final moments there clearly. We saved their Konés from that Bleeder, but they thought that we were tryin’ to kill ‘em, and blamed everythin’ on Tresnon.”

“Don’t tell me you forgot how Davídrius pulled us all into his office for a talking-to,” Conrad added.

“So… what’s going on, then?” Sky asked, “are you saying that… there’s a third group with the Bleeders and the SFC?”

“An entire nation-state, attacking Tresnon…?” Austin muttered.

“No, I don’t think that’s their goal,” Twy refuted. “Remember, after our attackers accepted Pierce’s surrender, they told the SFC soldiers that they didn’t care about the rest of the Compound.” She then looked uneasily to Conrad and Liask. “…I think they’re just after y’all.”

“Shit…” Liask muttered.

“If it’s revenge they want, then Pierce might actually be in danger,” Spike pointed out.

“No… well, yes, but not just yet, I think,” Liask refuted. “At Rokres… it was me and Relia who got most of the Rokresians’ attention. Conrad was invisible, and Pierce and Obra were only watchin’ the Koné Summit from outside. So if anyone… I think the Rokresians want me and Relia.”

“…Liask, you ain’t suggestin’ what I think you’re suggestin’…!” Obra responded warily.

“It’s only fair, right?!” Liask countered. “Pierce gave himself up to save his friends. But if the Rokresians are actually after me, then they should be willin’ to trade him for me!”

“A’ight, that’s enough talk about tradin’,” Spike interjected. “We don’t even know if these Rokresians would take a trade. What we need to do is tell the Defense Force that Rokres is involved, and see if they can help rescue Pierce. They’re the ones with actual trainin’ after all.”

“The Defense Force is busy fightin’ off the fuckin’ Bleeders,” Obra said. “Ain’t no way they have the time to rescue an outsider from other outsiders…”

“Well we’ve gotta do something, right?” Austin insisted. “Just standing around here, doing nothing, is…!”

“The hell?” Phoenix regarded Austin with a surprised expression. “Since when did you care about Pierce?”

“Look, he might be an asshole, but that doesn’t mean that I want him to die!” Austin countered. “Besides, I can’t just let Pierce have one over me!”

“You had us in the first half…” Sky remarked.

“…Relia?” Kestrel questioned.

“…Shit…” Phoenix muttered. “That’s right. Relia is comatose right now, right? And — Liask, you said that she’s one of the people the Rokresians are after, right?”

“Probably…” Worry quickly spread across Liask’s face. “Oh no… there’s no way Relia would be able to defend herself, now…”

“We need to get movin’, then,” Spike insisted. “If what you said is true, there’s a chance the Rokresians won’t do anythin’ to Pierce until they get you or Relia, too. So we need to make sure the two of y’all are safe.”

“Relia’s currently at the hospital, isn’t she?” Twy questioned. “When those Rokresians attacked us, they were clearly just fine with killing uninvolved people if it meant that they got their hands on Pierce and Conrad. So if they decide to do something drastic, then…!”

“Then we need to go!” Liask declared, starting towards the building exit — only to be intercepted by Spike. Indignantly, she looked up at him, questioning, “what?!”

“They’re after you, too,” Spike pointed out. “You and your friends should stay here.”

“Are you kiddin’?!” Obra bristled. “The whole campus is surrounded!”

“And everyone in this school is a Chaotic,” Spike countered. “Now, I ain’t sayin’ to throw yourselves into battle — you should try to avoid that as much as you can. But there’s safety in numbers.”

“I dunno,” Austin said. “If the SFC is really after Liask, here… maybe she should come with us? As you said, there’s safety in numbers…”

“There’s way more students here at the school,” Phoenix retorted.

“More importantly, Pierce is my boyfriend!” Liask insisted. “If y’all are gonna go after him, then I should come, too!”

“And if she’s goin’, I’m goin’,” Obra added. “Even if only to make sure she doesn’t do somethin’ stupid!”

“…I don’t really see any reason for them not to come along,” Twy said as she passed Spike a glance, at which point he sighed in resignation and shrugged.

“Well, I’ll be staying here, thanks,” Minilas said, and then looked around at everyone else. “But the campus is surrounded. So how do y’all plan to leave?”

There was a moment of silence as the entire group slowly turned to look at Conrad. Upon noticing this, he released a weary sigh. “…I should’ve known it’d come down to me,” he muttered.

“Well, not just you,” Austin said. “I can copy your powers, so that’s two of us, at least.”

“Good thinkin’,” Spike replied. “Between the two of y’all, we should be able to sneak out of here easily. Then we just need to rush to the hospital.”

“Great,” Conrad deadpanned. “And what do we do when we get there, huh?”

“We tell them that the Rokresians are after Relia,” Twy said.

“And then,” Liask quickly added, “if the Defense Force is too busy defendin’ the city, maybe we could go after Pierce.”

“Hmph. Don’t be ridiculous,” Phoenix retorted. “We couldn’t win against those soldiers on the roof, remember? I doubt that adding you and Obra would change anything. We’re all too inexperienced.”

“…Would you really just leave Pierce, then?” Sky questioned warily.

Phoenix passed Sky an uneasy look, only to turn away in a huff. “Look, it’s his own heroic theatrics that got him into this mess. Better that he find his own way out, than we get captured or killed trying to save him!”

“You can’t honestly believe that, can you?!” Liask cried out, “didn’t you just say earlier that he sacrificed himself to save you?!”

“I—!” Phoenix began to respond, only for Spike to interpose himself between the two women.

“Look, we’re losin’ time,” he insisted. “I get that tensions are runnin’ high. But we don’t got time to stand around and argue! We’ll decide as we go, alright?”

Phoenix and Liask exchanged a brief glance, only for Phoenix to tear her attention away and whip around toward the exit. “…Fine!” she huffed, “let’s go, already! To alert the Defense Force, at least.”

“I guess that’s as good as we can expect…” Conrad remarked with a sigh.

“Yeah, but now it’s time to go,” Spike declared, turning towards the exit to finally begin leading the group out. “Here’s hopin’ we aren’t too late…”

---

*

The thundering roar of a massive boulder crashing into the water echoed over the lakefront as Davídrius just barely escaped being crushed, his supersonic speed carrying him across the surface of the lake. A second later — before the boulder even had time to sink into the waters — it was suddenly blasted to smithereens, revealing Strén sailing through the air straight towards Davídrius. Seeing this, Davídrius immediately whirled around, his blades outstretched to slice at Strén before the Bleeder could reach him — only for Strén to immediately raise a pillar of stone out of the water, launching both combatants into the air.

Once in the air, Strén began pelting Davídrius with rocks, forcing the Dean to deflect with his blades. While Davídrius began to helplessly fall through the air, however, Strén manipulated the rocks around him to fly towards him, giving him a solid platform to leap off of — and straight at Davídrius. Unable to dodge, the Velocitechnic instead attempted to block Strén’s incoming punch with his swords… only for Strén to open his hand at the last second and firmly grasp one of the blades. Davídrius had only a split-second to realize what was coming before Strén yanked the blade, reeling out the tether connecting it to Davídrius and then beginning to whirl the tether rapidly. The Dean soon found himself being whipped through the air at an incredible speed, all propelled by Strén’s boundless strength; Davídrius quickly moved to sever the tether with his other blade, but just before he could, Strén released the sword he was holding, sending Davídrius rocketing through the air towards one of the boats.

“Agh—!” Davídrius grunted in pain as he slammed into the metal deck, impacting with enough force to crash straight through it and tumble into the underdeck. Pain shot through his body, but the Dean nonetheless forced himself to his feet and dodged backwards just in time for Strén to come smashing through the hole that had just been made, allowing the early afternoon sun to illuminate much of the underdeck. The two men soon made eye-contact; as soon as they did, Strén lunged towards Davídrius, and the later moved to dodge. Strén immediately threw his hand out to the side in an effort to catch Davídrius, but the Dean feinted to the other side and then thrust his sword forward at Mach 7, successfully impaling Strén in his chest to destroy the laser cannon mounted within.

“…Well, well!” Strén remarked, stumbling backwards as he looked down at the sword that was newly embedded in his chest. “…You’ve gotten good, whelp—!”

Davídrius, however, didn’t waste time on banter — he knew that if Strén’s chest was cybernetic, then simply impaling him wouldn’t be enough to stop him. As the Bleeder spoke, Davídrius activated the motor on both of his blades’ tether reels. The sword that Strén had grabbed earlier zipped through the air, slicing a shallow cut through the side of Strén’s torso as it passed him. Davídrius snatched the blade out of the air right as it reached him, and then allowed the motor that was trying to pull on the blade stuck in Strén’s chest to pull him forward toward the Bleeder. Irritation from being interrupted crossed Strén’s face, and he moved to grab the tether connecting his chest to Davídrius — but as he did, the Dean finally sliced the tether with his other sword, at which point he dashed to the left and jumped off of the wall to assault Strén from the side.

Immediately, Strén lashed out with his fist, slamming it into Davídrius to launch the Dean into the back of the boat. Davídrius landed with a roll, quickly jumped back to his feet, and instantly dashed towards Strén again, reaching the Bleeder in the blink of an eye; quickly, Davídrius reached for the sword still stuck in Strén’s chest, hoping to take hold of its hilt and yank in any direction to cut the Bleeder in half. But just as he took hold of the hilt, Strén firmly grabbed his wrist and then threw him upwards, smashing the Dean through the metal deck above and into the air over the lake.

Disoriented by the blows, Davídrius was scarcely able to recover before Strén started lobbing more boulders at him. The first struck him straight-on, shattering painfully against his body due to the raw force of Strén’s throw; the resulting debris showered Davídrius with enough momentum to lacerate his body all over. The Dean’s brow furrowed in pain, but the attack brought him to his senses just in time to react to another incoming boulder. Quickly, Davídrius whipped his sword around, using his Velocitechnic speed to impart so much momentum to the blade that he sliced horizontally clean through the rock. The two halves began to sail past him — one over, one under — at which point he whirled his feet around to place them against the upper rock and use it as a springboard to launch himself at the waters below. A split-second later, Davídrius whirled himself around again to launch off of the water’s surface, at which point he began running across the top of the lake once more.

It wasn’t long before the water around him began to explode with pillars of stone as Strén attempted to smash Davídrius from afar; but with the Dean’s Velocitechnic speed and reflexes, he managed to deftly dodge around all of the rock pillars. He soon turned his running path back around toward the boat hosting Strén, making a rapid dash straight for the Bleeder before leaping from the top of the water to reach the boat’s deck. Expecting this, Strén readily crouched down, his arms out and ready to intercept another of Davídrius’s attacks. And sure enough, the Dean dove straight in towards Strén — only to drop to the deck at the last second, initiating a supersonic slide across the deck to evade Strén’s grasp and knock out his legs from under him. Surprised, the Bleeder fell to the deck; in the instant that he hit the ground, Davídrius jumped up from his slide and dashed to Strén’s side, sword in hand and raised in the air right above the back of Strén’s head.

And then, at Mach speeds, Davídrius drove his blade downwards…

…Only for a reddish, supersonic projectile to come careening through the air and slam into his blade, completely shattering it before he could stab Strén.

“What—?!” the Dean exclaimed in surprise, already beginning to turn in the direction that the projectile had emerged from. As he did, he spotted a second Mach speed projectile seemingly emerge from thin air, rocketing straight towards him. Immediately, he moved to dodge, but Strén lashed out with his hand to grab the Dean’s ankle, thus arresting Davídrius of his speed. The Velocitechnic’s movements were still enough to move his vitals out of the way of the projectile… but it still ripped through the side of his thigh, forcing him to drop to his knees.

“Argh…!!” the Dean grunted, his face contorted in pain and fury. His right hand reflexively snapped to his wounded thigh, attempting to apply pressure to suppress the pain and bleeding — all while Strén got back to his feet… accompanied by two women near him. One draped thoroughly in white robes and an oversized hood, such that her fair-skinned face was half-hidden; the other wearing short, scruffy brown hair atop her surprisingly pale head, and a bloodthirsty, eager grin upon her face.

“Aaah ha ha ha ha ha!!!” cackled the brown-haired woman as she gleefully stared down at Davídrius. “Still can’t beat me, huh, Sentry?!”

“Feral…” Davídrius snarled as the robed woman strode forth, producing a small device and activating it next to the Dean. As she did, he could feel fatigue and lethargy wash over his body — the signs of a CENT field negating his superspeed. “And Shade… fuck!” He then looked over at Strén, snapping through pained breaths, “what happened… to you fightin’… alone, huh?”

“Hmph…” Strén snorted as he rolled his shoulders and then finally pulled Davídrius’s sword out of his chest, leaving behind the sparking remnants of his laser cannon. “…Well, that’s just a form of power, now, ain’t it?” the Bleeder remarked, looking over the blade before passing Davídrius a smirk. “Havin’ friends that can come help when you need it most.”

“You… fuckin’ hypocrite…!”

“Puahahahaha!!!” Strén bellowed with laughter, at which point he turned to look out over the Mirage Lakefront. Smoke billowed into the air over the Compound, hovering over the debris of demolished buildings — all while the sounds of continued battle raged from deeper within Tresnon. Upon seeing all of this, a wide grin spread across Strén’s face. “…Just look at it!” he remarked in awe, “Compound Tresnon, the shinin’ beacon of Treséd… laid low, from just one attack!”

“It really is quite remarkable, isn’t it?” Shade said. “To be able to cut down Tresnon so easily… I didn’t realize just how fragile the Compounds really were.”

“You bastards…!” Davídrius snarled. “You only got this… ‘cause of those… fuckin’ outsiders! The SFC!”

“That might be the regrettable truth…” Strén responded, “…but if it gets me what I want, then who fuckin’ cares? Those outsiders are next, anyways! After we take out Tresnon, we Bleeders will just take all their shit and kill the lot of ‘em, and then move on to rule Treséd! As it always should’ve been!”

“…Fuckin’… psychopath…!”

“Heh,” Strén chuckled, finally moving back to Davídrius — whose breathing had grown even more labored under the loss of blood through his thigh wound. “Always funny to see how folks react when on the verge of death. They always either beg for mercy, or get super spiteful… never anywhere in between.”

Davídrius attempted to move away from Strén, only to stumble as his leg failed him. Fury washed over his face as he looked up at the Bleeder — who brandished Davídrius’s own blade, that had once been lodged in Strén’s chest.

“…Kind of a shame you didn’t do the first one,” Strén remarked. “I always wanted to see Treséd’s most famous Compound Guardian beg for his life…”

“We could still do it!” Feral exclaimed. “Just let me at ‘im! He’ll be beggin’ for death ‘fore I’m through with ‘im!”

“No,” Strén replied, and then raised his sword overhead. “…You were a real dirt-damned pain in my ass, Sentry, but I gotta say, I ain’t never had as good a fight as I did with you. So for that, I’ll let you go out on your own terms. You got any last words ‘fore I send you to the dirt?”

“…Tch.” Davídrius spat into Strén’s face. “Fuck… you!”

“…A’ight, then.” Strén simply shrugged. He then tightened his grip on the sword, beginning to swing it down towards Davídrius’s head—

—only for a rock to careen through the air at supersonic speeds, catching everyone by surprise as it smashed into the CENT generator in Shade’s hand and completely demolished it. And following it by only a split second was none other than Karísah, her hand outstretched to grab Strén’s, at which point she whirled him through the air and slammed him to the ground at Feral and Shade’s feet.

“Chaos Cannon! Chaos Cannon!!” Feral immediately shouted, firing two Mach-speed projectiles of reddish energy straight at Karísah — only for them to deflect off of a golden sheet of light that protected her body. She paid the Bleeder no mind as she stooped down to pick up Davídrius in her arms, and then crouched down, preparing to leap to shore.

“Puahahaha…!”

Strén’s sudden laughter drew Karísah’s uneasy attention. As she glanced to the side, the Bleeder was slowly climbing back to his feet, his arms outstretched to block Shade and Feral from advancing.

“…Well, if it ain’t the whelp’s li’l pup,” Strén remarked. “…Always heard that you stayed cooped up in Tresnon. Never thought I’d see you ‘round!”

“…And what of it?” Karísah responded.

“Don’t… listen to ‘im!” Davídrius insisted. “He’s just… tryin’ to goad you… into a fight…!”

“Ha!” Strén smirked as he continued to address Karísah. “I gotta admit, you’ve got some balls, comin’ right up to me! But you should face it—“ He swept his arm to the side, gesturing over the burning Mirage Lakefront. “—Tresnon is as good as rubble! That Sentry of yours ain’t worth shit. You should drop ‘im, and join up with us! The Bleeders’ll show you the real way life should go in Treséd!”

“Ooor you can just die with the rest~!” Feral added with a dangerous grin. “You should really pick that option~! I really wanna fight the Sentry’s kid — maybe even kill you right before his eyes! Ooooh, I really like the sound of that!”

Karísah’s eyes followed Strén’s gesture, her expression unreadable. She then glanced back at Strén and Feral, her lips pursed… only to whip around a second later and bound off of the boat, using her superstrength to easily carry Davídrius as she leapt to the shore in a single leap.

“That certainly doesn’t look like ‘joining us’ to me,” Shade remarked.

“All the better!” Feral declared. “Now we get to tear through every last one of ‘em! Time to finally hit the streets ourselves~!”

“Puahahaha!” Strén guffawed loudly in response, only to then slam his fists together eagerly. “Yeah! Time to show these dirt-damned weaklings that the Bleeders are the strongest in all of Treséd!!”