The rat-man slowly turned his head toward Dave.

A wicked smile stretched across his lips.

Blood ran along his claws, hot, dark, thick. Khalia’s body remained suspended for a few seconds at the end of his arm, pierced through like a rag doll.

Then he threw her away.

BAM.

She hit the ground and rolled several meters farther.

"Khalia !"

Dave’s voice tore through the cavern.

Elias launched a Fire Javelin by reflex.

Fwoosh.

The incandescent spear split the air toward the Guardian’s face. The rat-man simply tilted his head. The projectile grazed his cheek, exploded against the wall, and covered the chamber in red sparks.

Enough. Not to injure. To distract.

Julian immediately left the rear of the formation.

His Astra activated.

Green light ran beneath his skin, along his veins, all the way to his palms. He slid to his knees beside Khalia and pressed his hands against her abdomen.

"Breathe."

Blood escaped between his fingers. Too fast.

"Breathe, Khalia."

The claws had gone deep. Liver. Intestines. Vessels.

A fatal wound for an ordinary human.

'Not yet.'

Julian’s palms shone brighter.

'You will not die here.'

Green energy poured into Khalia’s body. The tissues began to contract, to close around the wound. Slowly. Too slowly. The flesh responded, but something resisted.

Black. Viscous. Hostile.

Julian felt the substance inside the wound like cold mud in a clear current.

"No..."

Elias backed up to him, his hands still burning.

"Julian, is it working ?"

"Poison."

"What ?"

"His claws. They’re poisoned."

Julian clenched his teeth. The green light pulsed violently.

"I’ve almost closed the wound, but the poison is spreading."

Logan finally approached. Until then, he had remained in the back. Silent. Hands in his pockets.

"How long can she hold on ?"

Julian did not raise his eyes.

"Not long enough to finish the Hole calmly. We need to take her to Crimson Halo."

"Crimson Halo ?"

"Yes. They have an Ascendant who can purify poisons."

Logan observed Khalia for one second. His face did not change. But the air around him grew colder.

"Hmm."

On the other side of the chamber, Dave was already advancing.

The blue Astra around his body pulsed violently. The luminous roots vibrated inside the walls. His gauntlets creaked under the pressure.

"You bastard..."

The rat-man released an amused growl.

"Grrraaaah."

Then he vanished.

Dave reacted on instinct.

CLANG.

The claws appeared on his right.

The impact crossed his energy armor and traveled up to his shoulder. Cracks ran through the blue aura like glass under tension.

'Even faster.'

The Guardian followed up.

One claw.

Then a second.

Then a third.

CLANG.

CLANG.

CLANG.

Each strike tore out sparks. Dave blocked, endured, advanced half a step, retreated another. His heels carved into the stone. His breathing grew heavier.

'He was testing me from the start.'

The rat-man slid to the side.

Dave cocked his fist.

Astra was already converging into his right arm. The muscles beneath the Mark of the Giant swelled. The air compressed in front of his gauntlet.

"Fist of the Giant."

BOOM.

The blow crossed the space.

Too late.

The target was no longer there.

'What ?'

A flash of pain opened his flank.

Slash.

The claws tore through his blue aura and bit into the flesh beneath the armor. Dave was thrown against a stone column. Rock burst under his back.

"Captain !"

Elias launched three Fire Javelins.

Fwoosh.

Fwoosh.

Fwoosh.

The Guardian dodged them with no apparent effort. His massive body twisted with impossible flexibility. Too much intelligence in the choice of angles.

Then his red eyes settled on Elias.

The young man’s blood turned cold.

'He’s looking at me.'

The Guardian charged.

"Elias !"

Dave tried to stand.

Too slow.

The rat-man’s mouth opened. His fangs were as long as knives, still stained with Khalia’s blood.

"GRAAAAH !"

Elias raised his arms by reflex.

A gust tore through the chamber.

Fwoooosh.

The air exploded.

The Guardian was struck from the side, as if hit by an invisible mass. His body left the ground and smashed into the wall.

BOOM.

The cavern trembled.

Silence fell.

Elias remained frozen, arms still raised. Then he slowly turned his head.

Logan had taken his hands out of his pockets. His brown hair floated slightly. Around him, Astra was almost invisible.

No flame.

No luminous armor.

Only a silent wind that bent the air.

And yet, every person present immediately felt the difference.

The atmosphere had just changed owners.

"We don’t have much time left."

Logan’s voice remained calm.

"I’ll take over."

The rat-man rose.

Blood ran from his snout. His red eyes fixed on Logan. For the first time, fear passed through them.

Logan sighed.

"I was hoping I wouldn’t have to intervene."

Then he looked at Dave.

"Fall back. Protect your team."

Dave clenched his teeth.

"Chief, I can still..."

"I know."

Logan did not raise his voice.

"You haven’t gone all out yet. But Khalia is poisoned. We need to get out quickly."

Dave froze.

"What ?"

"I’ll finish this fast."

The Guardian roared.

The chamber vibrated under the pressure of his blackish Astra. The surviving rats screamed hysterically around the crystal.

"Griiiih !"

"Griiiih !"

"Griiiih !"

The rat-man raised his arms.

His claws lengthened. A dark aura covered them, thick, almost oily. The blue light of the crystal seemed to dim at their touch.

Logan observed the scene.

Then a faint smile appeared.

"Finally."

His Astra circulated.

Nine Nodes opened in silence inside his body. Not like doors, but more like turbines. Wind began to turn around him. Slowly at first. Then faster.

Dave’s hair lifted. Elias’s flames flickered. The luminous roots bent under the pressure. The dust on the ground formed a perfect circle around Logan’s boots.

The Guardian took half a step back.

Logan saw it.

"What are you staring at ?"

A green aura covered his right arm.

The rat-man understood. Not with his intelligence. With his bones. The man in front of him was not on the same level.

"Grrriiiiiah !"

The Guardian charged. The ten surviving rats rushed with him.

Logan did not move. He simply inhaled.

"Tornado."

The wind rose all at once.

An invisible column formed around him, then exploded outward. The rats were ripped from the ground. Their bodies struck the walls one after another with wet, dry sounds. Broken bones. Open skulls. Twisted limbs.

None of them got back up.

The Guardian, however, held on.

He planted his claws into the rock, roared, then leapt through the current. His rage burned stronger than his fear. Blackish Astra covered his arms up to the shoulders.

Logan finally pulled his hand fully out of his pocket.

The green aura stretched around his fingers.

Thin. Sharp.

The wind condensed.

"Wind Cutter."

His hand fell vertically.

Nothing seemed to happen. Not to Elias’s eyes. Not right away.

Then a line appeared. In the air. In the Guardian’s fur. In the rocky wall, ten meters farther.

A clean, deep vertical mark split the stone, as if a giant blade had just passed through the cavern.

The rat-man took two more steps. His red eyes blinked. He had not understood.

Then his body separated in two. The two halves fell on either side of the mark left by the wind.

Silence.

Elias remained with his mouth open.

'So this is...'

His throat tightened.

'The power of nine Nodes.'

The monster that had terrorized them had just died without even knowing what had happened to him.

Logan exhaled.

"That’s done."

He turned toward Julian.

"Khalia."

"Alive. But we need to leave now."

"We’re leaving."

Dave looked at the crystal at the center of the lair.

"And the heart of the Hole ?"

"A cleanup team will come uproot it and transfer it to HQ."

Logan swept his gaze over the team.

"Good work."

No one answered. They were too busy breathing.

At the exit of the Hole, the gray light of London welcomed them. Then the flashes.

Journalists had gathered behind the barriers, microphones extended, cameras raised, hungry for blood and national rankings.

Elias groaned.

"How did they find us ?"

Dave glanced at the Stormshield van.

"Given our vehicle, it wasn’t exactly a miracle."

Julian held Khalia against him, his green Astra still active. The young woman’s skin was pale.

Too pale.

"We don’t have time."

Logan stepped between them and the journalists.

"Take her."

Dave nodded.

"Thank you, chief."

The unit quickly headed toward the van. The journalists rushed toward Logan.

"Mr. McKennie ! How did the exploration go ?"

"How many Nodes did the Guardian have ?"

"Is your subordinate seriously injured ?"

"Does Stormshield confirm its rise in the national rankings ?"

Logan looked at them. A strange silence settled. Even the cameras seemed to hesitate.

Then he opened his mouth.

"No comment."