(Misalignment)
Pain arrived before Pryan fully understood the strike.
The hooded man's blade slid past his defense and struck directly beneath his shoulder joint. Not deep enough to cripple.
Precise enough to disrupt movement.
Pryan's sword arm immediately lost rhythm for half a second.
That half second almost killed him.
The hooded man stepped forward instantly—
Mireya intercepted hard enough for steel to scream through the chamber.
"You are unbelievably annoying," she snapped.
The hooded man redirected her blade smoothly.
"Emotional interference," he said calmly. "Consistently inefficient."
"I'm going to stab you for speaking like that."
"You've attempted that repeatedly already."
"…I dislike him even more now," Mireya muttered.
Pryan forced his breathing steady again.
The internal damage was getting worse.
Not visible enough yet.
But every movement now carried delay behind it.
The hooded man noticed.
Of course he did.
"You're compensating through adaptation," he observed. "Interesting."
Pryan adjusted his grip on the dagger slightly.
"No one has ever told you talking less is an option?"
The hooded man ignored the comment entirely.
Then attacked again.
This time Pryan understood part of it.
Not prediction.
Tempo.
The man constantly forced combat into awkward timing windows. Every exchange happened slightly off natural rhythm, creating hesitation where none should exist.
That was why he always felt early.
Pryan blocked low.
Shifted left.
Dagger upward.
The hooded man smoothly redirected all three movements at once.
Too clean.
Pryan stepped inside instead of retreating.
That made the man pause slightly.
Good.
The hidden knife flashed from Pryan's sleeve again.
The hooded man avoided it narrowly—
And Mireya's sword immediately followed from the opposite side.
The combination finally forced him backward several steps.
Mireya blinked.
"…That actually worked."
"For now," Pryan replied.
"You say everything like we're discussing weather."
"It helps me think."
"That explains so much."
The hooded man straightened slowly.
Then for the first time, his attention shifted fully between both of them instead of only Pryan.
"You synchronize well under pressure."
Mireya stared at him.
"…If you say synchronize one more time, I might hit you emotionally."
Pryan almost laughed.
Almost.
The chamber around them remained active.
Figures moved through the outer rail sections carrying sealed containers and coded plates between tunnel branches.
Not random movement.
Organized.
Mireya noticed it now too.
"…They're using the tunnels to move information."
"Yes."
"Not just stealing it."
Pryan's eyes narrowed slightly as another group disappeared deeper underground.
"They're controlling where it arrives. And when."
The hooded man didn't deny it.
"The Empire depends on timing," he said calmly. "Military reports. Noble communication. Border responses. Trade approvals. Delay one message by three hours and entire decisions change."
Mireya's expression hardened.
"So you've been manipulating information flow."
"Correct."
Far across another tunnel sector, Aurelian Vaelor stood beside an underground relay chamber hidden behind a collapsed maintenance wall.
Several communication plates rested along the stone tables nearby. Some imperial. Some noble.
All redirected.
Aurelian picked up one partially burned report and read the routing marks silently.
Then his expression cooled further.
"This isn't espionage," he said quietly.
His gaze moved across the hidden relay system.
"It's infrastructure warfare."
Entire communication chains had been altered beneath the Empire without detection.
Not through magic.
Through logistics.
Someone had spent years building this.
Elsewhere near the surface exits, Seris' group remained positioned across the eastern emergence route.
The tension had worsened steadily.
Still no sign of Pryan.
Or Mireya.
Rhea leaned lightly against the stone barrier nearby.
"You've checked that tunnel entrance six times."
Seris didn't look away from the corridor.
"I'm observing movement."
"You're worrying."
"I'm not."
Rhea's expression made it very clear she didn't believe that.
Elyra spoke quietly from nearby.
"Professor Kaien is inside now."
That silenced the conversation briefly.
Because somehow that was both reassuring and deeply concerning.
Meanwhile, Kaien walked deeper beneath the city.
The tunnel sections here looked different.
Cleaner.
Maintained.
Several hidden relay stations lined the walls, connected through coded transport routes and timed signal systems.
Kaien studied them silently.
Then his gaze sharpened slightly.
This wasn't a temporary operation.
This require resources, political access, years of construction.
Meaning someone above ground had helped build it.
Several people, probably.
Movement appeared ahead.
Three infiltrators.
They froze the moment they saw him.
One tried to retreat instantly.
Kaien moved once.
The tunnel wall cracked sharply beside the infiltrator's head before the man even realized Kaien had crossed the distance.
"You'll stay," Kaien said calmly.
Back in the central chamber—
Pryan's condition worsened rapidly.
His breathing had become uneven now.
His movements still adapted.
Still improved.
But his body couldn't keep pace anymore.
The hooded man saw it too.
"You learn faster than expected," he said.
Pryan's dagger intercepted another strike barely in time.
"But your body is reaching structural failure."
"Helpful observation."
"Accurate observation."
Mireya suddenly stepped between them again as another infiltrator tried attacking Pryan from the side.
Her sword intercepted hard enough to force the attacker backward.
Then another blade cut across her arm.
Shallow.
Still enough.
Pryan's eyes sharpened immediately.
"Mireya."
"I'm fine."
Blood ran lightly down her sleeve anyway.
The hooded man watched the exchange calmly.
"You continue sacrificing efficiency for attachment."
Mireya looked genuinely offended now.
"You talk like a broken textbook."
For the first time—
The hooded man's expression shifted slightly beneath the hood.
Confusion.
Tiny.
But real.
As if he genuinely didn't understand the insult.
That somehow made him worse.
Pryan moved again before the moment fully passed.
Sword downward.
Dagger reverse grip.
Knife hidden.
The exchange became tighter now.
Faster.
Pryan adapted in real time again, adjusting movement after every failed engagement.
But each adjustment cost him physically.
His internal injuries worsened every minute.
His vision blurred once.
Then again.
The hooded man finally stopped retreating altogether.
The difference was immediate.
Pressure.
Overwhelming pressure.
Pryan's rhythm collapsed instantly beneath the assault.
Too fast.
Too precise.
His sword barely caught one strike.
Second hit—
His dagger arm went numb.
Third—
Pain exploded through his ribs hard enough to force blood into his throat.
Mireya's expression changed immediately.
This wasn't sustainable anymore.
Pryan stepped backward once.
Then another.
The hooded man advanced steadily.
No wasted motion.
No emotion.
Just inevitability.
Pryan understood it clearly now.
He could not win this normally.
Not anymore.
Not in his current condition.
The realization settled strangely calmly inside him.
Mireya grabbed his arm briefly.
"We need to move."
"No."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"What?"
Pryan's gaze stayed fixed on the hooded man.
"…You need to leave."
"No."
"Find Professor Kaien."
Mireya froze.
Not because of the words.
Because of the tone.
Absolute seriousness.
Pryan continued quietly.
"This operation is bigger than we thought."
"You're injured."
"Yes."
"And you want me to leave you here?"
Pryan's breathing shook once before stabilizing again.
"I'm asking you to make sure this fight matters."
The hooded man moved again.
Pryan intercepted despite his failing body.
Steel crashed violently through the chamber.
Blood hit the tunnel floor.
Then Pryan said quietly—
"Go."