The city had gone asleep by 3 AM.
Far ahead, the dark outline of the Order of the Third Hand headquarters rose against the night.
Inside the speeding vehicle, tension sat quietly between everyone.
Avery gripped the steering wheel. Henry sat beside her checking ammunition for what felt like the fifth time.
In the backseat, Shams Raye looked strangely calm, one hand resting near the weapon case beside him.
Across from him sat Collin Brayden.
An old member of the Organization. Collin carried the tired look of someone who had survived too many missions to care about emotional speeches anymore.
Graying hair near the sides, rough hands, broad shoulders. He adjusted the straps of his gear and spoke casually.
"Backup teams are ready always. Other organizations will send their people too. Once things escalate, we won't be alone."
Henry glanced back.
"That supposed to make me feel better?"
"No, It means if we fail, someone else gets blamed too."
Avery sighed.
"You old agents really suck at motivation."
Her foot pressed harder and the car accelerated.
Henry immediately looked forward.
"…Avery?"
"We are here."
"What do you mean we are here?"
The building's underground garage entrance rushed closer.
"Hang on, tightly!"
Concrete shattered inward as the car crashed.
The vehicle burst violently through the garage gate and slammed sideways into parked structures.
A hiss filled the wind. Gas leak.
BOOM!!
An explosion tore through part of the garage behind them. Fire spread violently through shattered pillars.
Doors kicked open immediately. The team stepped out fast, weapons had been drawn.
Taking positions behind ruined vehicles and broken concrete. Smoke spread quickly.
Sirens inside the building began screaming.
Henry lowered his stance.
"They will come."
Collin loaded his weapon calmly.
"Good. Saves us time searching."
....
The explosion resounded upward through the building. The glass of the balcony trembled.
Alarms rang aloud.
Inside the upper floor lounge, Adam Moore stopped mid-sentence and slowly looked toward the window.
A second later, the faint vibration reached the floor beneath them.
Zenon Caeser lowered the cigarette from his mouth.
"That doesn't sound accidental."
Adam walked toward the glass slowly and looked down toward the lower levels where smoke was already beginning to rise.
Then he exhaled once.
"So, they finally decided to interfere."
Zenon stayed seated for a moment before letting out a tired laugh.
"You expected them not to?"
"We both knew this would happen eventually."
Neither of them sounded surprised but only annoyed.
Zenon stood up at last and fixed his sleeves.
"Maybe we pushed too hard."
"You were literally discussing open conflict three nights ago."
"Organized war it is."
Adam scoffed.
"Call it whatever makes you sleep better."
Zenon walked toward the balcony doors and looked down.
"They are here because they figured it out. If we settle the King selection through force, public media gets dragged in. Civilians will panic. Other organizations get forced to respond."
"They already paid enough after the reactor incident."
"Still, we were going to do it anyway."
Then another explosion sounded somewhere below.
Adam cracked his knuckles slowly.
"Well, guess diplomacy officially failed."
Zenon smiled menacingly, "No. They came here to stop diplomacy from failing worse."
....
Smoke still drifted through the damaged garage as the team advanced deeper into the building.
Broken emergency lights flickered overhead. Throwing uneven shadows across concrete walls while distant alarms rang.
Henry moved ahead first lowering the weapon.
Beside him, Avery adjusted the seals wrapped around her wrist slowly.
Behind them walked Shams Raye and Collin Brayden. Both covering angles with practiced discipline.
Heavy footsteps came from somewhere above.
Avery stopped near the stairwell entrance.
"We will get slowed down if they flood the upper floors."
Henry glanced back. "You got an idea?"
She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she pressed two fingers lightly against the center of her palm.
Runic symbols spread outward.
Like steel being drawn somewhere unseen.
Runic Flow gathered around her in pale waves before suddenly forming into shape.
A tall armored woman stepped forward from the spreading light.
Her presence carried strange dignity. Silvered armor marked with wear rather than decoration, long braided hair partially tied back, spear resting firmly at her side.
Her eyes moved across the team once.
Then toward Avery.
"You summon me in a house already burning, a familiar beginning."
Henry blinked. "…She talks?"
Collin sighed.
"Younger agents really ask disappointing questions. You are here for months but this might be your first time watching a summon."
Brunhildr stepped closer with steady gaze.
"In battle, panic is a poor companion. Stand with purpose."
Her posture remained perfectly disciplined. Something closer to a veteran commander than a mythic warrior obsessed with glory.
There was restraint in her movements.
Historically remembered not simply for violence but for judgment, loyalty and carrying duty even through tragedy.
Shams adjusted his sleeves slightly.
"You planning to lead?"
Brunhildr shook her head once.
"I guide, though mortals still choose where steel falls."
Henry scratched his head.
"Great. We got philosophy at three in the morning."
Avery rolled her eyes. "Try surviving first."
The team paused near the corner.
Avery raised a hand slightly.
"Brunhildr," she said calmly, eyes fixed toward the dark hallway ahead. "Scout further. We need to know if the route is clear."
The summoned warrior inclined her head once.
"As you command."
Brunhildr stepped forward and lightly touched two fingers against the shaft of her spear.
Something changed.
The air around her shifted strangely.
Faint runic marks surfaced beneath her boots like pale silver scars.
"Fallen heroes... your souls are etched into my wings! By the sacred rune of victory—Siegrune of the Thousand Glories!
Now, I shall wield your valor as my own!" she chanted.
The sound almost disappeared beneath the alarms.
Yet immediately, her posture altered in more focused stance. A gathering of remembered wills.
The spirits of warriors once carried through battle.
A blessing not borrowed lightly. Wind stirred beneath her feet.
She stepped once and the floor no longer mattered.
Her body moved forward with impossible precision, walking briefly against the current of air itself before accelerating through the corridor in swift.
Like someone crossing battlefield chaos she had already survived a hundred times before.
Avery stared.
"Didn't know summons are so cool..."
Collin kept his rifle raised.
"That is why mythology gets terrifying when it becomes practical projects."
Brunhildr slowed near a broken intersection.
Her senses stretched outward. One hand touched the wall leaning in.
She closed her eyes briefly. She could sense the presence.
Seven armed guards positioned near the next turn. Two hidden farther above with rifles. Tripwire near the east hall.
She returned quickly, descending through the air same as before.
"Ambush. They are still in undisciplined formation."
Her gaze moved toward Henry.
"One path remains clear, but we need to be careful for whatever they have for us. I can sense high Runic Pressure from somewhere."
Henry smiled slightly.
"Well, that sounds like their mistake."
Brunhildr's expression barely changed.
"Confidence is useful but overconfidence buries kings. Too much kindness can be considered gluttony in a world lacking innocence and caring."
Then she turned toward the hallway again.
"Shall we proceed?"
The team moved upward floor by floor. Stepping over shattered glass and scorched debris while alarms continued ringing.
Smoke drifted through broken ventilation systems, making visibility worse with every level.
The first wave of guards came quickly.
Henry noticed it immediately.
"They are funneling." he muttered.
Avery glanced over. "Meaning?"
"They're not defending the building. They are forcing us toward specific routes."
Three guards rushed from the left hallway.
Henry didn't charge.
Instead, he kicked over a broken cleaning cart into the center of the corridor, forcing the guards to instinctively reposition around it. That tiny hesitation exposed their formation.
One took cover in left. Two stayed clustered.
Predictable. Henry drew his Astra.
A sharp wind slash struck the ceiling pipe instead of the enemies. Steam burst violently downward.
The guards instinctively covered their eyes.
"People always react to sudden blindness."
Henry muttered.
He took the next move immediately.
One guard lost balance after Henry swept his leg near loose debris.
Another got disarmed after Henry intentionally baited a knife strike into striking exposed steel railing. The impact vibrated painfully through the attacker's wrist.
Henry twisted the opening and slammed the pommel of his Astra against the side of the man's neck.
The third tried retreating.
Henry kicked a fallen extinguisher toward him, forcing the guard to stumble before pinning him against the wall.
"Relax. I am not important enough to kill people before breakfast."
Elsewhere—
Shams Raye had already entered brutal close combat. An enemy agent lunged forward with a combat blade.
Shams attacked first but with minimal movement.
He deflected the wrist with his forearm. Stepped inside the enemy's range and struck beneath the ribs.
Before the man recovered, Shams hooked his shoulder, redirected force and slammed him into the wall.
The enemy tried countering low. Shams anticipated it. A clean elbow strike disrupted balance instantly.
Then a controlled sweep took the agent down. The agent hit the floor hard.
Precise enough to feel frightening.
Brunhildr stepped ahead of the frontline.
Her spear struck the floor.
"Now I shall unravel the light that shines all spirits of heaven! Flame of Vengeance!"
Fire erupted outward in violent bursts across defensive barricades, forcing enemy positions apart without consuming the physical structures itself.
The frontline was collapsing.
At the opening of it, Collin Brayden advanced beside Avery.
"Push now!"
Avery surged forward, Runic Flow reinforcing movement while Collin covered angles with brutal efficiency.
One enemy tried flanking. Collin slammed him into cover.