Ten Minutes Earlier
WHU — Command Room.
Vale stood in front of the monitors.
The battle was reflected across the screens.
Freya.
Alpha.
Sebastian's arrival.
Vale analyzed everything carefully.
"Gravity vectors are shifting… Alpha is sliding the central pressure point…"
He leaned closer to the display.
Then—
A faint, wet sound came from behind him.
Like soil dragging across stone.
Vale slowly turned.
"…Sebastian?"
No response.
The floor trembled.
And—
From beneath the ground, a dark, mud-like mass began to rise.
It moved like liquid.
But shaped itself like something alive.
Vale stepped back.
Too late.
Mud-like tendrils shot forward and wrapped around his legs.
"What is—?!"
They tightened, climbing upward.
A deep, damp voice echoed through the room.
"I've been watching you."
A silhouette emerged from the darkness.
Swamp.
Vale tried to reach the control panel.
Tried to activate emergency systems.
But the organic mass had already wrapped around his torso.
"Sebastian watches the sky…"
The silhouette stepped closer.
"I control the roots."
The mud surged upward.
Vale couldn't even scream.
The floor swallowed him whole.
Silence returned.
As if nothing had happened.
Present Time
Sebastian and the team entered WHU.
Everything looked normal.
But—
Vale was gone.
Sebastian understood immediately.
"…They found our location."
His voice was calm.
His eyes were not.
"We relocate immediately. If we stay, the next attack will be direct."
Asher stood frozen.
"H-how…?"
He rushed to Vale's station.
Empty.
"This is my fault…"
His breathing became unstable.
"If I wasn't weak… if the fight had gone differently…"
"This is because of me!"
Julia grabbed his shoulder.
"Asher, stop!"
Vincent, injured but standing, spoke through clenched teeth.
"This was planned."
Julian added quietly,
"You blaming yourself won't change that."
But Asher wasn't listening.
"I did this… I…"
His breath shortened.
Pressure Core began to fluctuate.
Small cracks formed across the floor.
Sebastian stepped in front of him.
"Do not lose control."
Asher's eyes were filled with guilt.
"I couldn't protect my brother…"
Sebastian's voice hardened.
"Do not give your enemy your emotions."
But chaos had already begun inside WHU.
Systems flickered.
The ground trembled faintly beneath them.
Elsewhere — A Cave
Dark.
Wet.
Echoing.
Freya.
Alpha.
Swamp.
They stood in silence.
Before them sat a figure on a raised stone platform.
Lord.
His face remained hidden in shadow.
A deep, commanding voice filled the cavern.
"Well done."
Freya and Alpha bowed.
Swamp lowered his head slightly.
Lord stood.
His movements were slow.
Controlled.
He walked toward Vale, who lay unconscious on the stone floor.
Vale was barely aware.
Lord knelt beside him.
"Sleep eternally, Vale."
He placed a finger on Vale's forehead.
Dark energy spread.
Vale's eyes slowly closed.
His body relaxed.
He fell into a deep, unnatural sleep.
Lord turned away.
"Place him in the chamber."
Swamp extended organic roots and pulled Vale back into the shadows.
Lord continued:
"Inform the others."
A brief silence.
"The great assault begins."
Freya smiled faintly.
Alpha remained silent.
The cave trembled.
Above them—
The city still had no idea what was coming.