Sibonen watched in horror as Lady Izi took a devastating blow from the steel golem. Her body crumpled under the weight of the strike.

  Gritting his teeth, he fired a fre into the sky.

  Isrin flinched. “What are you doing?”

  “We’ll all die if this keeps up,” Sibonen replied, face grim. “So I took a gamble.”

  He’d noticed birds circling above, animals wailing in the brush. Was it chaos—or something else? Isrin had once mentioned someone in Code B with a unique ability. He couldn’t risk waiting any longer.

  The enemy was no longer just bandits. When the golem appeared, Sibonen and Isrin knew—they were up against war machines.

  Seeing Lady Izi brought down shook Sibonen to the core. He drew his sword.

  If she died, they were next. Better to fight beside her than die watching.

  Isrin, without a word, pulled her dagger. They both knew what came next.

  They braced to charge—

  ---

  Lady Izi staggered, her breath shallow. She could barely stand. The enemy readied their final strike—

  Then it came.

  A roar tore through the trees.

  Even the Greater Ascendant Counterforce halted, forming defensive lines.

  “Something's coming! Get ready!”

  A bze erupted behind them. From the smoke burst a dark-skinned woman in armored gauntlets and boots—Department Head Riche.

  With a midair twist, she nded hard, kicking up a wave of force.

  “I’m here!”

  Sibonen and Isrin stumbled at her arrival. Riche stood tall, fmes dancing at her feet.

  No words wasted. She lunged.

  A mage tried to cast—but Riche was faster. A warrior raised a warhammer to intercept.

  The warrior saw it then—the engraving on her left gauntlet:

  —Let not the right hand know.

  Riche’s punch nded.

  The warrior crumpled like a crushed can.

  Shock rippled through the enemy.

  “Inertia Vinculis! (Bind her with inertia!)”

  The spell unched—too slow. Riche had already shifted, dodging easily.

  She bsted toward the mage who’d cast it.

  ---

  Sibonen stared in disbelief.

  He never imagined Riche was a frontline fighter. Her speed, her power—it was overwhelming.

  “Is she an Ascendant too?” he asked.

  Isrin shook her head. “No. She’s a Transcendent. A rare kind. I’ll expin ter.”

  He didn’t fully grasp the difference—but he knew one thing: Riche fought like a wild predator.

  ---

  The enemy faltered.

  They had prepared to battle an Ascendant like Lady Izi—not someone like Riche.

  In seconds, she crushed a mage and five warriors. Lady Izi wasted no time—she absorbed their corpses for power.

  “Kill them all! Get out while we can!”

  From the rear, Jensen gave the order. They were outmatched. And Code B was still on its way.

  Jensen pulled out another pill.

  *This’ll kill me.*

  He swallowed it anyway. Pain surged.

  The others followed, downing their own pills and charging.

  ---

  One mage managed to nd a spell on Riche, binding her limbs with glowing chains.

  “Who... are you?” he gasped.

  Riche smirked.

  With a flick of her wrists, the chains shattered.

  “Take the hit first. Ask ter.”

  She ignited her boots and charged.

  A spear thrust at her fnk. It bounced off.

  The mage turned to flee—but to Riche, he moved in slow motion.

  Her gauntlet punched straight through him.

  Half the enemy force fell.

  More troops appeared, unching coordinated volleys.

  Riche deflected the first but had to fall back.

  *This is no rogue gang. They're soldiers.*

  She looked to Lady Izi—also under fire.

  Time for one move.

  Riche raised her fists. Her gauntlets glowed red-hot.

  She dodged arrow after arrow. When the timing was right, she lunged.

  A golem stepped in her path.

  Riche flew at it, fist pulled back.

  “I like you,” she grinned. “Let me engrave you on my knuckles.”

  Her punch nded.

  The golem flew backward, crashing through trees.

  Its chest was cratered. Broken.

  The enemy stared.

  *Monster.*

  No one retreated.

  “Run if you want,” Riche cracked her neck. “That’ll just make this more fun.”

  The bck-cd soldiers popped more pills.

  “Raaagh!”

  A beast lunged at Riche’s fnk.

  She dodged.

  Lady Izi responded—bsting it with both hands.

  It wasn’t rge. Human-sized. Ragged cloth.

  Lady Izi hesitated.

  *That… was human.*

  More surged forward. Too fast. Too inhuman.

  “They took the drug again!” Riche yelled. “It’s the same one!”

  Lady Izi’s eyes narrowed.

  *That forbidden drug—it’s back.*

  “Where’s Code B?” she demanded.

  “They should be here...” Riche blocked an arrow. “Right about now.”

  Lady Izi scanned the trees.

  Hope was coming.