[System Record: Deployment Log] Location: The Northern Wall (Sector 2355 – Barracks Zone 4) Time: Day 21 of Deployment (Hour 30 of 36) Status: Fatigue Level – Critical

  War was not glorious. War was rhythmic.

  For three weeks, the "Illogical Club" and the Elites had existed in a purgatory of cyclical violence. The 36-hour day had been sliced into a brutal staccato beat: Sleep (4 hours) -> Ration (10 minutes) -> Patrol (14 hours) -> Repair (6 hours) -> Collapse.

  "I miss beds," Torin groaned.

  He was slumped against a crate of depleted mana-batteries, cleaning his bowstring with a rag that smelt of ozone and old grease. His face was gaunt, the shadows under his eyes dark enough to be bruising.

  "I miss soft things. Everything here is hard light or cold metal. My spine feels like it’s fused into a question mark."

  "Quit whingeing," Volt (Lightning) said, sitting opposite him.

  Absolute exhaustion dragged at the Elite; his usually pristine hair was heavily matted with sweat and grime. He tossed a ration bar—flavour: Compressed Sawdust—to Torin.

  "Eat. You're on watch in twenty minutes."

  "Thanks," Torin muttered, tearing the wrapper with his teeth.

  Lack sat in the corner, sharpening a combat knife. Scritch. Scritch. The sound was a metronome in the silence. His target lock anchored onto the exchange. Three weeks ago, Volt would have sneered at Torin. Now, they shared food. Shared trauma was a powerful adhesive; it bound them tighter than friendship ever could.

  Terra (Plant) was braiding Mina’s hair, trying to distract the crying girl from the distant, thunderous booms of the Cosmic War waging miles above their heads. Rian (Ice) and Serra (Friction) were huddled over a datapad, debating thermal dynamics to optimise their barrier spells.

  They're blending, the Light Devil noted, sounding bored but oddly fond. It’s disgusting. Next, they’ll be holding hands and singing camp songs about the inevitable heat death of the universe.

  "It's survival," Lack thought back. "We need them. They need us."

  Suddenly, the ambient hum of the base—the constant, thrumming E-Major chord of the magical sensors—cut out.

  It wasn't a power failure. The harsh halogen lights still buzzed. The Golden Wall outside still glowed.

  But the Alarm Grid went silent.

  Observation: Ambient mana frequency dropped to zero. Diagnosis: Artificial Damping.

  "The sensors," Rian stood up, his breath misting in the sudden chill of realisation. "The mana-detection grid just died."

  "Jamming?" Volt asked, sparks flying from his fingertips as his anxiety spiked.

  "No," Lack stood up, his Vibration Radar pinging wildly against the sudden void. "Not jamming. Damping."

  He walked to the reinforced window. The Astral Line was still there, holding back the purple storm of the Devil Domain. But the base was an absolute, physical void. A film stripped entirely of volume.

  "Someone deployed a Void Silencer," Lack whispered. "It absorbs magical signals. If a breach happens now, the alarms won't sound. We'll be overrun before we can scream."

  ? ? ?

  Location: Command Deck (External Walkway) Objective: Locate the Interference

  The team rushed out onto the walkway. The wind at this altitude was a physical assault, howling like a banshee and masking any physical sound.

  "I can't sense anything!" Terra panicked, reaching out with her vines. "The nature spirits are silent. The air is dead."

  "My lightning radar is fuzzy," Volt cursed, tapping his temple. "I'm getting static. White noise."

  Blind. The Dreallytear had stripped their senses. The Elites relied on Mana Sensing. The Dreallytear had blinded them perfectly by removing the signal.

  But Lack didn't use Mana Sensing.

  He walked to the edge of the floating platform. He placed both hands flat against the golden surface of the Astral Wall.

  "Cover me," Lack ordered.

  "What are you doing?" Rian asked, shivering.

  "Listening," Lack closed his eyes.

  He ignored the wind. He ignored the biting cold. He focused on the Structure. The Wall was not just a barrier; it was a solid beam of light, vibrating at a hyper-frequency to repel the Void. Thrum... Thrum... Thrum... It was the heartbeat of the sector.

  "Devil," Lack whispered. "Amplify input. I need to feel the dissonance."

  On it. Turning your nervous system into a microphone. Try not to scream.

  [System Alert] Vibration Radar: Range Extended (Conducted via Wall).

  Lack’s mind expanded. The Wall stretched out for miles, manifesting as a massive, golden nervous system. The micro-vibrations of Void Leeches gnawed violently at Zone 1. The heavy, rhythmic footsteps of a golem patrol pounded through Zone 2.

  And then, he felt it.

  Thump. Heavy. Thump. Heavy.

  A rhythm that didn't belong. It wasn't outside the wall. It was inside.

  It was an impossibly heavy footstep. The walker possessed the absolute mass of a tonne, yet moved with silent precision. It was creating micro-fractures in the floor plates with every step.

  "I found him," Lack opened his eyes. They were glowing with a faint, chaotic white light.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "Where?" Volt asked, charging his fists.

  "Zone 4. Maintenance Shaft B," Lack pointed down. "He's not attacking the Wall directly. He's planting explosives on the Anchor Pylons."

  "That's directly beneath the officer's quarters," Torin gasped.

  "Move!" Lack sprinted.

  ? ? ?

  Location: Maintenance Shaft B (Beneath the Officer's Quarters) Target: The Saboteur

  They burst into the maintenance shaft. It was a claustrophobic tunnel of pipes and steam, lit only by the emergency red strobes.

  Standing by the main Pylon was a tall, lithe figure in a heavy officer's coat. He was attaching a familiar Black Orb to the base of the structure.

  "Stop!" Volt shouted, firing a warning bolt.

  The figure turned. It wasn't a student. It was Officer Kael, Valerius’s second-in-command.

  [System Identification: Officer Kael] Species: Dark Elf Vessel: God of Earth (High Executor Tier) Status: Void Corrupted (Possessed)

  Kael’s skin was obsidian, typical of his species, but his eyes were entirely black, leaking violet smoke.

  "You are annoying," Kael spoke, his voice layered with the whisper of the Void. "The sensors are down. How did you find me?"

  "You walk heavy," Lack said, stepping forward. "For an Elf."

  "It matters not," Kael smiled, revealing teeth made of jagged stone. "The Silencer hides the explosion signal. By the time Valerius realises the Anchor is gone, the Wall will have collapsed."

  He raised his hand. The concrete floor beneath him rippled and rose, coating his arm in a thick layer of rock that sharpened into a massive blade.

  [God Ability 1: Terra-Form (Weaponise)]

  "Don't let him click the detonator!" Rian shouted, freezing the air to slow him down.

  Kael didn't dodge. He simply swung his rock-arm.

  CRASH.

  The ice shattered instantly. Kael moved with terrifying speed for someone wielding a rock the size of an engine block.

  "Original Skill: Mana Shield."

  A shimmering, transparent green barrier—dense with High Elf mana—surrounded Kael. Volt’s lightning struck it and fizzled out harmlessly.

  "He's tanky!" Volt cursed. "High Executor Earth plus Elf Mana reserves? He's a walking bunker!"

  Kael stomped his foot.

  "God Ability 2: Mass Manipulation (Gravimetric Density)."

  He didn't target them. He targeted the air above them. He infused the dust particles in the air with the mass of boulders.

  Suddenly, the atmosphere became a crushing weight.

  "Argh!" Torin collapsed, pinned to the floor by invisible tons. "I... I can't breathe!"

  "My vines!" Terra gasped. "They're too heavy to lift!"

  Atmospheric pressure buckled Lack's knees. It wasn't gravity; it was density. Kael had weaponised the environment itself.

  "Borg!" Lack shouted. "Anchor!"

  Borg (Gluttony) groaned but stood firm. His massive frame was built for burden. He grabbed Torin and Mina, holding them up like Atlas holding the sky. "Borg... strong!"

  Kael walked toward them, the detonator in his left hand, the rock-blade in his right. He moved effortlessly, unaffected by his own mass field.

  "Die, insects."

  Kael swung the rock-blade at Lack.

  Lack couldn't dodge. The air was too heavy. Agility was useless if the atmosphere fought you.

  [Illogical Logic Idea: Soil Liquefaction] Premise: If the earth is heavy... make it flow. Physics: Solid ground loses cohesion when vibrated at a specific frequency.

  Lack didn't try to block the blade. He punched the floor.

  "Knuckle Style: Liquefaction Frequency!"

  He slammed his hydraulic knuckles into the concrete.

  HUMMMMMM.

  He sent a specific vibration frequency into the ground—the resonant frequency of loose soil.

  The concrete beneath Kael’s feet didn't break. It flowed. The solid structure lost its cohesion, turning instantly into a dense quicksand.

  Kael, who had increased his own mass to make his attack heavier, suddenly found himself standing on soup.

  SPLASH.

  Kael sank instantly up to his waist in the liquefied concrete. His heavy rock-arm dragged him down further.

  "What?" Kael roared, struggling. "The ground... it is unstable!"

  The distraction broke his concentration. The Mass Manipulation field flickered and died.

  "Now!" Lack yelled. "Volt! Terra!"

  Terra slammed her palms on the floor. "Steel-Vine Bind!" Metal-infused vines erupted from the grating, wrapping around Kael’s trapped limbs before the concrete could harden again.

  Volt sprinted forward, channelling every ounce of mana he had. "Thunder Lance!"

  He drove a spear of lightning directly into Kael’s chest, bypassing the rock armour.

  Kael screamed—a sound of a thousand wailing souls—and then went limp. The blackness faded from his eyes, leaving only a dead, empty husk.

  The Black Orb beeped.

  Beep. Beep. Beep.

  "It's armed!" Torin shrieked. "We can't disarm it!"

  "Borg!" Lack pointed at the bomb. "Dessert!"

  Borg looked at the pulsating Void bomb. "Spicy truffle?"

  "Very spicy," Lack promised.

  Borg grabbed the orb and swallowed it whole.

  GULP.

  His stomach glowed purple. He burped, a small cloud of black smoke escaping his lips.

  [Borg Energy Cell: 200% (Critical Overcharge)]

  "I need... to run," Borg wheezed, his eyes vibrating.

  "Go run laps!" Lack ordered. "Don't stop until you stop glowing!"

  Borg sprinted away down the hall at Mach 1

  ? ? ?

  Location: General Valerius's Office Time: 1 Hour Later

  Valerius stood by the window, looking at the dead body of Officer Kael being carried away on a stretcher. He looked old.

  "Kael was a good soldier," Valerius said softly. "The Void doesn't just corrupt the wicked. It corrupts the tired."

  He turned to Lack and the team.

  "You detected a Silent Incursion without magical sensors. You neutralised a High Executor officer—an Earth Vessel, no less—and you saved the Northern Anchor."

  Valerius walked to his desk and pulled out a velvet box. Inside were Silver Insignias.

  "You are no longer Cadets," Valerius said. "I am field-promoting you. You are now Lieutenants of the Auxiliary Corps."

  He pinned the silver badge on Lack’s chest.

  "But this brings a new problem, Lieutenant Flameheart. The Dreallytear didn't just infiltrate the University. They infiltrated my command staff. This conspiracy is deeper than a few rogue students."

  Valerius looked at the map of the Shattered Seas—the neutral zone between the domains.

  "I received intel today. A 'Ghost Ship' was spotted near Sector 88. It matches the signature of the Dreallytear. They are looking for something."

  "The Exit Algorithm," Lack whispered.

  Valerius narrowed his eyes. "You know of it?"

  "We found the Server Room," Lack admitted. "The bomb at the arena... it was meant to blow up the node."

  Valerius was silent for a long time.

  "Then you are the only ones who know what they are after," Valerius said. "I cannot leave the Wall. The Cosmic War is escalating. But you..."

  He looked at the Illogical Club.

  "You are Misfits. You are officially 'Auxiliary Support'. No one watches the rubbish trucks."

  "Sir?" Lack asked.

  "I am giving you a ship," Valerius said. "A decommissioned stealth-frigate. The Rusty Nail. Take your team. Go to the Shattered Seas. Find out what the Dreallytear are digging for."

  He handed Lack a data-key.

  "Officially, you are on 'garbage disposal duty' in the Neutral Zone. Unofficially? You are my Black Ops team."

  Lack took the key. He looked at Torin, who looked ready to faint. He looked at Volt, who nodded with a grim smile.

  "We'll find them, General," Lack said.

  A ship! The Light Devil cheered. We’re going to be pirates! I want an eyepatch! Can we get a parrot? Oh wait, we have Kip.

  ? ? ?

  [System Record: Character Progression] Rank Up: Cadet -> Lieutenant. Karmic Energy: 0.6% New Asset: The Rusty Nail (Stealth Frigate). Current Goal: Investigate Dreallytear activity in the Shattered Seas.