The dome around me trembled violently as the shockwave crashed into it. The force of it was immense, shaking the very ground beneath our feet. I kept my will focused and the violet Essence flowing steadily, reinforcing the dome to make sure it held strong.
Every second felt like an eternity.
Finally, the rumbling stopped. The pressure eased.
I let go of the Essence, and the dome cracked, then crumbled around us, snow falling in chunks at our feet.
Slowly, the members of Unit 02 stood up, dazed but alive. We looked around.
And what we saw left us speechless.
The forest around us was completely destroyed.
For miles in every direction, there were no trees—only broken stumps, shattered trunks, and splinters scattered across a wasteland of blackened earth.
Even the snow had vanished, turned to vapor by the sheer force of the blast. A massive crater had opened up where the shockwave had hit the hardest.
It looked like the end of the world.
And then we saw why.
Almost a mile away, standing in the center of the destruction, was Arkas.
His lightning trident was gripped tightly in his hand, golden arcs of lightning crawling across his body. His presence was overwhelming—like standing too close to the heart of a storm. The air shimmered around him.
Across from him stood a stranger, a man wrapped in a dark cloak from head to toe. Two curved daggers were held at his sides, both glowing with a sickly green light. A strange liquid, glowing the same green, dripped steadily from their blades.
I could barely hear Arkas speak through the ringing in my ears, but the words carried power.
"Who are you? You've attacked a commander of the Empire on duty. Do you understand the crime you've committed?"
The cloaked man laughed. It was a strange, twisted sound, part amusement, part madness.
"I heard you liked to speak with your weapon, Arkas," he said, voice laced with mockery. "But maybe those were just rumors."
Arkas tilted his head slightly and replied.
"You heard right."
Then, in an instant, he vanished.
A golden blur flashed across the battlefield and before I could even react, the cloaked man's body was sent flying, crashing into the ground with incredible force.
Another shockwave followed, but this time, we were ready. Everyone shielded themselves, either with weapons or by bracing against the snow and debris.
Then I heard Sarah's voice beside me.
"Billion, what's going on?"
I shook my head.
"I'm not sure. But if that man attacked Commander Arkas, then he's the enemy."
I turned to face the rest of the unit—nine soldiers, tense and waiting for orders.
"Listen up," I said firmly. "Our job is to stay safe and stick together. We don't know how many enemies are out there, so follow my commands, no questions."
They all nodded quickly, understanding the seriousness of the situation.
I turned my gaze back to the battlefield. Arkas and the cloaked man were already locked in combat again. Their movements were too fast for me to follow—blurs of gold and green crashing into each other, sparks and shockwaves exploding with every clash.
It was a battle far beyond my level.
But I stayed focused, fully alert. I could feel the [Psynapse Boost] humming in the back of my mind, heightening my awareness. The [Essence Engine] inside me pulsed steadily, ready to respond to any command.
I kept my senses fully stretched, scanning the area carefully.
I was trying to locate the Master-ranked enemy Edgar had warned me about. At the same time, I searched for Steve and his team.
I knew they had been caught in the blast too, and I needed to make sure they were still alive.
After a few tense moments, I finally found them.
They were buried under broken trees and a layer of snow, hidden from plain sight.
Steve was the first to crawl out. He looked roughed up, with bruises on his arms and face, but nothing too serious. One by one, the rest of his group got up as well, all of them injured but thankfully still standing.
I turned to my group and said.
"Let's move. We need to regroup with the other group."
Everyone nodded without question.
I took a diagonal path, careful to avoid the fierce battle still raging between Arkas and the cloaked man. The last thing I wanted was for us to get caught in the middle of that.
As we moved, I could feel the tension growing behind me.
Even Sarah, who was usually calm, seemed uneasy. I didn't blame them. We had just heard that Unit 77 had been completely wiped out. Knowing that kind of power was in the area was enough to make anyone nervous.
We were halfway to Steve's position when I suddenly felt a strange ripple in the space ahead of me.
I stopped, eyes narrowing.
There was nothing there, no movement, no sound, but I trusted my instincts. Something was off.
I focused harder, letting Essence flow through me as I sharpened my perception. That's when I saw it, not with my eyes, but through the Essence.
A single black dot appeared in the glowing field around me. It was a presence, someone hiding, using some kind of technique to mask themselves.
'Master ranked.'
But as soon as I noticed the hidden man directly ahead of us, two more black dots lit up in my Essence sense—both near Steve's group.
My eyes snapped in that direction, and I instantly felt a chill crawl down my spine. I pushed my perception toward that point and felt a familiar presence nearby.
North.
And the hidden Master was moving toward her.
My heart skipped a beat.
The other hidden figure near Steve was holding position, likely watching or preparing to strike.
I forced myself to stay focused and scanned the wider area. Then I found the fourth one, a fair distance behind the chaos, standing quietly opposite the direction of the massive battle between Arkas and the cloaked man. He wasn't moving at all.
And I understood immediately.
He was stationed there to block any escape. A final net to make sure no one slipped through.
'Did that bastard King want to capture North too?'
My mind started racing, thoughts tumbling over each other in a storm of worry and anger. There was only one conclusion I could come to, I couldn't let that happen.
If North got captured, everything we had planned would fall apart. She was not aware of the Ferans and our plan. Her capture would mess up our timing, our coordination, and worse, it could expose everything.
I knew Edgar was nearby, and he could step in to save her if it came to that.
But if he did, the Grandmaster-ranked enemy might sense his power and pull back. That would ruin our entire setup. The plan relied on us getting captured, not just fighting. If they caught even a whiff of Edgar, they might back off entirely.
So I made a decision right then.
It had to be me. I had to stop that man from reaching North.
Which meant I couldn't just pretend to resist capture anymore.
Originally, the idea was to put up a show, make it look like I was trying, while still falling into their trap. But now that North was at risk, I had no choice.
I was going to make them earn it.
If they wanted to capture me now, they were in for a real fight.