"Damn it!" Mateo shouted, the sound muffled by the rubble. "We're cut off! Bjorn, Zola, can you breach the rubble?"
Zola's voice was strained from the other side. "The collapse used high-grade stabilizing magic. It'll take us time! Go! We'll catch up!"
Kenji, Elara, and Mateo pushed toward the Command Bunker. They knew the delay was costing them.
The next chamber was a wide-open bunker entrance, heavily guarded by three high-speed, kinetic-based Guardian Constructs faster and deadlier than the Golems.
"These things are designed to deflect projectile fire and absorb any kinetic attack," Elara said, her breath fogging in the cool air. "Mateo, you're too fast. They'll adapt and trap you. Kenji, you're the only viable offense here."
Mateo reluctantly pulled back, taking an observation position. "Got it. Distract and draw aggro. Don't get hit, guys!"
Elara focused her power, creating complex patterns of freezing air to slow the Constructs, but they were too quick, dodging her ice lines effortlessly.
Kenji tried the Sonic Disruptor on the first Construct, but the speed of the creature meant the precise structural point was only exposed for a fraction of a second. He missed, and the Construct retaliated with a whip-crack kinetic strike that sent him flying into the wall.
"They're too fast for your precision!" Elara yelled. She unleashed her power in a desperate act, encasing the entire room in a dome of thick, freezing fog.
The Constructs slowed, their sensors blinded by the sudden drop in temperature. But Elara was panting heavily, sweat freezing on her temples.
"Elara, stop! You're pushing too hard!" Kenji rushed to her side.
"I can't maintain this for long," Elara admitted, her voice trembling. "My Frost Weaver power… it's powerful, but it requires massive internal energy to force crystallization against the ambient temperature. If I maintain too much density or duration, my core risks internal fracture. I can only maintain this dome for sixty seconds."
The revelation stunned Kenji. The Rank 6 Elite, known for her impenetrable ice, had a terrifying, self-destructive limitation.
"Sixty seconds is all I need," Kenji promised. "Cover me!"
He plunged back into the freezing fog, navigating by the intense, controlled kinetic hum of the Constructs. He ignored the ambient kinetic scraps he needed to conserve energy for the kill.