Zola's Earth-Wall bought them ten precious seconds.
On the other side, the Rooks immediately began smashing the Geomancy wall. Zola's power, while strong, was focused on static defense. The Rooks' kinetic fields allowed them to find and exploit the seismic weaknesses in the rock far faster than Zola could repair them.
"It won't hold! They're Rank 7 CQC specialists, Zola!" Bjorn roared, bracing his shoulder against the wall.
Kenji pulled a handful of kinetic Scrap from his internal reservoir. "Zola, I need you to focus all your power into one weak point! The center! Create a controlled fracture!"
Zola trusted him. She focused her power, creating a visible seam in the center of the wall.
"Priya, get ready," Kenji commanded.
The Rooks seized the opportunity and slammed their kinetic fields into the seam. The wall exploded outward, showering the narrow corridor with rubble.
The Rooks burst through the debris, but Kenji was ready. As the Geomancy wall exploded, Kenji simultaneously performed a triple scrap maneuver:
1. Absorb: He sucked up the kinetic residue from the Rooks' breaking punch.
2. Infuse: He infused the rubble debris with the residual sonic energy he had collected earlier.
3. Blast: He used his Rank 3 core strength to blast the rubble back at the Rooks, not as physical force, but as millions of tiny, disorganized [Sonic Disruptor] pulses.
The Rooks' kinetic fields were designed to repel large, coherent forces. The tiny, chaotically vibrating pieces of rubble were too numerous and too localized in their disruptive field. The Rooks' systems overloaded with feedback noise.
They staggered, momentarily disoriented and vulnerable.
"Priya!" Kenji yelled.
Priya, the healer, wasn't just a restoration expert. [Kinetic Restoration: Force Buffer!] She slammed her hands down, radiating pure restoration magic. The energy didn't heal the Rooks, but it violently amplified the kinetic feedback they were already experiencing from Kenji's Scrap attack.
The two Rank 7s collapsed, their kinetic armor dissolving into useless metal.
"I only stunned them! They'll be back in thirty minutes!" Priya warned, her face pale from pushing her power.
"Thirty minutes is an eternity," Kenji said, feeling a powerful rush of confidence. "We got the Scrap and we shut down the Rank 7 threat. Elara, are you stabilized?"
Elara, having used one of the potions, stood up slowly. "Stabilized enough to run. We need to get out of the D-H now. Damon is still out there, and he knows we have the Epic Scrap."
The team moved quickly back through the supply tunnels.