In the assembly hall, Silas was enjoying his moment.
"You see, anomaly," he said, circling Ryu like a shark.
"The difference between you and me is that I recognize where true power lies. Not in luck, not in some random 'spark.' But in organization. In will. The Vanguard gave me a purpose."
Ryu, still feeling the effects of the sedative, could only glare at him.
He was trying to find his 'center,' the calm place Kiera had taught him to access, but fear and the drug's disorienting effects made it nearly impossible.
"My comms are down," one of the Vanguard soldiers suddenly said, tapping his helmet. "Perimeter isn't responding."
Silas's sneer faltered. "What? Overwatch?"
"Silent," the soldier replied, a new tension in his voice. "Something's not right."
That's when the first body dropped.
The sniper Kiera had taken out on the roof fell from a shattered skylight, his unconscious form landing with a sickening thud in the center of the hall.
For a second, everyone froze, staring at the fallen soldier. And in that second of shock, Kiera descended.
She dropped from the gantry crane, a silent, black-clad specter of vengeance.
She landed in a crouch, her blade already moving. Before the Vanguard soldiers could even raise their weapons, she was among them.
It was not a fight; it was a reaping. A blur of motion, a flash of steel.
One soldier went down, clutching a severed hamstring. Another fell, his weapon arm hanging useless at his side.
She moved with a dancer's grace and a butcher's efficiency, using their own numbers against them, turning them into a panicked, disorganized mob.
Ryu watched in awe.
This was not the restrained mentor from the training room. This was a true warrior of a high clan, an apex predator unleashed.
The two remaining conscious soldiers opened fire, their weapons spraying plasma bolts that lit up the darkened hall.
But it was like trying to shoot a ghost. Kiera weaved between the bolts, the air around her seeming to bend, her blade deflecting a stray shot with a shower of sparks.
In moments, all four soldiers were down, either unconscious or writhing in pain, their bodies precisely and non-lethally disabled.
Kiera stood in the center of the chaos, her breathing even, her blade dripping.
Only Silas remained.
To Ryu's surprise, Silas wasn't afraid.
He was smiling.
"Impressive," he said, unclasping the shabby coat he wore.
Underneath, his body was crisscrossed with a network of fine, black filaments, which glowed with a faint, malevolent light.
"But you're not the only one with cool toys."
Silas lunged, moving with a speed that was unnatural, far faster than the man Ryu had fought in the arena.
He didn't have Kiera's grace, but he had a raw, brutal power that was new.
He met Kiera's blade not with a weapon, but with his bare hands, the black filaments on his arms hardening into razor-sharp claws that scraped against her sword with a shriek of metal.
Kiera's eyes widened in surprise.
This was not the work of a simple enhancement. The Vanguard had given Silas a direct infusion of corrupted ChainForce.
He was stronger, faster, and more dangerous than she had anticipated. The hunter had become the hunted.
The fight was not over. It had just truly begun.