The war facility trembled as it awakened, the echoes of its lost empire surging back to life. Gears long forgotten groaned into motion, turbines roared as power flooded through ancient conduits, and the deep, rhythmic pulse of the Obsidian Vanguard's systems hummed in perfect synchrony with Elias's armor. The battle signal he had just sent rippled outward in invisible waves, a beacon that would travel further than even he could predict.
Reinhardt stepped back, watching as massive war machines blinked to life—hulking bipedal constructs with reinforced plating and weapon slots waiting to be armed. "You know, I was expecting old, rusted weapons. Not an entire army."
Marco was staring at the command interface, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tactical data flooding the system. "This… this is impossible. The Academy wiped every record of these facilities, but this one is fully functional. Some of these designs—Elias, this isn't just old tech. Some of this is centuries ahead of what even the Academy is using."
Lira ran a hand along one of the war machines, smirking. "Guess that means we just became the most dangerous people in the world."
Ivy was still near the entrance, her grip tight on her bow, watching the walls as if expecting them to collapse at any moment. "We might not be the only ones who heard that signal."
Elias turned to the holographic map now displayed across the facility's central console. His gauntlet was fully integrated into the system, streaming an overwhelming amount of data directly into his visor. The war map wasn't just showing the facility. It was tracking movements all across the continent—Academy forces, active mana fluctuations, secured fortresses. And at the center of it all, their pulse beacon, expanding outward in golden waves.
Cecilia leaned against the console, arms crossed. "So, just to be clear. We didn't just turn on the lights." She motioned toward the blinking beacon on the map. "We basically just painted a target on our backs."
Elias didn't argue. She was right. But this was necessary. They couldn't stay in the shadows forever.
Kierian stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the map. "We need to be ready for whatever comes next. The Academy is going to notice this, but they aren't the only ones. You didn't just wake up Solmara. You woke up everyone."
The room went silent as they all processed what that meant.
Then the alert came.
A red warning glyph flickered at the edges of the map. Incoming energy signatures, fast-moving aerial units closing in on their location. Not a scouting force. Not a delay tactic.
A strike team.
Marco's fingers flew across the console, decrypting the signal signature. His face went pale. "This isn't just a response force. These are Elite Kill Squads. The Academy isn't waiting to see what we're up to. They're moving to eliminate us immediately."
Elias's mind snapped into focus. They had just enough time to prepare.
"Defense systems?"
"Turrets online, but they weren't designed for modern war mages. We can hold them off, but if they're bringing Academy-class war constructs, we'll be overrun."
"Then we don't let them get close."
Ivy was already moving, checking her quiver, her voice cold. "What are we dealing with?"
Marco's screen updated. "Ten airborne units, all combat-modified. Mana suppression field active—meaning they're going to try and disrupt anything we throw at them. If they land, they'll cut off our access to the facility's network."
Lira clicked her tongue. "So we hit them before they land."
Reinhardt stretched, rolling his shoulders. "Well, that makes things easy. Let's knock them out of the sky."
Kierian studied the energy fluctuations. "They'll be using barrier sigils to protect against ground fire. But airborne units can't reinforce shields while in motion."
Elias smirked. "Then we force them into a fight mid-air."
Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "You have aerial combat experience now?"
Elias flexed his fingers, feeling the hum of his thrusters adjusting. The Vanguard Core had already adapted his suit's systems, recalibrating his propulsion units to compensate for high-speed maneuverability. He didn't need experience. He had science.
"I do now."
The warning alarm blared, signaling enemy arrival. Lights flashed along the facility walls as the first of the Academy strike force descended, their sleek black armor glistening under the twilight sky, mana engines glowing as they dived toward the stronghold like hunting falcons.
The battle erupted instantly.
Ivy was the first to fire, her enchanted arrows splitting into multiple projectiles mid-flight, shredding through the outer layers of the enemy's protective barrier. The first attacker veered sharply, dodging the shots—but Reinhardt was waiting.
The massive warrior jumped, grabbing hold of a low-flying unit with his bare hands and slamming it into the ground so hard the earth cracked. The pilot barely had time to react before Lira's dagger found his throat, ending him instantly.
Cecilia flickered through the battlefield like a ghost, appearing behind another airborne enemy, her blade severing fuel lines and mana circuits before they could stabilize. The pilot twisted, but she was already gone, vanishing before he could even strike back.
Elias ignited his thrusters, launching himself toward the remaining units. His gauntlet flared with stored energy, and with a single kinetic punch, he shattered the barrier of the nearest war mage, sending him spiraling out of the sky. His visor flickered, tracking their movement patterns—predicting trajectories before they could even react.
Three units turned their focus on him, flanking from both sides. Their weapons charged, runes crackling as they unleashed focused mana lances, aiming to pierce through his suit's shielding.
But Elias was already ahead of them.
He twisted mid-air, engaging full thruster output, dodging between the beams as if they were moving in slow motion. His hands flicked toward his gauntlets—disruptor fields activating, sending out a pulse that short-circuited their targeting systems.
In that moment of hesitation, he struck.
He slammed into the first attacker feet-first, sending them plummeting. Before the second could react, he grabbed their leg mid-dodge and redirected their flight path straight into their ally, sending them both crashing into the rocky cliffs below.
The last of the enemy units hesitated for half a second. That was a half-second too long.
Kierian's blade flashed, a single streak of light cutting across the battlefield. A second later, the last war mage's body split apart mid-air, severed cleanly by the strike. His remains disintegrated before hitting the ground.
Silence settled over the battlefield. The enemy strike team was gone.
Ivy lowered her bow. "That's it?"
Marco's interface flickered. "No reinforcements detected."
Lira exhaled, flipping her dagger. "They underestimated us."
Elias landed, his suit cooling down from the excess energy discharge. He had felt it in the fight—the synchronization between himself and the Core was growing. Each movement, each calculation, was happening instinctively now, like the technology was part of his own nervous system.
Kierian sheathed his sword. "They won't underestimate us next time."
Cecilia grinned. "Good. Let them be scared."
Elias looked toward the horizon. The battle was over, but the war had just begun. The signal had been sent, the facility was theirs, and now the entire world knew. The Academy, the Primordial Lords, every faction that had assumed the Vanguard was dead—
They had just learned how wrong they were.