The white emergency lamps advanced steadily through the outer corridor while Kendra's vanguard team escorted a column of stretchers toward the cut perimeter fence.
Bright illumination washed across the blood-slick floor tiles, exposing every crimson stain while deepening the shadows along the broken support beams.
Nox remained inside the vault junction beside the primary extraction squad, watching over the sealed rebuild core. Emilia held the reinforced container against her ribs with both hands, understanding that the ancient artifact represented the enclave's single independent path toward structural recovery.
The advancing licensed medical unit halted twenty paces beyond Kendra's defensive line, maintaining formal formation behind three heavy iron shields.
Their squad leader wore a pristine gray medical coat over composite impact armor, while a folded B-rank recovery frame rested securely along her spine.
