Fin sprinted through the narrow streets of Crie with explosive speed, his boots pounding against cobblestones as his Electromagnetic Synchronization guided him toward the Mid Tier Four signature that had appeared impossibly in the city's heart. But even moving at his enhanced velocity, he was too slow. By the time he rounded the final corner into the main plaza, half the surrounding buildings had been reduced to rubble.

The destruction was absolute. Homes were now piles of shattered stone and splintered timber. The carefully maintained plaza where children had played was a crater of pulverized earth. And at the center of it all stood a walking nightmare that made Fin's enhanced senses recoil with instinctive revulsion.

The beast defied proper description, a monstrosity that seemed designed by something that understood anatomy only well enough to violate every principle of natural design. Ichor the color of infected wounds dripped continuously from limbs that were grotesquely too long for its misshapen body, each drop hissing where it struck stone. Matted fur covered the entire creature in patches that looked diseased, and its eyes glowed with a red-tinged madness that suggested whatever intelligence had once existed behind them had long since been consumed by something closer to pure destructive instinct.

It attacked everything within sight with mindless fury, walls, rubble, even shadows that might have suggested movement. There was no strategy, no cunning, just overwhelming violence applied with the single-minded focus of a natural disaster given flesh.

But what made Fin's core ache with recognition was the concept radiating from the creature like heat from a forge. It wasn't sophisticated, nothing like Unmaking he wielded, but it was undeniably there. A concept of pure Destruction, simple and primal, woven into the beast's very essence in a way that made it fundamentally more dangerous than its Tier alone suggested.

Fin moved into position with predatory silence, finding an elevated vantage point in the ruins of what had been a two-story residence. He summoned his Plasma Bow, the weapon materializing with familiar weight, and began drawing back the string to form an arrow. If he could hit it from ambush, channel Unmaking into a single devastating shot…

The moment he reached for his concept, his soul shuddered violently. Pain lanced through his core like someone had driven a spike through its center, and the skill dissolved in his hands as his concentration shattered completely. He gasped, one hand clutching at his chest where it felt like something fundamental had nearly torn loose.

"I guess I really can't use the concept too often," he muttered through gritted teeth, fighting back nausea as his core continued to throb with warning pulses. "Not at Tier Two."

The sound of approaching footsteps announced the rest of the team's arrival. They emerged from various streets simultaneously, clearly having coordinated their approach despite the chaos of the situation.

Daryl took one look at the monstrosity and let out a low whistle. "Now that is one ugly bastard."

Without further discussion, Daryl, Vance, and Onrio dove into the fray with the kind of desperate courage that came from having no other options. Vance had manifested a new greatsword, and brought it down in heavy overhead strikes that forced the beast to acknowledge his presence. Daryl darted in and out like a wasp, his knife finding gaps in the matted fur to draw thin lines of black blood that hissed and steamed. Onrio provided support and distraction.

Harbour and Triana landed beside Fin, both women clearly intent on saying something, probably an apology or explanation about the earlier confrontation. But Fin cut them off before either could speak.

"Focus," he said flatly, and his Lightning Armament erupted to encase his body in its familiar armor. The message was clear: later. If there was a later.

Harbour muttered something that sounded like "stubborn ass" while Triana sighed. Then both women threw themselves into combat, because regardless of interpersonal drama, there was a Tier Four monstrosity actively destroying the city they'd been forced to defend.

The battle devolved into desperate chaos almost immediately. The beast's hide proved nearly impervious to conventional attacks, Daryl's knife barely scratched it, Vance's greatsword bounced off with impacts that sent painful vibrations up his arms, even Onrio's concentrated light beams seemed to do little more than annoy it. The creature's Destruction concept made its body fundamentally resistant to damage in ways that transcended normal defensive capabilities.

Fin threw himself into the melee with everything he had, but without access to Unmaking, even his enhanced strength and speed weren't enough. The wounds he inflicted closed almost as fast as he made them. The beast's regeneration was powerful, turning what should have been crippling injuries into momentary inconveniences.

Only Triana seemed capable of inflicting lasting damage. One of her skills, a compressed razor-sharp cutter that shrieked through the air, actually penetrated the beast's hide when they connected. Each successful strike carved deep wounds that didn't immediately close, forcing the creature to acknowledge her as the primary threat. But Fin could see through his Electromagnetic Synchronization that her mana reserves were approaching critical depletion. A few more and she'd be completely dry. The same applied to her entire team, they were all operating on fumes and willpower, dangerously close to the kind of mana exhaustion that could cause permanent damage or death.

The beast seemed to sense their weakness. It reared back, drawing power from its Destruction concept until its entire body blazed with malevolent energy, then swept one massive limb in a wide arc that caught everyone in its path.

The impact was catastrophic. Fin managed to partially brace with his lightning armor, but even he was sent tumbling across the plaza. The others fared worse, Vance cratered into a wall hard enough to crack stone, Daryl bounced across cobblestones like a skipped stone, and Harbour's right arm bent at an angle that arms definitely weren't supposed to achieve. The crack of breaking bone was audible even over the beast's roar.

Onrio immediately scrambled to Harbour's side, his healing abilities limited but better than nothing. She bit down on a scream as he tried to stabilize the break with hastily conjured light constructs.

"This is impossible," Daryl groaned from where he'd landed, spitting blood and what might have been a tooth. "We're running on empty. Can't fight a Tier Four when we've got maybe ten percent reserves left between all of us."

Vance pulled himself from the crater with visible effort, his movements sluggish. "Agreed. We're out of options."

Fin's mind raced through tactical possibilities, each one discarded as quickly as it formed. Then an idea struck, desperate, possibly insane, but their only remaining play. "I need someone to buy me time!" he called out. "Triana, I need to talk to you!"

The men gave each other a look before they threw themselves back at the beast with renewed desperation, their attacks doing minimal damage but successfully distracting it from Fin and Triana.

"I have an idea," Fin said rapidly, his words tumbling over each other in his haste. "But I need your help. Can you form more of those wind cutters? The ones that actually hurt it?"

Triana's face was pale with exhaustion and something that might have been the beginning of mana sickness. "Barely. Three more times, four if I push my core past safe limits. Why?"

"Can your core handle being pushed?"

Her jaw set with determination. "I'll make sure it does."

"Good. Because I want to try combining one of my skills with your wind cutters. Amplify them somehow."

Triana's expression cycled through disbelief, confusion, and dawning horror. "That's impossible. Skills aren't designed to merge like that. The different mana would reject each other violently. You'd cause a backlash that could kill us both."

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"Desperate times," Fin said grimly. "Form three blades. Trust me."

She hesitated for only a moment. Three translucent wind cutters materialized around her.

Fin summoned a Plasma Compression Core, but not the usual fist-sized version. He pushed the skill beyond normal, channeling more mana than he'd ever attempted before, creating a sphere the size of his head that blazed like a captive star. The heat was intense enough to make the air warp visibly. Then, with desperate determination, he tried to force the core into the structure of Triana's wind cutter.

The backlash was immediate and agonizing. Her intent and control over her own skill fought against his intrusion like antibodies attacking foreign matter. The competing mana signatures created feedback loops that sent lightning bolts of pain through both their cores. Fin felt his consciousness start to gray out from the strain.

In desperation, he touched Unmaking, just a whisper of the concept, the lightest possible application. His soul immediately screamed in protest, that earlier warning turning into a full alarm as something fundamental threatened to tear. But the brief application of Unmaking was enough to create a momentary gap in the wind cutter's structure, a split-second opening where his Plasma Compression Core could slip through like a key finding its lock.

The wind cutter transformed instantly. Its translucent appearance shifted to something closer to the color of the sun's surface, brilliant gold-white that hurt to look at directly. Power radiated from it in waves that made everyone on the battlefield stagger, and the air around it ignited with superheated friction.

"What in the names of all gods…" Triana breathed, staring at her transformed technique with something approaching religious awe.

Fin didn't respond. He was too focused on implanting Plasma Compression Cores into the other two wind cutters, forcing himself through the same agonizing process twice more. Each insertion felt like having his soul flayed, and by the time he finished the third, blood was trickling from his nose and his hands shook with violent tremors.

"Please don't miss," he managed to gasp before his legs gave out and he collapsed to the cobblestones, chest heaving as he fought to remain conscious.

Triana's eyes hardened with determination. "Everyone fall back!" she screamed. "NOW!"

The team disengaged immediately, trusting their leader without question despite not understanding the order. They scattered like leaves, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the beast.

Triana released the first enhanced wind cutter with a gesture that was half prayer, half command. The transformed technique shrieked through the air faster than sound, trailing flames and superheated plasma in its wake. At the last possible second, the beast's survival instincts overcame its mindless aggression. It threw itself sideways with surprising agility, and the cutter missed by inches.

The projectile continued its trajectory unimpeded, slamming into a row of residential buildings and continuing through them like they were made of paper. It carved a path of total destruction through the ancient city wall beyond, the compressed wind and plasma finally detonating in an explosion that blew a hole thirty feet wide in fortifications that had stood for centuries.

"You're not dodging again," Fin snarled through gritted teeth. He pushed Lightning Armament beyond any previous limit, channeling more power than ever before. The lightning exploded outward in tendrils that wove themselves into a cage, crackling bars of solid electricity that formed a prison around the beast, cutting off every avenue of escape.

He held the construct stable through pure force of will.

Triana shrieked, releasing both remaining wind cutters simultaneously.

The first one bisected the beast from shoulder to opposite hip, the enhanced cutting power and superheated plasma cauterizing as it carved. The second struck its malformed head dead center. The explosion that followed was apocalyptic, a sphere of fire and force that expanded outward with enough power to level everything within fifty feet.

The shockwave caught everyone, hurling them through the air like ragdolls. Fin crashed through what remained of a building's wall, his lightning armor the only thing preventing the impact from liquefying his organs. He tumbled through empty rooms, each collision driving the air from his lungs, before finally coming to rest buried in rubble.

Darkness claimed him for several long seconds. When consciousness returned, it was to a notification blazing across his vision:

[Scenario 2 Cleared] Mandatory Objective: [Updated] Defend the city - Cleared Optional Objective: No civilian casualties - Cleared Reward Calculating... Reward Granted: Impundulu Tears

Fin dragged himself from the rubble, his body one massive bruise despite his enhanced durability. Around him, the others were doing the same, battered, bleeding, but alive. The beast was gone, reduced to ash and fading dungeon energy.

A secondary notification appeared:

… 2 of 6 dungeon occupants wish to leave… request overturned

The words hit Fin like a physical blow. Two. Only two had wanted to leave. The rest had voted to continue despite Triana's explicit promise.

Reality twisted without warning. The ruined city dissolved like mist in sunlight, and Fin felt the nauseating sensation of being pulled through space and circumstance. When his vision cleared, sand stretched in every direction. The roar of a crowd filled his ears, thousands of voices screaming for blood and entertainment.

They stood in an arena. A coliseum. The kind of structure that existed for exactly one purpose.

[Scenario 3 Initiated] Environment: Coliseum Mandatory Objective: Survive Optional Objective: Impress Prince Giphine

Triana spun to face her team, and for the first time since Fin had met her, genuine fear showed in her expression. "Why? I told you we were leaving after this scenario! Why did you push forward?"

Vance met her gaze steadily, his expression carrying no regret. "Because we owe you everything. Because a broken promise to a stranger is nothing compared to saving your life."

Daryl nodded agreement. "We're not letting you die when we're this close to finding a cure."

Harbour and Onrio stood silent, but their positions beside the others communicated their agreement clearly enough.

Fin felt something cold and terrible settle in his chest as he understood the implications. They'd lied. All of them except him and one other, probably Triana herself, had voted to continue. They'd used him, exploited his abilities, and now trapped him in the dungeon until they got what they wanted.

Vance started to turn toward Fin, his mouth opening to speak words that were probably meant to be apologetic or explanatory. A railgun materialized beside his head, the barrel pressed against his temple.

The shot was instantaneous. Vance's head snapped back, and his body collapsed like a puppet with cut strings, his massive frame hitting the sand with enough force to send up a small cloud of dust.

Onrio's scream was cut short by a second railgun appearing, a second shot, a second body falling to the arena floor.

Harbour and Daryl moved immediately, their survival instincts overriding shock. They split in opposite directions, weaving and dodging as multiple railguns tracked their movements. Daryl's experience and Harbour's natural agility let them avoid the first volley, the second, even the third.

But Daryl had forgotten about the mark Fin had embedded in his shirt back in the previous scenario. Fin activated Quantum Leap, and reality folded around him. One instant he stood twenty feet away; the next, he materialized directly behind Daryl, his sword already in motion.

Daryl's head separated from his shoulders before his body understood it was dead. He'd been so focused on the railguns that he never saw the real threat.

Harbour slowed, then stopped. She let her daggers fall from nerveless fingers and sank to her knees in the sand. When she looked up at Fin, her void-like eyes held no anger, no hate, just profound sadness and acceptance.

"We just wanted to help our friend," she said quietly.

Fin said nothing. There was nothing to say. His blade found her heart, and she fell forward without another sound.

Triana stood alone now, surrounded by the bodies of people who had loved her enough to die for her. Something broke inside her, not her core this time, but something more fundamental. She screamed, a sound of pure anguish and rage, and wind magic erupted from her in chaotic bursts.

Fin dodged. The wind cutters carved the sand where he'd stood, but his speed let him appear in different locations faster than her depleted reactions could track. She was crying, tears streaming down her face as she threw everything she had left at him.

It wasn't enough. It could never have been enough. Not with her reserves so low and her core already damaged. Not against someone fresh and operating at full power.

His blade found her throat, and her head fell to join the others.

The arena fell silent. Thousands of spectators simply stared at the blood-soaked figure standing alone among the corpses of his companions. Then, like thunder after lightning, sound returned.

"BRAVO! BRAVO!" The announcer's voice boomed across the coliseum with obscene enthusiasm. "What a SPECTACULAR show! Killing his own comrades before the true battle began! What RUTHLESS efficiency! Ladies and gentlemen, I think we've just witnessed something truly special!"

Fin looked up at the royal box where a figure in elaborate robes stood applauding with genuine appreciation. Prince Giphine, presumably. The man was actually clapping for the murder of four people.

Fin looked at the bodies scattered around him. At the prince celebrating their deaths. His face, visible now that his lightning armor had dissolved, showed no triumph, no satisfaction. Just disgust, for the dungeon, for the prince, for the choices that had led to this moment.

[Scenario 3 Cleared] Mandatory Objective: Survive - Cleared Optional Objective: Impress Prince Giphine - Cleared Reward Calculating... Reward Granted: Ashfeather's Mantle (Legendary) (Soul Bound Item)

1 of 1 dungeon occupants would like to leave

The irony of that final notification was so bitter it burned.

Reality began to dissolve around him, pulling him back toward the entrance. Fin closed his eyes, not wanting to see the arena, the bodies, or the cheering crowd for another moment.

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