"The skiffs won't launch!" Valeria cried, pointing to the docking bays. "The docking clamps are locked! The System is offline!"

"Manual override," Alvian said. "Cut them loose."

"We can't! The defense turrets... they've reactivated!"

"BOOM! BOOM!"

Explosions rocked the docking bay. The Academy's own automated defenses, sleek mana-cannons designed to repel dragons, had swiveled inward. They were firing on the evacuation ships.

"Syndicate failsafe," Alvian realized. "Scorched earth protocol. If they can't have the island, no one leaves."

[Target Identified: Hacked Defense Grid.]

[Objective: Protect the Evacuation.]

Alvian cracked his neck. He checked his mana. It was regenerating, thanks to the [Tear of the Infinite], but he was still only at 40%.

"Enough for a warm-up," Alvian said.

He equipped the [Lance of the Void Winter]. The black metal hummed, hungry for violence.

"Valeria, lead the Vanguard to shield the students. George, get to the engines of the lead skiff. Seraphina, find the control node for the turrets."

"And you?" Valeria asked, raising her battered shield.

"I'm going to perform some percussive maintenance," Alvian said.

He launched himself into the air. He didn't use [Avatar State]; he saved the cooldown. He used [Shadow Step] to blink from falling debris to falling debris.

The wind tore at his [Vestments of the Void Monarch], but the legendary armor held firm, anchoring him against the g-force.

He landed on the roof of the docking bay.

Three massive Anti-Air Turrets were swiveling, their barrels glowing with charged mana. They were aiming at a transport ship filled with crying freshmen.

"Target lock acquired," a mechanical voice droned.

"Target lock denied," Alvian whispered.

He sprinted.

With 184 Speed, he was a blur. The first turret fired a beam of blue plasma.

Alvian didn't dodge. He slid. He went under the beam, the heat singing his hair. He jammed the butt of his lance into the turret's rotation gear.

"CRUNCH!"

The gears stripped. The turret jammed, firing its beam into the second turret.

"BOOM!"

The second turret exploded in a shower of sparks and metal.

[System: Friendly Fire Bonus.]

The third turret spun around, tracking Alvian. It fired a rapid volley of mana bullets.

"Shield."

Alvian activated [Runic Aegis +2]. Fourteen runes appeared, spinning violently.

"PING-PING-PING!"

The bullets deflected off the runes.

"Reflect."

The runes pulsed. They fired kinetic bolts back at the turret.

"BANG! BANG!"

The turret's lens shattered. Smoke poured from its chassis.

Alvian stood up amidst the wreckage.

"Clear," Alvian said into his comms. "Launch the first wave."

But as the first skiff detached, the ground beneath Alvian lurched violently. The island wasn't just falling; it was breaking apart. A massive crack appeared in the center of the Admin District, widening by the second.

"The structural integrity is at 15%!" George screamed. "Alvian, the island is going to disintegrate before impact!"

Alvian looked at the widening fissure. Magma from the ruptured Undercroft was spilling out, mixing with the cold air of the upper atmosphere.

"We need to bind it," Alvian said. "We need a belt."

He looked at the massive chains that had once held the Founder's Statue upright. They were made of Star-Metal.

"Valeria!" Alvian shouted. "Get the Titan Squad! Grab those chains!"

"Are you insane?" Valeria's voice came back. "Those chains weigh a thousand tons!"

"Then pull harder!"

Alvian jumped into the fissure. He fell past the crumbling layers of rock, down toward the exposed magma veins.

He needed to freeze the core structure. If he could weld the island back together with ice, it might hold until impact.

The heat was intense.

[Warning: Environmental Hazard. Lava.]

[Passive [Thermal Nullification] Active.]

Alvian landed on a jutting rock near the center of the fracture. Lavafalls roared on either side of him. The island groaned, threatening to split in two.

He sheathed his lance. He placed both hands on the burning rock.

"System. Divert all mana to [Frost Descent +2]."

[Warning! Mana Pool draining.]

"Do it."

"[Glacial Weld]."

He unleashed the blizzard. But he didn't let it explode outward. He forced it into the rock. He forced the absolute zero cold into the magma.

"HSSSSS!"

The reaction was catastrophic. The lava cooled instantly, turning into obsidian. The rock contracted. The fissure stopped widening.

Huge icicles, thick as tree trunks, formed bridges across the gap, holding the two halves of the island together.

Alvian panted, sweat freezing on his brow.

[Island Integrity: Stabilized (Temporary).]

"It won't hold forever," Alvian whispered. "We need to land."

He looked up at the circle of sky far above.

"Six minutes to impact."

He climbed out of the fissure. He had bought them time. Now he had to make sure they survived the landing.

But as he pulled himself up to the surface, he saw something that made his blood run cold.

Standing on the bridge of the lead evacuation skiff was not a student.

It was a suit of empty armor. Black plate, glowing with red runes.

A [Doom Knight]. A Syndicate construct left behind to ensure total annihilation.

And it was holding a detonator.

"Of course," Alvian spat, drawing his dagger. "There's always one more rat."

He charged.

---

The wind screamed a dirge of destruction as the island of Overlords Academy plummeted through the cloud layer. The air pressure was rising, making ears pop and lungs burn. The sky above was a retreating circle of blue; the world below was a rapidly approaching tapestry of green and brown.

Alvian sprinted across the buckling pavement of the docking bay. His [Shadow-Stride Boots] gripped the stone, allowing him to run despite the chaotic gravity that threatened to throw everyone into the sky.

Ahead, the lead evacuation skiff—a massive, galleon-like vessel powered by mana sails—was trying to detach. But on the captain's deck, the Doom Knight stood like a statue of death, the detonator in its gauntleted hand pulsing with a sinister red light.

The hull of the skiff was lined with [Mana-Bombs]. If that detonator triggered, the ship, and the five hundred freshmen inside, would become a firework.

[Target: Syndicate Doom Knight (Construct)]

[Level: 48]

[Status: Guarding / Trigger Ready]

"Valeria!" Alvian barked into the comms. "Do not engage! If he drops that switch, the ship blows!"

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