The city was exactly how they'd seen it on the large screen in the commander's office.

Chaos!

Pure, unfiltered chaos.

Tatehan and Lyra took a battle vehicle from the armory, a square-shaped beast with massive tires and armor plating so thick it could probably survive a direct missile hit. The material was really reinforced composite steel, designed specifically to withstand attacks from creatures with enhanced strength.

If a monster tried to ram it, flip it, or tear the doors off, the vehicle wouldn't budge.

As Tatehan climbed into the passenger seat and Lyra took the wheel, he felt a strange sense of security. The vehicle was a fortress on wheels.

But the moment they drove out of the Red Crest Clan base and into the city streets, that sense of security evaporated.

The streets were a warzone.

Overturned vehicles littered the roads, some still burning, black smoke billowing into the sky. Bodies lay scattered across the pavement: civilians who hadn't made it to shelter in time. Blood streaked the walls of buildings, and the air was engulfed with the sounds of screaming, gunfire, and the horrific howls of the creatures.

Shadow goblins darted between cars and buildings, their movements erratic and predatory. Iron-jaw scavengers tore into anything that moved, their massive jaws snapping with bone-crushing force. And in the distance, Tatehan could see the hulking forms of Boulder-back Behemoths smashing through barricades like they were made of cardboard.

Lyra's hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"This is worse than I thought," she muttered.

Tatehan responded with a nod, his eyes were focused on the carnage unfolding around them.

And then he saw a shadow goblin, small, hunched and vicious. It lunged at a man trying to shield his family. The creature's claws caught the man across the face, and then its hands clamped down on either side of his head.

CRACK.

The sound echoed even over the chaos.

The man's skull caved in, his cheekbones flattening, his teeth flying out in a spray of blood. His face was crushed like a piece of crumpled plastic, and he slumped to the ground, dead before he hit the pavement.

His wife screamed. His children, two small kids, a boy and a girl, stood frozen in terror.

Tatehan's jaw clenched so hard he thought his teeth might crack.

He inhaled deeply, then exhaled, trying to suppress the rage boiling in his chest.

"Drive faster," he said, his voice low and dangerous.

Lyra didn't need to be told twice. She slammed her foot on the accelerator, and the vehicle surged forward.

She pressed a button on the dashboard, and with a mechanical sound, long spikes shot out from the front of the vehicle, steel blades designed to impale anything in their path.

Three shadow goblins stood in the middle of the road ahead, howling and beating their chests. They were surrounding the woman and her two children, the same family whose father had just been killed.

The creatures were maybe fifty meters away. At the speed the vehicle was moving, that distance closed in seconds.

BAM!

Lyra didn't slow down. She didn't swerve either.

The spikes caught the first shadow goblin right in the chest, punching through its body and out the other side. The second goblin tried to leap out of the way but wasn't fast enough, the vehicle's bumper caught it in the middle of a jump and crushed it against the pavement. The third goblin turned to run, but the spikes tore through its back, splitting it apart.

All three creatures were reduced to mangled, twitching heaps of flesh and metal.

Lyra drove over what remained, the tires crunching bone and circuitry.

Tatehan glanced back through the rear window. The woman and her children were still alive, clutching each other, staring at the vehicle in shock.

Good but they would have to live with the trauma of what just happened.

Lyra kept driving, going between abandoned cars and debris, heading deeper into the heart of the chaos.

And then something landed on the roof of the vehicle.

THUD.

The entire frame shook from the impact.

Tatehan's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing.

"What the—"

A shadow goblin. Larger than the others. Its claws dug into the armor plating, and its body pressed flat against the roof, latching on like a parasite.

And then Tatehan felt it.

A faint, draining sensation. Like something was being pulled from the vehicle.

His eyes widened, and he immediately pulled up his system interface, searching for the creature's profile.

He found it.

[Name: Shadow Goblin]

[Type: Bio-Mechanical Predator]

[Threat Level: Moderate]

[Traits:]

Symbiotic fusion of flesh and metal

Razor-edged teeth and claws

Hunts in coordinated packs

Drawn to electrical and kinetic energy

[Abilities:]

Energy Siphon

Metallic Regrowth

Chitter-Link (pack communication)

[Weaknesses:]

Limited endurance

[Recommendation: Eliminate quickly. Target chest core for optimal damage.]

"Shit," Tatehan muttered.

"What?" Lyra asked, her eyes still on the road.

"Energy Siphon," Tatehan said quickly. "That thing on the roof is draining the vehicle's power."

Lyra's eyes widened in alarm.

"How much?"

Tatehan didn't answer. Instead, he pointed at the dashboard display.

A warning message flashed across the screen:

[Energy: 90%]

Lyra's face went pale.

"Ten percent?" she said, her voice rising. "In that short amount of time?"

Tatehan's expression darkened.

Yeah. Ten percent. In maybe fifteen seconds.

That shouldn't have been possible. The vehicle's energy supplier was massive, designed to power the armor plating, the weapons systems, and the propulsion for hours. Even with the Siphon ability, it should have taken minutes to drain even a fraction of that power.

But ten percent in fifteen seconds?

That meant this creature was either incredibly powerful, or the vehicle's shielding wasn't as effective against energy-based attacks as they'd thought.

"Get it off!" Lyra shouted.

She yanked the wheel hard to the left, slamming the vehicle into the side of a building. The impact was jarring, the entire frame shaking violently.

The shadow goblin on the roof lost its grip and tumbled off, hitting the ground with a sickening crunch.

Lyra straightened the vehicle and kept driving, her knuckles white on the steering wheel.

Tatehan glanced at the energy display again.

[Energy: 90%]

It had stopped draining. Good.

Lyra veered left again, this time deliberately, ramming into a cluster of shadow goblins trying to flank a group of civilians. The creatures were sent flying, hitting the pavement hard.

Lyra didn't stop. She activated another control, and the tires morphed, retractable spikes extending from the treads, turning the wheels into rolling blades.

She drove straight over the fallen goblins, and the spiked tires tore through them like a meat grinder.

The creatures howled and thrashed, then went silent as their bodies were shredded.

Tatehan watched, his expression grim.

But his attention was elsewhere now.

Ahead, maybe two hundred meters down the road, he could see two Boulder-back Behemoths wreaking havoc.

One was surrounded by six soldiers, all of them firing rifles and energy weapons at its armored hide. The shots barely scratched it. The creature swung its massive spiked tail, and two of the soldiers were sent flying, their bodies crashing into walls.

The second Behemoth was being engaged by eight soldiers, but the result was the same. They were losing badly.

"I'm going out," Tatehan said suddenly.

Lyra's head snapped toward him.

"What?"

It wasn't a question. It was more of an exclamation of shock.

"You know the commander said not to push yourself too hard," Lyra said quickly. "You fell from the sky a few days ago. You were seriously injured. You passed out. I know you somehow healed quickly, but that doesn't mean you should jump into a fight like this."

Tatehan looked at her, his expression calm but resolute.

"I'm going out," he repeated. "I'm the only one here who can make a difference. Those soldiers can't handle the Behemoths."

Lyra opened her mouth to argue, but then…

Silver armor began to materialize around Tatehan's body.

It flowed over him like liquid metal, spreading from his chest outward, covering his arms, his legs, his torso. The plating snapped into place with soft clicks, and finally, the helmet formed around his head, the visor glowing faintly.

Lyra's words died in her throat.

Tatehan opened the door and stepped out.

The moment the door closed behind him, Lyra exhaled slowly and leaned back in her seat.

Then she reached for the vehicle's audio system and connected her music.

A slow, heartfelt melody filled the cabin— soft piano, gentle vocals, the kind of song that felt out of place in a warzone.

It was the opposite of the chaos and carnage happening outside.

Most people would have blasted rock music. Something loud, aggressive and violent to match the intensity of the fight.

But Lyra didn't listen to that kind of music.

She preferred something mellow. Something that added a bit of flair to the way she moved through the battlefield. Something that made it all feel like slow motion.

She pressed the accelerator, and the vehicle surged forward, the music swelling as she drove straight into a pack of shadow goblins.

Outside, Tatehan stood facing a Boulder-back Behemoth.

The creature was massive, easily four meters tall at the shoulder, with thick, stone-like armor plating covering its back and sides. Its legs were like tree trunks, each step shaking the ground. Its tail, lined with jagged spikes, swung back and forth lazily, as if daring anyone to get close.

The six soldiers surrounding it looked exhausted, their weapons doing little more than annoying the beast.

Tatehan stepped forward, his voice amplified by his helmet.

"The Behemoth is mine!" he roared.

The soldiers turned, relief flooding their faces when they saw him.

It seemed like they had just saw a messiah or something.

"Yes, boss!" they shouted in unison, stepping back immediately.

The Boulder-back Behemoth turned its massive head toward Tatehan, its glowing yellow eyes locking onto him.

Tatehan stood his ground, raised one armored hand, and pointed his index finger directly at the creature.

And then, in a loud, commanding voice, he said:

"Fear me if you dare!"

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