Zion cut corners left and right, dashing through smaller streets filled with homeless people.

As he pushed himself, he felt his lungs burn on a whole other level and his calves beginning to give up.

[They weren't shaken off,] Uriel said quietly. [Their current speed is faster than yours too… At this rate, they'll overtake you in twenty seconds.]

Zion didn't know what to say, knowing this situation was far from good.

He tried to push himself even further, but quickly stopped as he felt the edges of his vision darken from the lack of oxygen.

'Do I really have to fight two D-ranks and a C-rank?' he wondered, frustration seeping through while calculating his options.

He took another turn, then another, cutting through busy alleys that should've slowed them down.

But each time, Uriel told him that they were only getting closer.

Deep inside, he knew that he couldn't continue like this anymore.

'Fuck,' he thought, slowing down. 'Since running isn't going to cut it… I'll end it here.'

He exhaled slowly, letting the burning feeling in his calves settle as he came to a stop.

Around him, a few homeless people stared at him in wonder and confusion as he stopped in a pathway just large enough for five people to go through at the same time.

Zion turned around, energy coursing through his body as he covered his arms in scales.

Only a few seconds later, three gold-white armored individuals dashed around the corner, slowing down as they noticed Zion had stopped.

[The middle officer is the C-rank,] Uriel said quietly. [The girl and boy on his sides are both D-ranks, though their strength seems to have nearly reached the peak of D-rank.]

Zion nodded once, locking eyes with the middle-aged man who was the greatest threat to him, ready for any move.

The man's gaze flicked to the scales on Zion's arms for a moment, then to the small street around them. His brow furrowed, as if recalculating something.

The silence held as both sides calculated their options—

until the female officer suddenly spoke up.

"Ehh?" she exclaimed loudly, pointing some kind of scanner on her arm at Zion. "This guy's only an E-rank?"

"That doesn't match our target's profile at all!"

The C-rank officer raised his hand, immediately silencing her.

"Be quiet, Lily," the male officer in the center said, drawing a sword from his back. "It doesn't matter who he is. He became a criminal the moment he ran away from us."

"That's right," the other young D-rank said, reaching for two of his guns. "Death to all enemies of the Sovereignty!"

Zion immediately tensed up.

'I have to take care of those D-ranks first,' he thought, burned metallic flaps flicking open on his left arm.

'Uriel, fifteen percent.'

[Affirmative.]

Before the young male officer could even raise his weapons out of his holsters, Zion raised his left arm, a bright blue light forming around it.

The middle-aged man's eyes widened.

"Move—!"

A blue sphere of condensed energy shot forward toward the unsuspecting D-rank in an instant.

The C-rank didn't have time to move in front of him. Instead, he twisted his body and swung his sword sideways, barely managing to put it between the attack and the D-rank.

Boom!!

The blue sphere detonated against the blade.

The condensed energy burst outward against the sword, forcing it to bend under the concentrated pressure.

"Kh—!" the C-rank exclaimed, his arm violently jerking back.

His blade blasted back, knocking straight into the D-rank behind him.

The impact crushed into the young officer's chest, sending him flying off his feet. He flew through the air for a dozen feet before he hit the ground hard.

Dust drifted through the air as the C-rank slowly straightened, eyes locked on his damaged weapon. His grip tightened around the hilt as anger flashed across his face.

"…Damn it," he spat. "A unique weapon."

His gaze snapped toward the female officer.

"Lily," he barked. "Go help Bryse. Now."

Lily hesitated for a fraction of a second, then rushed toward the fallen D-rank, skidding to her knees beside him.

The middle-aged man raised his sword in front of him, pointing the bent blade toward Zion.

"You," he said, eyes narrowing. "What are you?"

Zion remained silent, his eyes switching between the C-rank and the two D-ranks.

'One's out for a while, one's attending him, and the C-rank is protecting them,' he thought. 'I need to make use of that.'

The middle-aged man shook his head.

"Silence, huh," he continued, anger and disgust visible on his face. "That's fine by me."

A bright light shone around him, summoning an external layer of armor all over his body.

The light slowly moved down his arm, gathering around the sword, immediately unbending the blade.

[Host, that's the basic external armor suits get at C-rank,] Uriel said. [Don't underestimate it.]

"Alright," Zion said, narrowing his eyes.

He shifted his stance, his blade piercing out of his knuckles.

The C-rank dashed forward immediately, far faster than Zion expected.

He closed fifty feet in a second, two hands wrapped around his sword as he sliced upward.

Zion slashed his sword down with all his strength, meeting the C-rank's sword just in front of him.

The swords collided for only a second before Zion was knocked back fifteen feet.

'He's far too strong,' Zion thought, gritting his teeth.

His opponent didn't give him more time to think, immediately closing the distance and following up with another swing, this time horizontally.

Zion raised his blade beside him, even using his left hand to hold the top of it to even out the incoming force.

The C-rank's sword slammed into Zion's blade with overwhelming force, hurling him away like a ragdoll.

He crashed through the narrow street, skidding across the ground before smashing into a concrete wall.

Dropping to one knee, he felt a sharp pain run through his right arm.

Zion clenched his teeth, his arm trembling violently as numbness spread from his wrist to his shoulder. The scales there were cracked, dark bruising already spreading beneath them.

'Dammit…' he thought. 'That arm's going to be useless if I take another hit like that.'

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