Chapter 57: Vrak Must Fall

Vrak reversed the weapon without slowing, driving its lower point toward Leo’s ribs while the floor shifted beneath both fighters.

He slid beneath the halberd as its anti-matter edge crossed overhead, draining the light and leaving frost across the chamber walls.

He caught the halberd, but impact swallowed his shadow coating and drained six hundred Ether.

[ Anti-Matter Contact Detected ]

[ Standard Ether Constructs Destabilized ]

"The tricks you took disappear before Dominion matter, proving that the Heart chose an animal unworthy of its purpose," Vrak said.

"You crossed half the universe for an unworthy animal, which makes your commanders sound desperate," he answered, breaking contact.

The halberd struck the floor and opened a dark wave that consumed three consoles before racing toward his feet.

He triggered Phase-Edge and passed through the wave’s spatial seam, emerging beside the reactor conduit behind his opponent.

Vrak caught his shoulder, throwing him across the chamber before the next strike could land.

Leo rolled behind a command pillar and felt blood spreading beneath his coat where the armored fist split his skin.

The rank gap made every clean hit dangerous, forcing him to fight through movement instead of trading power with the commander.

Outside the vault, Bekka hammered both gauntlets against the sealed door while Kage held the remaining operators away from her back.

"Stop admiring yourself and open this door, ghost boy, because I’m not letting you take my commander kill," she shouted.

"Free the pilots and find controls, because Vrak’s key can stop everything here," Leo replied.

She looked toward the command screens, seeing the impact timer dropping while the planetary scan continued behind its locked authority.

[ Estimated Impact: 08 Minutes 19 Seconds ]

[ Planetary Scan Completion: 09 Minutes 46 Seconds ]

"Kage, keep these soldiers down while I force their console to accept a new evacuation route," she ordered, leaving the door.

The beast expanded across the stations and bound every operator, giving her enough space to tear open the command interface.

Inside the vault, Vrak charged again and swung the halberd through the pillar, cutting the support apart without losing momentum.

Leo released a gravity well beside Vrak’s foot, pulling his stance sideways before recovery began.

The distortion lasted one breath, but that breath opened Vrak’s guard and let the blade cut across his chest plate.

Black blood struck the floor as the commander stepped back, touching the wound with surprise before raising the halberd again.

"The Heart remembers our frequency, yet it wastes Progenitor power on a body built from labor and hunger," Vrak said.

"Labor taught me balance, and hunger taught me how long desperate men keep fighting after privileged soldiers expect surrender," he answered.

Vrak widened his field, pulling reactor energy until pressure swallowed every light around them both.

The Null Razor began losing its gravity rings, forcing Leo to retreat until his back touched the conduit behind him.

Through the wall, Bekka found the prisoner controls and released every pod while Kage opened a route toward the emergency chute.

The captives stumbled into the command spine, supporting each other as the ship’s gravity changed and alarms shook the screens.

"Sierra, send Tempest toward the northern chute, because forty-three survivors need a ride before this ship reaches the city," she called.

Static answered, then Sierra’s broken voice returned with coordinates and warnings about failing engines aboard.

"The bird can catch escape capsules, but somebody must redirect the crash before your remaining six minutes disappear," Sierra replied.

Bekka forced the navigation screen open, finding every control locked behind the same command signal radiating beyond the vault door.

"Vrak owns the abort key, so kill him faster or I’ll start breaking this ship until something useful happens," she shouted.

Leo heard her through the wall and looked at the reactor conduit touching his back, feeling its frequency match the All-Spark.

He drove the Null Razor through the casing until its spatial edge reached the core.

[ Vorn Reactor Contact Established ]

[ All-Spark Assimilation Sequence Available ]

[ Warning: Unregulated Intake May Destabilize Vessel ]

"Destabilizing the vessel is already part of our morning, so take everything needed to break his field," he told the system.

Cosmic energy surged through the blade, restoring its gravity rings while burning violet lines along his arm and shoulder.

Vrak rushed forward and thrust the halberd toward his chest, choosing the shortest path before the assimilation could deepen.

Leo twisted aside and trapped the shaft beneath his blade, absorbing its kinetic force while the anti-matter burned through his guard.

Pain crossed both palms, but he held firm and opened gravity behind the commander’s back.

The distortion pulled Vrak forward as stored impact exploded through the blade, turning his own charge into the killing path.

"The Heart belongs to nobody who needs chains to prove ownership," Leo said, extending the weapon through the commander’s core.

Vrak stopped against the edge, releasing one broken click before the gravity well folded his anti-matter field into the wound.

The commander split apart in violet light, leaving his halberd across the floor while the authority rune entered Leo’s interface.

[ Sub-Commander Vrak Slain ]

[ Command Authority Acquired ]

Bekka entered, finding Leo kneeling while reactor light poured along the blade in his hands.

"You look terrible, but you’re breathing, so give me the key before I decide whether hugging or punching comes first," she said.

He transferred the authority rune into her gauntlet, letting her cancel the scan and redirect the vessel toward the northern ridge.

[ Planetary Scan Terminated At 71% ]

[ Collision Target Cleared ]

[ Emergency Crash Vector: Northern Ridge ]

"The pilots are moving toward the chute, and Tempest is catching their capsules outside, but we have four minutes," she warned.

"Take Kage and launch with them, because the reactor still carries the proof and power we came here to secure," he replied.

"I’m not leaving you inside another collapse after you promised nobody stays aboard," Bekka said.

Together they returned to the conduit and pushed the blade deeper, letting the All-Spark pull the reactor’s core into Leo’s chest.

The ship groaned around them while every light failed, dropping the remaining operators as their armor lost power.

[ Vorn Warship Reactor Core Assimilated ]

[ Corvette Systems Entering Terminal Collapse ]

They ran toward the chute with Kage covering the captives, reaching the last capsule as the vessel entered the ridge clouds.

Bekka shoved two wounded pilots inside and fired the capsule outward, leaving no room for herself or Leo behind them.

"Tempest waits beneath us, so jump when the hull opens and aim carefully," Bekka said.

He cut the outer hatch with Phase-Edge, releasing the cabin pressure and pulling both fighters into the burning air outside.

Tempest caught them beneath the falling corvette while Kage flowed back into Leo’s shadow before the wreck struck the ridge.

The vessel carved through the mountain face and exploded across the empty slope, sending a pressure wave after the fleeing bird.

Bekka wrapped one arm around Leo and raised a wind barrier, holding the blast away while Tempest carried them toward the chalet.

[ WORLD CRISIS QUEST COMPLETED: DESTROY THE VORN CORVETTE ]

[ Combat EXP Banked: +100,000 ]

[ D-Rank Ceiling Reached: Excess EXP Banked ]

[ Genesis Shard 4 Coordinates Acquired: Northern Polar Wastes ]

[ Null Razor: Gravity Matrix Deepened ]

[ Syndicate Bounty Escrow: 1,000,000 Credits ]

[ Verification Blocked By Hero Association ]

Morning broadcasts called the fireball a satellite failure while they flew home through smoke together.

"They buried your kill before the wreck stopped burning, and your million credits are already frozen," Sierra said through the restored channel.

Leo watched smoke rising from the ridge, understanding that the next battle would begin before his injuries finished closing.