Chapter 65: Vanguard And Void

Tempest broke through the escort ring while the western drop pod struck District Nine and buried itself beside the Ether node.

The impact lifted abandoned warehouses, throwing roofs across empty streets as a crater opened beneath the industrial grid.

Bekka raised a wind barrier around nearby shelters, stopping debris before it reached families still moving toward evacuation routes.

"Pod opening!"

"I see it."

The shell split into six sections, releasing Vorn soldiers behind shields that locked together across the crater floor.

Each soldier planted one hooked weapon into the ground, feeding the shield line from energy stored inside the pod.

The formation turned toward the Ether node instead of nearby civilians, preparing extraction conduits around its exposed foundation.

Evacuation workers dragged families through a service tunnel while Bekka held debris above their route.

Tempest landed beyond the shelters and spread its wings, blocking plasma fire from reaching the tunnel entrance behind it.

A damaged patrol carrier settled near the tunnel, unloading medical teams while plasma struck the surrounding warehouses nearby.

A taller warrior emerged last, carrying a thermal scythe while burning symbols moved beneath his throat and jaw.

[ Target Scanned: Dread-Inquisitor Xylar ]

[ Rank: A- Vorn Vanguard Commander ]

[ Weapon: Dominion Thermal Scythe ]

Xylar lifted the scythe toward Tempest, sending a thermal wave through the rain and across the descending raptor.

Leo jumped before the attack arrived, letting Kage tether him while Bekka guided Tempest beyond the burning path.

He landed outside shields and drew the Null Razor, waking gravity rings along its edge.

"Bearer of the Heart," Xylar called. "Kneel before Dominion judgment."

"You crossed space for a speech?"

"I crossed it for your corpse."

The Vorn shield line advanced, driving hooked weapons downward while Xylar followed behind their formation.

Their shields absorbed gunfire from arriving district patrols, returning each impact as heat through the weapons beneath them.

Leo ordered patrols back through Bekka’s liaison channel before another volley strengthened the Vorn formation.

Xylar lifted his scythe and carved the Ether node’s outer housing, exposing conduits carrying power beneath District Nine.

The node alarm joined evacuation sirens while nearby towers lost lights from lower floors upward.

Leo released two Void Arcs across the crater, cutting the first shields before their emitters adapted to his frequency.

Three soldiers fell with the broken barrier, while the remaining cohort closed ranks around their commander’s thermal field.

Bekka struck from above, dropping a cyclone behind the line and pushing four soldiers toward Leo’s waiting blade.

"Delivery!"

"Next time, remove the weapons."

"You’re welcome."

He turned through their charge and used one Iaido draw, cutting armor seams while Kinetic Absorption drank every parry.

Stored force entered the Null Razor, tightening its gravity pull until loose weapons dragged across the crater toward him.

Xylar crossed that pull without slowing and swung the scythe toward Leo’s waist through a sheet of thermal fire.

Leo caught the shaft against his blade, absorbing the impact while heat burned through his coat and shadow layer.

"The Heart hides inside weak flesh."

"Come closer. Test it."

Xylar leaned into the bind, feeding more force through the scythe while its edge climbed toward Leo’s shoulder.

Leo released the stored pressure downward, breaking the ground beneath them and dropping both fighters into the crater.

Bekka intercepted two soldiers following him, cracking one helmet before sweeping another into Kage’s jaws.

"Your commander is busy."

The cohort answered with plasma bolts, forcing her across the crater while shields rebuilt between every surviving soldier.

Below them, Xylar twisted the scythe free and drove its lower point toward Leo’s chest through falling debris.

The weapon left a trench across the crater, turning rain into steam around both fighters.

Leo’s established Genome Immunity recognized toxin channels inside the scythe, warning him before its edge touched his blood.

He shifted his wrist and redirected the lower point toward the ground, trapping its hooked edge beneath broken shell plates.

Xylar abandoned the trapped weapon and struck with his free hand, releasing thermal force through Leo’s waiting guard.

Apex Evasion showed the shift early, letting Leo turn beside the weapon while drawing upward across Xylar’s side.

The commander caught the blade with one armored hand, letting black blood cross his fingers without releasing his grip.

"Dominion blood remembers this weapon."

"Then remember what follows."

Leo opened a Miniature Gravity Well behind Xylar, pulling the commander backward while his feet cut trenches through the crater.

Xylar planted the scythe and resisted, drawing thermal power from the pod through a conduit beneath the ground.

Kage found the conduit first and bit through it, cutting the commander’s supply before the next pulse reached him.

"Now!" Bekka shouted.

She broke the rebuilt shield line with both gauntlets, sending shattered emitters through the soldiers clustered behind them.

Leo deepened the gravity well and pulled Xylar forward, forcing his planted scythe away from the crater floor.

The commander flew closer, raising one arm and gathering thermal fire for a final strike.

Leo stepped into the falling body and drew vertically, sending the Null Razor from Xylar’s waist through his shoulder.

The scythe landed behind them while both halves struck opposite sides of the gravity well and stopped moving.

[ Vorn Vanguard Commander Slain: +40,000 Combat EXP ]

[ LEVEL UP: Level 30 -> Level 31 ]

[ LEVEL UP: Level 31 -> Level 32 ]

[ Vorn Genome Integration: 20% / 100% ]

[ Bio-Toxin Immunity Enhanced ]

[ Bounty Auto-Wired: +250,000 Credits ]

[ New Balance: 1,303,500 Credits ]

Power moved through Leo’s nerves, sharpening every sense while unfamiliar Vorn patterns settled beneath the All-Spark’s deepening pulse.

The surviving cohort hesitated after Xylar’s command signal vanished, leaving exposed shields beneath Bekka’s descending attack from above.

She struck the crater floor and released a cyclone through their formation, throwing soldiers into Kage’s surrounding shadow.

"Western pod clear," Sierra announced. "Hancock reached the eastern node."

Leo looked across District Nine as the second pod opened above the river beneath a ring of Association aircraft.

Behind Leo, medical teams loaded the last wounded families while Tempest shielded their carrier from falling plasma overhead.

Hancock appeared inside that ring without his bottle, drawing one fist backward while golden fire covered his body.

The eastern pod released its soldiers, but his strike reached them before their shields finished joining across the bridge.

Golden light erased the entire cohort and folded the empty pod into its crater with one downward blow.

The river rose around Hancock’s impact, then settled beneath a dome of radiance holding the bridges above the water.

Below them, the surviving families reached armored transports and vanished toward shelters beneath Association escort.

Association aircraft stopped firing and joined evacuation work, following his gesture without awaiting council approval.

Hancock pulled two wounded responders from the collapsed bridge and placed them inside a carrier before looking west.

For the first time, public cameras caught him protecting people without a sponsor, bottle, or prepared statement nearby.

Hancock hovered above the river, meeting Leo’s gaze through rain and offering one tired nod.

"He looks terrible sober," Bekka said.

"Still effective."

Sierra replaced the eastern marker with green and enlarged the final pod signal inside the abandoned canal basin.

Corporate floodlights surrounded its crater, while Apex aircraft blocked Association routes approaching from the city.

"One pod left," Sierra said. "Apex reached it first."