Beyond The System
Chapter 126: Agents

Downstairs, the rest of the group had already gathered. Elric sat unusually close to Marcus, their chairs nearly touching.

He didn’t wear his usual charming mask. Instead, he looked like the Elric I first met: meek, sheepish, and deeply uncomfortable.

“Good morning,” Lyra greeted us with a bright smile.

“You two, eat up and head out,” Marcus instructed. “You may be assigned something important. The rest will train with me until we leave.”

Elric visibly stiffened.

Sia reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder, the other one clearly stifling a laugh over her mouth.

Miss Star emerged from the kitchen and handed us a couple of sandwiches. They were simple, but solid: bread, eggs, and glistening meat stacked between. “Just go now. Don’t keep important people waiting,” she said briskly.

I glanced over at Bristle, who was hopping around like he was giving a motivational speech to his siblings. They sat in eerie attention, watching him like he was some great canine scholar.

Then Miss Star, in her usual no-nonsense fashion, practically shoved us out the door.

It slammed shut behind us. Guess I’d catch Bristle’s post-lecture recap later.

“Should we just head to the commander?” I asked.

Thea didn’t answer. She took a massive bite of her sandwich, walking behind me and using me as a moving shield while she ate.

I took a few bites of my own as we walked, and that’s when I noticed it.

Even for such an early morning, this was weird. It was quiet and completely empty. Luna, do you notice anything strange?

There was a pause before her reply. Seems normal, and I can scan pretty far out.

Okay. Breathe. Just paranoia. No sixth sense suddenly awakened from my adventures. Oh, people. There we go. See, all in my head. Nothing wrong.

Then Thea mumbled through a full mouth, “Why’re they lined up like that?”

She stepped up beside me, chewing, eyes narrowing. “Wait… I know those uniforms. Voxter soldiers?”

She rubbed her eyes like she couldn’t trust what she was seeing: five figures standing motionless in the middle of the street.

Peter, energy’s building around them. If they’ve noticed you, they might be readying an attack, Luna warned.

I grabbed Thea’s arm and pulled her into a nearby alley. If we could see them, they could definitely see us.

They’re moving this way, Luna continued. Slower now. They’ve stopped gathering energy, but only because they’re full.

“Thea, get ready,” I said.

“Why are Voxter agents even here?” she asked, even as energy crackled around her hands.

Luna, help me stabilize the energy, I requested.

I activated my Domain, and with Luna’s support, shaped two spinning needles above my right hand. She kept them steady as I formed five separate Air Lances in the other.

I could hear their footsteps now, steady, approaching us slowly.

Attack first, Wyrem urged.

Didn’t need the advice, I was already thinking the same. If they suspected we were hiding, they’d be ready to strike. I wasn’t going to give them the chance.

“I’m attacking,” I phantom whispered, then activated True Sight.

I lunged around the corner the moment their steps reached the edge.

I hit the two who had the most tightly packed energy hovering around them first.

The spinning needles launched, silent and precise. The Air Lances followed a heartbeat later at the others, as my gauntlets formed, thick thorns coiling up around them.

Two wet thuds, and with them, two bodies dropped.

The Air Lances weren’t as effective. One of the remaining men leapt forward, shouting as a translucent green shield expanded outward, encasing the trio in a half dome.

A pulse rolled out from the shield and all five Air Lances redirected, slamming uselessly into the barrier with dull thunks.

There was no hesitation. One of them raised a hand to a sword tucked at his waist, his feet glowing with power as he launched forward with great speed.

But before he could reach me, a violet bolt cracked through the air like a whip of thunder.

“AHH—!” His cry turned into a pained growl, steam hissing from his body, but he didn’t fall. He kept moving with his blade drawn, now glowing with the same sickly green light, heading straight for Thea.

At the same moment, I charged the shield, slamming into it with both fists. One strike, then another. Luna’s thorns wrapped around my gauntlets didn’t even flinch at the impact.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the growing light, an orb in the sky, deep red and pulsing like a sun. I recognized it immediately, a familiar and destructive spell.

“Thea!” I shouted, footsteps closing in behind me. “The mage. Get the mage!”

I’ve gathered energy in your hand, Luna said calmly.

I adjusted my aim and fired a Blasting Wave straight into the shield.

Crack.

Frost spread across the surface, webbing outward. Then came the impact, a muffled whump, and the cracks deepened, leaking cold in every direction.

Through the thick helmet, I saw the titan-like man's eyes go wide.

SHATTER.

The shield exploded in a crystalline burst. I surged forward, fists raised.

“Brior!” That was all he managed as he raised his hands to block.

My palm lit again. The second Blasting Wave hit him point-blank.

“Forg—” Silence. His last word cut off before it could finish. A look of pure terror froze onto his face as his entire body locked solid, bits of ice streaking across him, as a sickening explosion came from his insides. He fell like a grotesque statue.

Another streak of lightning ripped past me, striking the mage square in the head. He shuddered, twitched, then dropped to his knees before collapsing face-first.

I spun to check Thea. She was dodging the last attacker, but seemingly barely. Even as she moved away, the edge missing her, the blade somehow created a fresh cut. Thin red lines ran down her arms, some bleeding through the slashes in her clothes.

Luna?

Just a touch, she replied, already reacting.

I moved in as fast as I could and grabbed the man by the throat.

He strained, muscles locking against me, trying to resist, but it didn’t matter. I could already see the black veins crawling under his skin.

“Ba—bastard,” he spat, eyes meeting mine.

And somehow, he still swung at me. It was weak, a half-hearted raise of his arm followed by a pointless swing. The blade trembled, vibrating like a chainsaw with his skill.

I caught it mid-swing then squeezed with nearly all my internal energy poured into my gauntlets. It cracked… and then crumbled in my hand.

He locked eyes with me again. I could see the rage, the defiance ,but also something else. Something twisted in his gaze.

Reverence.

Like he wasn’t fighting for himself. Like he’d already given everything to something bigger, and didn't have the capacity for regret.

He shuddered. Then slumped. Dead.

“Are you okay?” I asked Thea. Her breath came quick and shallow, blood seeping from small cuts across her arms.

She nodded, still catching her breath. “The blade… it extended past the edge. Peter, these people, their systems were advanced. More than any normal soldier.”

I nodded slowly.

Even that so-called enforcer at the arena hadn’t been a threat. Granted, he probably wasn’t a good standard to use, but still. He was tough enough to keep most recruits in line.

These guys weren’t quite at Marcus’s level, but I did take out two immediately. The fight may have been much worse if I hadn't.

Still... if Marcus and I had fought before he cultivated, maybe it would’ve gone like this. Maybe not.

“If you’re good, let’s get to the guild. We might still be able to meet with the commander.” I said.

“What if more show up?”

Luna, do you think you can spot anyone else coming? I asked her.

From a decent distance, yeah, but it’s not like I can tell who’s a friend and who’s not, Luna admitted.

Meet that large man if you can, Peter, Wyrem advised. If you go back now, you won’t get any answers. He was sounding more like a tactician than a parasite these days which I was starting to really appreciate.

I started toward the guild, but Thea stopped me.

“Wait… I don’t think I killed the other one. I didn’t send enough energy,” she said, her voice steady but soft.

I looked at her again and noticed the tremble in her fingers.

She was raised in this world. More hardened to its realities than me, but how many real life-or-death fights had she been in?

Fights with people, not monsters.

These enemies had pushed us. Split our focus. Split us.

She wasn’t panicked or breaking down, but this felt like her first real brush with real human danger. Even that ambush before the labyrinth hadn’t carried the same weight, when everyone arrived, the enemies were not a match for us.

“Thea, I’ll grab him. But we need to move, okay?”

She nodded slowly. Took a breath. “Okay.”

I slung the mage over my shoulder, dragging the armored one by his leg.

Thea approached the other two, the ones I’d taken out. Their heads still spiked with ice.

“You don’t have to—” I started, but she was already picking one up and dragging the other.

“I said I wouldn’t let you do it alone again,” she whispered.

“…Thank you.”

I started jogging. Thankfully, the guild wasn’t far, and we were fast anyway.

As we neared the door, I paused.

Several people inside. None are gathering energy, Luna reported. There’s someone in the big guy’s office. The energy feels familiar... I think.

I took a breath and nudged the door open with my foot.

“Sorry, we’re on lockdown right now, come back—what the hell!” The attendant’s voice cracked as she took in the scene.

Right. Probably best to sell this.

“The commander! I need to see him, Voxter agents have infiltrated!” I shouted.

The room froze. Papers hit the floor as clerical staff started to whisper. Eyes locked onto us and then to the bloody and bruised corpses.

The energy’s weird in here, Luna added. Be careful.

Before the attendant could respond, a door swung open.

A large man stepped out, towering in the frame. “What’s all the commotion—Peter?”

He took one look at the scene. “Come in. Now.”