"Run!"

That was everyone’s first thought.

But their legs wouldn’t move. Like fear had nailed their feet to the ground.

They could only stare up at the approaching bird, faces drained of color, waiting for death to drop out of the sky.

The giant bird closed in fast.

Then—

It didn’t attack.

It swept right over their heads, a crushing gust flattening grass and kicking dust into their eyes, and kept going—straight into the mountain range in the distance.

Only after it vanished did everyone realize they’d been holding their breath.

A collective exhale shuddered through the crowd.

They’d just brushed past death. For real.

"What kind of mutant beast was that...?" Grayson said, still shaken, his voice hoarse.

"No idea." The people around him shook their heads, pale and sweaty.

Even Cyrus—who’d been ice-cold a moment ago—was visibly rattled. His face was still a little too white.

But once the bird disappeared from sight, the arrogance slid back onto him like a mask.

"Grayson," Cyrus said, tone flat, "hand it over. Anything I, Cyrus, set my eyes on—I get."

Grayson’s expression turned ugly. "You better think this through. If we start fighting and that thing circles back, we’re all dead."

Cyrus frowned. Yeah, he was worried too.

But they’d come all this way for that Tier 18 crystal core. Grayson getting to it first didn’t change the plan—it just meant they had to take it back.

Fast. Clean. Before anything else happened.

"If you won’t give it to me," Cyrus said coldly, "then I’ll take it."

He moved.

His body blurred as he shot straight at Grayson, killing intent spiking—

And then a shout tore through the tension.

"Look! What’s that?!"

Heads snapped up in the direction the voice pointed.

And everyone’s blood went cold.

What now?

In the distant sky, a huge mass of figures was flying toward them.

As they drew closer, the shapes resolved—

Winged humanoids. Dozens, then hundreds, then a whole swarm.

"Void Realm creatures!" someone gasped.

Everyone had heard about Void Realm life by now, sure—but this was the first time most of them had seen it with their own eyes.

And at that moment, they wished they never had.

The pressure rolling off that flock was suffocating. Hearts pounded. Hands trembled. People looked like they might vomit.

But then—

Just like the giant bird, the winged figures didn’t even slow down.

They swept right past, not sparing the humans below a second glance.

"Haa..." Someone let out a shaky laugh. "Holy shit... I thought we were done."

"How are there so many Void Realm creatures?"

"Nope. Nope. We’re leaving." Another guy backed up, voice cracking. "We can’t stay here."

Fear had dug in deep now. Most of them wanted nothing more than to get as far away as possible.

Grayson looked back at Cyrus, breathing hard. "Well? You still feel like fighting, Cyrus?"

Cyrus’s eyes were icy, but his jaw worked once.

In the end, he flicked Grayson a cold look, then waved his people back.

Apex Squad withdrew.

He understood it too: this place was no longer safe for a fight.

Only after they were gone did Grayfang Squad finally relax.

Apex Squad was far stronger than them. If they’d clashed, Grayfang would’ve been wiped.

But Grayson also knew the truth.

Cyrus wouldn’t let this go.

"Captain," one of his men said, voice low, "shouldn’t you just absorb the crystal core now? If it’s gone, they won’t have a reason to come after us."

Grayson shook his head hard. "No. Cyrus is a psycho. If I use it, he might snap and kill us all anyway."

He glanced toward the mountains, uneasy. "And this isn’t the place to do it. We leave first."

"...Okay."

They moved out quickly, putting mile after mile behind them.

But after they’d run for dozens of miles, they were forced to stop.

A line of people stood ahead—blocking the road.

Apex Squad.

Cyrus had never really left.

He’d just moved ahead and waited for them to walk into his hands.

"Yeah... figures."

Grayson let out a silent sigh.

They’d deliberately taken a different direction, but Apex Squad still got in front of them anyway.

Which meant one thing: that crystal core was never going to be his.

It burned, but what could he do? He was weaker. That was the whole story.

After all the twists and scares today, something in him finally loosened. He’d rather lose a crystal core than lose his life. Cores could be hunted again later.

Dead was dead.

"Take it out," Cyrus said, voice as cold as ever.

This time, Grayson didn’t argue. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out the Tier 18 crystal core.

A small curve lifted at the corner of Cyrus’s mouth as he reached to take it—

Then something shifted overhead.

Two figures were coming in fast, riding on what looked like a long pole or blade, cutting through the air straight toward them.

Everyone’s face went dark.

Are you kidding me? Again?

A heartbeat later, the two stopped directly above them instead of blasting past like the last groups.

A voice dropped down from the sky.

"Did you see a giant bird and a bunch of winged people come through here?" Ethan asked.

He had the live satellite feed, but the targets were moving too fast. The "real-time" footage was choppy—skipping in segments. It had cut out right around this area.

Ethan was pretty sure they’d dipped into one of these mountain ranges, where the satellite couldn’t get a clean view.

He’d been about to start searching when he spotted this crowd and decided to ask.

Down below, a lot of people recognized him immediately. Ethan was famous across the Atlas Federation—only a small handful who’d never watched any broadcasts wouldn’t know that face.

"Y-you’re Ethan?" Grayson blurted, eyes lighting up like he’d just found a lifeline.

"Yeah." Ethan’s gaze stayed practical, impatient. "You saw them?"

"We did! We did." Grayson nodded hard. "They went that way. We just came from there. I can take you to the spot."

Grayson knew an opening when he saw one.

"Alright," Ethan said. "Lead the way."

"Wait!" Cyrus suddenly cut in from the side.

Ethan looked down at him, expression flat. "Yeah?"

Cyrus was the type who obsessed over getting stronger and didn’t waste time on livestreams or gossip. He hadn’t recognized Ethan.

But he didn’t need to.

A bunch of Apex Squad members behind him did recognize Ethan—and the moment their captain opened his mouth, cold sweat broke out across their backs. A couple of senior members grabbed at Cyrus’s sleeve, trying to stop him.

Too late.

Cyrus kept going anyway.

"I’m not done with him yet," Cyrus said, forcing his tone into something resembling polite restraint. "You can’t take him."

Ethan’s eyes flicked to Grayson. "That true?"

Grayson kept it simple. "Not really. He was trying to rob me for the crystal core. You showed up, so he didn’t get it."

"Oh." Ethan’s tone stayed calm. "Then it’s over."

He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t threaten anyone.

He just decided.

"Drop it. We’re leaving."

"Yes," Grayson said immediately.

"Hey—are you—mmph! MMPH—!" Cyrus tried to protest, but the vice-captain behind him clamped a hand over his mouth so hard Cyrus’s cheeks squished.

The vice-captain forced a stiff smile up at Ethan, speaking quickly. "Uh—Ethan, please. Go ahead. He meant no disrespect. He just didn’t recognize you. Don’t take it personally. Since you’ve spoken, we’ll follow your word."

Ethan gave a brief nod, clearly not interested in the drama. Then he reached down, yanked Grayson up onto the poleaxe under his telekinetic control, and shot away.

Time was tight. He wasn’t here to referee a street robbery.

The second they vanished, Cyrus tore free of the hand over his mouth, furious.

He rounded on the vice-captain like he wanted to kill him.

"Neil, are you trying to undermine me?"

Neil stared back, breathing hard. "Captain... you seriously don’t know who that was?"

"I don’t care who he is," Cyrus snapped. "Even if he’s government, he doesn’t get to stick his nose into a dispute between two independent squads. One sentence and he wants this ’over’? Why the hell should I listen?"

"Why?" Neil shouted back, voice cracking with panic. "Because that was Ethan Cole—captain of Fallen Star Squad!"

Cyrus’s expression finally changed.

"Ethan... Cole?"

Neil didn’t stop. "The one who wiped out the Yamato Empire."

"Ethan Cole..." Cyrus’s face went tight, the anger draining into something colder. "You’re telling me that was the guy who destroyed Yamato?"