Tirel's laugh slid low and sultry over the crackle of flame. She lounged on her feet even as her fire lashed out like whips, carving men apart. "Oh, she already expects plenty from him," she purred, her voice velvet over steel. "But I admit, watching him swoop in like that—" her tongue flicked across her teeth in amusement "—mm, it's a good look. Very heroic."
Elise flushed crimson. Her face burned hotter than any fire on the field, and she jerked her gaze down, forcing her attention onto the bleeding cadet still beneath her palms. She refused to look at Jae, refused to let Tirel's teasing draw her into words. Her mana surged harder, steadier, as if her focus could be soldered into the wound instead.
Jae smirked in silence, dragging his flaming blade back through the air. The flames flared with the motion, answering louder than any words he could have given.
Above it all, Lord Veynar's booming laughter carried across the battlefield. His voice seemed to swallow the night itself, dramatic and mocking, too large to ignore.
With Elise at its center, dragging the wounded back from death with sheer will and mana, and Jae burning down every threat that dared near her, the flank bent but did not collapse. Shadows wove the gaps shut, fire carved the dark apart, lightning flashed at the edges. Their little circle of defiance held.
And in the middle distance, Sun watched. His Sovereign Vein dragged stamina and strength from every enemy that stepped too close. His jaw clenched tight, muscles rigid, eyes narrowing to slits as his gaze lingered on Jae's unit—the so-called weakest flank, the group everyone had expected to fold first.
And yet, they stood.
They fought.
They refused to collapse.
The field reeked of iron and ash. Smoke crawled low across the churned mud, carrying the hiss of burning pitch and the muffled screams of men who had fallen too far from healers' reach. The clang of steel never ceased, and the flicker of firelight made every shadow twist like it had teeth.
Jae wiped blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, smirking faintly as though the cut were an inconvenience rather than a wound. His red eyes caught the glow of distant flames, steady and unshaken even with the chaos pressing in on every side.
The ground beneath his boots trembled, once, then again with a deeper force. Cadets stumbled, weapons slipping in the mud. A ripple surged through the soil, shaking the earth itself.
The ground split open. From the rift stepped a mountain of a man, broad as two soldiers put together, his armor scored with cracks and battle scars, his jaw locked in a permanent snarl. Mud and dust clung to him as if the battlefield itself had dressed him for war. In his gauntleted fists, stone gathered and hardened, twisting into jagged gauntlets that bristled with sharp edges like chisels.
The captain's voice rumbled low, gravel grinding in his throat. "Farmboy. You're the one I was told to break."
Byun gave a low whistle, shadows curling hungrily around his shoulders. "Well, that's flattering. They had to send their pet rock just for you."
Tirel lounged against a splintered barricade, fire curling lazily between her fingers as if she were at a performance rather than a war. "I'll admit, blondie, he looks your type — big, mean, and bound to crumble when you push him hard enough."
Jae only smirked, brushing a strand of hair from his eyes. "I'll manage."
The captain didn't wait for another word. With a roar that shook the air, he slammed his fists into the ground. Stone spires erupted in jagged lines, ripping forward like the teeth of a predator snapping shut. The ground tore apart in a path straight for Jae.
Jae moved. Ember Step carried him sideways in a flash of fire and smoke, leaving only a seared afterimage that shattered under the rising stone. He reappeared behind the captain, Dragonfire Blade already blazing in his grip, and brought it down in a molten arc aimed to cleave through armor and flesh alike.
The strike met stone. The captain's gauntlet thickened, rock swirling over his arm in time to catch the blade. Fire hissed against earth, sparks scattering in every direction. For a heartbeat they locked there, neither yielding, the clash ringing louder than the rest of the battle. Then the captain shoved forward with brute strength, forcing Jae back a full step.
Gasps broke from cadets holding the line nearby. Elise's hands stilled where she'd been weaving mana into a wound. Her eyes went wide, her lips parting. "He's not ordinary. That magic—"
"Yeah," Byun muttered, his grin sharp even as his gaze stayed fixed on the clash. "But neither is Jae."
The captain came in again, swinging a fist wide. The air cracked with the weight of the blow. Jae ducked low, flames sparking along his shoulders, and answered with a counter slash that seared across the man's side. The smell of scorched steel rose, but the captain didn't so much as grunt. He pivoted, stone crawling higher up his body, and slammed a knee into the ground.
Spikes shot upward in a violent burst. One tore into Jae's thigh, shallow but deep enough to draw blood.
His smirk faltered into a tight line. He hissed through his teeth, staggering back as blood seeped down his leg, hot against the cold mud.