The sanguines’ expressions twisted. Yet neither of them was given a respite as the rest of the cadets reached them.

Kaiden led the charge. Despite his injuries, he threw himself at a distracted sanguine and hacked at his throat. Fiona weaved through attacks, striking lethal points, while the others finished them from behind.

The passage descended into chaos. The fallen light sources lay scattered across the pathway, leaving some stretches brightly lit while others remained engulfed in darkness.

"These little shits are fucking insane!"

"They’re actually killing us!"

"How the hell are we supposed to deal with this!? This isn’t how this was supposed to go!"

"We fight back! The fuck else!?"

"But—"

"But my ass! Go get Bruno! We need him to pin these little shits down! Now move!"

Retracting his blade from an eye, Zephyrion watched as the nine remaining sanguines rushed toward them, blood forming large clubs around their arms, armor encasing their bodies, crimson eyes glowing.

He exchanged a glance with Lumi. She glanced at the sanguines, then nodded.

They shot forward in unison, legs a blur.

"You fucking little shit!"

A sanguine brought his club crashing down at them.

Zephyrion rushed forward and caught it with his blade, letting Lumi blur between his legs, then beneath the sanguine’s, severing the latter’s legs in one smooth motion.

The sanguine screamed in pain, losing his balance. His neck found Zephyrion’s dagger before he could hit the floor.

The head spun through the air.

Zephyrion stepped forward and kicked it. The bloody head slammed into another sanguine rushing toward Lumi’s back, throwing him off balance. Lumi’s spinning blade found his neck before he could recover.

The other cadets rushed past them the next moment, throwing themselves into battle against the remaining sanguines.

Several cadets were brutally struck and injured, yet their sheer numbers, coupled with the fact that the sanguines were unable to kill them, carried the fight in their favor. After several cadets fell and more wounds were traded, the sanguines began dropping one by one.

Lumi came to stand beside him then, her expression as cold as ever. She was still in battle mode. Zephyrion gave her a nod, then swept his gaze around the cave.

He was right.

Kaelion and the other city lords’ descendants were bound in chains, each more battered than any cadet he’d seen. Their faces were swollen, their eyes dazed and barely open.

Zephyrion took a step toward them, then froze. He felt a shift in the air, followed by the rumble of a shout.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE!?"

Zephyrion turned toward the cave entrance, where a large sanguine strode in alongside several others. Around him, every cadet seemed to freeze in place, unable to move.

’Authority.’

Zephyrion’s eyes turned grave.

The sanguines they’d been facing so far had been at Mark Four or Five at best. These ones were at least Mark Six. The cave was brightly lit, leaving no room for stealth. Worse still, the large sanguine’s eyes were locked directly on him, as though he already knew Zephyrion was the one responsible for this.

He could not win. Not under these conditions.

"I leave you idiots alone for one damn minute and you let a bunch of kids get the jump on you!? What the bloody hell! Which one of you useless bastards is responsible for this?"

His eyes never left Zephyrion even as he spoke.

The surviving sanguines slowly pointed in Zephyrion’s direction, and the large man gave a knowing nod.

"So... you’re the Lightning Prince, huh." His crimson eyes glowed as he slowly approached. "You got any idea how much havoc you’ve caused? How many of my people you’ve butchered? Well? Got anything to fucking say for yourself?"

At such close proximity, controlling the blood of the numerous cadets was easy, especially with the help of the three other Mark Sixes behind him.

Zephyrion was silent. He felt Lumi’s killing intent beside him and gestured for her to stand down. Handling him without visibly using an element would be next to impossible, and he wasn’t certain when the right time was for them to reveal their elements.

Using his now could raise suspicion, hinting that he somehow knew about the test later on, creating yet another issue with the cadets. He had to find another way.

"Nothing, hmm?" The large sanguine nodded, slowly cracking his knuckles. "Fine by me. I’m gonna make you bloody well regret this if it’s the last thing I do."

"Y-you f-fucking bastard...."

Kaiden’s entire body trembled as he slowly stepped in front of Zephyrion, causing the sanguine to frown.

"...You can move?"

"I-I w-won’t l-let you."

Blood leaked from multiple parts of his body from the immense strain, yet Kaiden’s eyes had never been fiercer.

"H-he’s mine."

’I am nobody’s,’ Zephyrion thought to himself, but made no move to intervene. Instead, his attention was caught by something else. A hum had begun to ripple around Kaiden.

"You’ll get what’s coming to you, don’t worry." A massive blood club slowly formed around the sanguine’s arm. "Doesn’t matter who gets you first."

He slowly raised the club, then brought it crashing down on Kaiden.

"Haaaaaaaa!"

Kaiden gritted his teeth so hard they cracked, and Zephyrion felt the hum intensify. Suddenly, a metal shield materialized before him, colliding with the attack. The impact still hurled Kaiden back several feet, yet Zephyrion’s brow rose. Even the sanguine seemed stunned, his eyes narrowing.

"W-we won’t let you t-touch h-him!"

"P-protect the Prime..."

Aside from Fiona and Tobias, Horus and several others shakily stepped forward to stop the sanguine, as though disregarding their own lives. Sharp hums rippled through the air. Though the metal that formed wasn’t as thick or complete as Kaiden’s, it still formed.

"Tch. Useless."

The sanguine raised his hand.

"Authority."

The pressure on the cadets deepened, and each became a frozen statue once more, unable to move.

Well, all except Zephyrion.

In that brief moment, while every eye was off him, he vanished amidst the cadets. He could now use his element freely. There was no longer any need to hold back.

Smooth metal flowed around him as he slipped through the world, insanely fast.

He was upon the large sanguine before the latter realized he had moved. The sanguine’s eyes widened in shock, blood already gathering around him. Yet the rod snapped into Zephyrion’s grip, morphing into a gauntlet. His fist drove forward.

It crashed through the blood shield, slamming into the sanguine’s stomach. The large man was hurled backward, crashing into the far wall.

"Bruno!"

"Shit!"

The other three Mark Sixes lunged at Zephyrion, yet a blade streaked past them, halting them in their tracks.

Lumi flashed before them like a phantom, gripping a flexible metal rope lined with blades, her eyes cold. She spun. The blades carved flashing arcs through the air, finding limbs and drawing blood before the sanguines could react, the rope dancing around her.

The cadets were suddenly free from their bondage. Zephyrion exchanged a look with Lumi before turning to the others.

"Release the others and leave, now!"

"Bu-"

He silenced Horus with a look, then turned to meet Kaiden and Fiona’s eyes.

"I’m right behind you."

Kaiden, Fiona, and Tobias nodded and rushed to carry out his order. Though skeptical, Horus and the other cadets joined them.

Moments later, after freeing the others, they began filing out of the cave.

Still, Zephyrion’s attention remained entirely on Bruno, who spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes murderous.

"I’ll make you regret that."