"That is the one thing I cannot do."

Jagger just stared at her.

"But I can do the next best thing," Adriana said. Her voice remained level, but there was iron beneath it now. "I can make sure that when you finally stand in front of her, you’re strong enough to matter."

Before he could answer, she turned to Director Ng and gave a short, decisive nod. Director Ng’s fingers moved across the tablet without a word.

A new holographic projection materialized between them, a gorilla-type monster frozen in place above the glass table.

It stood thirteen meters tall, broad enough to make the four-story buildings beside it look fragile. Its body was built like a mountain of muscle, hunched forward on massive arms that could flatten a street with a single swing.

Dark hide covered its frame, rough and stone-like, with jagged crystal shards bursting from its shoulders, spine, arms, and knuckles. Beneath that hide, dull blue veins pulsed slowly, as if something cold and violent was moving inside it.

Its head was worse.

Two jagged crystalline horns curved out from its temples, sweeping down along the sides of its face until they covered its jaw like a natural cage. Four eyes burned from its skull, two on each side, glowing with a blue light that felt almost aware.

Jagger stared at the projection in silence.

Even as a hologram, the thing looked heavy. Brutal. Wrong.

Director Ng’s voice cut through the room.

"Herald of Collapse. Crystalhide Rampager. Elite threat-level. Alpha rank."

"Alpha rank?"

Director Ng gave a short, clipped nod.

"Alpha-rank is a new classification we’ve recently confirmed. Monsters with the Alpha rank can control the same type of monsters within a specific radius. In the Crystalhide’s case, it can lead a troop of fifteen brute threat-level Grey-Tusk Rampagers."

Adriana’s gaze shifted back to him.

"We have a group of five high-level Newborns, and two Awakened-rank Herald Slayer title holders camped one hundred and fifty meters away from the monster’s nest."

Jagger looked from her to the monster again.

Then back.

"And?"

Adriana stepped closer to the table and placed one hand on the glass. The hologram shifted at once. The towering monster dissolved into a top-down map of an eastern district. A cluster of broad rectangular structures lit up first, followed by service roads, loading lanes, fractured parking ramps, and a web of underground access routes.

At the center, a deep red zone pulsed slowly.

Smaller amber dots ringed it in a loose, predatory spread.

"The Crystalhide nested within the Singapore EXPO service complex in Tampines," Adriana said. "The halls above are partially collapsed. The loading bays, maintenance tunnels, freight ramps, and parking decks below form a concrete maze large enough to hide the Alpha and all fifteen Grey-Tusks while keeping them out of clean aerial view."

Director Ng expanded the lower levels.

The map sank, revealing stacked basement floors and long service corridors running beneath the exhibition halls like arteries.

"It is ideal ground for them," she said. "Reinforced structure. Limited sightlines. Multiple choke points. Enough room for the Alpha to move when it wants to, and enough shadow for the troop to stay low until they are already on top of an incursion team."

Adriana tapped the red center once.

"Every team we’ve sent to probe the area has confirmed the same problem. If you engage the troop first, the Alpha responds. If you engage the Alpha first, the troop collapses inward from multiple lanes."

Director Ng tapped again.

Two blue markers lit up on the map at the outer edge of the zone. Five white markers flared behind them in a staggered arc.

"Usually, taking out a Herald is not a problem for the squadron deployed to handle it," Adriana said. "Two Awakened-rank Herald Slayers are normally enough to bring one down. The five Newborns assigned with them handle support, containment, and cleanup while the main fighters engage the Herald directly."

Her gaze stayed on the projection.

"But that is under normal circumstances. With an Alpha-rank monster present, we cannot risk losing both Herald Slayers before the operation even reaches the Herald."

Jagger’s eyes narrowed. "And I’m guessing these aren’t normal circumstances."

"No," Adriana said. "They are not."

The map shifted again.

A series of projected movement paths unfolded across the district. The Grey-Tusks moved along the outer roads in looping patrol patterns, tightening around the center like a closing fist. At the heart of it all, the Alpha remained buried inside the concrete graveyard, still and waiting, like the core of a trap.

Adriana slid one finger across one of the routes.

"The Grey-Tusks have become more disciplined over the last six hours. Their patrol radius is shrinking. Their response time is improving. Their movements are becoming coordinated."

She paused.

"Which means the Alpha is adapting."

Jagger folded his arms slowly over his chest.

The motion was controlled, but there was a faint tension in it, as if he were holding something down by force.

"And you want to send me into that."

It was not a question.

Adriana met his eyes. "Yes."

Jagger let the silence sit between them for a moment.

Then, with the same low, sharpened tone, he asked, "Why me?"

"No," Adriana said, her voice flat. "You will not be going alone."

The projection adjusted again, marking seven figures near the outer perimeter.

"You will be placed in a squad of seven. One Awakened-rank Herald Slayer. Five Newborns. And you."

Jagger stared at the glowing figures.

"You will rendezvous with the main squad at the outer perimeter," Adriana continued. "You will integrate into their team under the designated Herald Slayer’s command. You will support the operation, assist where needed, and follow orders."

Her eyes settled on him. Hard as forged steel.

"You will also prove you are worth the clearance level I am about to grant you."

Jagger’s eyes narrowed.

For a second, the only sound in the room was the quiet hum of the hologram.

Then he said, "You’ve already got your leash around my throat. Don’t pretend this is about proving anything."

Director Ng did not react. Adriana barely did.

"It is about proving two things," Adriana said. "First, that you are capable of functioning inside a command structure without becoming a liability. Second, that when I put better information in your hands, you will be strong enough to survive what that information demands of you."

That landed.

It was a test. An operation. And an ultimatum, all wrapped in one.

Jagger hated it.

He hated how cleanly she had trapped him between duty and desperation.

But he could not afford to fail the test.

Because failing the test meant getting no more information. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

And getting no more information meant Hannah remained a weapon in someone else’s hands.

He looked at the holographic Alpha again.

He looked at the holographic Alpha again.

The Crystalhide Rampager loomed above the table in cold blue light, its immense frame hunched over the map of the ruined district like a living fortress built for war. Even as a projection, it carried weight. The jagged crystal growths jutting from its body made it look less like flesh and more like a mountain that had learned how to move and kill. Around it, the amber markers of the Grey-Tusks kept circling in tight, disciplined loops.

Jagger said nothing.

He just stared.

His eyes traced the patrol lines. The choke points. The layered tunnels. The distance between the outer perimeter and the nest. He could already see the problem in it. Too many angles. Too much concrete. Too much room for something stronger, smarter, and patient to let other monsters do the killing first.

A trap.

Not the kind that snapped shut all at once.

The kind that closed slowly, one bad decision at a time.

’Good,’ Ophilia said, her voice smooth and cold against the back of his thoughts. ’A battlefield with weight. Structure. Consequence. Better than this little room and its polished threats.’

Zumthor gave a low, eager growl that rolled through his skull like distant thunder. ’Thirteen meters of muscle, crystal, and fury. Hah. At last, something worth tearing into.’

Jagger kept his face blank.

Adriana watched him in silence, neither pressing nor repeating herself. She did not need to. The mission had already been laid out. The pressure had already been applied.

Director Ng tapped the tablet once, and the projection shifted again. The squad markers brightened. One blue marker pulsed slightly stronger than the others.

"Your squad leader is an Awakened-rank Herald Slayer named Jason Kwan," Director Ng said. "He is level thirty-two and a mage. The others are high-level Newborn-rank hunters selected for support, mobility, and controlled damage output."

Jagger’s gaze flicked to the brighter marker.

"You’ll meet with them as they are currently making their way back from their last forward scout. They’ll brief you on the ground, assign you a role within the team, and bring you up to speed on the operation."

Adriana’s eyes sharpened slightly.

"What do you say? Are you willing to jump into the deep end or should I give you a life vest?"