Emily sprinted through the hive. Her form flickered like a mirage.
The path twisted and pulsed around her, as the organic walls bristled with unnatural life.
The deeper she went, the more hostile it became. Misshapen monsters lunged at her from cracks and alcoves, claws swiping through air where she had just been.
Her boots barely touched the ground.
Phantom Steps, her SSS-rank movement skill, made her seem like she was teleporting. Each step took her dozens of meters forward in a blink. She blurred past traps, slid under acidic webs, and zigzagged through beast-infested corridors.
But even that wasn’t enough to make her untouchable.
A corrosive spike clipped her sleeve. Another one burst against the wall behind her.
The hive was smart and it had saw the flaw in her phasing ability already. High mana density attacks could hit her, and that was what the hive was using now.
She winced but kept going. The signal from Team Gamma might’ve gone silent, but they would not go down so quickly with a champion rank awakener leading them.
She finally reached the source, and the sight before her stopped her dead in her tracks.
A white figure stood in the middle of the chamber.
A Human-shaped, pale, fleshy-cybernetic hybrid.
Its body gleamed with plated muscle and metallic sinew. In each hand, it held a katana, long, sleek, and absolutely lethal.
The Guardian Machina.
It raised one blade, prepared to end the man on his knees before it—Jin, the Champion-ranked leader of Team Gamma. His body was battered, one arm dangling limply. He couldn’t defend himself.
Emily didn’t hesitate. She activated Phantom Ward, her second SSS-rank skill that she unlocked when she reached Level 10.
A translucent shield burst into existence between Jin and the descending blade.
The Guardian’s katana slammed into it, cracking the barrier in one blow.
The second swing shattered it entirely.
But that half-second was enough.
Emily flashed forward, arriving beside Jin. She dropped to one knee and summoned her strongest champion-ranked Bond—a massive lizard beast with scaled armor and searing heat emanating from its breath.
“Attack it!” she ordered, sending the beast charging forward.
As the lizard lunged, Emily turned her focus to the rest of Gamma. They were scattered, injured, trying to crawl away from the chamber’s center.
Emily was still invisible, so the gamma team members couldn’t see her, but she had to retrieve them in this state, or the monster would locate her.
But then the Guardian turned its head. Its glowing red eyes tracked her.
It can sense mana… she realized. Her invisibility was useless.
The Guardian ignored the charging lizard and the other wounded. Its attention stayed on her—the summoner.
The lizard’s claws came crashing down. The Guardian parried the blow effortlessly with one blade, and with the other, slashed in a blur toward Emily.
She tried to dodge.
But she was slow.
A deep cut tore across her shoulder.
“Scout 4,” Renald’s voice echoed in her comms. He tried to sound calm. “What is the situation there?”
His voice was tense. Since the skill-based voice link could not show video-feed, they were unaware of the situation. As for the conventional systems, they were useless due to the high mana density present inside the hive.
Emily grit her teeth, ducking beneath the Guardian’s next swing.
“Confirmed Guardian Machina!” she shouted as she dodged again. “Gamma team is injured. Team Leader Jin is fighting, but he is barely standing. I summoned a Champion-rank to stall it. It’s ignoring the summon. It’s tracking me through mana. Intelligent behavior confirmed!”
The comm line went silent for a few seconds.
Normally, they would’ve been shocked to hear she had an Champion rank summon, but this was no time for it.
Inside the command room, tension ran high. The confirmation of a second Guardian Machina made them go pale. Even one could wipe out multiple squads. A mistake now wouldn’t just cost lives, it would cost the entire operation.
“Should we request Vale Rae to—” someone murmured.
“No,” Renald said grimly. “Not unless we want dozens of friendly casualties. That will be out last option when everyone has been defeated and the hive still stands.”
Vale was strong, but inside the confined hive, he was limited in options.
The Command Team racked their brains. However, they were running out of time.
In the hive, Emily was already reaching her limit. Her Phantom Ward was still on cooldown. She sidestepped another attack, barely avoiding the curved blade that split the ground behind her.
Jin coughed, dragging himself to his feet beside her. Blood was running from his mouth.
He looked at Emily—young, wounded, still standing.
She should’ve never been here. Not like this.
We’re the ones who failed. She came to save us.
The young awakeners had yet to enjoy life, and see what the life has to offer.
Unlike the old bones like Jin, they shouldn’t die here.
Jin clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth against the pain.
He wouldn’t let her, or the other members of Gamma Team die.
“Retreat!” he roared, slamming his broken weapon into the ground. “Scout 4, and all Gamma members, get out of here! I’ll hold it back!”
But none of the others could move. The survivors of Gamma were barely conscious. A few twitched, trying to rise, but they couldn’t. Their injuries were too severe. And Emily… she stayed rooted in place.
She didn’t answer.
She knew what would happen the moment she left Jin behind, and the Guardian Machina no longer had to deal with her.
The Guardian would kill Jin in seconds.
No. I’m not leaving him. She raised her hand again, calling her lizard back in front of her.
Jin saw it, and something in his chest cracked. Not from the wounds. From the shame.
We failed. Our team fell apart. And now a girl who should be in the rear line is bleeding for us.
He took a shaky breath.
The young ones… they’re supposed to live. They’re supposed to carry the flame forward. Enjoy what we never could.
His legs trembled, but he pushed them forward anyway, taking the Guardian’s attention off Emily for just a moment. That was all he could give.
“If someone has to die,” Jin muttered under his breath, “let it be me.”
Emily refused to retreat. She was fighting the monster with Jin and her summon.
And then a voice—soft, familiar—echoed in Emily’s mind.
Emily. Can you let me access the thoughts of your Bonds through Tirra?
Isaac.
The bond between them allowed for mental communication, thanks to Tirra.
There’s something I need to check.
Emily nodded without speaking. Tirra shifted invisibly on her shoulder, and the link deepened.
Now Isaac could feel everything she could. The mental states of her Bonds, especially the Wisp Spirits she had sent out earlier to map the hive. They were still drifting silently through the tunnels, and scouting the locations.
And for Isaac, that was enough.
Mind Echo, his title, kicked in, allowing him to absorb, analyze, and pattern everything they had seen.
The layout. The energy flow. The shifting of monster patrols. And critically, the goal of the Guardian Machina.
Isaac drew in a breath.
Then opened the command line.
“Command Team,” Isaac said. “I’m requesting full coordination authority.”
Renald blinked. “Isaac?”
“I have the full layout now. There isn’t enough time to explain, but….” Isaac spoke with confidence. “We can win. I just need full command.”
Static buzzed faintly through the channel, but his words had already landed with weight. Inside the Command Center, tension built. Monitors showed partial mana readings and combat signals from the hive, each one marked in amber and red. The air was heavy.
Renald didn’t speak right away. His brow furrowed. Around him, the other strategists and commanders exchanged uncertain glances. A few even looked at him, waiting for rejection.
Giving full command to a first-year university student was absurd. He didn’t have the credentials. He hadn’t earned that rank.
But Isaac had seen through the hive’s layout faster than anyone. He understood the mana flow and its defenses better than even seasoned scouts.
And now, in the most critical moment, hesitation would mean lives lost.
“Granted,” Renald said. “Command authority transferred to Isaac Hargraves.”
No one argued.
Only a miracle could save them now, and Renald decided to bet on the boy who had received the full support of the Sword Empress.
Isaac didn’t wait on ceremony. “Gamma Team Leader, Jin. Please give your mana recovery potions to Emily. Then retreat and destroy the third Node Core.”
There was a brief pause before Jin’s voice returned. It crackled, laced with disbelief. “B-But, the scout—”
“We don’t have time,” Isaac said firmly. “Team Leader Jin, please follow the command.”
Jin looked down at his trembling hands, blood dripping from a gash across his arm.
Around him, Gamma Team’s members were still barely conscious, some unable to move, some moaning faintly.
Emily stood a few meters ahead, her back to him, already bleeding, already fighting.
She had come for them without hesitation.
Gritting his teeth, Jin pulled the three mystic-rank mana potions from his belt and threw them toward her.
“Scout 4!” he called out. “Catch!”
Emily twisted slightly, just enough to catch them in her hand while the summoned lizard obstructed the guardian machina.
Isaac’s voice slipped into her mind, smooth and calm, the way it always was. ’Emily, do you trust me?’
Her answer came without delay. ’Yes!’
’Then drink the potion and fight the Guardian Machina without holding back. You have to defeat it alone.’