The Undercity Headquarters was a hive of quiet, desperate activity. The air was thick with the scent of Varya's reagents and the cold, focused ambition of Rian Thorne. He stood before the folding table, watching Seraphina Vast meticulously test the balance of her dagger.
"The plan is clear, Commander," Rian stated, his voice low and devoid of warmth. "This is not a failure disguised as a success. This must be clean. Lia has given us a window of precisely 135 seconds. Your mission is to secure the Ward Crystal—the power source—and the financial records. The crystal clears the debt; the records kill The Grand Executor."
Seraphina, dressed head-to-toe in black, lethal leathers, gave a curt nod. "The target is the power inlet at the rear of the vault, Thorne. The crystal must be severed cleanly from the power matrix. I understand the timing."
Rian turned to Lia, who was chained to the wall but fully engaged in the briefing. "Lia, you are providing the real-time surveillance. You will report any deviation in patrol timing or any unexpected magical signature. Your life and your vengeance depend on the success of this mission."
Lia, the former Tier 5 assassin, offered a faint, chilling smile. "I know the habits of the Guild, Auditor. They are lazy. I will watch the clock."
"Varya, status on the De-Synchronization Pulse," Rian commanded.
Varya, pale but fiercely resolute, held up her silver monitoring disc, which was connected by thick wires to a massive, custom-built battery pack—the entire power reserve of the outpost. "The pulse is charged. It's a low-frequency, high-stability wave designed to scramble the Ward's dual-cycle frequency. It will create the 135-second window, but it will drain our reserves completely. If Seraphina fails, we are defenseless."
"Failure is not an option when the cost is bankruptcy," Rian said. [INTERNAL WARNING: HIGH RISK/HIGH REWARD. COUNTERMEASURE: TRUST ASSET DATA.] "Garl, you are on comms and exit management. Your focus is the clock."
Garl, propped up with his splint, sighed dramatically. "My Lord, I'm still charging double for being the mission timer. If I have to tell a Knight Commander when to breathe, I deserve a bonus."
"If you fail to give the two-minute warning, Garl, your bonus will be a front-row seat to the Grand Executor's execution of his enemies," Rian responded, his voice dangerously level. Garl immediately straightened up, his eyes fixed on the timer.
Seraphina moved like a phantom through the Lower City streets, Lia's instructions guiding her past the main Guild patrols. They reached the alley behind the vault, where the massive steel structure loomed.
"Seraphina, the window opens in three minutes," Rian's voice was sharp in her ear. "The maintenance access point is two feet above you. Lia, confirm structural integrity."
"The maintenance access is Tier 2 standard. It's only monitored by a simple heat seal, My Lord. They rely on the Ward for protection," Lia confirmed.
Seraphina scaled the wall with silent, impossible ease, using only minute handholds. She produced a small, specialized pry bar—another investment purchased with the remains of Lia's sold boots—and snapped the heat seal. She was inside in seconds.
The interior of the maintenance tunnel was cramped and dusty. Ahead, a final copper panel glowed faintly, separating her from the vault's power systems.
"Seraphina, you are at the final copper plate," Rian instructed. "Varya is initiating the pulse now. Prepare for the shock."
"Engaging pulse!" Varya's voice was a strained yell through the comms.
In the tunnels, Seraphina felt a massive, deep thrum travel through the stone—the sound of all the outpost's power reserves being unleashed in a single, focused wave.
The massive Eternal Ward around the vault didn't collapse, but its pulsing light stuttered, turning a sickly, unstable yellow.
"Ward is de-synchronized! Seraphina, the clock starts now! 135 seconds!" Rian commanded.
Seraphina didn't wait. She used the blunt end of the pry bar to snap the copper panel's locks. It came away with a metallic clang, revealing a complex web of thick, mana-conducting cables leading to a massive, beautifully faceted crystal—the Ward Crystal—glowing with captured energy.
"The crystal is exposed, Thorne! It's enormous!" Seraphina reported, her voice hushed with a hunter's excitement.
"It is our debt solution, Commander. Sever the crystal at the base where the flow is weakest. Lia, guide her hand."
"Sever the crystal at the green node, Commander! The cable is fragile there!" Lia instructed quickly.
Seraphina drew her dagger, its mana-treated edge reflecting the crystal's glow. She brought the dagger down with practiced, brutal precision. The cable snapped with a flash of light and a loud CRACK.
The enormous Ward Crystal—a single, massive source of pure, condensed mana—was now loose. Seraphina shoved it into the custom-made, shielded bag Varya had provided.
"Crystal secured, Thorne. Power is down!" Seraphina confirmed.
"Excellent. Now, the secondary objective: the records," Rian said. "Lia, where are the political ledgers?"
"Inside the vault, My Lord! The crystal powered the final magnetic seal. It is now open!" Lia exclaimed, triumphant.
Seraphina pushed the main vault door open. It was a simple room filled with stacks of filing shelves. She located the massive, leather-bound financial ledgers marked with the Black Scythe symbol. She tossed them into her bag, prioritizing quantity over quality.
"Records acquired! We're leaving!" Seraphina yelled.
"Garl, time check!" Rian demanded.
"Thirty seconds, My Lord! You're cutting it tight!" Garl's voice was strained.
Seraphina sprinted out of the alley. She had the crystal, the ledgers, and was just seconds away from making a clean exit, when a sound stopped her cold. The rapid, disciplined stomp of heavy boots.
"Thorne! High-tier security! They weren't on the schedule!" Seraphina hissed.
"Lia, analysis!" Rian barked.
"They are Grand Executor's Personal Guard! They wear custom armor and move fast! I never tracked them!" Lia's voice was filled with terror.
The personal guard—four heavily armed, fully armored knights—rounded the corner, their swords already drawn. They were Tier 4, matching Seraphina's level, but armored and equipped.
"Seraphina, do not engage in combat! You are carrying the capital! Your priority is Extraction!" Rian commanded.
"Too late, Thorne! They saw me! I have to fight!" Seraphina roared, dropping her bag and drawing her dagger.
She charged, meeting the four armored knights head-on. She was a whirlwind of practiced violence, dodging the heavy sword blows and targeting the joints in their armor. But without her own armor or a proper shield, she was fighting a losing battle.
Meanwhile, back at the HQ, Varya had collapsed onto the floor, utterly drained. Garl was screaming into the comms.
"Two minutes! Two minutes, My Lord! The Ward's power is spiking again!" Garl yelled.
Rian felt a fresh wave of cold despair. The Ward was resetting faster than they anticipated. Seraphina was trapped, fighting for her life.
"Varya, you are the only one left! Can you channel the residual mana from the comm lines? Anything!" Rian demanded.
Varya, barely conscious, looked at the residual charge meter on the massive battery pack. It was completely dead.
Then, Rian remembered the one untapped resource he had left—his own body.
I am a Tier 4 Archmage trapped in a zero-Tier body. But the Core... the Archmage Core holds a residual, non-renewable charge. If I force it, I can fire one small spell.
[INTERNAL WARNING: ARCHMAGE CORE USAGE: DANGEROUS. PERMANENT DAMAGE LIKELY. PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS: 10%.]
Rian ignored the warnings. He bit down hard, forcing the Core to channel its final, desperate remnants of power. The pain was immense, sharp, and agonizing.
He raised his weak, trembling hand and focused the energy not on the fight, but on the Guard's weapons.
"Seraphina! Drop their swords!" Rian yelled into the stone.
A low-level Arcane Magnetism Pulse shot from Rian's body, a tiny fraction of his former power. It was just enough to destabilize the metal composition of the Guard's heavy blades. The four knights suddenly felt their swords shudder violently in their grips, the metal momentarily vibrating into uselessness.
Seraphina seized the opening. She kicked one knight in the groin, disarming another with a swift jab, and grabbed the bag containing the crystal and the ledgers.
"Thorne! I have them! We run!" Seraphina yelled, sprinting toward the predetermined exit point.
"Go! Garl, Varya, prepare the escape route!" Rian gasped, collapsing onto the desk, the world turning grey with pain and exhaustion.
He had saved the mission, but he had just used a non-renewable, massive portion of his potential magical recovery power.
The Ledger screamed a new, terrifying metric: [ARCHMAGE CORE INTEGRITY: SEVERELY COMPROMISED. RECOVERY TIME: UNKNOWN.]
He had paid a massive price to keep the operation alive.
A/N: Rian just sacrificed a massive chunk of his own magic to save Seraphina and the Crystal! The debt is about to be cleared, but at what ultimate cost? Chapter 14: The Price of Survival.