The imperial officer's expression hardened instantly.
Mana surged violently through the armored soldiers surrounding the platform while formation arrays along the nearby towers blazed to life in response.
Weapons shifted.
Combat stances formed.
Searchlights snapped downward, locking directly onto the two figures standing beneath the looming shadows of the warships overhead.
"Nonsense."
The officer stepped forward sharply, armored boots echoing across the steel platform.
"You dare trespass onto military grounds while threatening imperial soldiers—"
"I'm here for those from the Holy Empire."
Draven's voice cut through the platform calmly.
Cold.
Controlled.
Beneath the dark hood—
crimson eyes glowed faintly within the shadows.
"If you aren't one of them…"
A brief pause followed.
"Stand aside, and you won't die."
Silence.
The air itself seemed to tighten.
Several nearby soldiers instinctively tightened their grips on their weapons.
Beside him, Aldric let out a quiet sigh.
"…You should probably listen."
He shoved both hands lazily into his coat pockets.
"Unless you want all hell to break loose."
The officer's expression twisted instantly.
"You arrogant—"
Mana exploded from his armor.
The blade at his waist flashed free in an instant, coated in brilliant silver mana as killing force erupted across the platform.
But—
Draven moved first.
No warning.
No visible preparation.
One moment, he stood several meters away beneath the cloak.
The next—
he was directly in front of the officer.
The surrounding soldiers' eyes widened violently.
Too fast.
The officer reacted purely on instinct.
His mana-covered sword swung immediately toward Draven's neck with enough force to cleave reinforced steel apart.
CLANG!!
The strike never completed.
Draven stepped directly inside the officer's guard.
One hand shot upward—
and caught the man's sword arm mid-swing.
His fingers crushed through reinforced armor plating with a sickening crunch.
The officer's eyes widened in shock.
Then—
BOOOOM!!
Draven's fist slammed into the officer's abdomen.
The impact folded the armored man instantly.
Steel bent inward violently.
Blood exploded from beneath the officer's helmet as the force should have launched him backward across the platform—
but didn't.
Because Draven was still gripping his arm.
Holding him in place.
The officer collapsed limply against the crushing hold while the mana blade slipped from his fingers and clattered loudly across the steel floor.
Silence.
The surrounding soldiers froze for half a heartbeat.
Unable to process what they had just witnessed.
Then—
Draven let go.
The officer crumpled helplessly to the ground.
Still barely alive.
Draven looked down at him beneath the hood.
Crimson eyes burned quietly through the darkness.
Then, calmly—
he raised one foot.
CRUNCH.
The boot came down.
The officer's helmet collapsed inward violently beneath the force.
Steel shattered.
Bone burst apart.
Blood sprayed across the military platform in a crimson arc beneath the sweeping imperial searchlights.
Silence crashed across the entire dock.
Absolute silence.
Even the distant hum of the warships somehow seemed quieter now.
The dead officer's body twitched once beneath the shattered remains of the helmet.
Then stopped moving completely.
Blood spread slowly across the reinforced steel flooring.
For half a second—
nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The surrounding imperial soldiers stood frozen in place.
Shock struck before reaction could.
Their commanding officer—
dead.
Instantly.
Ahead of them—
Draven slowly lifted his foot from the ruined helmet while crimson eyes burned beneath the dark hood.
The faint rage leaking from him no longer felt restrained.
It felt focused.
Cold.
Murderously clear.
"It wasn't a warning."
His voice remained calm.
Almost quiet.
Blood dripped steadily across the steel platform beside the fallen blade.
"Nor was it a threat."
A pause.
"I simply didn't want distractions."
Silence.
Then—
everything exploded.
"ENEMY CONTACT—!"
"MOVE!"
"MOVE!!"
Imperial mana alarms erupted instantly across the military district.
Sharp crimson warning lights ignited along the surrounding structures.
Heavy defensive arrays roared awake overhead.
Soldiers surged backward while others immediately drew weapons and formed combat lines around the platform.
Mana flooded violently into the air.
Combat mages raised glowing formation circles.
Rifles locked into position from elevated towers.
Above—
one of the massive warships shifted slightly as defensive cannons rotated downward toward the disturbance.
Aldric stared at the corpse for a second.
Then sighed through his nose.
"…Yep."
A brief pause.
"There it is."
Hell breaking loose.
Honestly—
right on schedule.
Far behind them—
across the elevated industrial structures overlooking the military district—
Syrian's eyes widened sharply.
"…What the hell—?!"
Even the Crossfall members fell silent.
The masked woman beneath the cloak stared toward the distant military platform where warning lights now flashed violently through the smoke-covered skyline.
Then softly—
"…Oh."
One of the lower-ranked hidden figures muttered quietly,
"He really just killed an imperial officer."
Another pause.
"…A Third-Star warrior in one move."
The masked woman didn't answer immediately.
Because below—
the atmosphere had changed completely.
The entire military district was waking up.
Searchlights swept violently toward the platform.
Imperial soldiers flooded outward from surrounding structures.
Heavy mana signatures ignited across the skyline one after another.
And at the center of it all—
Draven stood motionless beside the corpse.
Crimson eyes glowing beneath the hood.
A monster calmly waiting for the next interruption.
One mage near the rear combat line finally shouted—
"OPEN FIRE!"
Multiple mana rifles discharged instantly.
Bright streaks of compressed mana tore across the platform toward Draven and Aldric.
Aldric's grin widened sharply.
"Oh, now we're talking."
SHIIING.
His dawn sword cleared its sheath in a burst of red light.
The first mana bolt split apart instantly.
BOOM.
Steel cracked beneath his feet as he lunged directly into the incoming barrage.
Bright streams of mana fire ripped across the military platform in violent streaks of blue and silver light.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!!
Explosions tore through the steel flooring as imperial rifle formations unleashed simultaneous volleys toward the two figures standing beneath the warships.
Aldric laughed.
Actually laughed.
Red light erupted across his dawn sword as he moved directly through the barrage.
SHIIING!!
One mana bolt split apart instantly.
Another deflected sideways and exploded against a nearby support tower.
A third never even reached him.
Aldric spun forward through the incoming fire with terrifying speed while golden arcs of sword light carved violently through the air.
CRAAASH!!
Three soldiers were launched backward simultaneously as the shockwave from his strike detonated across the front combat line.
Steel armor crumpled inward.
Bodies crashed through defensive barriers.
One combat mage barely managed to raise a shield before Aldric's sword slammed into it.
BOOOOM!!
The barrier shattered instantly.
The mage disappeared through a collapsing weapons platform in an explosion of sparks and twisted metal.
Aldric landed lightly atop the broken structure.
"…Okay."
A grin stretched across his face.
"Now *this* feels more like what you'd call Blackwater."
Meanwhile—
Draven never moved from where he stood beside the officer's corpse.
Mana bolts streaked toward him from every direction.
Then—
the crimson glow beneath the hood deepened.
Dark red mana unfolded outward around him in thin spiraling layers.
Not explosive.
Not violent.
Controlled.
Like countless folding blades of compressed blood-red force endlessly rotating within his body.