They reached the distress site just before night fully settled in.
A military base sat buried deep in the jungle, half-swallowed by vines and shadow. At first glance, it looked just like the last two attack sites.
Too still.
Too quiet.
And worst of all,
No survivors.
Blue Riot stepped off the ship first, eyes already scanning. Renn followed with his shotgun lowered but ready. Caden came last, moving slower, more careful, his gaze constantly cutting through the trees and broken structures.
The deeper they went, the uglier it looked.
Bodies.
Blasted walls.
Long gouges carved into metal like something had cut through it with deliberate precision. Signs of a real fight this time, but not much of one.
Caden tightened his grip on his weapon. Every instinct in him was screaming that something was wrong.
Then he saw it.
A flash.
Just a flicker of movement off to the side—too fast, too clean.
"WATCH OUT!"
Blue Riot moved on instinct.
Steel-blue Kia flared around his arms as he raised his guard. A razor-edged strike slammed into him a heartbeat later. The demon's arm-blades screeched against Riot's defense, sparks tearing through the dark as the two traded blows in a burst of motion too fast for normal soldiers to even register.
Renn didn't waste the opening.
He stepped in and fired.
The shotgun blast thundered through the jungle, the spread catching the demon in the torso. The thing twisted unnaturally and vanished backward into the trees before the smoke from the shot had even cleared.
Renn was already pulling out a datapad.
"I tagged him."
Caden blinked. "What?"
Renn tapped the screen, and a signal started pulsing on the display. "Every pellet in that shell carries a tracker. Small enough to dig into skin."
Blue Riot glanced over, impressed even through the tension. "Nice."
Renn didn't look up. "He's moving around us at lightning speed."
That got all of them moving.
"Back to the ship. Now."
They turned and ran.
Branches snapped underfoot. Vines whipped past them. Somewhere behind them, something fast was weaving through the jungle, keeping pace.
Renn checked the datapad again.
"He's behind us. Closing."
Caden reached to his belt and ripped free a smoke pellet. He threw it hard into the path behind them.
The jungle exploded into thick black haze.
Blue Riot suddenly stopped.
Caden nearly crashed into him.
"Keep moving," Caden started.
But Riot turned toward the smoke instead.
Then he stomped.
A massive burst of Kia erupted from his body, slamming into the jungle floor with enough force to crack the earth. Trees buckled. The canopy above tore loose and came crashing down in a violent chain reaction.
Wood. Leaves. Dust. Sound.
The entire forest behind them collapsed into itself.
"That should slow him down," Blue Riot muttered.
Renn didn't argue.
They made it back to the ship and launched immediately.
Back at STF HQ, the mood inside the Intelligence Wing shifted the moment they walked in.
Ian was already there.
That alone told Caden how serious this had become.
Ian stood at the center of the room, looking over the live tracking data Renn had brought back. After a long moment, he looked up at them.
"Alright."
His voice was calm, but there was weight behind it.
"This thing is studying you now."
Nobody spoke.
Ian continued, "From this point forward, your assignment changes. This is no longer a reaction case."
He looked directly at Blue Riot, Renn, and Caden.
"Your only job is to hunt it until it's arrested or dead."
A beat.
"And I'm adding Blade to the team."
That got a reaction.
Not from Renn.
Not from Blue Riot.
From Caden.
Because if Ian was bringing in the Ninth Great, then this had already crossed into something bigger than a normal Vanguard hunt.
Ian dismissed them, and the room broke apart into smaller movements—operatives shifting, analysts working, the machine of the STF adjusting around the new mission.
A short while later, Blade joined them in the Intelligence Wing.
Caden's face lit up a little despite everything. "Hey, Blade. Long time no see."
Blade gave him the smallest grin. "Yeah. So you guys ready to hunt this thing?"
Renn lifted the datapad. "I've still got the tracker. It stopped moving on an industrial planet."
Blade's grin widened just a little. "Good. That means this can finally get interesting."
He sounded like he meant it.
As the others moved toward the mission table, Blue Riot stepped up beside Caden and quietly pulled him back.
"Hey."
Caden looked over.
Riot's tone was calm, but serious. "Remember your role."
Caden nodded. "Yes, sir."
"You're still young. Still developing. Don't worry about matching us. Just do your job."
Caden's expression shifted slightly. "I will."
Blue Riot held his gaze. "And don't try to be a hero."
That sat wrong.
Caden frowned. "I'm capable of this mission."
"I know you are," Riot said immediately. "That's not what I'm saying."
"Then what are you saying?"
Blue Riot crossed his arms. "I train young Vanguard recruits. That's part of my job."
Caden's jaw tightened. "This sounds more like you're benching me than developing me."
That made Riot go still.
For a second, the noise of the room seemed to fade.
Then Riot spoke again, lower this time.
"Do you know how many young recruits I've had who thought they were ready to move like Greats?"
Caden didn't answer.
Riot looked away for a moment, then back.
"They pushed too hard. Tried to match people they weren't supposed to match yet."
His voice hardened.
"And they died."
That hit.
Riot took a breath, then continued.
"And when that happens, I carry it. Because I'm the one who trained them. I'm the one who signed off on them. I'm the one who has to remember exactly when I should've stopped them."
Caden didn't know what to say.
Blue Riot's expression didn't soften, but his voice did, just barely.
"So no. I'm not saying you don't belong here."
He stepped back.
"I'm saying I want you alive long enough to prove it."
Then he turned and walked off.
Caden stayed where he was.
For the first time since joining the Vanguard, he didn't feel angry.
He just stood there, quiet, replaying the weight behind Blue Riot's words.
Because this time,
It didn't sound like doubt.
It sounded like fear.