The world turned into a scream of light.
Marcus barely had time to react. The Seraph's blast moved faster than sound, a stream of radiant destruction carving straight through the skybridge.
[Anti-Evolution Pulse Detected][Core Systems Compromised – Temporary Lock on Active Abilities]
His body felt like lead—heavy, slow, mortal. The Evolution System inside him flared with emergency countermeasures, but none activated in time.
Marcus hit the deck hard, rolling through debris as the plasma scorched overhead. A second blast followed, searing a perfect arc through Lucien's path. Only Lucien's instincts saved him, launching sideways into cover with supernatural speed.
"She's nullifying your System!" Ember shouted, summoning a wall of flame between them and the Seraph.
[Warning: Seraph-Class Agents emit localized suppression fields. Adaptation Required.]
Marcus's hands trembled. It wasn't fear. It was raw power being suffocated inside him.
The Seraph walked forward, slow and serene, untouched by fire or debris. Each step left glowing footprints in the ground. Her bladed wings folded and extended, harvesting ambient kinetic energy, humming with invisible force.
"You are not a miracle," she said, voice almost regretful. "You are a variable. The Protocol will correct you."
Danny peeked over the broken barrier and cursed. "What the hell is she made of?!"
"Not metal," Lucien growled. "Not flesh. Something worse."
Ember's flames surged in defiance, and for a brief second, the Seraph stopped. Heat licked against her skin. Her expression didn't change, but her wings flared wide in a burst of defensive resonance.
Marcus inhaled sharply. There. A flicker of hesitation.
[New Evolution Opportunity Detected: Flame Resonance Compression][Risk: 87% Neurological Overload][Proceed?]
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
Pain lanced through his spine, but this time, he rode it—welcomed it. His cells adapted, folding Ember's flame signature into his own evolution chain. Light bled into red, then gold, then something black at the edges. His veins glowed faintly as his skin restructured under the new load.
[Evolution Complete: Flamecore Veins Acquired][Ability: Infernal Feedback – Redirect Suppressed Kinetic Attacks into Combustive Bursts]
The Seraph turned to strike again.
Marcus met her blast head-on.
The moment the white fire touched him, it rebounded—exploding back toward her in a spiral of twisting red-gold flame. The shockwave knocked her off balance. For the first time, the Seraph staggered.
Lucien grinned. "Now that's more like it!"
Ember blinked. "You redirected a Seraph Pulse…"
Marcus stepped forward through the burning field. "No. I evolved it."
The Seraph adjusted, her wings folding into a new formation—denser, sharper. The expression on her face didn't change, but her voice did.
"Adaptation... confirmed. Contingency engaged."
[Warning: Seraph Protocol – Phase Two Initiated][Abilities Unlocked: Lightblade Matrix | Gravity Flare | Memory Corruptor]
From behind her, six energy lances unfurled.
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
"This isn't over."
"Correction," the Seraph replied. "It's just begun."