Five black SUVs cruised down the desolate road, each containing a team of four agents and their respective captains. They were tasked with transporting a relic—an operation meant to be covert and swift.
That is, until it happened.
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"Sir."
The man driving the lead SUV was from Team One. His weathered face bore the weight of experience—years of combat and covert missions. He glanced at the stern man beside him, whose face was marked by a deep scar. This was the Division Unit Leader, commander of the twenty-agent convoy.
The scarred man nodded silently as the driver pointed to a looming threat ahead: a black SUV, unfamiliar and idle, parked squarely in their path.
"Pull over," the Leader ordered quietly, signaling his subordinate to alert the other vehicles behind them to fall back—discreetly.
The agents obeyed, slowing their advance.
Two figures stepped out of the unknown SUV. A man and a woman. Clad in all black, faces half-covered, they exuded quiet menace.
"Hmm. That was quick. Looks like they noticed us," the woman said, her voice almost amused.
"What about you, big guy? Should I start, or do you...?" she asked her companion, stretching out her hand as if preparing a spell. The man said nothing, simply watching.
The Division Unit Leader's instincts screamed.
He threw himself out of the vehicle, and his team did the same—twisting mid-air even as glass shattered behind them.
SCREECH!
But it was too late.
He could only watch, horrified, as four of the retreating SUVs were suddenly crushed—flattened by an invisible force.
A Magi.
Those who wield Arcane Knowledge. Supernatural power.
He steadied his breath. This was a suicide mission now—and he knew it. Calmly, he pulled out a small, cylindrical black device from his gear.
The woman in black noticed. Her palm rose again, ready to finish them all.
The agents tensed.
But the Division Unit Leader's eyes weren't on her—they were scanning, calculating.
How did they know our route? Only high-clearance individuals had that intel...
The distress signal isn't working... Did they set up a barrier? That would take Insolation Technology. How did they get their hands on that?
Thoughts raced in his mind—but time ran out.
The woman made her move.
The Leader spoke.
"SHADOW."
The woman flinched—just slightly. But it didn't stop her intent.
AHHHHHHHHH!
The screams were horrifying. What followed was carnage.
The man in black finally spoke.
"You should have left one alive. I wanted to know how he knew that name."
"I'm sure it was just a wild guess," the woman replied. "Besides, I didn't expect to hear that name come from..." Her words trailed off.
"What is it?" the man asked softly.
"Remember what that guy pulled out before he died?" she murmured.
"A comm device? That wouldn't work—there's an Isolation Barrier up. Unless... you noticed something else, Lisa?"
She crouched near the body, eyes narrowing.
From the wreckage, the broken black stick blinked—a faint green light.
"Ah!" she gasped.
"Guess they were Special Agents after all."