The boots came first.
Metal striking wet pavement, synchronized, merciless. The sound of the Enforcers marching through the storm outside rattled Kaelian's bones. He pressed back against the wall of the bar, clutching Elara's limp body tighter. She flickered again—half flesh, half static—like a dying candle.
"Shit," Eliza hissed, darting to slam the steel door shut. "They're already here."
Viktor chambered his shotgun with a heavy chkk-CLACK. "Of course they are. The walls are ashes, the rats scurry out, and the dogs follow." His thick Russian growl rumbled through the room.
Zephir twirled the knife in his fingers, gray eyes cold, calculating. "How many?"
Eliza peered through the crack in the boarded-up window. "At least fifteen. Maybe more. Full armor, shock rifles, drones." She cursed again under her breath. "This isn't a patrol. It's a raid."
Kaelian's chest tightened. He knew who led them. He didn't even need to look. His brother.
"Hide," Viktor barked suddenly, turning to Kaelian. "Back room. Keep her quiet. Do not come out until I say."
"I—I can fight—" Kaelian started, but his voice shook.
"No," Zephir cut in, sharp. "You'll get yourself killed in the first ten seconds. Stay down or you'll drag us all under."
Kaelian froze, shame flooding him. He wanted to argue, to shout that he wasn't useless, but the weight of their stares silenced him. He wasn't ready. Not yet.
So he ducked into the back room, crouched in the shadows beside Elara, and prayed.
The door to the bar blew open with a bang.
Rain and lightning spilled in, silhouetting armored figures. The Enforcers stormed in with precision, shock rifles raised, eyes glowing faint blue behind their helmets.
And at their head was lucien.
Kaelian's brother looked nothing like the boy he remembered. Lucien's uniform gleamed, pristine even in the storm, the insignia of the Enforcers burning on his chest. His jaw was tight, his eyes cold with fanatical light. He raised his weapon with steady hands.
"In the name of Mother AI," Lucien's voice boomed, "surrender the fugitive. Hand over the girl."
The room tensed.
Viktor spat on the floor. "Come and take her, little dog."
The Enforcers surged forward.
And hell broke loose.
The first gunshot shattered the bar's window, lightning flashing with it. Viktor's shotgun roared, the sound deafening in the cramped space. One Enforcer flew back, armor splintered, blood spraying the walls.
Eliza was already moving, ducking behind a table, twin pistols barking in her hands. Her shots were precise, surgical, hitting joints in the Enforcers' armor. They stumbled, faltered, and she slipped into cover before their return fire could cut her down.
Zephir was a shadow. One moment at the bar, the next slicing through the storm of bullets with impossible agility. His dagger flashed like silver lightning, cutting throats, slashing tendons. He moved with cold elegance, not a wasted motion.
And then—
Leo laughed.
Kaelian flinched from the sound. It wasn't the playful, teasing lilt from before. It was wild. Frenzied. Beautiful and terrifying all at once.
Leo sauntered forward, hips swaying as though bullets weren't tearing through the room. "Oh, Daddy, I love it when guests drop by uninvited," he sang, pulling a thin blade from his belt.
"Leo!" Viktor roared. "Stay back!"
But Leo only grinned wider.
An Enforcer lunged for him, shock baton raised. Leo dodged lazily, almost dancing, before slipping the blade between the man's ribs. He twisted it, eyes half-lidded in ecstasy as blood sprayed his pale skin.
"Mmm," he purred, licking crimson off his lips. "You scream so sweet."
Kaelian's stomach turned—but he couldn't look away.
Another Enforcer swung a rifle butt at Leo's head. Too slow. Leo ducked, giggling, and dragged the man close, pressing lips to his ear before slashing it wide open. The soldier dropped, gargling blood.
Leo twirled, slick with gore, knives flashing in both hands now. He danced among them like a fox in a henhouse, graceful and merciless. Flirty moans and cruel laughter spilled from his lips as he cut them apart, one by one.
"Faster!" he taunted, spinning the blades between his fingers. "Come on, boys, you'll have to try harder to satisfy me."
The Enforcers hesitated. They were trained killers, but none of their drills prepared them for this. For a boy who fought like a demon wearing silk.
Kaelian's heart thundered in his chest. He pressed his hand over Elara's, trembling. This wasn't just danger—this was madness.
And Leo reveled in it.
Through the chaos, lucien stepped forward, calm, unshaken. His rifle glowed as it charged, humming with lethal power.
"Enough," he said, voice cold. "Stand down, or I'll level this entire building."
The room froze. Smoke curled from broken tables, rain hissed against hot barrels.
Leo licked blood from his knife and tilted his head at lucien, smirking through crimson-streaked lips. "Mmm… pretty boy. You're Kaelian's brother, aren't you?"
Lucien's eyes flicked, just for a second, toward the back room.
Kaelian's breath caught. He knew.
Leo's smirk widened, wicked and dangerous. "Ohhh, now this is fun." He twirled the knife once more. "Let's see which brother bleeds prettier."
Kaelian clutched Elara closer, sweat dripping down his temples as the bar's walls trembled under the storm and the clash of blades and gunfire.
He was powerless. Helpless.
But for the first time, watching Leo drenched in blood and Zephir's cold grace holding the line, he realized something chilling.
If he wanted to save his sister… if he wanted to survive in this Outside World…
He would have to become a monster, too.