Noir's body was still covered with countless wounds, but her two-colored eyes burned brightly, fierce enough to make Lysander pause for a brief moment. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stand straight before gently pushing Kealith away. Her voice was hoarse, yet resolute.
"Go! Leave him to me."
Specter, Orion, and Kealith froze. They knew Noir was still far too weak, but the look in her eyes right now did not allow anyone to pity her.
Specter struggled, wanting to step closer to Noir, but she suddenly shouted.
"I SAID GO!"
"Noir, you can't—" Specter hadn't even finished his sentence when Noir kicked him, sending him stumbling backward. Orion caught him and gritted his teeth.
"Two-color… be careful!"
Then he supported Specter and pulled him away, while Kealith still hesitated for a moment.
Lysander let out a cold laugh, raising his gun.
"You're still as stubborn as ever… Noir."
A gunshot rang out, a blade flashed. Noir dashed forward, her hand swinging hard as a compressed surge of power knocked the bullet away in another direction. The collision made the entire corridor tremble.
"Hurry!" she shouted, then spun around and attacked Lysander. Each strike was decisive yet desperate, pushing him back to prevent the VOID soldiers from reaching her teammates.
Kealith grasped Noir's hand for a brief second, guilt filling her eyes, but then she clenched her teeth and, together with Orion, dragged Specter away.
Now the battlefield had turned into one against a thousand. Even with her body battered and trampled by fate, Noir was still terrifying. She stood there stubbornly against everything.
Lysander looked at her with both heartbreak and unwillingness. He rushed forward again, attacking to restrain her and take her back.
"Noir… YOU HAVE TO COME BACK WITH ME!"
The two fought fiercely. Every footstep echoed throughout the corridor in heavy rhythms. Once, they had fought like this too, once they had been perfectly in sync. But now they had become enemies, and every strike was sharper and more dangerous.
During the struggle, Noir caught sight of the row of laboratories beside them. Countless rooms and massive glass tanks contained twisted bodies—"failed projects" imprisoned in silent despair.
Without hesitation, she clenched her teeth, gathered her strength, and hurled Lysander backward before throwing her dagger into the corner of the thick glass wall.
"CRASH!"
The glass shattered violently. Liquid flooded out, along with chilling vapor and collapsing distorted figures. A horrifying rumbling sound spread throughout the corridor.
Chaos spread rapidly. VOID soldiers panicked, firing while trying to restrain the creatures.
Lysander roared, his eyes bloodshot.
"NOIR!!"
But Noir had already retreated swiftly, slipping into the dark corridor and disappearing.
All four of them merged into the chaos, vanishing amid smoke and screams.
Behind them, Lysander stood in the sea of flames and shattered glass tanks, so furious that the hand gripping his gun trembled. He looked around the ruined laboratory, unable to do anything but grind his teeth in rage.
He walked to the place where Noir had struck the glass earlier and slowly picked up her dagger.
"You escaped this time… but Noir, you will never escape from me forever."
After escaping the corridor filled with smoke and gunfire, Kealith, Orion, and Specter finally found a secondary exit leading to a hidden lower bunker of VOID—somewhere few would ever expect.
They rushed out, weaving through forests of steel structures and underground cables until they found an abandoned room in the old lower level.
As soon as they set Specter down on the floor, Kealith noticed his body trembling slightly.
"How are you feeling?" Orion asked.
"Noir…" Specter murmured.
"That kick earlier was one of her tricks. She wanted us to run… but she stayed behind herself."
"I believe Noir will be fine. She's stronger than you think."Orion said.
Suddenly, the bushes behind them shook violently, mixed with the sound of heavy breathing.
Kealith looked closely and saw a familiar face.
It was Noir.
"NOIR!!"
Her face was pale and exhausted. Seeing this, Kealith immediately ran toward her. Orion and Specter, seeing Noir as well, quickly rushed over to support her.
They caught her as she collapsed, the old wounds on her body tearing open again. Noir's eyes were half-closed, her breathing broken, cold sweat running down her face.
"Noir! Hold on… just a little longer!" Kealith's voice trembled as she pressed her hand tightly against the wound.
Specter quickly set up a mobile barrier around the room, while Orion stood guard nearby, his sword still stained with blood, his eyes filled with worry.
Just then, a signal came through the communication device. Dr. Aurel's voice sounded, mixed with rapid keyboard typing.
"Can you hear me? I've broken into part of their main server system! Have you left the experimental zone yet?"
Specter answered immediately, his voice hoarse from exhaustion.
"Yes… but Noir collapsed. We need a safer place."
On the other end, Aurel exhaled heavily, the sound of typing still continuing.
"Hold on! I'm buying you time by scrambling their cameras and search commands. But the situation… is very tense."
"I'll send you the location again. Quickly bring Noir back here."
"Copy," Specter replied.
While Noir's group was still reorganizing, the VOID organization had already fallen into chaos. The deformed bodies that had escaped from the glass tanks were screaming madly and attacking the soldiers.
Blood covered the floor, and toxic smoke leaked out from the shattered laboratories.
VOID's leaders roared through the internal communication system.
"Contain them! Don't let anything escape! Not the experiments, and not those traitors!"
Gunshots rang out continuously, mixed with the piercing screams of creatures that had been tortured for far too long.
In the abandoned room, Noir slowly opened her eyes. Her weak voice echoed softly.
"No… not just me… those people… they have to escape too…"
Kealith bit her lip tightly. Looking at Noir—trembling yet unwavering—made her heart feel even heavier.