Graves was trapped in a world of absolute, agonizing pain. He could barely feel his lower extremities; his ribs were completely shattered, and a jagged bone fragment had pierced right through his lung, causing it to collapse. Every shallow breath felt like inhaling liquid fire. Forcing his blood-matted eyelids open, he saw the remaining three Spider Devils towering directly over him.
Instead of panicking, Graves slowly closed his eyes, a faint, weary smile touching his lips.
It's sad I won't get the chance to pay Old Man Lee back, he thought dimly. But at least I took one of you bastards down in exchange for my mom. How wonderful...
A sudden, violent fit of coughing rattled his broken frame, spraying a crimson mist into the dirt.
One of the devils raised a long, segmented arm, its claw sharp and poised to deliver the final, executioner's blow. But right before the strike could land, a torrential hurricane of core-powered fire tore through the creature's torso. The high-caliber rounds ripped gaping holes straight through its chest, sending the beast crashing backward into the rubble, lifeless. Alarmed by the sudden blast, the remaining two devils snapped their gazes toward the entrance of the courtyard, where three figures were strategically advancing in a tight, lethal formation.
It was Gamby, Julius, and Apollo.
Meanwhile, back in the central command room, the tactical monitors shifted seamlessly to track the developing situation. Colonel Wraysford stood before the main console, calmly issuing logistical directives for the emergency evacuation of several failed cadets.
"Sir!" The lieutenant called out, snapping a crisp salute as he pulled up a drone feed on the central screen. "It seems Cadet Graves's teammates have completely ignored the retreat vector. They've pushed directly into the hot zone to rescue him."
The Colonel nodded slowly, his arms folded tightly across his chest as he studied the footage. "Good camaraderie. True soldiers don't leave a man behind. However, the protocol remains unchanged prepare the extraction team for the injured cadet. The remaining members of the squad will have to make a choice evacuate with him or stay in the sector to accumulate more evaluation points." He turned slightly to the console operator. "Get to work and call in the medical transport."
The lieutenant saluted sharply and hurried out to execute the order. Left to his thoughts, Colonel Wraysford shook his head, staring at the image of Graves on the screen. "Such a foolish boy," he muttered strictly. "Running headfirst into a horde of apex predators is entirely suicidal. No commander would ever want an erratic asset like that on their team."
Up on the high ridge, Winter's scope was still trained on the courtyard. She had witnessed the exact moment the devil raised its arm to slaughter Graves, but her hands had been shaking far too violently to pull the trigger. Tears blurred her vision, completely shattering her composure. She couldn't find a clean target through her tear-stained lens. Thankfully, the rest of the squad had entered the perimeter just in time.
Julius fired in rapid, rhythmic successions, his core-powered rifle hammering a steady beat as he obliterated the devil that had been threatening Graves. Nearby, Apollo and Gamby immediately split off to engage the remaining two beasts. Julius didn't know why Winter hadn't fired at the devil he silently hoped she was alright but right now, his sole priority was reaching Graves.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
gunshots echoed fiercely through the ruins. The remaining Spider Devils, now fully alert and fighting for survival, utilized their physics-defying agility to its absolute limit. They began weaving and leaping between the incoming fire, making them incredibly difficult to pin down. They weren't actually faster than the supersonic bullets; rather, their animalistic instincts allowed them to anticipate the cadets' trigger fingers before the shots were even discharged, dodging the trajectory a split second in advance.
But Apollo and Gamby were no ordinary cadets. Stilling their resolve and tapping into their unlocked genetic reflexes, they tightly controlled the engagement. They deliberately widened the distance, forcing the devils into a claustrophobic, mid-range firefight where the cadets' tactical firearms held a devastating advantage over the creatures' raw, physical melee reach.
Reaching Graves's side, a look of profound worry washed over Julius's usually pristine face. He didn't even bother asking if his roommate was alright the boy lying in front of him was barely clinging to life. Snapping open his tactical med-kit, Julius quickly began applying advanced field dressings, doing everything in his limited power to stabilize the boy's vitals while calling in the emergency extraction coordinates. Right on cue, the distannt, whirling blade of an armored medical helicopter could already be heard echoing in the sky.
"It's going to be okay, Graves. Just keep breathing, damn it," Julius muttered, pressing his palms hard against a severed artery to halt the bleeding. It was a horrific, bloody sight.
"How... how is he?" a cracked, trembling voice suddenly filtered through the squad's communication channel. It wasn't static disrupting the signal—it was Winter, her voice completely broken from crying. "How is he, Julius?" Even though she could see the entire scene clearly through her high-powered sniper scope, she desperately needed to hear the reality out loud.
Julius swallowed hard, never taking his hands off the wounds. "I don't know, Winter... I'm not a combat medic. But his heart rate is plummeting, and he's definitely dealing with a severely punctured lung."
Glancing over his shoulder, Julius saw that Apollo and Gamby had entirely neutralized their targets, the final two devils slumping lifelessly into the dirt. The skirmish was officially over. Within ten minutes, the armored medical transport touched down amidst the rubble. A specialized rescue team rushed forward, carefully lifting Graves's limp, barely breathing body onto a stretcher and transferring him into the secure interior of the medical ambulance. The trauma team immediately began hooking him up to life-support monitors, scrambling to stabilize his failing vitals.
As the ambulance doors slammed shut, a heavily armed extraction soldier walked over to the remaining members of the squad. By this time, Winter had abandoned her perch, scrambling down the structural ruins to join her teammates on the ground.
The soldier looked at the four of them, his eyes lingering on their stained uniforms and highly impressive point counters. "You have the legal authorization to end your examination right now and follow your comrade back to the academy base," he spoke smoothly. "Looking at your current metrics, you guys have already accumulated more than enough collective points to secure a top-tier graduation rank."
The soldier paused, checking his wrist console before looking back up at their determined faces. "So, what's it going to be, cadets? Are you staying, or are you packing it in?"