Kaelen felt something wrong then a branch broke.
Down!" Kaelen pushed lyra and shouted.
A crimson beam carved across the valley, striking the rock beside Kaelen and showering him with splintered stone.
He tackled her behind the remains of the hybrid's corpse as three more energy bolts ripped through the air.
The figures on the ridge had already opened fire.
"They're faster than Guild scouts," Lyra muttered, loading another energy cell into her rifle.
Kaelen peered over the shattered crystal plating.
Five enemies.
Black combat armor.
No insignias.
Each carried identical long-barreled rifles with crimson power cores.
"Foundry Hunters," he said quietly.
"You've seen them before?"
"No."
"But I've seen their work."
The burned furnace emblem branded onto the hybrid's corpse told him everything he needed to know.
These weren't ordinary soldiers.
They were here to erase evidence.
Another volley slammed into the valley.
The crystal carcass exploded into fragments.
"They don't care if they destroy the samples," Lyra said.
"They're here for us."
Kaelen nodded.
"Then we move."
Instead of retreating toward Tartarus' capital city, Kaelen sprinted deeper into the Crimson Wilds.
The Hunters immediately pursued.
Exactly as expected.
If they were protecting the Foundry, they would never allow investigators to escape with proof.
Behind them, boots struck stone with disciplined rhythm.
No shouting.
No wasted movement.
Professionals.
Lyra glanced over her shoulder.
"They're gaining."
"We split."
"What?"
"They only need one target."
"And you?"
Kaelen gave a faint smile.
"They're already interested in me."
Before Lyra could argue, Kaelen shoved a storage chip into her hand.
"The hybrid data."
"If one of us survives, the Guild must not learn the truth."
Her expression hardened
"This isn't goodbye."
"It isn't."
After a brief hesitation, she turned and disappeared into a maze of broken cliffs.
Three Hunters immediately changed direction after her.
Only two remained behind Kaelen.
Exactly as planned.
The chase continued until the sun vanished behind crimson clouds.
Kaelen's breathing grew heavier.
His wounded side throbbed with every step.
Dark mist escaped through the bandages.
Not now...
The curse answered with burning pain.
His vision blurred for an instant.
One of the Hunters seized the opportunity.
A curved black blade flashed from the darkness.
Kaelen twisted aside.
Too slow.
The edge sliced across his ribs.
Instead of blood...
Black mist erupted from the wound.
The Hunter stopped.
"...Interesting."
He hadn't expected that.
Neither had Kaelen.
Pain exploded through his body.
His knees nearly buckled.
The curse was spreading.
He fired instinctively.
The Hunter dodged, but the blast shattered part of the cliff behind him.
The resulting collapse separated them.
Kaelen didn't wait.
He ran.
The terrain changed.
The crimson earth gave way to ancient metal structures buried beneath centuries of dust.
Broken towers leaned at impossible angles.
Half-buried rails disappeared beneath cracked stone.
Strange symbols covered enormous steel walls.
SC's earlier warning echoed inside Kaelen's thoughts.
Sector Twelve appears repeatedly in classified Foundry documents.
He had found it.
Or part of it.
A ruined entrance yawned open before him.
Without another choice, Kaelen stepped inside.
The air was colder underground.
Emergency lights flickered weakly along abandoned corridors.
Machines older than the Guild lined both walls.
Some still hummed.
Others leaked black liquid onto the floor.
Kaelen steadied himself against the wall.
The curse surged again.
Dark mist climbed his arm.
His breathing became uneven.
"I need..."
His hand searched his pouch.
Empty.
No stabilizing serum remained.
A distant metallic screech echoed through the corridor.
Something was moving.
Not human.
Kaelen raised his rifle.
Three shapes emerged from the darkness.
Hybrids.
Their bodies were twisted together from human flesh, insect armor, and mechanical limbs.
The Foundry had never stopped experimenting.
The creatures rushed him.
Kaelen fired twice.
One collapsed.
Another lost an arm but kept advancing.
The third lunged straight toward him.
His vision swam.
Too slow.
The creature slammed into him, sending both crashing through a rusted doorway.
His rifle skidded across the floor.
The hybrid raised its claws—
A black blade flashed.
The creature split cleanly in half.
Silence.
Kaelen looked up.
A lone man stood in the doorway.
Tall.
Black coat.
Sword lowered casually at his side.
His green eyes examined the dead hybrids before settling on Kaelen.
Then on the black mist escaping from Kaelen's wound.
His expression changed.
Not fear.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
"So..."
the stranger said quietly,
"another survivor."
Kaelen struggled back to his feet despite the pain.
"Who are you?"
The man gave a faint smile.
"Someone who's been waiting for the Foundry to make a mistake."
He glanced once more at the spreading curse.
"And I think..."
"...you may be that mistake."
( Author note: it is sci-fi I know but here the sword used as for hybrid speed is prefered especially as this man is skilled in using it)