The entrance to the Pioneer Square underground station was barricaded with flipped cars, shopping carts, and shattered glass. A faint blue dome of light—the Safe Zone barrier—pulsed gently around the stairs leading down.
As Kael's group approached, three men armed with steel pipes and baseball bats stepped out from behind a barricade. They had the frantic, desperate look of men who had just seen the end of the world and decided to embrace the chaos.
"Halt!" the largest man barked, tapping his pipe against his palm. "Safe Zone is full. Unless you've got food or coins to pay the entry toll, piss off."
Kael didn't slow his pace. "A toll? The System doesn't charge a toll for Safe Zones."
The man sneered. "The System doesn't, but Guildmaster Arthur does. He claimed this station. Now, it's his rules."
Kael stopped. His cold eyes narrowed. Arthur.
The name alone made Kael's chest ache with phantom pain, right where the glowing broadsword had pierced his heart in his past life. Arthur. The man who would eventually become the S-Rank Guildmaster of Aegis. The man who had stabbed him in the back at the golden gates.
"Is that so?" Kael said softly. He took a step forward.
"Hey! I said stop—"
Kael didn't even draw his dagger. He moved faster than the man's eyes could track, closing the distance instantly. Kael grabbed the man by the throat and slammed him backward into the flipped car with enough force to dent the metal.
The other two guards froze, their weapons trembling in their hands as Kael lifted their towering leader off the ground with one arm. Kael's +17 Strength made the man weigh no more than a ragdoll.
"You're going to open this barricade," Kael whispered, his eyes flashing with Lesser Bloodlust, "and you're going to tell Arthur that a ghost is here to see him."
Kael tossed the choking man aside. The three guards scrambled over the barricade like terrified rats, frantically pushing a shopping cart aside to let Kael's group through.
Elara and the students followed closely behind Kael, their newly acquired confidence wavering as they descended into the dimly lit subway station.
The underground platform was packed. At least two hundred survivors were huddled in the corners, terrified, injured, and hungry. But Kael's eyes immediately locked onto the center of the platform.
Standing on top of a subway turnstile, looking down at the survivors like a king surveying his peasants, was Arthur. He was handsome, blonde, and currently wielding a glowing blue Rare-grade sword he had clearly lucked into from a random drop.
Arthur looked up as Kael's group approached. He hopped down from the turnstile, flanked by five burly thugs.
"I hear we have a tough guy trying to skip the toll," Arthur said smoothly, flashing a charismatic smile that didn't reach his cold eyes. He looked Kael up and down, taking in the blood-soaked uniform. "I appreciate a strong fighter. Kneel, swear loyalty to my Aegis faction, and I'll let you and your... school friends stay."
In his past life, Kael had knelt. He had pledged his loyalty right here in this subway station, desperate for protection.
This time, Kael just smiled. It was a terrifying, hollow smile.
"I don't think you understand, Arthur," Kael said, his voice echoing off the subway tiles. He reached into his pocket and let his hand brush against the Key of the Forgotten Catacombs.
"I'm not here to join your faction. I'm here to take your throne."