The air carried the screams. They weren't the panicked shrieks of civilians but the truncated, guttural cries of trained Reclaimers cut down mid-motion.
Ning saw a four-man squad, shields of crackling energy held high, advancing down a parallel corridor. They moved with textbook precision, covering angles, their voices sharp bursts of tactical jargon.
Then the creatures came.
They didn't swarm. They flowed. One darted from a side passage, low to the ground. A Reclaimer pivoted, unleashing a torrent of fire. The creature didn't try to break through it; it planted its clawed feet, reversed direction with impossible agility, and used the wall as a springboard, launching itself over the flames.
As the Reclaimer tracked upward, another creature exploded from the shadows behind him, its movements a blur of obsidian limbs. It didn't aim for the chest or head. It struck the Reclaimer's knee, shattering it, then plunged a bladed appendage through the back of his neck.
