The corrupted barrier chamber had become a charnel house.
Bodies both branded and unbranded littered the floor in configurations that spoke of desperate last stands and overwhelmed defenses. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood mixed with something acrid and wrong, the residue of corrupted essence that had been expended in violence.
Leo stood over Professor Dirk's headless corpse, his blade still dripping black ichor onto stone that would never be clean again. The weight of what he'd done executing a colleague, a friend, someone who had taught barrier theory to three generations of students pressed against him like physical force.
But he couldn't afford grief. Not yet.
"Everyone who can still fight defensive formation around Harold and Sarah!" Leo's voice cut through the chaos with Master-ranked authority. "We're getting them out of here alive!"
