The branded monstrosity advanced through the corpse-field with ponderous inevitability, each footfall cracking stone and sending tremors through the unstable ground. Twelve feet of corrupted flesh and layered brands, its too-many eyes burning with malevolent intelligence that made Leo's Master-ranked perception recoil.
Behind it, more branded students were converging dozens of them, moving with the mechanical coordination that suggested the massive entity was directing them like extensions of its will.
Leo and Colonel Hestian stood side by side at the portal's threshold, weapons raised. Through the shimmering breach behind them, Hestian's soldiers maintained defensive positions.
"Are those more survivors?" Hestian asked, his eyes tracking the approaching branded students with tactical precision.
