"Cadets!" the instructor a seasoned, but clearly unprepared, veteran barked, his voice harsh but strained. "Stay here! I'll check the situation and create an evacuation route!" Without waiting for orders or confirmation, he sprinted desperately toward the towering plumes of smoke and the direction of the initial destruction.
The training ground, where moments ago Class S and Class A cadets had been finishing their exhilarating ogre-raid exercise, was now a fractured, terrifying staging ground for fear and imminent death.
Kael exhaled sharply, grounding himself, and then raised his voice, cutting through the general panic with a sudden, forceful clarity.
"Eric Vales! Damon Reid!" he called out, his tone ringing with unshakeable authority."
The two turned immediately, startled out of their shock.
