The Red Syndicate members rushed forward.
Aeris slammed her palms to the ground—
Code warped, forming barriers.
Kaela cut down enemies with lightning precision.
Lyria blasted others with bright pink orbs that exploded with bursts of charm-based irritation magic.
But the Syndicate leader walked straight through everything.
Riley backed away.
"I—I can't fight him!"
"Riley!" Aeris screamed. "Your glitch—do something!"
He felt it inside him—
the unstable static, the pressure, the fear feeding into something darker.
The leader raised his scythe.
Riley felt something snap.
His entire body exploded with glitch energy—
a massive surge of black and blue static bursting outward.
The hallway shattered.
Walls collapsed.
Monsters disintegrated.
Everyone was thrown back.
The leader staggered, cloak shredded.
He stared at Riley in shock.
"That… power… is impossible."
Riley collapsed to his knees, dizziness overwhelming him.
The leader hissed.
"We will return when you can control it."
And he vanished into red static.