The roar of metal tearing apart echoed through the abandoned factory district as Ayla smashed the sheet-iron gate open with one punch. The sound lingered in the silence, startling a few gray sparrows perched under the eaves.
Ryan followed her inside. The air hit him immediately—rust, engine oil, and a faint stench of decay blended together, making him cough. The factory floor was shrouded in darkness. Only thin beams of sunlight slipped through shattered windows, casting broken shadows across the ground and revealing drifting dust and tangled webs.
"Watch your step. Don't touch anything," Ayla said quietly.
Her flashlight swept ahead, revealing piles of discarded parts and corroded machines. A faint golden glow pulsed around her body—her werewolf bloodline senses fully active, alert to danger. Ryan activated True Sight. In his vision, wisps of black mist clung to the factory interior, especially around scattered scrap piles. Dark magic was thick there. Clearly, those were key trap zones set by Dr. Kallen.
They moved slowly along the edge of the factory. Cracks spread across the floor, and shattered glass crunched underfoot, the sound unnervingly loud in the dead silence. Ryan focused on the shifting energy patterns only True Sight could detect. He knew better than to expect simple mechanical traps—Kallen's obsession with merging magic and technology meant every mistake could be fatal.
As they reached the center of the factory near an abandoned furnace, the ground trembled beneath Ryan's feet.
At the same time, black runes beneath a pile of steel on the right suddenly flared red.
"Move!" Ryan shouted, yanking Ayla back.
She reacted instantly, twisting aside as the steel pile exploded with a deafening crash. Shards of metal tore through the air. From a hidden pit below, five massive hounds burst out.
Their fur was dark red, as if soaked in blood. Green light burned in their eyes. Thick saliva dripped from exposed fangs, and dark magic rolled off their bodies like smoke.
Augmented hounds—creations twisted by dark magic.
The moment they surfaced, they lunged.
"Augmented hounds," Ayla snapped. "Enhanced by dark magic. Tough and aggressive."
She shoved Ryan back. "Find the trap control. I'll hold them."
Ryan barely steadied himself behind a steel pillar when one of the hounds leapt for Ayla's throat. She sidestepped and drove a gold-lit fist into its skull. The impact echoed, snapping its head sideways with a shriek—but it didn't fall. Instead, it charged again, even more frenzied.
"So durable…" Ryan's heart sank.
Ayla frowned and shifted her stance, weaving through all five hounds. Her strikes were precise—eyes, joints, abdomen. Golden energy flared with each blow. Bones cracked. Flesh dented.
But the hounds didn't slow.
One dragged a broken leg and still lunged. Worse, Ryan saw black mist seeping from its wounds—healing them.
"They can regenerate!" he yelled.
Ayla's jaw tightened. "Then hurry. They're controlled by the trap. Shut it down!"
Ryan forced himself to focus. He re-scanned the area with True Sight. Energy lines linked the glowing runes around the pit, converging toward a rusted control console in the corner.
"There!" he shouted.
Before he could move, a one-eyed hound broke free and charged him. No room to dodge.
Ryan's hand flew to the charm on his chest. Warmth steadied him.
Just as the hound lunged—
"Now!"
A golden blur flashed. Ayla slammed into it, kicking the beast mid-air. It crashed into a machine and went limp.
Blood streaked across Ayla's shoulder—three deep claw marks.
"You okay?" Ryan asked.
"Nothing serious." Golden light sealed the wounds. "Go. Now."
Ryan sprinted.
The console was almost dead—buttons rusted, circuits exposed. True Sight revealed a glowing red energy core inside. He pressed buttons. Nothing.
Behind him, the fight worsened. Ayla's breathing grew heavy.
His eyes caught a rusted lever on the side, etched with the same runes.
"This has to be it."
It wouldn't budge.
Ryan jammed his multitool into the gap and pried with everything he had. Metal shrieked.
Finally—clang.
The lever dropped.
The runes died instantly. Energy lines vanished.
The remaining hounds slowed, confusion replacing fury. Ayla didn't hesitate—two clean strikes knocked them out. The last tried to flee. She crushed its leg and it collapsed, howling.
Silence returned.
Ayla leaned against a machine, breathing hard. Ryan handed her water.
"These weren't the real threat," she said. "The lab will be worse. We need to find Linton."
Ryan scanned deeper into the factory. Dark magic thickened toward a sealed iron door covered in complex runes.
"That's the entrance."
Ayla studied it grimly. "Mid-level dark seal. Break it wrong, and we trigger something worse."
Before they could act, engines roared outside. Headlights cut through broken windows.
Ayla stiffened. "Company."
Ryan peered out. Black SUVs. Men in suits. Dark magic clung to them.
At their center stood a man in a white lab coat—wearing the same cursed wrist sigil as Kallen.
True Sight flared.
High-level dark magic user detected. Threat level: Extreme.
"Not Kallen," Ryan whispered. "Someone else. And they've got us surrounded."
Ayla clenched her fists, golden energy surging. "No time left. Get back. I'll break the door."
Her form began to shift.
Outside, footsteps closed in.
And the trap was far from over.