The effect of Kai's "Draconic Presence" was fleeting but noticeable. The front wave of Aurelian Tunnel Crawlers paused, their chittering taking on a higher, more agitated pitch, their multifaceted red eyes blinking rapidly as the alien, predatory aura washed over them. It was only a moment's hesitation, but in the tight confines of the ancient service corridor, a moment could be the difference between being overwhelmed and seizing the initiative. His Anima Core Stability was at 78%, the Dermal Plating and Draconic Presence a steady drain.
"Now, Shift!" Kai yelled, his voice amplified by a touch of his own Anima, a low, guttural edge that cut through the crawlers' screeching.
Shift, who had armed one of the sonic charges Roric had provided – a small, cylindrical device designed for non-lethal crowd dispersal – hurled it with surprising accuracy into the center of the rapidly advancing swarm. The device detonated with a high-pitched, multi-frequency shriek that was physically painful even through their rebreathers, accompanied by a blinding flash of strobing white light. The effect on the crawlers was immediate and devastating. The creatures shrieked, a sound like tearing metal, their movements becoming erratic and uncoordinated. Many stumbled into each other, their multifaceted eyes clearly overwhelmed by the sensory assault. Some even began attacking their own kind in their confusion. [Tactical Support (Shift – Sonic Charge): Effective. Multiple Hostiles (Aurelian Crawlers) Disoriented/Incapacitated. Swarm Cohesion: Disrupted.]
"Breaker, go!" Kai roared, seizing the opportunity. Breaker, his D-Grade Gorgon Anima flaring as stony patches covered his arms and chest, let out a bellow of his own and charged headlong into the disoriented swarm. He wasn't aiming for finesse; he was a battering ram, his massive stun baton swinging in wide, brutal arcs, each impact producing a sickening crunch of chitin and a spray of dark, viscous ichor. He plowed through the front ranks of the crawlers, creating a narrow, chaotic breach in their numbers. [Breaker – Gorgon Anima: Offensive Charge successful. Multiple hostiles neutralized/scattered. Anima Core (Breaker): Depleting rapidly due to sustained exertion and impacts.]
Kai was right behind him, moving with a speed and predatory grace that was becoming terrifyingly natural. He didn't have Breaker's raw power to simply smash through, but he had his Draconic Arts. He activated his "Claws of the Shadow Drake," the obsidian talons extending from his fingertips, and his "Shadow-Coil Strike," his fists wreathed in faint, distorting shadow energy. He became a whirlwind of deadly precision, his clawed hands and shadow-infused strikes finding the vulnerable joints in the crawlers' chitinous armor, tearing through their segmented bodies. He used his "Tail Sweep (Rank 1)" to clear space around him when the smaller creatures tried to swarm his legs, the shadowy appendage lashing out with surprising force, sending them flying.
The corridor became a charnel house. The stench of ozone from Shift's sonic charge mixed with the acrid, musky odor of the crawlers and the sharp tang of their ichor. Despite their numbers, the disoriented and outmaneuvered creatures were no match for the focused fury of The Ember Knights.
But there were so many of them. For every one they struck down, two more seemed to skitter out from the depths of the massive nest or from unseen cracks in the walls. Breaker was beginning to tire, his movements slowing, his stony hide showing more and more cracks from the sheer number of snapping mandibles and scything claws. Shift, having exhausted her supply of sonic charges, was now using a scavenged pulse pistol with grim efficiency, but her shots were more for suppression than outright kills.
Kai felt his own Draconic Energy Reserves plummeting. [Anima Core Stability: 45%. Warning: Sustained combat and multiple Draconic Art activations are critically depleting energy. Recommend disengagement or emergency sustenance protocol.] The hunger, never truly gone, began to claw at him with a renewed, desperate intensity, even amidst the chaos of battle. The System, ever pragmatic, highlighted the fallen crawlers: [Low-Tier Vital Essence Signatures Detected (Aurelian Crawlers – Deceased). Assimilation possible for minor energy restoration. Caution: Unknown biological compounds may cause adverse physiological reactions.] He couldn't. Not now. Not these… things.
They were bogged down, halfway through the nest, the tide of crawlers threatening to overwhelm them through sheer attrition. "Roric! Elara!" Kai yelled into his comm, parrying a snapping mandible with a scaled forearm. "We can't hold out much longer! We need a way through this nest, now!"
"Working on it, Kai!" Roric's voice was tight, the usual calm strained. "Elara's analyzing the station's original flame retardant system schematics for this sector. If we can trigger it, even a localized burst… but the controls are likely deep within the station's core, near your primary objective." "No time for that!" Breaker roared, smashing another crawler. "We're about to be lunch!"
It was then that Kai, his mind racing, his draconic instincts screaming, remembered the new potential that had unlocked with his Level 5 advancement and Anima Affinity of 10: "Shadowflame Breath (Volatile – Tier 1)." He hadn't trained it, hadn't even dared to try and manifest it consciously. The System had warned it was "volatile." But desperation was a powerful catalyst.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, focusing all his remaining Anima, all his will, into his core. He visualized not just scales or claws, but the raw, primal fire of the dragon, a fire tinged with the cold, consuming darkness of his Shadow Wyrm essence. He felt a searing heat build in his chest, a pressure that threatened to tear him apart. "Breaker! Shift! Get behind me!" he roared, his voice now a guttural, inhuman snarl.
He opened his mouth, and with a sound like a miniature volcano erupting, a torrent of roiling, black-tinged fire erupted forth. It wasn't a precise stream; it was a chaotic, almost explosive wave of shadow and flame that washed over the nest and the remaining swarm of Aurelian Crawlers. [DRACONIC COMBAT ART ACTIVATED: SHADOWFLAME BREATH (TIER 1 – UNCONTROLLED SURGE)!] [Anima Core Stability: 10%! CRITICAL! HOST SYSTEM OVERLOAD! IMMEDIATE CESSATION OF ANIMA OUTPUT REQUIRED!]
The effect was instantaneous and horrific. The crawlers shrieked, their chitinous bodies blackening and crisping, their nest of bone and metal igniting in an inferno of dark fire. The corridor filled with acrid smoke and the stench of burning alien flesh. The Shadowflame was terrifyingly effective, a wave of pure, draconic destruction.
But the cost was immense. Kai felt his Draconic Energy Reserves utterly collapse. His vision went black. The last thing he heard before unconsciousness claimed him was Breaker's horrified shout and the distant, alarmed voice of Roric in his comm. He had cleared the path, but he had burned himself out in the process, a nascent dragon who had unleashed a power far beyond his current ability to control.