Isla blinked the intense focus in her green eyes breaking. A faint dusting of pink colored her cheeks.

She quickly dissolved the ice dagger into harmless mist and pushed herself off Glen’s chest standing up and brushing off her tactical pants in process.

"You need to work on your footwork Mcdonald" Isla said her voice slightly tighter than usual. She refused to look at him directly. "You were never taught how to fight properly and from a seasoned veteran’s perspective your actions will come off as clumsy."

"Noted" Glen said sitting up and rubbing his frozen wrist. The absolute zero mana was already fading but the cold ache remained deep in his bones. He looked up at her a genuine smile on his face. "You are incredible Sinclair. If you fought like that in the tournament you would have had a better chance with Evander Buchanan."

Isla crossed her arms looking away. "I’m not too sure about that, Evander is a prodigy. He may come off as cocky amd arrogant but neath that facade is a calm andhighly lethal indovidual who i struggled to match up with even in when we were yet to awaken. How do you think he managed to keep his number 1 spot in the Academy’s ranking for three years?" Isla responded with a distant gaze. " And also if I had showed my real output on national television the Association would have classified me as an S Rank anomaly. My family is bankrupt Glen. We have enemies in the Astra Guild. If they knew how strong I really was they would force me into corporate servitude to pay off my parents debts."

Glen stood up picking his heavy black sword off the ground and sheathing it on his back. He understood perfectly. The world did not reward strength it exploited it.

"Your secret is safe with us" Glen said his voice sincere. "We are a team you know."

Isla finally looked at him her green eyes softening. "I know."

"Guys" Caleb called out again waving his wooden staff toward the holographic projector. "Seriously. You need to see this."

Glen and Isla walked over to the porch standing beside the Gravity Mage.

The news broadcast had shifted from the anchor desk to a live press conference outside the Astra Guild headquarters. Standing at the podium was a tall imposing man with sharp features and a tailored silver suit.

"That is Viktor Rostova" Isla whispered her expression darkening. "An executive director for Astra."

On the hologram Viktor Rostova looked appropriately devastated but his eyes were cold and calculating. Standing right beside him wrapped in a heavy thermal blanket was Elena Rostova.

Glen stared at the blonde mage on the screen. She looked traumatized staring blankly at the flashing cameras of the press corps.

"My daughter is a survivor" Viktor announced his voice echoing through the courtyard. "The Ironclad team fought bravely but they were ambushed by a monster of unprecedented power. The entity known as the Ghost of Valor is a threat to the entire Mega City. Therefore the Astra Guild is officially declaring a state of emergency. We are mobilizing our S Rank strike teams."

The press corps erupted into a frenzy of shouted questions.

"Director Rostova!" a reporter yelled. "Is it true that the Valor Guild is refusing to cooperate with your investigation?"

"We will handle the threat internally" Viktor replied smoothly. "My daughter has provided us with the monster’s exact mana signature. We will hunt it down and we will execute it."

Caleb muted the broadcast leaning back against the stone wall. "Well that is terrifying. The Astra Guild is going to war. The city is going to be locked down within forty eight hours."

Glen did not say anything. He was still staring at the frozen image of Elena Rostova on the muted hologram.

Deep inside his spiritual core the dark fragment twitched. It was like a faint sickening pulse of recognition.

"Glen?" Isla asked noticing his intense focus. "What is it?"

"Look at her eyes" Glen whispered pointing at the blonde mage on the screen.

Isla and Caleb leaned in closer. The holographic resolution was high quality capturing every detail of Elena’s traumatized face. She was looking down at the podium but for a fraction of a second caught perfectly on camera her blue eyes seemed to reflect the flash of the cameras with a strange unnatural silver glare.

"It is probably just the lighting" Caleb said though he did not sound convinced.

"No" Glen said a cold knot of dread forming in his stomach. He remembered the empty silver voids of the entity wearing Duncan Carmichael’s face. He remembered the way it spoke the way it looked at them like they were nothing but dust beneath his feet.

"The Ghost Of Valor does not leave survivors" Glen said his voice low and dangerous. "He did not leave any survivors in the other dungeons. Why would he let an A Rank mage walk away?"

Isla’s breath hitched as the realization hit her. "Because he needed a new disguise. A better one. One with high level security clearance and access to a Guild’s large network of information or there is something that one of the Guilds have in their possession and thst thing is looking for it."

"That is not Elena Rostova" Glen said turning away from the projector. "That is the monster. It appears as though it has decided to infiltrate the city, but why?"

The courtyard fell completely silent. The sparring match the adrenaline the brief moment of chemistry it all evaporated under the crushing weight of the truth.

The Ghost Of Valor was not just hunting in the dungeons anymore. He was sitting in the corporate boardrooms of one of the most powerful guild in the city.

"We need to get stronger" Glen said his dark eyes burning with absolute resolve. "We need to hit the highest density dungeons we can find before the Guilds lock down the gates. We power level. We steal everything we can. Because when that thing finally drops its disguise this entire city is going to burn."