Kael walked to where Instructor Garrick lay. The man was a mountain of battered steel and pain. His armor, once formidable, was a canvas of deep dents and hairline cracks. Blood seeped from the joints at his knees and elbows, and a darker stain spread from the puncture beneath his arm. Garrick tried to rise, his hands pushing against the bloody stone, but he only managed a low groan before collapsing back.
Without a word, Kael stepped into the ruined office. He knew where Garrick kept his emergency supplies. From a fractured cabinet, he retrieved a single glass vial. Inside, a thick red liquid swirled with latent power. He returned to Garrick's side, knelt, and brought the vial to the man's lips.
"Drink," Kael said.
Garrick's eyes focused. He drank, gulping the potent healing potion down. Almost immediately, a shudder of relief passed through him. Some of the terrible tension left his shoulders. The bleeding visibly slowed.
"The artifacts," Garrick rasped, his voice rough but clearer. "The secured vault below. They'll move now, during the chaos." He coughed, wincing. "Get to the faculty headquarters. Find Borin. Bring help. Stop them."
Kael stood, looking down at his mentor. The command was logical. It was also too slow. By the time he found another instructor and convinced them, the Revivers would be gone.
"You will be fine here?" Kael asked.
"I'll live. Now go."
Kael nodded. He turned and broke into a swift, silent jog. But he did not head for the main doorway that led out to the courtyards and toward the faculty quarters. Instead, he turned deeper into the administrative wing's heart, taking a narrower, descending corridor few students ever saw.
"Kael! The other way!" Garrick's shout, thick with pain and anger, echoed after him, but Kael did not turn back.
He moved down a spiraling stone staircase, the air growing cold. The walls changed from finished stone to rough-hewn rock, lit by the cool blue glow of embedded mana crystals. He finally arrived at his destination: the entrance to the underground chambers. A massive vault door of reinforced bluesteel stood slightly ajar. Before it stood two guards.
They wore fitted combat armor of forest green, edged with shimmering black and gold piping. Reviver enforcers.
One man was a giant, holding a rectangular tower shield that covered most of his body. The other was lean, a long chain of metal links coiled in his hand, a spiked steel ball resting on the floor.
The moment they saw Kael, their posture shifted. The shield-bearer settled into a solid stance. The chain-wielder began to spin the spiked ball in a slow, building arc at his side.
Kael darted forward, aiming for the chain-wielder, hoping to close the distance fast.
The chain-user's arm snapped forward. The spiked ball became a blur, whistling straight for Kael's center. Kael threw himself sideways, the weapon whipping past. He rolled and came up running, again trying to flank.
The shield-bearer didn't chase. He took two heavy steps, planting himself between Kael and his partner. As Kael entered a five-meter radius, the face of the shield glowed with a pale red light. The air in front of it shimmered.
Kael felt it immediately. A heavy, pressing force shoved against his entire body, like trying to walk into a gale. His sprint slowed to a labored jog, then to a straining walk. He pushed to within three meters, the repelling force growing stronger, threatening to throw him backward.
He understood. A kinetic repulsion field. The user was likely anchored in place while maintaining it.
Gritting his teeth, Kael forced himself to retreat, leaping back out of the field's edge. The pressure vanished.
The chain-wielder smiled, a cold expression. He began spinning his weapon again in a wider, more complex pattern, the chain weaving a lethal, humming barrier. The tactic was clear. Rush the shield and get repelled. Hang back and get dismantled by the chain.
It was a perfect, simple guard combo. Kael stood just outside the red field's influence, his mind racing. He could not afford a long fight. He needed a key for this lock, and he needed it now.