**CHAPTER 22: **
The safehouse door exploded inward before Seun could finish stitching his wounds.
Splinters rained across the room as a figure clad in silver-steel armor stepped through the smoke, their greatsword humming with restrained energy. The guild insignia on their pauldron—a shattered crown—marked them instantly.
**Ironheart Vanguard. King-Rank.**
Seun's fingers tightened around Nightfang.
**[TARGET ANALYZED]**
**[GARETH VAULT - KING RANK (A-CLASS)]**
**[CURRENT THREAT LEVEL: LETHAL]**
**[RECOMMENDED ACTION: FLEE]**
Gareth's helmet retracted, revealing a scarred face that might have been handsome decades ago. "Phantom." His voice was like gravel under tank treads. "You've been making noise in my city."
Seun remained seated, blood soaking through his makeshift bandages. "Your city?"
"The guilds own the hunting grounds." Gareth's sword flared crimson. "E-Rank trash don't get to pick through our scraps."
A flicker of movement outside the shattered window—three more Hunters, all Commander-Rank (B-Class), sealing his exits.
Seun exhaled through his nose.
*Not ideal.*
---
### **THE SYSTEM'S GAMBIT**
The System pinged urgently:
**[EMERGENCY SHOP ACCESS]**
**[TEMPORARY BOOST: "SHADOW VEIL (UPGRADED)" - 15 SECONDS INVISIBILITY]**
**[COST: 2,000P]**
Seun's remaining points: 2,100.
Gareth raised his sword.
Seun purchased the upgrade.
The world turned monochrome as shadows *wrapped* around him like a second skin. Gareth's blade passed through empty air, carving the cot in half.
"Find him!" the King-Rank roared.
Seun was already moving.
**[SHADOW VEIL DURATION: 12 SECONDS]**
He slipped past the first Commander-Rank at the window, his dagger flashing—
—and froze as the System blared:
**[WARNING: KING-RANK PERCEPTION FIELD]**
**[INVISIBILITY EFFECTIVENESS REDUCED BY 70%]**
Gareth's head snapped toward him.
*Shit.*
---
### **A MONARCH'S PRIDE**
Seun abandoned stealth.
He *lunged* at the nearest Commander-Rank, Nightfang aimed for the gap between chestplate and pauldron. The Hunter barely raised his axe in time—
—and screamed as shadow-infused steel sheared through reinforced alloy like paper.
**[TARGET ELIMINATED]**
**[EXP +3,000]**
Gareth's fist collided with Seun's ribs before he could react.
The impact sent him crashing through two plaster walls before skidding to a stop in the alley outside. His vision swam, the System flashing damage reports:
**[RIB FRACTURE DETECTED]**
**[INTERNAL HEMORRHAGE: MODERATE]**
Gareth emerged from the ruins, greatsword dragging sparks across concrete. "You fight like no E-Rank I've ever seen."
Seun spat blood. "You talk too much for a King."
The System pinged again:
**[COMBAT ADAPTATION ACTIVE]**
**[ANALYZING OPPONENT'S STANCE...]**
**[WEAKNESS DETECTED: LEFT HIP REPLACEMENT - 0.3 SEC DELAY ON PIVOTS]**
Seun's lips curled.
*Got you.*
---
### **THE ESCAPE**
He feinted right.
Gareth took the bait, his weight shifting with that telltale hitch in his movement—
—and Seun *twisted*, driving Nightfang upward into the exposed cabling at the King-Rank's hip joint.
The resulting spark shower blinded them both. Seun didn't wait to see the damage. He *ran*, triggering his last smoke grenade (purchased yesterday for 500P) to cover his retreat.
Gareth's roar of fury echoed through the district:
"YOU CAN'T HIDE FOREVER, PHANTOM!"
Seun's response was to vanish into the storm drains, clutching his bleeding side.
**[LEVEL UP: CAPTAIN RANK (D) → MAJOR RANK (C)]**
**[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: "SHADOW STEP" (SHORT-RANGE TELEPORTATION)]**
He allowed himself one pained chuckle.
*Progress.*
---
### **THE WATCHERS, PART II**
Three blocks away, a woman in an Oblivion's Edge uniform lowered her binoculars.
"Report to the Guildmaster," she murmured into her comms. "The Phantom just survived Gareth Vault."
Static crackled. "*Casualties?*"
"One Commander-Rank dead. Gareth's limping."
A long pause. Then:
"*Offer him the trial.*"
---