Liam moved fast, boots hammering cracked pavement, breath tight in his chest. The cold of the Ice Queen's domain still clung to his skin, a memory that would not melt, but it did not matter now. The Mall Fortress was burning.
He kept seeing her eyes in the back of his mind, pale and perfect, then shoved the thought down and ran harder.
> [System Alert]
Mall Fortress: Breach detected
Enemy force: 10+ raiders
Estimated time to full capture: 42 minutes
Warning: Territory claim at risk
Loss equals bond revoked, system penalty active
Rena ran beside him, sword already drawn, jaw set. She had not said a word since the alert, but the heat in her eyes spoke for her. This was not a raid to her. It was a challenge. Someone had come to take what was his. What was theirs.
Jealousy flickered there too. Not of the fortress. Of the way the zone had looked back at him with a woman's face.
They cut through the dead city, slipping between cars iced in ash, stepping over pipe and rebar. Smoke rose over the mall like a dark flag. Liam's jaw tightened.
"We are close," Rena said, breath steady.
"Ready," he asked.
She glanced up through lashes. "Always."
They crested the last hill.
The walls he had reinforced glowed with new scars. Two breaches gaped open. Fire chewed along the west side. Inside, figures hustled crates to sleds. Six on the floor at least. Two at the gate. One in system armor, sigils crawling across his chestplate like red ants.
"The leader," Liam said.
Rena swept the perimeter. "No survivors moving."
"Then we hit now."
They slid down to the outer wall in shadow. A fallen guard lay at the base, armor scorched and split. Liam touched the hole. The metal had bubbled and pulled back.
"Energy weapon," he said.
Rena checked another body, mouth hard. "System user. Of course."
Liam rose. "Then we use ours."
He lifted a hand. Cold gathered under his ribs, tightened, and burst from his palm. The Ice Queen's gift. A bolt of frost clapped the nearest gate guard. The man froze solid, eyes wide behind a rim of rime.
His partner jerked a rifle up.
Rena was already there, blade a bright line, cutting him before he could aim. The body hit the smashed tile with a dull thud.
> [System Update]
Icebind: 1 use remaining
Remaining raiders: 8
Leader: Unknown level, system bonded
"Move fast," Liam said.
They pushed into the courtyard. A runner saw them and shouted. Two more rounded the crates, weapons out.
Liam met the first. The strike landed clean, cut deep, the man folded. Rena parried the second, twisted her wrist, and snapped the hilt into his skull. He dropped without grace.
The armored leader turned at last. Power crawled over his knuckles, slow and smug.
"You are the Overlord," he said. "This is your claim."
Liam stared back.
"Then I take it," the man said, and came in hard.
Steel slammed against Liam's blade. The shock rattled up his arms. Sparks sprayed his vision. The man pressed and pressed, system strength turning every swing into a weight.
"You are not unique," the raider snarled. "My bond makes me more than enough."
Liam gave him nothing. Breath was better spent on survival. He dipped left, tried for the legs, missed by inches. The raider crashed a fist down and cracked stone where Liam had been.
> [System Alert]
Energy remaining: 22 percent
Skill available: Icebind (1 use)
Bond buff: Rena active
Strength boost: 15 percent, 30 seconds
"Freeze," Liam said through his teeth, and called the cold.
It roared up his arm, rushed his palm, and hit the raider square. Ice leapt across the breastplate and caught his right arm to his ribs.
Liam closed, sword a hammer. Steel met ice, the armor spidered with cracks. The raider barked pain, tried to wrench free. Liam did not stop. The second hit found a weak seam at the shoulder. The ice burst. Blood washed hot under the frost. The man dropped to a knee.
"You are done," Liam said.
Behind him, Rena killed one, then another. She turned, cheeks flushed, hair stuck to her forehead, beautiful and terrible both.
"Liam," she called.
Four more raiders poured through a breach. Fresh armor. Fresh nerves. Running hard.
"Center," Liam said. He caught Rena's hand. They fell back across broken tile toward the mall's heart. The raiders chased. An arrow hissed past. One clipped his shoulder, tore cloth and skin and pride. He grunted, but his feet did not slow.
Rena hit the main hall first, planted, raised her blade. Liam took position at her side, blood wetting his sleeve.
The raiders faltered at the sight.
"You want this," Liam said, pointing the tip at them. "Come and die for it."
> [System Update]
Icebind: Cooldown active
Bond charge: 75 percent
Trigger unlocked: Last Stand Mode
Buff: Defense +20 percent
Duration: 5 minutes
They charged.
Liam and Rena broke them.
He fought with what was left, each swing clean and mean, the system holding his muscles steady another heartbeat at a time. The first man fell. The second tried to circle and met Rena's point instead. The floor ran red. The walls caught screams and threw them back.
One raider made it behind him. Rena cut him down without looking. There was something extra in the stroke. Vicious. Personal.
"Thanks," Liam said, breath rough.
"Do not die," she said. "Not here."
"Not planning to."
When the last man saw he was alone, he dropped his weapon and ran.
Liam lifted a hand to end it.
> [System Alert]
Enemy force eliminated
Mall Fortress secured
Ice Queen bond progress: +5 percent
Timer: 71 hours remaining
The prompt stole the kill. Fine. He let the hand drop. He sank to one knee, ribs aching, shoulder burning.
Rena dropped beside him. "We held it."
He looked up through smoke. "For now."
Bodies lay where they had earned their end. Supplies were dented. Walls needed love. The dome hummed, brightening as if in approval.
> [System Alert]
Zone Four: Unlocked
New bond target detected: Distance 5 kilometers
Status: Hostile
Reminder: Ice Queen trial active
Liam stood. He wiped his blade on a ruined coat. He looked at the map that blinked behind his eyes.
"One fight ends," he said, and offered Rena his hand. "Another begins."
She took it, stood with him, close enough for her breath to ghost his jaw. "Good," she whispered. "I am not done either."
He smiled, small and sharp. "Then we eat, we repair, we pull the knives from the walls, and we go meet whoever thinks they are next."