The Nightmare Perched Above
The aftershocks of Professor Ironheart's destruction were still vibrating through the floor of the control room when Faust's hand blurred across the monitor panel. He shifted the focus from the crumbling sub-basements to the upper levels of the Southern Wing.
"Look," Faust whispered, his voice hushed with reverence. "Professor Zorro Diego."
On the screen, Zorro moved through the high-ceilinged corridors with a grace that bordered on the surreal. Despite the chaos of the invasion, his signature blindfold was tied perfectly tight, and his posture remained relaxed, almost indifferent. He was leading a frantic group of researchers, with Freda and Judith bringing up the rear. As they neared a junction, a squad of Hunters materialized from the shadows, their matte-black armor swallowing the light. Zorro stopped, adjusting his sleeve with a delicate, foppish flick of his wrist as if more concerned with a stray thread than the jagged blades leveled at him.
"Oh, dear," Zorro sighed, his voice carrying through the audio feed with a melodic, bored lilt. "Must we do this now? I was just in the middle of composing a sonnet regarding the lighting in this corridor. It really is quite dismal today, don't you think?"
The Hunters lunged. Freda and Judith, caught off guard, barely managed to sidestep the initial thrusts. Before the assassins could reset, Zorro drifted between them. He moved with a clumsy, almost stumbling step—the "Fox" hiding his true lethality—but as he "tripped" past the lead Hunter, his palm connected with the man's chest. The impact didn't just push the Hunter; hurtling backward, their reinforced armor buckling as he smashed through the stone walls like a doll made of straw.
"Judith, Freda—lead the researchers to the exit. I shall be along shortly. I believe I left my favorite silk handkerchief near the fountain," Zorro said, waving them away with a playful, dismissive gesture.
The two girls hesitated, glancing at each other with wide, frantic eyes before looking back at the Professor Zorro's. They were used to his eccentricities but still stunned by the casual display of power. They nodded, turning to usher the researchers toward the primary southern gate. Zorro began to stroll back down the hall, humming a soft tune. Then, he stopped. Without turning his head, he pointed his fingers in the direction of the departing group, shaping his hand like a gun. A condensed swirl of wind gathered at his fingertip, spinning with the high-pitched whine of a turbine. He "fired" with a mischievous smirk. The wind bullet zipped through the air, weaving through the labyrinthine hallways with sentient precision. It whistled past Freda and Judith and slammed into the massive, reinforced exit doors. The sealed door—locked by a complex Hunter arcane seal—didn't just open; it shattered into a million jagged shards of steel and magic.
"Did you see that?" Faust asked George.
"He completely shattered it," Rimona muttered, her eyes fixed on the readout. "How? The Hunters placed a magical seal on the exits. By all laws of theory, they should be indestructible from the inside."
The Masterpiece of the Hunt
The camera feed tracked Zorro as he entered the grand cafeteria. He came to a halt beneath a massive, ornate chandelier. Perched atop the crystal fixture was a creature that defied every law of nature.
Its central form possessed a humanoid torso with deep abdominal definition, encased in dark, chitinous plating that glistened like wet obsidian. The primary head was a chilling fusion of avian and insectoid features, bearing a heart-shaped facial disc and a razor-sharp beak. From its back, two massive, tattered wings unfurled like a funeral shroud. Most haunting was the serpentine neck rising from its spine ending in a stoic owl's head with glowing orange eyes. The Chimera leaped down, gliding gracefully to the floor. Its eyes were a gaze of death. With a piercing screech, the owl-headed tail opened its mouth, launching a devastating beam of concentrated aura toward Zorro.
Zorro tilted his head an inch to the left with effortless timing, the beam whistling past his ear his expression one of mild distaste. The beam vaporized a row of dining tables behind him. "How uncouth. Truly a beast of no refinement whatsoever."
The Chimera went into a frenzy, launching multiple beams that tore through the cafeteria. The entire facility shook. In the control room, George's fist slammed into the desk. "I hate this! I wish there was something I could do!" The fire in his eyes burned brighter, his passionate sense of justice fueling a growing rage.
The Divine Breeze
As the debris settled, Zorro stood perfectly still next to the Chimera. The beast screeched and fired a beam point-blank. With a single finger, Zorro blocked the beam, the energy splashing against his skin and dissipating. Enraged, the Chimera's tentacles wrapped around Zorro, launching him through multiple walls.
Zorro stepped out of the rubble, fastidiously dusting off his pristine uniform. "You've nearly ruined the pleat of my trousers. That is simply unforgivable."
The Chimera fired more beams, but Zorro vanished, reappearing next to the creature. With a flick of his finger, the Chimera was sent flying through the ceiling into the sky. Zorro appeared on the roof, walking upward on empty air as if ascending a grand staircase. The Chimera fired a desperate blast which Zorro canceled with a pulse of his own; it fired another which he redirected with a lazy wave of his hand. Terrified by the calm, rational "Fox" approaching it, the creature tried to flee. Zorro vanished, appearing behind it. He reached out and grabbed the serpentine owl-tail, ripping it from the body. The Chimera shrieked, its tentacles condensing aura for a final, point-blank volley. The beams engulfed Zorro entirely. When the light faded, Zorro emerged unscathed, a shimmering wind barrier rippling around him. With blinding speed, he chopped off the tentacles with his bare hands, then fired a barrage of air bullets through the creature's core. Finally, a massive wind blast from his finger completely evaporated the Chimera's remains. As the blood of the beast rained down, it bounced off Zorro's barrier. Not a single drop touched his pristine uniform. He descended gracefully, landing back in the destroyed cafeteria. He adjusted his blindfold, his playful demeanor returning as he resumed his search for survivors. George, Faust, and Rimona stood in the control room, completely blown away by the display of absolute mastery from a man who pretended to be afraid of his own shadow.