CHAPTER 174: SLIPPING

The violet-class monster’s claw dragged sparks down Varik’s blade, the shriek of metal on scale splitting the night. Varik shoved back with a grunt, his boots digging ruts into the cracked asphalt.

Lucen slid wide, heat pulsing in his palm. He compressed the mana tighter, tighter, the glow condensing into a white-hot spear. The air shimmered around it.

"Varik!" he shouted, and launched the bolt.

Varik dropped a half step aside just as the spear slammed into the monster’s shoulder, detonating in a flare of light. The blast staggered the beast, its roar cutting off mid-bellow.

Lucen grinned. "That looked like it hurt."

The creature whipped its head toward him, molten eyes narrowing.

’Yeah. That got its attention. Brilliant.’

It lunged. The ground fractured beneath its weight as it charged straight at him, claws raised. Lucen’s smirk slipped into a curse as he bolted sideways, boots hammering the ground. The swipe missed him by inches, carving a car in half like paper.

Metal screamed. Sparks flew. The car’s halves collapsed in smoking heaps.

"Stay focused," Varik barked, already moving. His blade flashed upward, carving along the monster’s exposed side. The cut wasn’t deep enough to finish it, but black ichor hissed from the wound.

Lucen whipped around, raising his sword. Mana bled along the steel, humming faintly. He circled the monster’s flank, waiting. Watching. ’Come on, big guy. Just a little closer...’

The beast swung at Varik, claws slamming down. Varik blocked, the clash rang like a cathedral bell, air pressure hammering outward. Varik’s knees bent, but he didn’t falter. His eyes flicked, just once, toward Lucen.

’Now.’

Lucen lunged in, blade crackling. He slashed upward across the monster’s leg. The charged steel bit deep, carving through scale and sinew. The beast howled, leg buckling under its weight.

Varik didn’t waste the opening. His sword came down in a brutal arc, driving into the monster’s chest with force that shook the block.

The beast reeled back, screeching, molten eyes dimming for just a breath.

Lucen pulled free, panting. ’It’s tough. Too tough. If I went all in, no. Not here. Not in the open. Varik’s the only one who knows, but if anyone’s watching... I can’t risk it.’

The monster recovered, swinging wildly. Claws tore through a building’s facade, stone and steel crumbling onto the street in a shower of dust.

Lucen ducked beneath the debris, coughing. His lungs burned with dust, the world a haze of gray. He pushed forward, slicing through another hanging claw that caught too close. His blade vibrated in his grip from the impact.

"Lucen!" Varik’s voice cut through the haze.

He turned just in time to see the beast winding up, both claws raised, poised to smash them flat.

Lucen’s chest tightened. Instinct screamed. He didn’t think, he let his mana surge, just a fraction more than safe. Light flared, coating his sword so bright it hummed with violent energy. He leapt, slashing upward with everything in that breath.

The blade carved through one claw cleanly, severing it at the joint. The monster screamed, ichor spraying like molten tar.

Lucen landed hard, knees rattling. His grip trembled. ’Shit. Too much. That was too much.’

But Varik didn’t miss a beat. With the beast reeling, his blade drove straight through its chest, piercing deep until the steel jutted from its back. He twisted once, then ripped free in a shower of blood and sparks.

The monster convulsed, bellowed one last time, then collapsed, the ground shattering beneath its weight. Dust and heat rolled outward in a suffocating wave.

Lucen staggered back, coughing, his sword dripping with ichor that hissed where it hit the ground.

Silence. For a moment, only the sound of distant alarms and crackling fire filled the street.

Varik stood in the settling haze, sword hanging loose at his side, shoulders rising and falling evenly. His eyes turned to Lucen.

Lucen smirked faintly, though his hand still shook around the hilt. "Told you I’d take the uglier ones."

Varik’s gaze lingered, calm but sharp, before he finally sheathed his blade. "You overextended."

Lucen snorted. "Yeah, well. Better that than getting flattened."

Varik didn’t reply. But the weight in his stare said enough. He’d seen. He’d noticed the flare of power Lucen had tried so hard to keep restrained.

Lucen rolled his shoulders, forcing himself casual. "So... dinner’s off, I’m guessing?"

Varik glanced at the still-smoking corpse sprawled across half the street, then at the shattered buildings, then back at Lucen. "We’ll find somewhere quieter."

Lucen barked a laugh, shaking his head. "Quieter, he says. Right."

The police sirens were growing closer now, echoing down the streets. Civilians were starting to emerge from hiding, tentative, wide-eyed, phones raised.

Lucen tugged his hood back over his head, muttering under his breath. "Great. Just what I need. Pictures."

Varik turned toward the oncoming lights, his presence alone like a wall. The sirens slowed. Officers spilled out, weapons half-raised, then froze when they registered who stood there.

Varik’s silhouette in the haze, sword at his hip, calm and unmoved, was enough. They lowered their weapons in unison.

One officer swallowed hard, then waved the others back. "S-Sir Varik. Of course. We’ll... secure the area."

They didn’t approach further. They didn’t ask questions.

Lucen’s lips twitched beneath his hood. ’Must be nice, being one of the top ten in the damn world. People don’t even breathe too loud near you.’

Varik glanced at him once, then started walking. "Come on."

Lucen followed, sliding his blade back into its sheath. He didn’t look back at the corpse, at the gawking civilians, or at the flashing lights.

’Another close call. Too close. If I keep slipping like that, sooner or later someone besides Varik’s gonna notice. And that...’ He exhaled slowly, the smirk pulling faintly back to his lips. ’That would ruin the fun.’

—

The streets were still echoing with sirens when Varik led him away from the wreckage. Neither of them looked back.

Lucen stuffed his hands into his jacket pocket, hood tugged low as they moved through the cracked city blocks. Streetlamps buzzed faintly overhead, their light smudged by drifting dust.

"You walk too damn fast," Lucen muttered, lengthening his stride to keep pace.

"You walk too damn slow," Varik said without breaking step.

Lucen smirked under his hood. ’There’s that dry charm again. The guy could watch a city collapse and still sound like he’s scolding a kid for missing curfew.’

They cut through side streets, Varik navigating without hesitation. Lucen noticed how every patrol car they passed slowed, then rolled on once the officers recognized Varik’s frame. No questions, no stops.

’If it were just me? I’d already be cuffed, shoved in the backseat, and probably blamed for the whole damn thing. Perks of being world-famous, huh?’

By the time they reached the reinforced service tunnel, the sounds of the city had dulled behind them. The bunker door loomed at the end, set deep into the wall like it had been carved for a war. Varik keyed in the code, the panel flashing green before the heavy bolts clunked open.

Inside, the air was cool and filtered, humming faintly with the rhythm of machinery. Fluorescent strips buzzed overhead, throwing clean light across steel corridors. The place smelled faintly of ozone and metal polish, sterile, military.

Lucen stepped in, stretching his arms overhead. "Home sweet concrete box."

Varik shot him a look.

"What? You’ve got to admit it has charm. Like... prison, but with more buttons."

Varik shut the door behind them with a slam that echoed down the hall. "Better than being dead."

Lucen smirked, tugging his hood down. "I dunno. My old apartment had character. Broken sink, peeling walls, that nice little explosion-shaped skylight..."

The memory flashed in his mind, the instant Varik had called, the wall shattering open with fire and force. The white-haired man stepping through. Lucen rubbed his jaw absently, muttering, "Yeah. Real cozy."

Varik walked ahead, his stride as measured as ever. "You’ll stay here until we decide next steps."

"We?" Lucen echoed, falling into step behind him.

"Yes. You want to stay alive, don’t you?"

Lucen’s grin tilted. "Mostly. Depends on the day."

Varik didn’t bother with a reply, leading him deeper. The corridor opened into the main chamber, an operations room of sorts, though barebones. A wide table sat in the center, metal and unyielding, surrounded by a few mismatched chairs. Screens hummed along one wall, static maps flickering between updates.

Lucen dropped into one of the chairs, leaning back until it creaked. He swung his boots up onto the table’s edge.

Varik stared.

"What? Don’t give me that look. You invited me in."

"I didn’t invite you. I saved you."

Lucen chuckled, folding his arms behind his head. "Semantics."

Varik pulled the chair opposite him and sat, posture straight as a blade. For a long moment, silence stretched between them, broken only by the hum of the ventilation.

Lucen drummed his fingers against his elbow. ’He’s staring again. Not saying it, but thinking it. About that little flare earlier. Yeah, I saw his eyes. He caught it. He always does.’

Varik finally spoke. "You lost control."

Lucen’s smirk flickered. He tilted his head lazily. "I wouldn’t call it that."

"What would you call it?"

Lucen tapped his temple. "Call it improvising."

"You let too much slip."