Chapter 5: The Warden's Stand

Chapter 5: The Warden's Stand

Kaelen’s command cut through the panic like a blade. For a heart-stopping second, no one moved, the impossible blue quest screen still hovering in their vision. Then, Sergeant Miller, his face grim, gave a curt nod. It was the only permission the others needed. The fragile chain of command, shattered by the apocalypse, was reforged in an instant, with Kaelen as the central link.

“You heard him! Move!” Miller bellowed, his voice regaining some of its old authority.

The lobby exploded into frantic, purposeful action. Officers who were seconds from breaking instead found purpose in Kaelen’s orders. They heaved heavy steel filing cabinets, the screech of metal on linoleum a jarring but welcome sound of industry. They dragged desks, riot shields, and even the heavy water cooler to reinforce the barricade at the main entrance.

“Lena, the side entrance!” Kaelen barked, not waiting to see if his first orders were followed. “Riggs, with her! Barricade it. Nothing gets in or out.”

Lena gave him a sharp, affirmative nod, her fear replaced by a soldier’s focus. She and the soot-faced young officer sprinted towards the hallway.

Kaelen’s mind was a whirlwind of calculations. The Quest was clear: secure the building. But the basement armory was a black hole. Captain Rostova and her team were either dead or trapped. Going down there now would split their forces and leave the lobby vulnerable. It was a triage decision, cold and brutal. They would hold the main floor first. The living took priority over the missing.

A fresh wave of high-pitched chittering echoed from the street, closer this time, more numerous.

“They’re coming back,” Miller growled, racking his shotgun.

“Let them come,” Kaelen said, his eyes scanning the new fortifications. The main entrance was now a narrow, deadly funnel. Good.

He took his position at the forefront of the barricade, the [Warden’s Law] held in a low, ready grip. The other officers formed a ragged line behind him, their faces a mixture of terror and resolve. He could feel their fear, a palpable static in the air. He needed to draw the enemy’s focus. He needed to be the target.

He focused on the skill the System had given him, the one he hadn’t used yet. [Taunting Presence]. He didn’t know how to activate it, but instinct told him it was an extension of his will. He dredged up every bit of defiance, every ounce of protective instinct, and pushed it outward.

A barely visible shimmer, like heat haze, pulsed from his body. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the chittering outside intensified, focusing, all of it directed at him.

[Taunting Presence Activated. All hostiles in a 15-meter radius will prioritize you as their primary target.]

The first Glimmerfang Rat scrambled over the wreckage of a squad car. Its multifaceted eyes, which had been scanning the entire precinct entrance, locked directly onto Kaelen. It ignored the other officers and launched itself at him in a glittering arc of fury.

Kaelen met it head-on. He didn't stab. He swung the knife like a club, the brass knuckles of the hilt connecting with the creature's head with a sickening crunch of crystal. It fell, dissolving.

[+10 EXP]

Then the wave hit.

A dozen rats poured into the choke point at once, a river of skittering obsidian and rage. Behind them, two more of the hulking Shadow Hounds bounded through the rain, their eyeless faces aimed squarely at Kaelen.

“Fire!” Kaelen roared.

The lobby erupted in a deafening volley of gunfire. Shotgun blasts tore chunks out of the front-running rats, while pistol fire pinged harmlessly off the hides of the hounds. But it didn't matter if the bullets did damage. The onslaught was focused entirely on Kaelen. He was the sole target of their unnatural hatred.

He became a whirlwind of brutal efficiency. He didn’t have time for finesse. It was a blur of blocks, parries, and savage, economical thrusts. The [Warden’s Law] was an extension of his body, singing its lethal song. Each kill was a flash of dissolving dust and a quiet chime in his mind.

[+10 EXP] [+10 EXP] [Shadow Hound Neutralized. +30 EXP]

He took a claw swipe across his ribs, the impact throwing him against a filing cabinet. Pain flared, hot and deep.

Health: 85/100

He ignored it, shoving himself forward and driving his knife into the hound’s exposed throat. It vanished in a wisp of dark energy.

[+30 EXP] [EXP: 90/100]

But they were too many. The sheer pressure of the assault was forcing him back. One of the officers screamed as a rat slipped past Kaelen’s guard and latched onto his leg. The barricade was about to break. They were going to be overrun.

He gutted the rat that had broken through, his movements becoming desperate. Ten more EXP, some frantic part of his brain calculated. He needed one more kill. He lunged at the nearest Glimmerfang, a frantic, overextended stab that left him wide open.

[Glimmerfang Rat Neutralized. +10 EXP] [EXP: 100/100]

The world stuttered. The deafening chaos of the fight faded to a dull roar as a brilliant, golden light enveloped him for a fraction of a second.

[LEVEL UP!] [You have reached Level 2!] [All Attributes +1. Health and Stamina fully restored.] [New Skill Unlocked: Warden’s Edict]

The pain in his ribs vanished, replaced by a surge of warmth and strength. A new screen flashed in his vision, demanding a choice, even as a Shadow Hound’s claws were descending towards his face.

[Warden's Edict: Choose a battlefield command.] > [Hold the Line!]: Grants allies within 10 meters a temporary bonus to Defense and restores a small amount of Stamina. > [Break Them!]: Forces enemies within 10 meters to momentarily falter, reducing their speed and attack power.

There was no choice. Not for him. He slammed his mental focus onto the first option.

“HOLD THE LINE!” he roared, his voice amplified by a power that wasn't his own.

A shockwave of golden light erupted from him, washing over the beleaguered defenders. It wasn't just light; it was pure, unadulterated resolve. The officers felt their exhaustion vanish, their trembling hands steady, their fear blunted by a sudden, inexplicable courage.

Sergeant Miller, who had been fumbling to reload his shotgun, found his hands moving with renewed speed and precision. He slammed the shells home and blew the head off a leaping rat. The officer who had been bitten on the leg grit his teeth and fired three perfect shots into another creature’s chest.

Empowered by the Edict, the defenders rallied. Their panicked, sporadic fire became a disciplined, focused volley. The monstrous tide, which had been seconds from overwhelming them, faltered. The pressure on Kaelen lessened just enough.

He seized the moment, a predator unleashed. With his health and stamina restored, he was a storm of violence at the heart of the defense. He fought with a grace he didn't know he possessed, his knife a blur, his every move backed by the full power of his Warden class. He broke the back of the last Shadow Hound and swept the legs out from under the remaining rats, allowing the other officers to finish them off.

The last chittering screech died out. Silence, heavy and profound, fell over the lobby. It was broken only by the ragged, desperate gasps of the survivors.

They had won.

The System Quest screen in front of them updated.

[Objective Update: Initial hostile wave repelled.]

A ragged cheer went up from the officers. They looked at Kaelen, not with suspicion or confusion, but with a raw, primal respect. He was the wall they had stood behind. He was the reason they were still alive.

Kaelen stood panting, leaning against the barricade. The adrenaline began to fade, leaving a deep, bone-weary ache in its place. He looked out through the shattered doorway at the burning city. The rain had started to ease, and the tear in the sky was a livid, pulsating scar against the clearing clouds.

It was Lena who saw it first. She had returned from securing the side entrance and was staring out a broken window, her face sheet-white.

“Kael…” she whispered, her voice trembling. “What… is that?”

Kaelen followed her gaze. His heart, which had just begun to slow, seized in his chest.

On the horizon, silhouetted against the smoldering ruins of downtown Aethelburg and the sickly glow of the sky-wound, was a thing of impossible scale. It blotted out the tops of skyscrapers. It was a crawling, multi-limbed horror, a silhouette of writhing tentacles and spiny appendages, like some abyssal sea creature dragged into the air and magnified a thousand times. It moved with a slow, deliberate, terrifying grace.

And it was moving directly toward them.