The Tyrantrum opened its massive jaws. Deep within its throat, the swirling sphere of dark fire rapidly condensed. With a deafening roar, the beast unleashed the projectile. The fireball tore across the stadium, leaving a trail of scorched concrete in its wake.

  High above the arena floor, Nemona did not flinch. The crimson fmes engulfing her body suddenly fred, shifting into a blinding white. The heat radiating from her was absolute. She threw her hands forward, directing the entirety of her cosmic energy into a single point.

  "Cosmic Meteor Strike!" Nemona screamed.

  She dove.

  The two catastrophic forces collided in the dead center of the arena. Nemona’s white-hot meteor tore completely through the dark fireball, shredding the prehistoric energy into harmless sparks.

  "That is right, Nomi! Burn it down!" Grusha cheered from the stands, her blue mitt pumping the air.

  Nemona's momentum carried her straight through the bst zone. She collided directly with the Tyrantrum. A shockwave of pure kinetic energy rippled outward, followed immediately by a titanic explosion that shook the stadium foundation to its core.

  A thick cloud of smoke and pulverized concrete plumed into the air, obscuring the field entirely.

  Anabel gripped the metal railing of the spectator stands. Her knuckles were entirely white. "Is it finally over?" she asked, her voice tight with nervous anticipation.

  Lusamine leaned forward, her eyes tracking the settling dust. "It is not. Look closely."

  Anabel squinted through the haze. Deep inside the smoking crater, a massive silhouette shifted.

  The Tyrantrum slowly pnted its cwed feet and pushed itself up. It had taken staggering damage. A massive burn mark stretched across its armored chest, and its breathing was ragged, but the ancient apex predator was not defeated yet.

  "It survived?" Nemona gasped. She hovered twenty feet above the crater, her chest heaving. "I guess I just have to keep going!"

  She raised her fists, intending to summon another barrage of cosmic fire. But the energy refused to answer. Her glowing form began to flicker violently. The illusion of the starry gaxy coating her skin fractured like broken gss. With a final burst of fading light, the transformation shattered completely. Nemona reverted to her standard uniform, her internal stamina completely bottomed out.

  Deprived of her flight, Nemona plummeted. She hit the concrete floor hard, rolling to a stop just outside the lip of the crater.

  Seeing his attacker fall, the Tyrantrum let out a bloodcurdling roar. It snapped its jaws, charging directly toward her prone form.

  "That thing is going to kill her!" Anabel shouted. She grabbed Lusamine’s shoulder, panic flooding her voice. "We have to get down there and help her!"

  "It is okay," Lusamine replied calmly, gently brushing the agent's hand off her shoulder.

  "Okay? Absolutely nothing about this is okay!" Anabel shrieked, watching the three-story dinosaur close the distance. "That monster is going to rip her apart! We need to do something right now!"

  Lusamine simply smiled. "Grusha won't let it hurt her."

  Down on the arena floor, Grusha stepped forward. She bypassed Nemona entirely, pcing herself directly in the path of the charging dinosaur. She pulled her scarf down, her breath pluming into the sweltering air.

  "Ice Age."

  The moment the words left her lips, a localized blizzard erupted from the center of the stadium. A ring of absolute frost burst outward along the concrete floor. The freezing wave smmed into the Tyrantrum. The moisture in the air crystallized instantly, locking the dinosaur's massive legs inside a block of unbreakable permafrost. The beast roared in frustration, completely immobilized.

  Anabel's eyes were drawn upward.

  Grusha was no longer standing on the ground. She was hovering high in the air, held aloft by a breathtaking pair of wings forged from solid, crystalline ice. She raised her right hand toward the stadium ceiling.

  The air pressure dropped drastically. Moisture rapidly condensed above her raised palm, freezing and expanding until a jagged gcier over thirty feet wide hovered ominously in the sky.

  "Gcial Impact!" Grusha announced coldly.

  She dropped her hand. The massive chunk of ice plummeted like an anvil. It crashed directly onto the trapped Tyrantrum. The sheer weight of the gcier pulverized the beast, shattering the surrounding permafrost into a million glittering shards.

  When the freezing dust finally settled, there was absolutely nothing left of the Tyrantrum but a fttened crater.

  Grusha slowly floated down, her ice wings dissolving into mist as her boots touched the concrete.

  "Is it really over this time?" Anabel asked, her heart hammering against her ribs.

  "Yes," Lusamine confirmed with a nod. She stood up, motioning for Anabel to follow her down the concrete stairs toward the arena floor.

  They reached the battlefield just as Nemona was sitting up. She dusted off her uniform, looking entirely uninjured but incredibly frustrated.

  "Man!" Nemona compined, crossing her arms with an angry pout. "I almost had him! I was so unbelievably close to finishing it myself!"

  Lusamine offered her a hand, pulling the younger girl to her feet. "You did incredibly well, Nemona. But it is still very hard to maintain your transformation over an extended period. The more powerful the cosmic attack, the less control you have over your stamina drain. Do not worry about it. As you continue to test your limits, you will gain better control. I am absolutely sure that Landon would have been impressed by that strike."

  Grusha walked over, patting Nemona on the shoulder. "Grusha! Grusha Grusha."

  Nemona sighed, a smile finally breaking through her frustration. "Yeah, you are right. It was still a fantastic battle. I haven't had that much fun in months!"

  Anabel stood a few feet away, watching the easy camaraderie between the three women. She crossed her arms, her investigative paranoia returning in full force.

  "Is it really that great?" Anabel asked abruptly.

  The three women turned to look at her.

  "Is what great?" Nemona asked, tilting her head.

  "Sharing a single man," Anabel eborated, her voice thick with skepticism. "Even if you gain these impossible abilities, is sacrificing your independence really worth it?"

  "Yes," Nemona answered instantly. "It is entirely worth it. The freedom he gives us is incredible, and the sex is fantastic."

  Grusha grinned behind her scarf, nodding in enthusiastic agreement.

  Anabel frowned, clearly repulsed by the casual honesty. "No, that doesn't matter. There are other things far more important to consider. Like the sheer danger this lifestyle puts you all in! You know that there are powerful syndicates actively hunting him, right? And I am not just talking about the dimensional anomalies you call Endbringers. There are radical groups like Team Psma and Team Rocket that desperately want to capture Landon to weaponize him. That target on his back extends directly to you."

  Anabel stepped closer, her tone lecturing. "Can you honestly tell me that you are fully prepared for the kind of brutal war this is going to start? Landon is only one person. He already has entirely too many enemies. He cannot protect you from an army."

  Grusha snorted loudly. She crossed her arms, gring at the Interpol agent.

  "You are a fool," Grusha stated bluntly. "You don't understand our dynamic, and neither do the other politicians on the surface. You all are just a bunch of blind idiots staring at a spreadsheet. Landon would willingly give his life to protect any one of us. He has stuck his neck out countless times to save people, only to be repaid with baseless accusations, rude comments, and institutional hatred. Landon has absolutely no need to expin his methods to you or anyone else. And it is not like we are ignorant of the threat. We know we are being hunted."

  Grusha stepped forward, poking Anabel firmly in the chest. "No one asked you to join our sanctuary. All you really need to understand is that we all genuinely love our lives now. I honestly thought my entire life was over before he found me. I thought I would never be able to enjoy the thrill of snowboarding again because of my injuries. Thanks to Landon, I can now do things I would have never dreamed possible. The others feel the exact same way."

  "This isn't the first time that someone has made threats or tried to harm him," Lusamine added smoothly, stepping up beside Grusha. "I think it is incredibly safe to say that he is quite capable of protecting us. And he knows perfectly well that we would defend him with our lives, just as we are right now."

  Lusamine let out a soft sigh, her expression softening slightly. "I do understand your logistical concern, Anabel. We do know the risks involved. But there are much deeper reasons for us staying than just the physical benefits of the System."

  "And what exactly are those reasons?" Anabel demanded.

  Lusamine and Grusha looked at each other. They shared a knowing smile before they both started ughing softly.

  "It is not something you can just expin on a whiteboard," Nemona said, stepping forward. "It is just a feeling."

  Anabel was entirely confused, and her frustration was rapidly boiling over. As an investigator, she hated variables she couldn't quantify. "Are you seriously implying that he is using some sort of pheromonal mind control on you?"

  "Is that really your honest assessment?" Nemona countered, her tone sharpening. "Sure, I know there is something unnaturally attractive about his energy. But I like him because he always tries his absolute best. He refuses to give up. His dreams and his unyielding passion are inspiring. If there is something more supernatural to his attraction, then I honestly do not care. I would rather live a short, thrilling life in the palm of his hand than live a long, boring life chained to someone else's expectations."

  Nemona stepped right into Anabel's personal space, looking the older woman dead in the eye. "We don't need to justify ourselves to you. But if you are really this worried about his intentions, then you should just talk to him yourself."

  Anabel felt like she had just been punched in the gut. She stumbled back a step. "He doesn't love you," she fired back defensively. "He might care about your combat utility, but genuine love takes time to build."

  Nemona offered her a sickeningly sweet, pitying smile. "You really don't know him very well, do you? Time has absolutely nothing to do with connection. That is the real reason why you are so unbelievably mad right now, isn't it?"

  Anabel's eyes widened. Her jaw dropped slightly. She couldn't believe the sheer audacity of this teenager. The psychological blow hit far too close to her own isoted, career-driven life. She was forced to look away, unable to maintain eye contact.

  "If you can't face the reality of the situation, then just stay out of our way," Grusha warned, putting a hand on her hip. "Landon isn't hurting anyone out there, unless they absolutely deserve it!"

  "That is right!" Nemona agreed fiercely.

  Before Anabel could formute a response, a loud, piercing ringing sound suddenly echoed through the concrete stadium.

  Everyone jumped, spinning toward the source of the noise.

  Landon stood near the edge of the crater. He had just materialized from a fsh of light. He held a glowing smartphone in his hand, and a deeply concerned expression was etched across his face.