The air in the foyer turned frigid as the second wave of attackers touched down, their boots clicking rhythmically against the stone floor like a funeral march.
Unlike the first team, these figures moved with a predatory, synchronized grace that suggested they were not merely hired guns, but something engineered for this specific hunt.
Damien didn't wait for them to initiate contact. Still bleeding from his shoulder, he shifted his weight, his human hands morphing back into razor-sharp claws as he lunged at the lead mercenary of the new squad. The clash of bone against alloy rang out like a hammer on an anvil, sending a shockwave through the room.
"Bella, get behind the partition!" Damien roared, his voice thick with the strain of holding his shift.
Bella, still reeling from the sudden
