Operation Successful

I forced my trembling hand into my pocket, clutching the transmitter. “We got him,” I rasped.

“Roger,” Perla’s cold, emotionless reply crackled back through the device. Oxygen had stripped her of any outward excitement, but her clinical detachment made the moment feel even heavier.

“Everyone still alive...?” I asked, each word punctuated by a sharp intake of breath as pain coursed through my battered body.

The only response was the ragged symphony of labored breaths and quiet groans. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to confirm that, somehow, we had all survived.

Toren’s arm—or what was left of it—was a gruesome sight. Blood seeped from the mangled stump, pooling on the dry ground beneath him. Any normal person would have succumbed to shock, but Toren was cut from a different cloth.

Liora, trembling but resolute, tore a strip from her sleeve and crawled toward him. He glared at her with his usual ferocity, but the pain had dulled his sharp edges. Without a word, he relented, resting his head on the ground as she wrapped the makeshift bandage around his wound.

Nearby, Kael let out a bloodied laugh, his voice crackling with delirium. “What a beautiful, terrifying thing it was...” he wheezed, his gaze fixed on the glowing core of the Yggdrasil.

Then we heard it—quick, urgent footsteps cutting through the silence.

Before anyone could react, Serena darted forward, clutching her ruined eye with one hand while the other snatched the core with a swift, practiced motion. Without hesitation, she leapt onto her airboard, the engine roaring to life as she sped away toward the ship.

“That fucking bitch!” Toren roared. He shoved Liora aside with his hand, ignoring her protests as he scrambled onto his airboard. His face twisted into a mask of rage, he tore after Serena, the glowing trail of her flight illuminating his path.

Kael, bloodied from head to toe, staggered to his feet. His body screamed for rest, but adrenaline coursed through him like a drug. With a guttural grunt, he grabbed his airboard and joined the pursuit, the sound of his board kicking up dust in his wake.

“You stupid morons!” Liora screamed, her voice cracking with raw emotion. Her face, ghostly pale, was a canvas of disbelief and exhaustion. “I won’t let anyone have it!”

Planting my feet on my airboard, I followed them, realizing this wasn’t a hunt anymore—it was a battle royale.

And the prize was the heart of the Alpha Biocore.

The chase began and Serena shot forward like a comet. Her airboard wove erratically as she kicked up debris, the green glow from the core pulsing in rhythm with her rapid breaths. Behind her, Toren’s airboard roared, his laseraxe gripped tightly in his good hand.

“I’ll gut you!” Toren bellowed, closing the gap with terrifying speed, leaning low on his board as he swung his axe in a wide arc. The blade crackled with energy, slicing through the air just inches from Serena’s side. She swerved sharply, her board tilting dangerously as the edge of his attack grazed her coat, leaving a seared line.

“Too slow, cripple!” Serena snapped as she twisted her airboard, kicking a cloud of dust into his face.

Toren snarled but didn’t falter. Instead, he kicked his board into overdrive, barreling forward and slamming into her side. Serena yelped as the impact sent her spinning, the core slipping from her grasp and tumbling through the air.

Kael surged ahead, his battered frame somehow still holding together. He reached out, his fingers brushing the core as it fell, but he managed to seize it. For a heartbeat, the light reflected off his bruised and bloodied face, casting a haunting glow over his defiant grin. But his triumph was short-lived.

Toren crashed into him like a bull, his axe swinging down in a brutal strike. Kael barely blocked it with his own blade, the two laseraxes sparking violently as they clashed. The force sent the core spinning from Kael’s grip once more.

I struggled to keep up with them and every time I pushed myself to move, my body betrayed me.

“You’re not strong enough to carry this burden!” Toren snarled, pushing Kael back with raw strength. Kael stumbled, his injuries catching up to him, but not before he kicked the core toward Liora, who was weaving her airboard through the chaos.

Liora lunged, snatching the core midair. Her hands shook as she clasped it tightly, but her resolve hardened as she turned toward the ship.

“I’ll fix everything!” she shouted, her voice breaking mid-sentence as a violent cough wracked her body, splattering blood onto the edge of her airboard.

Serena roared back into the fray, swaying her laseraxe at Liora. The blade crackled, carving a shallow slice across Liora’s arm. Liora cried out, nearly losing her balance, but she held onto the core with desperate determination.

“You think you deserve it more than I do?” Serena spat, lunging for her again. This time, her swing was met by Liora’s own laseraxe.

Toren slammed into both of them, his airboard sending up a cloud of debris as he swung his axe wide. The sheer force of his attack broke their lock, and the core slipped from Liora’s weakened grasp. It bounced on the ground, glowing faintly, before Serena dove after it.

Before she could reach it, Kael appeared like a ghost, his injuries turning his movements into a grim dance of resilience. He swung his laseraxe with deadly precision, aiming not at Serena but at her airboard. The blade sliced through one of its propulsion fins, sending Serena spiraling into the ground.

“You bastard!” she screamed, clutching her damaged airboard as Kael snatched the core. He barely had a second to hold it before Toren came crashing in, his rage blinding him as he swung his axe with reckless abandon.

Kael deflected the blow, but his strength faltered, his injuries dragging him down. Toren’s second strike knocked the axe from his grip, sending it clattering to the ground. The core slipped from Kael’s fingers, bouncing once before rolling toward me.

I didn’t hesitate.

With a roar, I leaned into my airboard, pain searing through my old bones as I surged forward. The core was within reach, its glow washing over me as my fingers closed around its smooth, warm surface.

I skidded to a stop at the base of the ship’s ramp, panting heavily as I turned to face the others. My airboard hissed beneath me, the weight of the moment pressing down like a leaden cloak.

“Enough!” I shouted, raising the core high.

The others froze mid-motion. Toren’s good hand clenched his axe, his eyes wild with fury. Serena struggled to her feet, her face twisted in pain and defiance. Liora gripped her wounded arm, her airboard hovering uncertainly, while Kael swayed on his feet, barely upright.

“This ends now!” I said firmly, my voice steady despite the chaos that still churned within me. “I’m on the ship. I have the core. And unless you all want to be left behind, you’ll stop this madness and come aboard.”

One by one, they lowered their airboards and limped toward the ship, their expressions a mix of exhaustion, anger, and reluctant surrender.

The battle for the core was over.

“Don’t worry, guys. I’ll make sure to fix all of our—” The words caught in my throat as I felt a slight push against my back. Off balance, I stumbled forward, my footing lost.

It could only have been one person.

As I was falling, Perla’s cold, calculated voice reached me. “Operation: Defects, successful.”

I caught a fleeting glimpse of her snatching the core from my hands before the iron door of the ship slammed shut.

It was at that moment I realized that she never removed her Kyslicium mask.

This had been her plan all along.

The vessel lifted off, engines flaring, leaving us behind without hesitation. The ship transformed mid-ascent, diving into the water as a submarine and vanishing in the depths of the ocean.

I hit the ground with a heavy thud, the impact rattling through my old bones. Around me, the others remained motionless, their expressions locked in a silent tableau of betrayal. None of us had the strength to move, let alone the means to chase her—especially with the ocean standing as an impossible barrier.

I couldn’t tell if Perla acted on her own or followed my great-great-grandfather’s orders. Either way, the outcome remained the same. Whether the Association intended to dispose of us or not, the undeniable truth was that they had guided and safeguarded humanity for centuries—and they would continue to shape its future.

Liora collapsed into tears, her sobs breaking the oppressive silence. Serena let out a guttural scream, a sound of raw anger and despair. Toren drove his fist into the ground repeatedly, each impact kicking up small clouds of dust. Kael simply fell flat on his back, utterly drained, teetering on the edge of consciousness.

And me?

I couldn’t help but wonder what would claim our lives first—the overexposure to oxygen, the lack of food, our battle-worn injuries, or the inevitable infighting.

But… I felt relieved.

Perla’s emotionless state had allowed her to do what none of us could—analyze the situation without sentiment. The solution was clear. By abandoning us and taking the Yggdrasil core for the Association, she had removed the need for us broken relics. With the core’s infinite potential for Kyslicium production, society no longer needed Wood Hunters.

Our sacrifice would ensure the continuation of the harmonious world humanity had built.

And… I was fine with that.

Kyslicium: END