The transport arrived at the valley precisely on schedule.
Raze observed from a concealed position high on the cliff face, using enhanced senses to assess the convoy. Six vehicles — the containment transport in the center, surrounded by escort units carrying the artificial aberrant security. The suppression vehicle at the rear pulsed with mana-dampening energy.
The Alpha's intelligence had been accurate. This was a serious operation, built to move high-value cargo through hostile territory without loss.
Time to prove the intelligence had a gap.
The beast instinct stirred within the unity integration, offering tactical observations. *The escort pattern has overlapping coverage. The suppression field creates a protective bubble. But they can't cover everything.*
*Show me.*
*The cliff face. They're watching horizontal approaches, but they haven't secured vertical. The dimensional abilities work regardless of orientation.*
The insight was useful. Normal infiltrators would approach from ground level, where the escort pattern concentrated its attention. Dimensional Slip could bring him down from above, bypassing the coverage entirely.
Raze moved into position.
---
The descent was more challenging than expected.
Dimensional Slip functioned differently against moving targets — the dimensional offset had to account for the transport's velocity, timing the phase to emerge inside the moving vehicle rather than where it had been moments before.
The beast instinct calculated. Raze executed.
He emerged inside the containment transport, surrounded by security equipment and the S-rank core's specialized housing. The containment unit was massive — larger than the intelligence suggested, designed with redundancy that made quick extraction impossible.
Consumption on-site, then. The faster approach.
The housing had security locks that responded to dimensional interference — Raze felt them activate as his presence registered. He had seconds before alarms triggered.
The beast instinct surged forward, not taking control but providing speed. His hands found the housing's access panels. Reality Anchor prevented the dimensional countermeasures from affecting him. His enhanced strength tore through security barriers designed for conventional attackers.
The S-rank core revealed itself.
It was beautiful. A crystalline structure that hummed with power exceeding anything Raze had encountered. The mana radiating from it was almost physical — a weight that pressed against his senses, promising transformation beyond his current understanding.
The hunger roared with desire.
*Take it. Consume. Become.*
He reached for the core.
An alarm shrieked through the transport. The escort vehicles responded immediately — artificial aberrants deploying, suppression field extending from the rear vehicle. The convoy was stopping, security converging on his position.
No time for careful extraction. He grabbed the core and Dimensional Slipped through the transport's hull, emerging on the cliff face above the road.
The core burned in his hands. The containment had been specifically designed to prevent consumption — removing it had triggered something in the crystalline structure, making it resist integration.
"Come on," Raze growled, forcing the hunger forward. "We can do this."
The beast instinct joined the effort. Unity working toward a common goal. Together, they pushed against the core's resistance.
It began to yield.
---
The artificial aberrants reached the cliff face faster than Raze anticipated.
They scaled the rock with abilities that shouldn't have been possible for engineered beings — the replication program had clearly advanced since his last encounter. Their coordination was tighter, their response times improved.
And one of them was different from the others.
Larger. More powerful. Moving with authority that suggested command function rather than standard deployment.
**[THREAT DETECTED: ARTIFICIAL ABERRANT — PROTOTYPE DESIGNATION]**
**[Estimated Rank: A+ (Approaching S)]**
**[WARNING: This entity possesses consumption capabilities]**
A Devour-type artificial. The replication program had achieved something significant — an engineered aberrant with the same core ability that defined natural development.
The prototype reached the cliff face ahead of the others, climbing toward Raze with purpose that suggested specific targeting.
"The core," it said, voice carrying the same mechanical evenness as other artificials. "Give it to me."
"I don't think I will."
"You cannot integrate S-rank. Your development is insufficient." The prototype continued climbing. "I was designed specifically for S-rank integration. The core belongs to me."
Designed for S-rank. The Association hadn't just been transporting the core — they'd been bringing it to their prototype, providing the power-up that would make their artificial aberrant program fully operational.
Raze had stumbled into something larger than a simple acquisition mission.
"If I can't integrate it, I'll destroy it. Neither of us gets what we want."
"That outcome is acceptable. S-rank denial serves our program's security." The prototype reached his level, standing on the cliff face with abilities that allowed vertical positioning. "But you won't destroy it. You can't. The hunger won't let you waste something this valuable."
The prototype was right. The hunger screamed at the idea of destroying an S-rank core. Even the beast instinct recoiled from the waste.
"Then we fight for it."
"That outcome is also acceptable."
The prototype attacked.
---
The combat was the most brutal of Raze's existence.
The prototype matched him capability for capability — strength, speed, dimensional awareness. It had been engineered to counter natural aberrants, designed with specific countermeasures for the abilities Raze possessed.
But it lacked the unity integration.
Its responses were coordinated but not creative. Its tactics were optimal but predictable. Where Raze's beast instinct contributed improvisation, the prototype followed programmed patterns.
The difference was enough.
Raze found gaps in its coverage. Exploited moments when its programming lagged behind adaptive response. The unity integration let him shift between human strategy and predator aggression, keeping the prototype off-balance.
He damaged it. Significantly. The prototype's engineered body showed strain that suggested approaching failure.
But the fight had cost him time.
The other artificial aberrants had reached the cliff face. They weren't as powerful as the prototype, but there were five of them, and they were surrounding his position.
And the S-rank core was still resisting integration. Still burning in his hands, demanding consumption he couldn't complete while fighting for his life.
*Make a choice*, the beast instinct urged. *Fight or consume. We cannot do both.*
"I can do both."
*Not against this opposition. They're too many, too coordinated. We need to—*
The prototype lunged. Not at Raze — at the core.
Its engineered hands found the crystalline structure, and suddenly the resistance Raze had been fighting shifted. The core responded to the prototype's touch, recognizing designed compatibility.
"No—"
The prototype began consuming the S-rank core.
Right in front of him. While he watched. While the other artificials held him in place with coordinated attacks that prevented intervention.
"This was always the plan," the prototype said, its voice distorting as S-rank power flooded its system. "Bait the natural aberrant. Let it do the dangerous extraction. Then take what it acquired."
Director Morrow's strategy. Use Raze's hunger against him. Let him think he was acquiring power, when really he was just the delivery mechanism.
The prototype finished integration. Its form expanded, changed, became something that exceeded A-rank designation.
And Raze was surrounded by five artificial aberrants with an S-rank commander.
No core gained. Mission failed. Survival now extremely unlikely.
The beast instinct roared with frustration. The hunger howled at the loss.
But the unity held. Even in failure, the integration remained stable.
That was something.
"Kill him," the prototype ordered. "He's served his purpose."
The artificials attacked.
