Survival against impossible odds required impossible choices.
The artificial aberrants attacked in coordination, each one covering the others' blind spots. The S-rank prototype watched from a distance, its newly integrated power still stabilizing. They were patient. Methodical. Designed to exhaust rather than overwhelm.
But Raze hadn't spent weeks in isolation learning unity integration to die in an ambush.
The beast instinct surged forward — not taking control, but offering everything it had. Speed. Aggression. The willingness to take damage that human caution would avoid.
Raze accepted the offering and used it.
Dimensional Slip carried him through the nearest artificial's guard. His hands found its core-equivalent — the engineered replacement that powered its function — and he ripped it free with strength that exceeded what his body should have possessed.
The artificial collapsed. One down.
The others adjusted, closing the gap he'd created. But the unity integration was faster. Human strategy identified vulnerabilities. Predator instinct exploited them without hesitation.
Second artificial fell to a Reality Anchor pulse that disrupted its dimensional processing. Third went down when Raze phased partially through its body, materializing inside its core-equivalent and forcing catastrophic failure.
Three dead. Two remaining. And the S-rank prototype was beginning to move.
"Impressive," the prototype said, its voice carrying new depth from the integration. "Your development exceeds our projections. Director Morrow will want to study you."
"Tell him I'm not interested."
The prototype accelerated toward him. S-rank speed. Power that exceeded anything Raze could match directly.
He didn't try to match it.
Dimensional Slip activated at maximum range — not toward the prototype, but away. Through the cliff face. Into the mountain itself. Earthmeld triggered simultaneously, his body phasing through solid rock as he fled deeper than conventional pursuit could follow.
The prototype's strike hit empty air.
---
The escape through the mountain took hours.
Raze moved through stone like a swimmer through murky water, navigating by Tremorsense and the faint mana signatures of underground spaces. The prototype tried to follow, but S-rank power didn't include earth-phase abilities. Eventually, its pursuit fell behind.
He emerged in a natural cavern system miles from the intercept site, alone, exhausted, and empty-handed.
The mission had failed. The S-rank core was gone, consumed by an artificial aberrant that now commanded power exceeding anything the Sanctuary could deploy. Director Morrow had used Raze's hunger against him, turning his greatest strength into a vulnerability.
The beast instinct offered no commentary. It was processing the loss, evaluating what had gone wrong, preparing for the next attempt.
Because there would be a next attempt. The hunger didn't accept failure.
*We learned*, it offered finally. *Their traps are sophisticated. We must be more cautious.*
"Caution isn't enough. We were careful. They were prepared."
*Then we become unpredictable. Change patterns they expect.*
The advice was sound, if frustrating. The Association had learned to anticipate aberrant tactics. Continuing to use the same approaches would continue to produce the same failures.
Something fundamental had to change.
---
Raze returned to the Sanctuary network through paths that avoided surveillance, arriving at the refugee camps two days after the failed mission.
The Alpha received his report with the measured calm it applied to everything.
"The S-rank core was acquired by their prototype. Director Morrow anticipated our interest and prepared accordingly." The golden eyes showed no accusation, only assessment. "You survived against an S-rank entity. That's notable."
"I ran. That's not notable."
"Running from impossible odds is wisdom, not failure. The mission's primary objective was denied, but the secondary objective — preventing Association access to the core — was also denied. A partial loss rather than total failure."
The perspective was practical. Cold. The kind of evaluation that treated every outcome as data rather than experience.
"The prototype consumed the core. They now have an S-rank artificial aberrant."
"One, yes. But producing more requires additional S-rank cores, which are rare. We've slowed their program even if we didn't stop it." The Alpha stood, pacing. "The real question is what happens next. You've proven the unity integration holds under extreme stress. That makes you viable for operations that were previously impossible."
"What kind of operations?"
"The kind that require someone who can survive what you just survived." The Alpha faced him directly. "We've been defensive since losing the hub. Rebuilding, hiding, trying to preserve what remains. That approach is failing. The Association is getting stronger while we get weaker."
"You want to change strategy."
"I want to eliminate the threat at its source. Director Morrow is the architect of the replication program. His removal would disrupt their operations for years, maybe permanently." The Alpha's smile was thin. "You've proven you can escape an S-rank. That makes you one of the few assets who might survive reaching Morrow."
An assassination mission. Not acquisition, not disruption. Elimination of the man who'd built the program that hunted their community.
"That's a significant escalation."
"The alternative is slow extinction. The replication program will produce more artificial aberrants. Eventually, they'll have enough to assault the network directly. We strike first, or we die waiting."
The logic was sound. But something in the proposal made Raze cautious.
"Why me specifically? Other aberrants have assassination experience."
"None with your combination of capabilities. Dimensional access to bypass security. Unity integration to maintain control under stress. And something else." The Alpha paused. "You have reason to want Morrow dead. The Daegu trap. The artificial aberrants. The entire system that's been hunting you. His elimination isn't just strategy — it's justice."
Justice. The word felt strange applied to killing. But the Alpha wasn't wrong about his motivations.
"Let me think about it."
"Take the time you need. When you're ready, we'll discuss specifics."
Raze left the briefing with the weight of a decision pressing down on him. Killing Morrow might protect the community. But it would also make him exactly what the Association claimed he was — a monster that needed to be eliminated.
The line between survival and monstrosity kept getting thinner.
