The air inside Xelthar's pound was thick with the metallic st of blood and burning circuits. Ethan and Lyra moved through the dim corridors, their steps calcuted and purposeful. Arms bred above, casting red lights that flickered like fmes across the metal walls. They had fought through yers of guards to reach this point, but the true test was just beginning.

  Ethan adjusted his helmet, fog as his HUD mapped the nearby rooms, showing clusters of movement arouhar's quarters. With every step forward, he could feel his senses sharpen, his reflexes honed from the ret training, guiding him through the motions with newfound precision.

  "Ready?" he asked, voice low and steady.

  Lyra nodded, her grip on her rifle firm, eyes sharp and alert. "Let's finish this."

  They turned a er, stepping into the dimly lit main corridor that led to Xelthar's inner sanctum. Several lieutenants guarded the path, eae heavily armed, their syndicate-issued armlinting dully uhe overhead lights. Ethan ted six of them, each statiorategically along the corridor, their stances rigid and alert.

  One lieutenant at the front caught sight of them, his eyes narrowing as he raised his rifle. "There they are! Take them down!"

  The guards opened fire, ahan moved without hesitation, dug into cover with fluid speed. His newly refined reflexes took uiding him as he assessed the tactical situation in mere seds.

  Lyra returned fire from behind him, her shots precise as she took down two guards in quick succession. "Cover me!" she called, pivoting to fnk a pair of lieutenants who had moved closer.

  Ethan moved out of cover, dodging a volley of bullets with instinctual precision. His psma dagger ignited in his hand, and he charged forward, slipping through the line of fire like a ghost. In a swift, calcuted motion, he drove the dagger into the first lieutenant's chest, twisting it to ensure a quick kill. The guard crumpled, ahan spun to deflect a blow from atacker.

  The lieutenant raised his rifle, but Ethan anticipated the move, his body moving faster than his mind could fully register. He sidestepped the gun's barrel, smming his elbow into the guard's throat, then followed with a strike to his midse, leaving him gasping for air before Ethan's dagger fihe job.

  Lyra had advao the far side of the corridor, engaging two guards who tried to fnk them. She moved with practiced efficy, her rifle firing in trolled bursts as she sidestepped their attacks. One guard lu her with a bde, but she parried the strike, bringing her on down on his wrist with a sharp crack that left him disarmed. A single shot to the chest ended his threat.

  Ethan turned just in time to see another lieutenant charging him, a bat baton raised high. He dodged to the side, his reflexes a fra of a sed faster, and tered with a powerful swipe of his dagger. The on sliced through the lieutenant's armor at the shoulder, the psma bde searing into flesh and bohe lieutenant howled, dropping his baton as Ethan finished him with a quick strike to the neck.

  "Ethan, up top!" Lyra's warning brought his attention to the small catwalk overhead, where two guards had taken positions and were now aiming down at them.

  He reacted instantly, pulling a small EMP grenade from his belt and tossing it with precision onto the ptform above. It detonated with a sharp burst, disabling their ons momentarily. In the few seds of disorientation that followed, Lyra lined up her shots, her rifle barking as she took out one guard after the other.

  As the st of the guards fell, the corridor fell into silence, punctuated only by the hum of the overhead lights and the distant bre of arms. Ethan sed their surroundings, his helmet's HUD firming that the area was clear.

  "Nice shooting," he said, giving Lyra a nod.

  She grinned, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Could say the same for you. Those reflexes of yours are getting sharper by the minute."

  They pressed on, moving deeper into the heart of Xelthar's pound. Each step brought them closer to his quarters, where they khe warlord would make his final stand. But as they advanced, muards appeared, a mix of elite soldiers and lower-ranking fighters who had rallied to defend their leader.

  "Looks like Xelthar's pulling out all the stops," Lyra muttered, eyeing the approag forces.

  "Let's give them something to remember," Ethan replied, his voice low and steady.

  The wave of guards charged, ons raised. Ethan was a blur of movement, weaving through the fray with lethal grace. His psma dagger fshed as he took down one guard after another, each strike precise and calcuted. His enhanced reflexes allowed him to anticipate their moves, his body reag almost instinctively to each threat.

  Lyra moved alongside him, c his fnk with her rifle as they worked in perfect sync. She fired in trolled bursts, each shot finding its mark as she took down guards who tried to close in ohan. When one mao get too close, she dropped her rifle and engaged him in hand-to-hand bat, her swift strikes taking him down before he could retaliate.

  Ethan took out a lieutenant with a brutal strike to the chest, then turo see Lyra grappling with anuard. She ducked under a punch, tering with a swift ko the guard's stomach before dispatg him with a quick shot to the head.

  They moved through the pound like a storm, dismantling each wave of guards with relentless precision. With each skirmish, Ethan's mastery over his abilities grew more evident. His movements were faster, his strikes harder, and his senses sharper. He could feel the improvements with every kill, his body adapting to the rhythm of bat in a way that felt almost supernatural.

  After what felt like ay of fighting, they had almost reached Xelthar's quarters. In front of them was a massive, reinforced barrier, fnked by two elite guards who looked far more prepared than the rest.

  Ethan g Lyra. "Ready for the st push?"

  She nodded, determination bzing in her eyes. "Let's end this."

  They moved together, charging at the guards with lethal i. One raised his on, but Ethan was faster, slipping past the barrel and driving his dagger into the guard's side. The psma bde sizzled as it cut through armor and flesh, and the guard fell with a strangled gasp.

  The sed guard turo fire at Lyra, but she was already moving, sidestepping his aim and bringing her rifle up in a smooth motion. She fired a single shot, the bullet pierg his helmet's visor and dropping him instantly.

  With the guards down, they turo the reinforced door. Lyra examihe trol panel, frowning. "This one's heavily secured. It'll take a mio break through."

  Ethan nodded, his senses on high alert as he watched the corridor behind them. He could feel the tension mounting, the anticipation of the final frontation building within him. They were close, just a few feet separated them from Xelthar.

  As Lyra worked on the panel, Etha a strange energy c through him, a mixture of adrenaline and something deeper, something powerful. His senses felt sharper than ever, his mind hoo a razor's edge.

  "Almost there," Lyra murmured, her fingers flying over the trols.

  Finally, with a soft beep, the door unlocked, sliding open to reveal the dimly lit corridor beyond. They stepped forward, ons at the ready, prepared for whatever awaited them inside.