Ali wiped sweat from his brow as he shoved the last captured convict into the police van. The officers nodded their thanks, but he was already turning away, he needed to find Hadi. The prison yard stood eerily quiet now, the battle with the ghoul long over. But Hadi wasn't among the cleanup crews. Ali's brows furrowed. He should've been back by now. A sudden burst of gunfire cracked through nearby streets. Ali's head snapped toward the sound. Without hesitation, he sprinted toward it, his enhanced armor humming to life. He ducked behind a crumbling storefront as bullets whizzed past, two groups exchanging fire in the narrow alley ahead. Then he saw him. Hadi, pinned behind an overturned cart, returned precise shots between reloads. Three armed criminals had him cornered, their rifles spraying bullets relentlessly. Ali smirked. Time to even the odds. His armor's boosters engaged as he scaled the building beside him in three powerful leaps. From the rooftop, the batt

Ali groaned as consciousness returned to him in waves. His head throbbed, his vision blurred, and his entire body ached. The cold, rough stone beneath him sent a shiver through his bones as he slowly realized he was lying on the floor of a dark cell. His wrists and ankles were bound tightly with thick, reinforced restraints, the kind used for high-security prisoners. "Where am I?" He wondered. He tried to recall what had happened. The fight in the tunnel, the ghouls, the massive one grabbing him from behind, then darkness. He had no memory of being transported here, wherever here was. As he struggled against the restraints, another realization struck him like a physical blow. "My armor is gone!" That was impossible. His armor couldn’t be removed without the deactivation code, unless someone had forced it off him while he was unconscious. But even then, the system should have triggered a security lock. The thought sent a spike of unease through him. Before he could dwell

Laith pressed himself against the cold stone, watching the masked guard fumble with the ring of keys. The man's breathing was loud in the underground silence, his boots scuffing against the uneven ground as he muttered curses under his breath about "having to babysit prisoners." Every word made Laith's grip tighten on the hilt of his blade. He waited until the guard turned his back completely, distracted by something in his pocket. Then he moved. Like a shadow given form, Laith surged forward. His left arm snaked around the guard's throat in a brutal chokehold, cutting off any sound before it could escape. The man thrashed, his hands clawing at Laith's arm, but the younger knight drove a knee into his spine, bending him backward. With his free hand, Laith delivered a crushing punch to the guard's temple. The man was knocked out instantly. "Should've paid attention to your surroundings," Laith muttered, lowering the unconscious body to the ground. His fingers quickly found the

The massive ghoul, a grotesque hybrid of wolf and bear loomed over Laith, its rancid breath washing over him in hot waves. Laith had given it a nickname "Stinky Wolf-Bear" in his head, partly to calm his nerves, partly because the damn thing really smelled like rotten meat and garbage. "Come on, you overgrown trash," Laith taunted, wiping blood from his split lip. "Is that all you've got?" The ghoul's eyes narrowed, as if it understood the insult. With a roar that shook dust from the tunnel walls, it charged, its enormous claws swiping through the air. Laith barely dodged the first strike, rolling to the side as stone shattered where he'd stood moments before. The second swipe came faster, he ducked, feeling the wind of its passing ruffle his hair. "Missed again!" he shouted, adrenaline surging through his veins. Seeing an opening, he leaped forward, his sword flashing in a wide arc aimed straight for the creature's face. The ghoul reacted with terrifying speed, raising i

The hospital corridor was quiet as Hadi stepped out of Ali's room, his phone buzzing in his pocket. He glanced at the screen, it was Hazim calling. He answered quietly. "Hazim." "We have a problem," Hazim's voice was tense. "Laith just told me something about Yazan. He saw him working with the enemy." After a few seconds Hadi exhaled and quietly answered. "I'm not surprised." A pause, then Hazim's voice came back. "You knew?" "Not for certain," Hadi admitted. "But I had suspicions. Yazan's behavior has been off for weeks. I've been watching him." Hazim's tone darkened. "Then why didn't you say anything?" "Suspicion isn't proof," Hadi countered. "We don't act on hunches. But now that we have confirmation, we'll deal with him properly." "I'll handle it myself," Hazim growled. "No," Hadi said firmly. "First we restore order. The prisoners need securing, the police need our support. We can't afford chaos in our ranks now. We act normal, watch him, and when the ti