The ceiling of the underground bunker cracked open with a deafening roar, sending concrete chunks raining down around the Commander. He stumbled backward, raising his arms to shield his face as the bright violet light filled the dark room. The blue energy shield he had summoned flickered violently, struggling to hold against the raw power pouring out of Elena. "You cannot beat the core!" Elena's voice rang out, sharp and clear. "You built this machine to control people, but you forgot that machines always break in the end!" I did not waste a single second. While the Commander was busy trying to block Elena's attack, I threw my hands forward and sent a heavy wave of black shadow energy toward the steel bars trapping Evelyn. The dark smoke wrapped tightly around the thick iron