Back in the city, though Chris had just torn through the skies and wrecked a whole swarm of horrors, the damage had already been done. The city's defenders were bleeding out, struggling just to hold their ground.
Dylan's squad had been hammered—just like the main battlefield. Out of the fifteen students assigned to protect the civilians and act as reserves, only five remained. Ten were already sprawled across the streets, their broken bodies lying in crimson puddles, faces twisted in disbelief.
Dylan, Ariana, the ginger-haired girl, and two battered boys were all that was left, still fighting like cornered wolves to defend the city's heart.
Before Chris had swooped in like a storm to cut down the bulk of the horrors, several Vyraxes and Ravagers had already breached the perimeter. The aftermath was grim—civilians ripped apart in the chaos, students crushed or torn to shreds before they could even react.