The Blight's Counter-Attack

Kenji stood by the vault's main blast door. His hand lay on the cold steel, feeling the faint vibrations from the city above.

His System made a constant, annoying hum. The Corruption Influence meter glowed a steady, irritating red.

He could almost feel the city groaning, like a twisted heart ready to beat with revenge.

"He's coming," Kenji muttered, his voice a low growl. "He always does."

Kaito, hunched over his console, slammed a frustrated fist onto the sparking keyboard.

"Incoming! Massive Blight wave detected! They're hitting the Southern Sector! And… something bigger is heading for the vault! He's not happy, guys. Not happy at all! Their energy signatures are spiking! I'm talking planetary-level tantrum here!"

His voice was tight, a frantic energy in his words, his usual humor replaced by stark alarm.

Hana's voice, sharp and clear, cut through the comms.

"Everyone, battle stations! Southern Sector teams, hold the line! Vault perimeter, lock it down! This is it. Our first real test. Kenji, Elara and Kaito hold the main entrance! We can't afford a breach here!"

Her voice was crisp, cutting through the rising tension, a commander in her element.

The ground shuddered. A deep, growling roar came from outside.

Then, there was a horrible sound of metal ripping and concrete breaking.

A new type of Blight-construct, the Siege-Blight, crashed into the outer wall of the vault.

This huge beast, with many limbs and made of tough blight and sharp bone, shook the foundations of their sanctuary.

"They're here!"

Elara shouted, her Lumina light flaring. It cast sharp, dancing shadows on the faces of the Resistance fighters. They scrambled into defensive positions. Her eyes were wide with grim resolve.

"That's a Siege-Blight! Its attacks are concentrated!"

Kenji plunged forward, Shadowfang drawn, a dark blur against the approaching horror.

He struck the Siege-Blight's first huge limb with a strong Dark Slash.

The blade sank deep into the tough blight. The creature roared, its multi-faceted eyes glowing with malevolent intent.

He pushed with all his strength, feeling the Heart of the Eclipse surge. It was a terrifying echo of the monster in front of him.

His Corruption Influence meter flatlined, then flared a furious, alarming red. Too much. Pushing too far.

He battled the sneaky whispers that tried to invade his mind. They promised ultimate power if he just let go.

"Not… losing… control!"

He ground out through clenched teeth, sweat dripping down his face. He fought both the external monster and the internal one.

Meanwhile, Kaito was a blur of frantic activity behind a reinforced energy shield.

"They're bypassing the ventilation shafts! Sealing off section B-7! My power cells are dropping fast! This is insane! They're like a living tide!"

He slammed his fist on a sparking panel. He tried to make it respond. Then, he rerouted power from non-essential systems to strengthen the blast doors.

His hands moved with desperate speed, overriding corrupted lockouts, deploying emergency countermeasures.

"Automated turrets online! Firing solution acquired! Hold them off, Kenji! Elara, I need a power boost on this shield!"

Elara, her breathing ragged, her light a defiant beacon, was everywhere at once. A swarm of quick Swarm-Blights tried to overwhelm a choke point.

Elara responded with a sweeping Lumina Wave. It confused them and gave the Resistance fighters a few vital seconds to fight back.

"The pressure… It's immense! My light is barely holding! Kaito, more power to the outer defenses! Kenji, don't let them overwhelm that breach!"

Her voice was strained, but unwavering, a testament to her unbreakable spirit.

Outside, the Southern Sector teams were fighting a desperate, losing battle. Hana's voice crackled over the comms, grim and resolute.

"Alpha team is falling back! Gamma is taking heavy casualties! They're pushing with new Corrupted Commanders! This isn't just a retaliation, it's a full-scale purge!"

The vault's main blast door groaned as the Siege-Blight attacked. Cracks spread like spiderwebs across its massive surface.

Kenji pushed through a fresh wave of pain. Suddenly, a sharp image flashed in his mind: a vast, cold eye, judging and mocking his struggle. Noxius. He was here. He was watching.

With a fierce roar, Kenji charged at the Siege-Blight again. He didn't hold back; it was pure, raw fury.

He unleashed the full power of the Heart of the Eclipse. A terrifying Dark Nova erupted. It was a swirling vortex of destructive energy that turned the Siege-Blight to ash.

His body protested.

The Shadow Brand burned, seeming to tear itself from his arm. He dropped to one knee, gasping for air, the battle within as fierce as the one outside.

Kaito, seeing the devastation, let out a choked sound.

"He's… he's gone full meltdown mode! But it worked! The Siege-Blight is down! Quick, Kenji, fall back! That was too much!"

He pulled up a monitor, his face pale.

"The Southern Sector... they're stabilizing, but they've lost too much ground. Hana is ordering a tactical retreat to secondary positions."

Elara hurried to Kenji. Her hand hovered near his shoulder, and her brow was furrowed with worry. She felt the wild energy coming from him.

He was walking a dangerously thin line.

"Are you alright? That was… immense."

Kenji pushed himself up and shook his head. He tried to clear the echoes of Noxius's presence from his mind.

His chest heaved, his muscles screaming, but his eyes were hard. He glanced at the smoking crater where the Siege-Blight used to be.

Then, he looked at the damaged blast door, which groaned as it barely held on.

Casualties were being reported from the Southern Sector, a grim tally. This was a hold, not a victory.

Hana's voice crackled over the comms again, closer this time, as she and her battered teams fell back into the vault.

"The attack has been contained. Casualties are high. We lost Sector 7, temporarily. Kaito, assess structural integrity. Elara, triage the wounded. Kenji… you pushed too hard."

Her voice was strong, but her eyes showed a mix of worry and fear when she looked at him. She knew the cost.

Kenji glanced at the worn faces of the Resistance fighters. Then, he looked at the bright, threatening red of his Corruption Influence meter.

He felt exhausted, raw, but beneath it all, a cold, hard resolve.

He lifted Shadowfang. Its dark blade shone in the light of the emergency lights in their damaged sanctuary.

"He wanted to break us. He wanted to wipe us out. He failed."

His voice was hoarse, but filled with defiance.

"This isn't over. Not by a long shot. We hold this ground. We rebuild. And we hit him again."