Though cryptic, Ava uood immediately. Her grip on the trols tightened, and the cold fme of vengeance ignited in her eyes. "Thank you, Zack," she whispered, her voice softening for the first time.

  Zaded the call and turoward the Apex suit, now fully reloaded and armed. As he prepared to leave, Annie appeared from a side b, fnked by her Tarantu unit. "Brother, I’m ing with you," she said firmly.

  "You know what I’m about to do?" Zack asked, his voice as calm as a quiet sea before a storm.

  Annie nodded, her small face serious. "Yoing to kill someone."

  "That’s right."

  Annie’s gaze didn’t waver. "Your enemy is my enemy."

  Zack studied her for a moment before nodding. "Alright. Get on the phe engine roared to life as Zack lifted off. H in midair, he watched as meical beasts from across NYC City began to verge. They streamed out of streets and alleys, returning to the Mansion. Eae ehe Avalon’s , folding itself ly to minimize space.Despite their pact design, there were simply too many. One Avalon couldn’t hold them all.

  "Sir, the third Avalon is operational," Ego reported.

  "It’s inplete," Zack said.

  "Only sedary systems like sers and radar shields are missing," Ego crified. "The main body is fully funal."

  "Perfect. Redirect the overflow units to the third Avalon."

  As Zack issued his orders, he engaged his thrusters at full power. The Apex rocketed into the sky, leaving a sharp soni in its wake.

  Onboard the Avalon, Ava steadied her trembling hands. Her cold, calcuted mind burned with the memory of betrayal. She tightened her grip on the trols, her destination clear. "Let’s see how he hahis gift," she murmured, her lips curling into a determined smile.

  Meanwhile the atmosphere in the and room of Caribbean base turense. Silence fell over the room as all eyes turo the three leaders. “We uimated them,” Jock said grimly, his tone heavy with frustration. The loss of two F-15 fighter jets, destroyed without even putting up a fight, was a clear sign that their oppo wasn’t as simple as they had assumed.

  “So what?” Navas scoffed, leaning ba his chair. “Worst-case sario? They blow up the city.” His words dripped with disdain. He couldn’t believe a small base, thousands of miles away, would dare to act against them. To him, Zack’s threats were nothing but empty bluster.

  “Less than 200 people in that base,” Navas tinued, sneering. “What could they possibly do to us?”

  Kshatti, the oldest and most cautious of the three, frowned. “Don’t fet the satellite footage,” he said, his voice calm but firm. “That small base you’re mog has ons we’ve never even dreamed of. What if they bring one of those here and drop it on us?”

  Navas rolled his eyes. “First, they he guts to e this far. And even if they do, do you think our anti-aircraft systems are just for show?” His fideemmed from the formidable defense systems at Caribbean base.

  “This isn’t something we afford to take lightly,” Joterjected, his voice cutting through the argument. The loss of their fighters had forced him to resider their position. “We’re dealing with something we don’t fully uand. Our satellites ’t even give us a clear picture of their aircraft, and Mach 4.8... I ’t think of anything that flies that fast.”

  He paused, his expression growing more serious. “The F-15 might not be cutting-edge, but it’s still a feion fighter. Supersonic. Top speed, Mach 2.5. Yet, it didn’t stand a ce.” He straightened up and issued a string of ands. “Keep the radar on at all times, no matter the power cost. All pilots, even the ones with minimal flight experieneed to be on standby. Prepare for bat. We ’t afford any mistakes.”

  While Jock was busy anizing their defenses, Zack was already far ahead. Traveling at Mach 4.5 in his Mark3-7 suit, he had crossed multiple provinces and roag the border. He had eveakewo Avalons carrying meical beasts that had set out hours earlier.

  “Sir, the LSI satellite is in position. The images are ing in now,” Ego’s voice chimed in Zack’s helmet. A high-altitude view of Caribbean base appeared on his HUD.

  The base was more than just a military instaltion. Around it sprawled a rge residential area made up of tents and makeshift shelters, housing at least 30,000 to 50,000 survivors. Encirg this was a massive wall several meters high, made from crete, steel ptes, and scrap vehicles. Armed guards patrolled the perimeter, and mae guns were statio regur intervals. Outside the walls, tanks and armored vehicles stood ready.

  “No wohese idiots mao build a rge base,” Zack muttered coldly, taking in the se. “They’ve been pying with their daddy’s leftovers.” The military base at the heart of the pound, with its intact runway, had clearly once beloo army.

  Zack’s eyes hardened as he surveyed the base o time before switg off the satellite feed. Accelerating to full speed, he streaked toward Caribbean base in a straight line, without radar shielding, making no effort to hide his approach.

  “Leader! Radar just picked up a fast-moving object! Speed estimated at Mach 4.5!” A soldier’s urgent voice broke through the and room’s tension.

  Jock’s face turned grim. “He’s ing.”

  Navas, however, looked baffled. “He actually dares to show up?” His earlier bravado faltered slightly, though he tried to mask it with a sneer. “No matter. Once he’s here, I’ll crush his skull and feed it to the dogs.”

  “You’ve itted sins even Navas won’t five,” Kshatti murmured, shaking his head. He knew Navas wasn’t joking—this madman erfectly capable of following through on his gruesome threats.

  “Enough talking!” Jock barked. “Clear the runway a all pilots in the air now! Do not let him get within ten kilometers of the base!”

  Caribbean base erupted into activity. Pilots scrambled to their pnes, many of them inexperienced but desperate to follow orders. Fighter jets began to taxi down the runway oer aheir engines r. However, the chaos led to mistakes. One F-15, piloted by an overzealous rookie, failed to pull up in time and smmed into a mppost at the end of the runway.

  The explosion was deafening. Fmes and debris scattered across the airstrip as ground crews hurried to clear the wreckage.

  “Leave him!” Jock shouted. “Get the pnes off the ground! Now!”

  Despite the frenzy, Zack’s pace didn’t waver. No one cared whether the pilot had survived or not. Under Jock's orders, the surrounding soldiers quickly began clearing debris off the runway, allowing the remaining fighter po take off.

  After a failed takeoff that ended in disaster, the rest of the squadron mao lift off without any further is. The dozen or so remaining fighter pnes performed much better this time. While a few still wobbled in the air like clumsy birds, they all eventually stabilized. None of them replicated the embarrassing se from earlier with the inexperienced Ah San pilot.

  In total, there were een fighters in the air. Most were cutting-edge models—F-15s and F-22s—but there were also two older Su-30s. Despite their advaeology, the pilots’ skills were wildly insistent.