Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner-Chapter 300: Commander’s duty 1

Back at the nexus arena, Commander Owen pushed through a debris-littered corridor, ears ringing from the explosions that had torn through the arena. Twisted metal beams jutted from shattered concrete walls. Emergency lights flickered, casting erratic shadows across the devastation. The stench of smoke, blood, and ozone hung thick in the air.

His uniform—torn and blood-spattered—clung to his massive frame. Each step left behind footprints in the dust and ash that coated the floor. The once-pristine Academy uniform now bore battle scars that matched his own—a split lip, a gash across his forehead that trickled blood into his right eye, and bruises blooming across his exposed forearms.

One would wonder who could have been so formidable to even lay a scratch on him. Well, the answer was right in front of him.

Ten meters ahead, Vice Commander Albright stood with his back to Owen, staring through a shattered window overlooking the arena floor below. Bodies of students and Purge operatives lay scattered across the combat area. The final tournament grounds—meant to showcase the Eastern Cardinal's brightest talents—had become a slaughterhouse.

"Albright," Owen called, his voice cutting through the distant sounds of combat. "Turn and face me."

Albright's shoulders tensed. Slowly, he turned. His uniform remained oddly pristine compared to Owen's battle-worn appearance. But this was because Owen had been fighting for the longest. A cruel smile twisted his thin lips.

"Commander," Albright replied, voice dripping with contempt. "Come to save your precious students? A bit late for that, wouldn't you say?"

Owen's eyes narrowed as he assessed his second-in-command. The man he'd trusted for years. The man who had helped him build Academy Twelve into the Eastern Cardinal's premier training facility.

"Why?" Owen asked simply. The single word carried the weight of betrayal.

Albright laughed, a hollow sound that echoed through the ruined corridor. "Why? You have the gall to ask me why?" His fingers twitched, small ripples of energy pulsing beneath his skin. "I've been loyal for twenty years, Owen. Twenty years in your shadow."

"This is about rank?" Owen's voice hardened. "You betrayed the Academy, the military—you betrayed humanity for a promotion?"

"Promotion?" Albright spat. "This was never about a simple promotion." His eyes darkened with rage. "It was about recognition. Respect. While you paraded around as the beloved Headmaster, I was left to deal with the overflow—the damaged goods, the rejects, the discipline cases who couldn't cut it."

A loud explosion from somewhere below shook dust from the ceiling. Neither man flinched.

"You were my Vice Commander," Owen said, taking a step forward. "My right hand."

"I was your janitor!" Albright roared, veins bulging at his temples. "I deserved that Headmaster position! I deserved to lead Academy Twelve! But no—the great Commander Owen, war hero, pride of the Eastern Cardinal, was given the reins while I was left to clean up after your messes."

Three students—first-years from their appearance in size and terrified look—scrambled behind a fallen support beam at the far end of the corridor. Owen tracked their movement without turning his head.

"Get to the evacuation point. Grey would see you make it out untouched," he ordered, voice cutting through their panic. "Now!"

The students hesitated for only a moment before sprinting away, disappearing around a corner.

Albright sneered. "Always the protector. The shepherd guiding his flock." His face twisted with disgust. "Do you even realize what we're doing to them? Pushing children to their breaking points, turning them into weapons against an enemy we can't defeat?"

"The Harbingers can be stopped," Owen countered. "Our students are humanity's best hope."

"Hope?" Albright laughed, a manic edge creeping into his voice. "The Purge understands the truth, Owen. There is no stopping the Harbingers. No victory to be had. Only survival—on their terms."

Owen's expression hardened. "So you joined them. You betrayed your oath."

"My oath?" Albright's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. Energy rippled beneath his skin, pressure nodes across his body beginning to glow faintly. "Let me remind you of that oath, Owen. The one you're so fond of reciting to fresh recruits."

Albright stood straighter, a mockery of military posture. "'I swear to defend Earth and her people, to stand as guardian against all threats, to sacrifice my body, my comfort, and if necessary, my life in service to humanity's continued existence. This I vow as a soldier of the Earth Defense Force.'"

He spat on the ground between them. "Empty words. The EDF pretends we can win a conventional war against gods. The Purge accepts reality and prepares for what comes after."

Owen's jaw tightened. Steam began to rise from his shoulders—subtle at first, then more pronounced as kinetic energy built within his frame.

"You swore that oath," Owen said quietly, dangerously. "You pledged to protect humanity." His fists clenched at his sides. "As Commander Owen, Headmaster of the Twelfth Academy of the Eastern Cardinal of this beautiful green Earth, I am left in no position but to expunge you as a threat to humanity itself."

A tense silence hung between them for three heartbeats.

Albright moved first—launching himself forward with unexpected speed. The pressure node in his right palm glowed white-hot as he drove it toward Owen's chest.

Owen pivoted, the movement deceptively casual as he caught Albright's wrist and redirected the force. The energy discharge from Albright's palm blasted through the wall instead, vaporizing concrete and steel in a six-foot radius.

Owen's counter came instantly—a short, brutal strike to Albright's sternum that sent him flying backward through the damaged wall and into the arena proper. The impact left a crater in the reinforced wall on the opposite side of the arena's upper level.

Albright pulled himself from the wreckage, dust cascading from his shoulders. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he glared at Owen.

"That all you've got, old friend?" he taunted, spitting a glob of blood onto the floor.

Owen stepped through the hole Albright's body had created, his movements measured and purposeful. Steam now vented visibly from ports at his shoulders and back—the Combat Engine warming up, gathering kinetic potential with each motion.

The Combat Engine was Commander Owen's natural ability - an internal kinetic energy system that allows him to absorb, store, and redirect force. Think of it as a biological battery that charges with every movement he makes. The mechanical components visible on his body (the vents, bracers, and restraints) aren't the ability itself, but specialized equipment designed to help him regulate, control, and maximize his natural power. Without these augmentations, his ability would be less focused and potentially dangerous to himself, as the kinetic energy could build up to harmful levels.

The steam venting from his shoulders and joints is a visible manifestation of excess energy being released as his body processes and stores the kinetic force he generates and absorbs.

"I'll give you one chance to surrender," Owen offered, voice level.

Albright's answer came in the form of an invisible pulse, Focused kinetic implosion. Can leave the flesh cooked from the inside—a Pinpoint Collapse aimed directly at Owen's heart.

Owen sensed rather than saw the attack, twisting his torso at the last possible moment. The kinetic implosion grazed his side instead, instantly cooking flesh beneath his uniform. The smell of burned meat filled the air as Owen grunted, one hand pressing against the wound.

"First blood to me," Albright said, advancing steadily. "How many of our students have already died today, Owen? How many more will fall before you accept the truth?"

Four students huddled behind a collapsed concession stand thirty meters away, watching wide-eyed as their headmaster straightened despite the smoking wound in his side.

"Keep pressure on that injury," Owen called to a girl cradling a wounded classmate. "East evacuation point. Move when you have a clear path."

Albright's face contorted with rage. "Still giving orders? Still playing the hero?" He raised both hands, pale light emanating from pressure nodes across his knuckles. "Let me show you what your heroism has earned you!"

He clapped his hands together, releasing an Overpressure Arc that tore across the arena's upper level. The concrete floor split along the wave's path, tiles and rebar and electrical wiring exploding upward in its wake. The shock wave hit Owen square in the chest, lifting him off his feet and hurling him through a reinforced viewing window.

Owen crashed onto the arena floor below, glass raining around him as he rolled to absorb the impact. The Combat Engine within him pulsed, converting the force of his fall into stored energy. Steam vented more intensely from his back as he rose to his feet.

Albright leapt down after him, landing with practiced grace twenty meters away. "I've always wanted to test myself against the great Commander Owen," he called, circling slowly. "The man who could go toe-to-toe with Harbinger scouts. Let's see if your reputation is deserved."

Owen removed his heavy gloves, revealing mechanical bracers underneath. With a pneumatic hiss, the restraints released, and steam erupted from vents along his forearms.

"You want to see what I can do?" Owen asked quietly. "Then come and find out."