Chapter 26: Deployment to Sector Seven

Vice-Headmaster Sterling’s private office looked less like an academic sanctum and more like a high-society funeral parlor.

Sterling sat behind his black marble executive desk, furiously massaging his temples as Travis and Lionel stood before him, looking like two beaten dogs who had been dragged through a mud pit.

"Fifteen thousand eight hundred points," Sterling whispered, his voice trembling with a terrifying, quiet rage. "An F-rank defect. An E-rank tech-smith. And my own nephew's top vanguard. You let them turn the Grand Trials into an absolute, public circus."

"Uncle, please!" Travis whined, clutching his bandaged shoulder. "She cheated! She’s hiding something! No F-rank Guide can rip an S-rank Wyvern spike out with her bare hands! She’s a monster!"

"She is a low-born rat who got lucky with illegal black-market combat drugs!" Sterling slammed his fist onto the mahogany desk, shattering his crystal brandy glass into sparrows of light. "And tomorrow morning, during the official Grand Commander Induction Ceremony, I will personally strip her of those seals and hand them to Class A!"

BOOM!

The double reinforced doors of Sterling’s office didn't just open—they blew completely off their hinges, flying across the room and embedding themselves three inches deep into the back wall.

Smoke poured into the room as a heavy, steel-toed boot stepped over the threshold.

"Did someone say 'low-born rat'?" Phoenix’s voice echoed through the dust, smooth, husky, and utterly lethal.

Sterling scrambled out of his leather chair, pulling an enchanted plasma pistol from his drawer. "Security! What is the meaning of this treason?!"

Phoenix casually strolled through the smoke, resting her star-iron spear across her shoulders. Dressed in her sleek, black tactical vest with the golden Grand Commander seals gleaming on her collar, she looked less like a student and more like a warlord taking possession of a conquered kingdom.

Behind her stepped Killian—his newly upgraded SS-rank physical aura radiating a crushing, suffocating pressure that made the black marble floor groan under his boots—and Toby, who was idly tossing an anti-matter grenade like a baseball.

Travis took one look at Killian’s glowing, metallic skin and literally hid behind his uncle's chair.

"Standing down, Sterling," Phoenix purred, stepping right up to the desk and kicking his expensive leather chair out of her way. "We came to collect our official assignment papers. You know... since we're the Grand Commanders now."

Sterling’s face turned white as snow as he felt the passive, heavy force rolling off the three of them. His hand shook so violently he dropped his plasma pistol onto the carpet.

To his eyes—and the Academy's bio-scanners—Phoenix’s system profile was still glowing with that laughable, harmless [F-RANK GUIDE — 120 UNITS] tag. He genuinely believed she was just a reckless, roided-up commoner relying on Toby’s high-grade tech and Killian’s physical protection.

"You... you insolent little brat," Sterling hissed, trying to reclaim his authority. "You think winning the trials makes you untouchable? The Academy Board decides where you get deployed! I will send your pathetic little squad to Sector Seven—the frontline meat grinder!"

Killian let out a low, gravelly chuckle, stepping forward until his towering six-foot-two frame blocked out the light in the room. He reached down, grabbed Sterling by his silk necktie, and hauled the Vice-Headmaster off his feet until their noses were inches apart.

"Sector Seven?" Killian growled, his deep voice vibrating right through Sterling’s teeth. "Sounds perfect. We were getting bored of listening to weak old men talk."

Sterling squeaked, his eyes wide with absolute horror as he looked at his former star student holding him like a ragdoll. "K-Killian... release me! You are a Vance!"

"I'm Squad Outcast's vanguard," Killian corrected coldly, dropping Sterling back onto his black marble desk in a heap. "And if you ever speak to my Boss like that again, I won't just break your office. I'll break your spine."

Phoenix smirked, reaching down to pat Sterling’s flushed, sweaty cheek with two fingers. "Sign the Sector Seven deployment papers, sweetie. And make sure the payroll is doubled. We’d hate to have to come back here and redecorate your office again."

Sterling frantically grabbed his golden pen, signing the clearance documents with trembling hands before shoving them across the desk.

"Good boy," Phoenix winked, snatching the papers and turning on her heel. "Come on, boys. Let's go conquer Sector Seven."

Killian fell into step right beside her, his sharp blue eyes fixed on her profile with an intense, unyielding devotion, while Toby blew a sarcastic kiss to Travis on their way out the door.

Sterling collapsed back into his chair, gasping for air, blissfully unaware that the "F-rank defect" he had just sent to the frontlines was an SSS-rank calamity waiting to tear the entire continent apart.