Sirens screamed loudly as Leila descended on the building next to the HQ. She would have aimed directly for it, but the wards were visible to the naked eye, meaning they'd attempt to turn her into dust with prejudice if she tried them.

She suspected she'd be able to break through without too much problem if she used her new powers, but that didn't seem to be the correct course of action.

For all the chaos outside the building, there weren't any dead bodies that she could see. A few injured people dragged themselves away from the barricades the police had set up, but that seemed to have come from falling and being trampled rather than attacks from monsters.

Given what the thing that wore Meyer's skin had told her, Leila had expected to come to find a broken landscape, but it appeared like someone - likely the new Director - had the foresight to activate the wards at full strength, trapping the chimeras she could sense rushing through the HQ inside the building.

Of course, it meant that every single agent and worker was also trapped, but that was a much better sacrifice than the entirety of Manhattan.

Leila glanced down, noticing representatives from various Guilds were gathering where the thickest barriers had been set. She momentarily considered flying down and taking control of the operations. Still, the thought of having to maneuver egos and politics when the moment required swift action pushed her away from it.

Instead, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Leila let herself drop into the shadow world, falling hundreds of feet, until she emerged.

The cold, damp air of the sewers greeted her as she opened her eyes. No natural light illuminated the way, but she didn't need it to follow the concentration of monsters she could sense.

In a second, she was upon them.

A fiery whip materialized in her hands and cut through dozens of chimeras, ending their sufferings once and for all.

Before they could even realize they were under attack and that some of them were dead, she attacked again.

Leila moved with a predator's grace, her form blurring into streaks of shadow and fire as she delved deeper into the sewers. The narrow, concrete tunnels echoed with the shrieks of chimeras - grotesque, malformed creatures that crawled and slithered through the muck. Their eyes, glowing with a sinister light, briefly lit the darkness before Leila's relentless assault snuffed them out.

She spun, her cloak of flames swirling around her, as she summoned a barrage of shadow spears. With precise, controlled movements, she hurled them into the advancing horde. Each spear found its mark, impaling the twisted bodies of the chimeras and pinning them against the damp walls.

The sewer was a labyrinth of darkness and filth, but Leila navigated it as if it were her domain. Her senses, honed by years of combat and survival, detected every movement, every breath of her grotesque adversaries. With each step, her power flared, the air around her crackling with magical energy.

Her path was illuminated by the intermittent glow of her attacks, casting eerie shadows that danced along the moldy walls. The stench of decay and chemicals was potent, a constant assault on the senses, but Leila pushed forward, undeterred.

Finally, she reached the basement access that led directly to the AA headquarters. Here, the evidence of the chimeras' passage was undeniable. The heavy metal door was torn asunder, its hinges twisted and broken. The corridor beyond was a scene of havoc - overturned furniture, shattered glass, and the remnants of a fierce battle.

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Leila paused at the threshold, her eyes taking in the carnage. Dozens of bodies were strewn around. Most missing some of their limbs. Blood pooled at her feet, sticky and dark. Her heart ached at the sight, her anger boiling at the thought of so many lives lost.

She made a mental note to remind the Director about strengthening their defenses, especially in critical areas like the basement. Clearly, the enemy had exploited a vulnerability that should not have existed.

With a deep breath, she stepped over the debris and moved into the upper basement. Here, the fight had been particularly brutal. The defenders lay scattered among the ruins, their faces frozen in expressions of shock and pain. Dozens of cars, once parked in neat rows, were now destroyed, used as makeshift barricades against the chimeras' assault.

Leila's eyes swept over the scene, her heart heavy with the weight of what had transpired. Given what she could sense above her, she knew this was only the beginning of what she'd see.

As she moved through the corridors, the destruction became more apparent. The walls were scorched, the floors littered with debris and the remnants of fallen chimeras. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and blood. It didn’t bother her, as she was long since past such mortal concerns, but the mundane workers would have a hard time surviving the conditions for long. If the monsters didn’t get to them first, of course.

Once she reached the lobby, she finally found the first people. They were besieged by a massive chimera spewing dark flames at a thin barrier.

Leila recognized the receptionist, who she knew to be a woman with a spine of steel, feeding mana into an amulet from which the barrier was emanating. Behind her, several office workers had taken refuge.

However, it wouldn't be long before the protection failed, so Leila took control of the chimera's fire. It bent to her will almost without resistance and turned upon its master.

To overcome the chimera's natural resistance, Leila fed the flame more mana until it was a pyre so bright the workers were forced to turn away.

Once she was sure the creature was dead, she allowed the fire to go out.

"The basement is clear. Evacuate through the sewers!" She ordered and stopped only long enough for the receptionist to nod before she resumed her march.

The building was massive, and Leila had to exert maximum control several times to allow her flames to burn only the enemies and not the foundations of the skyscraper.

She ignored the floors where she could sense Awakeners battling successfully against the chimeras. They would do their job. Her target was another.

On the sixth floor, she encountered a group of agents cornered by half a dozen chimeras. The creatures were relentless, their malformed bodies a grotesque patchwork of flesh and fury. The agents were fighting bravely but were clearly outmatched, their standard issue spells barely holding the chimeras at bay.

Without pausing, Leila raised her hand, fingers splayed, and a torrent of pitch-black flames surged forth. It swept through the chimeras like a tidal wave, engulfing them in an incendiary embrace that left nothing but ashes in its wake. The agents stared in shock and awe, their faces illuminated by the flickering light above their heads.

"Move to the basement. It's clear," Leila commanded, her voice cutting through the stunned silence. "Direct any civilians you find there. Use the sewers to evacuate." She didn't wait to see them comply; her senses were already pulling her toward the crescendo of magical energy that thrummed at the top of the building.

As she ascended, the signs of combat grew more intense. Spells scarred the walls, the floors littered with the bodies of fallen chimeras and, tragically, some agents. She stepped over debris and through the remnants of barricades, her heart hardening with each floor she cleared.

She had to leave behind many, trusting in their ability to hold on because what she sensed required immediate attention.

The final stairwell to the rooftop was a ruin. The door had been blasted off its hinges, and the stairs were slick with something dark that wasn't water. Leila's nostrils flared as she recognized the tang of chimera blood mixed with human. The air vibrated with the power of spells still echoing above her head.

She emerged onto the rooftop in the gray light of dawn, the early morning sun straining against the smoke that rose in billowing clouds around the building.

The Director, Madam Helper, and Marcus were locked in combat with a chimera of immense power. Marcus was visibly injured, blood seeping through his torn clothing, his movements sluggish. The Director, her face pale and drawn with pain, was casting with palpable desperation even from a distance. Madam Helper was a fury, her spells arcing through the air with lethal precision, trying to protect her colleagues even as she attacked the chimera.

Her power was immense, but it became immediately evident that she couldn't unleash her full might. The old woman was brimming with unrestrained mana, and yet she didn't use it because even a casual application would have been enough to delete much of Manhattan from the face of the earth.

"Ah, our last spectator has finally joined us!" A low voice rumbled, and Leila turned to face the monster.

Intricate, dark horns framed its face, lending its multiform features a sinister cast. Rings of silver runes circled its eyes and neck. A baleful light lit its pupils.

"You are dead," Leila stated. It wasn't a threat. It was a statement of fact.

"Come face your new god," It answered.