Teaming Up

A moment later, the last skull of a Sinewshade splintered into fragments, spilling its contents over the cold, steel walls. Their original hue had long since become indiscernable.

Silver blood drenching him head to toe, Jake nonchalantly shook his arm to rid himself of the lingering brain matter clinging to his fingers. Unfazed by the carnage he had wrought, he waded calmly through the ankle-deep pool of blood and viscera toward his next destination.

"This should be the last of them," Jake mused, furrowing his brow. "Hopefully."

Xi understood exactly the underlying meaning of his final word.

[Those you just dispatched were stronger than the previous waves,] she confirmed, echoing his uncertain tone. [Barely, but the last three you took down were indeed Rank 9 Digestors.]

Jake's heart sank at Xi's confirmation. His observation had not been mere conjecture. These Sinewshades were indeed growing stronger as he journeyed deeper into the Magnetic Resonator.