They waited until dusk.

  The plaza cleared somewhat. The pylons remained.

  Selric remained.

  Confident.

  Grey moved first.

  He didn't approach the plaza.

  He moved beneath it.

  Valmere had storm drains.

  Stone channels.

  Water runoff lines.

  Conduction pathways.

  Grey activated Conduction Mapping.

  New skill effect:

  He could sense viable lightning pathways across surfaces.

  The grid wasn't designed for below-ground disruption.

  It was designed for atmospheric dampening.

  Lyra followed silently.

  "You're smiling," she whispered.

  "I like puzzles."

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  They reached the central conduit from below.

  It hummed faintly with suppression mana.

  Grey crouched.

  "On my mark," he said.

  Lyra placed her palm against the stone.

  Her seal pulsed faintly.

  Grey didn't miss it.

  Not yet, he thought.

  He channeled lightning carefully.

  Not upward.

  Sideways.

  Into the water channels.

  Into the metal braces beneath the pylon foundation.

  Pulse Control engaged.

  He waited until the charge stabilized.

  Then—

  He inverted the polarity.

  The suppression field stuttered.

  Above them, a pylon cracked.

  Selric's emotional state spiked.

  Surprise.

  Grey grinned.

  He released the stored current fully.

  The central conduit erupted in a contained blast of blue-white energy.

  Above, one pylon shattered.

  Then another.

  The grid destabilized.

  Stormbound Efficiency restored.

  +3% temporary resonance bonus.

  Selric's voice rang across the plaza.

  "Contain them."

  Operatives moved instantly.

  Grey and Lyra emerged from a side alley as chaos began.

  No hiding now.

  Grey stepped into the open.

  Lightning crawled across his forearm.

  "Evening," he called.

  Gasps from nearby civilians.

  Selric's eyes narrowed.

  "You adapt quickly."

  "Thanks."

  The plaza cleared rapidly as guards forced civilians back.

  Selric drew a slender metallic rod.

  The air around it warped.

  Lyra stepped beside Grey.

  Emotion: Steady.

  But beneath that—

  Strain.

  Selric spoke calmly.

  "You are destabilizing atmospheric equilibrium."

  Grey tilted his head.

  "You're destabilizing my patience."

  Then Selric struck the rod against the ground.

  A focused suppression pulse blasted outward.

  Grey braced.

  It hit like a wall of pressure.

  His storm flickered.

  Lyra's seal pulsed violently.

  Grey reacted instinctively.

  He stepped in front of her.

  Lightning flared.

  The pulse met storm.

  For a split second—

  They canceled.

  Then—

  The plaza stones cracked under the force.

  Both sides slid backward.

  Selric's eyes sharpened.

  Interesting.

  He adjusted his grip.

  This wasn't Kael.

  This wasn't brute strength.

  This was control vs evolution.

  Grey smiled slowly.

  Finally.

  A real fight.