The clouds split apart.
Not like a storm.
Like a gate.
From the opening descended a single figure larger than the others three times their height, its armor layered in glowing white plates marked with vertical runes. A crown-like ring of light hovered behind its head, rotating slowly.
It did not rush.
It arrived.
The remaining Executioners immediately stepped back, kneeling in midair.
The Watcher whispered,
"…Commander-class."
Akari felt her chest tighten.
"This one isn't a weapon," she said.
"It's an officer."
The Commander landed.
The ground shattered outward in a perfect circle.
Hiroto staggered but stayed standing.
The symbols on his body flickered violently.
The Commander raised one hand.
A wall of pressure slammed into Hiroto and crushed him to one knee.
Blood burst from his mouth.
"…So this is the upgrade," Hiroto muttered.
The Commander spoke.
Not loudly.
Not emotionally.
"Shadow-Bearer detected."
"Resistance exceeds tolerance."
"Termination authorized."
It vanished.
Hiroto barely raised his arms before a massive blow sent him flying through three stone walls.
Yui screamed.
"Hiroto!"
Akari turned back toward him.
"We can't leave him!"
The Watcher grabbed her arm.
"If you stay, the army dies."
Akari looked between Hiroto and her soldiers.
The wounded.
The terrified.
The ones still fighting.
"…Damn it…"
Hiroto pulled himself out of the rubble.
His shadow armor was shattered.
His body shook.
The Commander appeared behind him and drove him into the ground.
The impact split the earth.
Hiroto screamed as bones cracked.
"…Still not enough…"
The Commander raised its arm again.
Akari's spear shook in her hand.
"…If we turn back now…"
The Watcher said quietly,
"You lose the war today."
Akari clenched her teeth.
"Retreat!"
The army obeyed.
Yui resisted.
"No—!"
Akari dragged her back.
Hiroto saw them leaving.
His vision blurred.
"…So that's how it ends…"
The Commander's blade of light formed in its hand.
It raised it above Hiroto.
Hiroto felt something break inside him.
Not bones.
Restraint.
"…No."
The scar beneath him flared violently.
Not black.
Not white.
A deep, burning gray.
The ground exploded upward.
The Commander was thrown back.
Hiroto rose slowly.
Shadow and stone fused around his arms.
The symbols burned into his skin.
"This isn't faith," he said hoarsely.
"This isn't belief."
He stepped forward.
"This is mine."
He struck.
The ground obeyed.
A massive black pillar slammed into the Commander, launching it into the sky.
The Executioners scattered.
The Commander crashed down hard, armor cracked.
It stood again immediately.
"Power classification: aberrant."
"Escalation confirmed."
Hiroto coughed blood and laughed weakly.
"…Good."
Akari stopped retreating.
"…Hiroto…"
Yui screamed his name.
The Commander and Hiroto faced each other again.
One step.
Then another.
Two forces met in the center of the battlefield.
Light and shadow collided like colliding worlds.
The shockwave tore apart the valley.
And far above them Something else began to watch.
To be continued…