The valley shook like it was breathing.
Hiroto staggered forward, shadow crackling violently along his arms and legs. Every step burned through the scar beneath him.
The Commander-class Executioner hovered a few meters away, chest cracked, wings of light flickering like broken circuitry.
"Power classification: unstable," it said.
"Probability of termination: low."
Hiroto's lips curled into a faint smile.
"…Then let's see how low."
He slammed his fist into the ground. The scar pulsed violently, sending spikes of black stone shooting upward. The pillars bent, twisted, and fused into a jagged arena around him.
The remaining Executioners hesitated, their precision disrupted by the pulse.
Yui watched from the ridge, gripping her knees. "Hiroto… this isn't a normal state…"
The Watcher muttered under his breath.
"…He's channeling the land itself. Not the shadow… the scar."
Akari's eyes narrowed. She ignored the Watcher for once. "Hold the line! Protect the army!"
Hiroto gritted his teeth. The shadow around him surged, forming jagged symbols in the air like living script.
The Commander lunged. Faster than thought.
Hiroto met it head-on. His fist collided with the armored arm of the Commander. Sparks of light and shadow erupted.
The impact threw him backward, cracking the stone beneath him.
Blood ran from his mouth, yet his eyes burned brighter than ever.
"…I don't care if you're a Commander," he growled.
"This land is mine. I decide who survives."
He slammed his hand down. Shadow tendrils wrapped around the Commander's legs, binding them to the scar. The Executioner's light flickered as it struggled.
Akari's voice pierced the chaos.
"Hiroto! Don't overdo it!"
"…It's fine," Hiroto gasped, chest heaving.
"This is just the first step."
The Commander's armor cracked further. A beam of blinding light shot toward him.
Hiroto met it with a fist of solid shadow.
The shockwave tore through the valley, hurling debris like missiles.
Yui cried out, but she didn't move. She couldn't.
The Watcher's cracked face reflected awe.
"…He's wounded a Commander… and lived."
Hiroto forced himself to his knees. The shadow still clung to him, jagged and alive, but cracks ran through it. He was bleeding, trembling, yet standing.
Far above, more shapes began to shift in the clouds. Not Executioners. Not Judges. Something larger. Something watching.
"…They're escalating again," the Watcher whispered.
Hiroto's gaze hardened.
"…Good. Then we escalate too."
The scar beneath him pulsed one last time, feeding his shadow.
The battlefield trembled.
And somewhere beyond the sky, the watchers of the Celestial Path began counting the cost of the Shadow-Bearer's defiance.
To be continued…