The Commander-class Executioner rose from the crater.
Its armor was cracked.
Its wings flickered.
But it was still standing.
"Target resistance exceeds acceptable margin," it said.
"Engaging purge protocol."
The sky darkened.
Light gathered above the valley like a second sun forming.
The Watcher's voice broke.
"…It's calling a Judgement strike."
Akari didn't hesitate.
"All units! Advance!"
The soldiers surged forward, magic and steel colliding with the remaining Executioners. The battlefield exploded into chaos once more.
Hiroto barely noticed.
His vision blurred in and out.
The shadow around him thickened, crawling up his neck like living armor.
"…Too far…" he whispered.
"…I pushed too far…"
The scar beneath him pulsed again.
Pain tore through his spine.
But his legs moved anyway.
He charged.
The Commander fired first.
A pillar of light slammed into Hiroto, carving a trench through the earth.
He skidded across broken stone, coughing blood.
Yui screamed his name.
Akari saw him fall.
"Cover him!" she shouted, driving her spear through an Executioner midair.
Two soldiers were vaporized beside her.
Another lost his arm.
The battlefield stank of burning stone and blood.
Hiroto forced himself upright.
Shadow fused with the broken land, forming jagged armor around his shoulders.
His eyes glowed faint gray.
"…If I stop now…"
He vanished.
Appearing behind the Commander.
His fist struck.
The blow shattered one of its wings completely.
The Commander crashed to the ground.
"Structural failure detected."
Hiroto fell to one knee.
Blood dripped from his nose.
"…Stay down…"
The Commander rose again.
Light rebuilt its shattered wing.
Akari felt her stomach drop.
"…It's regenerating…"
Hiroto looked up at it.
"…Then I'll break something that won't come back."
He placed his palm against the ground.
The scar flared violently.
The valley answered.
A massive black spike erupted beneath the Commander, impaling it through the chest.
Light burst outward.
The Executioner convulsed.
"Critical…"
Hiroto clenched his fist.
The spike exploded.
The Commander's core shattered.
Its body collapsed into fragments of light.
Silence hit the battlefield.
One Executioner was gone.
Completely.
Yui dropped to her knees.
"…He did it…"
Akari stared in disbelief.
The Watcher whispered,
"…They'll never forgive this."
Hiroto staggered forward, shadow dissolving from his body.
His legs gave out.
Akari ran to him and caught him before he hit the ground.
"Hiroto!"
He could barely open his eyes.
"…Still… alive…"
She pressed her forehead against his.
"You idiot…"
The sky rumbled again.
Not one.
Not two.
Many.
More lights formed beyond the clouds.
The army froze.
The Watcher's voice trembled.
"…You just killed a Commander-class."
"…This war has officially begun."
Hiroto looked up weakly.
"…Good."
And somewhere far beyond the sky—
The Celestial Path marked his name in their records.
Not as a target.
But as a threat.
To be continued…