“Alexander… You can’t be serious…” Lireina muttered, her voice barely audible amidst the chaos as she stared at the colossal golden sword forming in the Chosen One’s grasp.
The weapon dwarfed everything around it. Its radiant blade stretched across the heavens like a second sun descending upon the world, bathing the frozen battlefield in an overwhelming golden glow. The air itself seemed to tremble beneath its presence. Every soldier, bandit, and Halochassis pilot within the Northern Fortress felt their hearts sink as they looked up at the divine executioner's blade. Even the Celestial Wardens standing beside Alexander Goldheart could not hide their disbelief. They had expected him to crush the enemy—but not to erase the entire fortress and everyone within it.
A suffocating silence spread across the battlefield for a brief moment, broken only by the howling winter winds.
“Oh no you don’t!”
Still in his dragon form, Adzeel/Armaros threw his massive jaws open and unleashed a devastating beam of fire. The crimson laser ripped through the frozen sky, leaving a trail of distorted air and scorching heat in its wake. The attack crashed directly into Alexander's invisible barrier, yet instead of exploding, the flames simply dissolved into countless particles of glittering golden dust. The fiery beam vanished as if it had never existed.
“Fuck!” Adzeel roared, his draconic eyes widening in frustration.
Above them, the gigantic planetary sword began its descent.
The heavens groaned as the immense blade slowly moved downward. Clouds split apart around its edges while waves of golden energy cascaded from its surface. Every second it descended, the pressure in the atmosphere grew heavier. Soldiers fell to their knees. Walls creaked. Windows shattered. The very ground beneath the fortress trembled as if anticipating its own destruction.
Shin inside Azazel clenched his teeth.
Without hesitation, he spread his radiant energy wings. Brilliant streams of crimson light burst from his back, illuminating the battlefield as he launched himself upward. The air exploded behind him from the sheer force of his acceleration. Racing toward the descending sword, he coated both arms in dense layers of energy shields. The glowing barriers crackled violently around his hands before he slammed them against the blade's lower edge.
A thunderous shockwave erupted across the sky.
The impact sent ripples of energy through the fortress, rattling towers and scattering snow from rooftops. Shin's entire body shook from the collision. Every muscle screamed in agony as the unimaginable weight of the planetary sword pressed against him. Yet he held his ground, his wings flaring brighter as he fought to stop its descent.
For a brief moment, the sword halted.
Then it continued moving downward.
Seeing Shin's desperate struggle, Adzeel abandoned his dragon form and transformed back into his humanoid state. Streams of crimson energy swirled around him as he shot upward through the freezing air. Reaching Shin's position, he planted both hands against Azazel's back and pushed with everything he had.
The two Halochassis strained together.
Their armor groaned. Energy surged wildly around their bodies. Sparks erupted where Shin's shields met the sword's golden surface. Despite their combined strength, the massive blade refused to yield. Inch by inch, it continued descending toward the fortress below.
“Armaros! Signal the retreat!” Shin/Azazel shouted through gritted teeth. “I’ll buy you time!”
“But our objective is right there!” Adzeel/Armaros yelled back, glancing toward Alexander. “Alexander needs to die!”
“Don’t be greedy, you idiot!” Shin barked. “We already achieved our objective! We need to live and fight another day!”
The words struck Adzeel harder than the sword's pressure.
For two agonizing seconds, he hesitated. Rage, pride, and reason battled within him. Then reality finally won.
His gaze shifted toward Alexander Goldheart.
The Chosen One stood calmly beneath the descending weapon, untouched by the chaos surrounding him. His golden eyes remained cold and unwavering. A faint smirk rested upon his face, as though the destruction of an entire fortress was nothing more than a trivial inconvenience.
Adzeel felt his fists tighten.
One day...
One day, I'll kill you.
Suppressing the burning hatred in his chest, Adzeel spun upward through the sky and fired a blazing signal flare. The crimson light streaked into the clouds before bursting into a brilliant explosion visible across the entire battlefield.
The response was immediate.
Halochassis disengaged from their opponents. Iron Bandits broke formation and abandoned their attacks. Across the fortress, dozens of smoke bombs were thrown to the ground and detonated in rapid succession.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Thick gray smoke erupted from every corner of the fortress. Within seconds, entire courtyard disappeared beneath the expanding cloud. Towers, walls, and battlements vanished into the haze until the Northern Fortress resembled a city consumed by a giant cloud of smoke.
From her position atop a distant frozen hill, Croft watched the scene unfold.
The smoke swallowed the fortress whole. Massive clouds rolled over the walls like living creatures devouring prey. Through the fog, faint flashes of battle and scattered explosions continued to flicker before disappearing completely. Even from kilometers away, the fortress looked as though it had been set ablaze.
Meanwhile, Armaros descended into the smoke-covered fortress.
He plunged through the gray veil and landed near the rear castle wall. Gathering energy into his fists, he smashed straight through the frozen stone. The wall exploded outward in a shower of debris, opening a path to the lake beyond.
Twenty boats waited there.
The Iron Bandits wasted no time. They rushed aboard as quickly as possible while the smoke concealed their movements. One by one, the Halochassis grabbed the boats' towing ropes and surged forward. Water exploded behind them as they dragged the vessels across the frozen lake, pulling their allies away from the doomed fortress.
Only after confirming the evacuation did Shin finally release the planetary sword.
The instant he let go, the overwhelming force vanished from his arms, leaving them numb and trembling. His energy wings flared once more as he dived into the smoke below. The thick cloud concealed his retreat, allowing him to weave through the fortress unseen before accelerating toward the western side of the lake.
“Don't let him escape!” Alexander shouted.
The Silent Warlock immediately raised his staff.
Dozens of magical bullets streaked through the smoke like glowing comets. Purple and black projectiles tore across the sky, each one leaving trails of crackling mana behind it. Explosions erupted wherever they landed, blasting apart stone walls and sending debris flying into the air.
Yet Shin remained untouchable.
His wings shifted constantly as he zigzagged through the barrage. One bullet missed his head by mere inches. Another grazed past his shoulder, close enough for him to feel the heat of its magical energy. Despite the relentless assault, he continued pushing forward, disappearing deeper into the smoke until even the Silent Warlock lost sight of him.
Moments later, Azazel emerged from the opposite side of the fortress and sped across the frozen lake, leaving only fading streaks of light behind him as the Iron Bandits escaped into the distance.
Lireina lowered her weapon and chose not to pursue. The wind carried the last traces of smoke past her face, cold and bitter, and she watched the empty horizon with a strange heaviness in her chest. Something in Azazel’s defiance had felt familiar, almost human, and she had come to believe that whoever was inside that armor could still be pulled back from the edge. She did not know when, but she had the distinct feeling that this would not be their last encounter. So, for now, she let him go.
As the smoke thinned and drifted away in ragged sheets, the Iron Bandits were already gone. No silhouettes. No glint of armor. No sound of retreating footsteps or splashing oars. The fortress courtyard stood in a stunned silence, broken only by the crackle of dying embers and the distant groan of damaged stone settling under its own weight.
Only then did the Northern Fortress General finally emerge.
He stepped forward with stiff, measured movements, his face pale and slick with sweat despite the cold. His boots crunched over frost and scattered debris as he hurried toward the Chosen One and the Celestial Wardens, then dropped into a deep bow. His voice trembled as he spoke, carrying the desperate cadence of a man trying to praise his way out of disaster.
“Oh holy Chosen One! We praise you for saving us and the Northern Fortress,” the General said. “Empyrea is indebted to you all once more.”
Alexander Goldheart did not look impressed. He stood with a rigid, almost divine stillness, his golden presence pressing down on the battlefield like the weight of judgment itself. When he spoke, his voice rolled across the ruins like thunder over a mountain range.
“Spare us your false praises, Empyrean General. What are those armors?”
The General swallowed hard. Sweat gathered at his temples and traced down his cheek despite the freezing air. His mouth opened, closed, then opened again as if he were trying to find the safest lie in a room full of executioners.
“Armor? Oh, those mystical exosuits?” he stammered. “Those are Halochassis. A weapon for mankind’s preservation. Those stolen armors are the prototypes.”
Zerova folded her arms across her chest, her golden eyes narrowing beneath the shadow of her black hair. Her expression was sharp enough to cut stone.
“You are building armors made from unknown magical technology,” the Queen of Shadows said. “You are playing with fire, General.”
“I-I did not build it!” he blurted out, his words nearly tripping over one another. “It was the magical engineers! The professors! I have no hand in it! We were just tasked to safeguard it!”
Lireina stepped forward, her wounded shoulder still bleeding beneath the torn fabric of her clothes. Each step sent a dull ache through her body, but her gaze never left the General. The metallic taste of blood lingered in her mouth, and beneath it she could still smell smoke, ash, and scorched stone.
“Tell me, General,” she said. “What is the purpose of creating the Halochassis?”
The man’s shoulders twitched. His lips trembled. “Purpose? It’s to protect Empyrea, of course!”
Zerova’s eyes did not soften. “But Empyrea already has the Celestial Wardens.”
The General forced out a strained laugh that sounded too thin to be real. “It is to enhance our military strength! That’s right! Haha. We need armored soldiers to take down the remnants of the Demon King’s Army.”
Alexander’s gaze sharpened. The golden light in his eyes seemed to intensify, and the General visibly recoiled beneath that stare.
“No,” Alexander said coldly. “You are lying, General.”
The silence that followed felt suffocating. Even the wind seemed to stop for a heartbeat.
“Those power armors, those Halochassis you made and protected… they are a deterrent. Against us. Those things were specifically made to match the powers of the saviors of this world.” Alexander’s voice deepened, each word carrying the force of an accusation and a verdict at once. “I saw it when one of them managed to block my Reality Erasure Sword. You made it… to eliminate us, the Celestial Wardens.”
The General’s face drained of color. He stumbled backward, then sank to his knees in the frost and rubble.
“W-What are you saying, oh Chosen One?” he cried. “You are making a mistake! We would never defy you!”
Alexander tilted his head slightly, almost as if he were considering whether the General was worth the effort of mercy.
“Are you saying that I am not perfect?” he asked. “That I am wrong?”
“N-No, I would never say that!” the General stammered, his hands shaking violently against the ground.
For a brief moment, Alexander’s mouth curved into a faint, cold smirk. He closed his eyes as if in solemn prayer, though the expression on his face held no holiness at all. Then he raised one hand toward the darkening sky, and the air above him split with radiant pressure.
Another planetary golden sword manifested.
Its light flooded the fortress in a blinding blaze, turning every ruined wall and broken roof into a silhouette of gold. The blade was impossibly vast, luminous enough to wash away the shadows gathered in the corners of the battlefield. Even those who had seen Alexander’s power before could not help but feel their breath catch at the sight of it. The ground trembled as the weapon fully formed, and the General’s terrified gasp was swallowed by the rising hum of divine force.
“Due to your treason and betrayal to the saviors of this world…” Alexander declared, his voice echoing through the shattered fortress, “I, Alexander Goldheart, the Chosen One, and the leader of the Celestial Wardens… sentence you, and this entire Northern Fortress, to disappear.”
“No—noooooo!” the General screamed, his voice cracking with horror.
Then Alexander brought the blade down.
The golden sword fell like the end of the world. A blinding flash erupted across the fortress, so bright that it erased color, shadow, and form all at once. The blast tore through the Northern Fortress in an instant, leaving only a deafening roar and a wave of heat that rolled across the snowfields. When the light finally faded, there was nothing left standing.
Where the fortress had once stood, only a vast crater remained, its edges scorched and glowing faintly under the cold sky. Ash drifted through the air like black snow, settling over the ruins in total silence.