The sky above Aethelgard didn't turn black from clouds, but from wings. Thousands of System Sentinels—metallic, vulture-like constructs with glowing red eyes—dived from the upper atmosphere. They were the System's antibodies, and they were here to purge the infection known as the Glitch Legion.
"They're coming fast!" Kira shouted, her crystalline daggers humming with a sharp, silver vibration. "Master, the legion isn't fully synchronized yet. If those Sentinels reach the city square, it'll be a massacre."
Caelum looked up, his expression as cold as the code he once fought. "They won't reach the square. Elara, activate the Prism Shield. Everyone else, hold the perimeter!"
[BATTLE_INITIATED: THE_DEFENSE_OF_AETHELGARD]
[ENEMY_COUNT: 5,000_SENTINELS]
The first wave of Sentinels slammed into the city's light-barrier, their claws sparking against the silver shield. The sound was like a thousand nails scratching on glass.
Caelum didn't wait for them to break through. He gripped his Data-Scythe, and with a single, powerful leap, he launched himself into the air, bypassing his own shield.
[SKILL_ACTIVATED: PHANTOM_STRIKE]
In mid-air, Caelum became a blur. Every time his Scythe swung, a trail of black-and-silver energy followed, slicing through the Sentinels' armored hulls as if they were paper.
Clang! Boom!
Explosions of blue sparks filled the sky. But for every ten he destroyed, fifty more took their place. One large Sentinel, a 'Commander' unit with four wings, dived toward Caelum, its beak glowing with a high-frequency deletion beam.
"Target: Error_Source_Caelum," the Sentinel's mechanical voice droned. "Executing final purge."
"You talk too much for a script," Caelum muttered.
He didn't dodge. Instead, he reached out with his left hand and grabbed the Sentinel's beak mid-charge.
[COMMAND: REVERSE_POLARITY]
The deletion beam, instead of firing outward, was forced back into the Sentinel's own core. The construct shuddered, its red eyes flickering to silver before it exploded from the inside out.
Down in the plaza, the Glitch Legion saw their leader fighting alone against a swarm. Inspired, the Rogue Archer from Sector Four raised his bow. "Don't let the Architect fight alone! For Aethelgard!"
A volley of silver-tipped arrows soared into the sky, hitting the Sentinels that were trying to swarm Caelum. The battle was no longer a slaughter; it was a war.
Caelum landed back on the palace balcony, his cloak tattered but his mana higher than ever. He looked at the falling scrap metal raining down on the outskirts of the city.
"This was just a probe," Caelum said, his eyes narrowing as he looked toward the horizon of Sector Eight. "The real army hasn't even left the barracks."