The Host Commander's void blade carved another arc through the air, splitting stone and flame alike. The battlefield trembled under its power, lesser husks collapsing in silence as though even they feared its wrath.
Kael pressed forward, his crimson lightning clashing against the void with every strike. His greatsword howled as it met the abyssal weapon, neither side giving ground. Sparks of black and red painted the night sky.
"Hold him!" Seliora shouted, her eyes blazing. She traced runes mid-air, weaving an inferno that encircled the Commander in a spiral.
The beast's armor sizzled but it pressed on, striding through flame as though it were mist.
Aric darted in, his blades flashing like twin stars. He struck high, low, and across—but every strike was caught, parried, or swatted aside by the Commander's monstrous strength.
Darius roared, planting his shield into the ground once more. "Kael—now!"
Kael felt the weight of the moment—the danger of hesitation, the certainty of doom if they faltered. His companions were giving everything, holding the line even as blood stained their lips.
He tightened his grip, black lightning flaring outward, wreathing his entire frame.
"Sovereign Rend."
The words fell like judgment.
Kael's blade split the air, a single decisive strike. Lightning carved a crimson arc that slammed against the void blade. For an instant, the clash seemed eternal—darkness and red brilliance colliding in perfect balance.
Then the Commander's weapon shattered.
The voidsteel screamed as it broke apart, and Kael's strike drove through the Commander's chest, splitting its armor wide open.
The Host staggered, its burning hollow eyes dimming. "The… Sovereign… will not… fall…"
Kael twisted his blade, crimson aura consuming the void. "Then let him come himself."
With a final surge, he cleaved the Commander in two.
The battlefield fell silent. The remaining husks shrieked, fractured, and collapsed into dust.
Kael stood, his chest heaving, black lightning fading slowly from his skin. Around him, his companions gathered—bruised, battered, but alive.
Aric leaned on his blades, grinning despite the blood on his mouth. "Remind me never to fight you when you're serious."
Seliora's flame dimmed, her shoulders trembling. "If that was just his Commander… what in the gods' names is the Sovereign himself?"
Darius knelt, battered but unbroken, pressing his shield into the earth. "Whatever he is—we'll be ready. We have to be."
Kael gazed at the fading shadow where the Commander had fallen, his crimson eyes burning brighter than ever. A storm was coming, and this was only the herald.