The city had fallen into a tense, suffocating silence.
Everyone's gaze locked onto the lone man in golden armor suspended high in the blackened sky.
That armor itself glowed—crafted from pure light element, every joint and plate emitting a tranquil radiance that pushed back the night. In the cameras, he looked less like a man and more like an avenging celestial.
Charles lay broken on the rubble, vision swimming from blood loss. Even so, recognition sparked in his dulling eyes.
Isn't he…one of them? One of the mysterious ones the Alliance couldn't trace?
What is he doing here? Didn't he say that he would go to the other cities?
Far above, Ethan stood with one hand folded calmly behind his back. His gaze never wavered from the eagle, whose wings churned the sky into a cyclone.
This creature was the strongest opponent he had ever faced.
He knew it. If he failed—if even one of those howling energy blasts struck the city below—nothing would remain.
Not even ash.
