The valley roared like a collapsing mountain.
Stone shattered outward as the buried giant forced its way to the surface.
Massive plates of ancient armor broke through the earth first each one the size of fortress walls. Dust storms filled the air as the enormous figure slowly rose.
Soldiers ran backward in panic.
"What is that thing?!"
Akari stared upward, stunned.
"…A guardian."
The Watcher corrected her quietly.
"…Not just a guardian."
"…An ancient sentinel."
The creature's head finally emerged from the shattered valley floor.
Carved stone horns.
Eyes like burning blue suns.
Its body was built from layered rock and old runic metal, covered in symbols that pulsed faintly with ancient power.
The ground shook with every movement.
Hiroto stood in front of it, shadow whipping around him like a storm.
The scar beneath his feet burned violently now.
The sentinel's glowing eyes locked onto him.
For a moment, The battlefield froze.
Then the Herald moved.
Its wings spread wide across the sky as celestial energy gathered between them like a miniature star.
"Unauthorized entity detected."
"Executing eradication."
The Herald unleashed its attack.
A massive beam of pure light blasted downward.
It struck the sentinel directly.
The explosion lit up the entire valley.
Stone shattered.
Runes cracked.
Dust swallowed the battlefield.
Yui screamed as the shockwave threw her backward.
"Hiroto!"
Akari barely held her ground as the blast ripped through the valley.
"…That power…"
The Enforcer whistled quietly.
"…Even I wouldn't want to take that head-on."
The dust slowly cleared.
The sentinel was still standing.
Its massive arm slowly lifted.
The runes across its body glowed brighter.
Then it swung.
The blow wasn't aimed at Hiroto.
It was aimed at the sky.
A gigantic shockwave blasted upward, tearing through the clouds.
The Herald was forced back midair for the first time.
The soldiers stared in disbelief.
"…It pushed the Herald back!"
But Hiroto suddenly dropped to one knee.
The shadow around him flickered wildly.
The scar burned hotter.
Akari rushed toward him.
"Hiroto!"
He grabbed his chest, breathing unevenly.
"…Too much…"
The sentinel turned its glowing eyes back toward him.
The runes pulsed again.
The Watcher realized it first.
"…It's not protecting him."
"…It's responding to him."
Hiroto's shadow suddenly exploded outward violently.
Stone cracked around him.
His control slipped.
Akari stepped back in alarm.
"…Hiroto!"
The Herald stabilized itself in the sky again.
Energy gathered around its wings once more.
"Threat level increasing."
"Both anomalies will be eliminated."
The sentinel roared like grinding mountains.
Hiroto's shadow surged uncontrollably.
The battlefield shook between two colossal forces.
And Hiroto was caught directly in the center.
The War of Faith had reached its breaking point.
To be continued…