Dreth drove both hands into the altar socket as crimson light raced beneath Hajin's feet across the old sanctuary paving. Blood darkened the broken rim while stone cut his wrists, and the nearest soldiers backed away from their own commander.
The first fracture tore open between the altar steps and the road leading toward the medical trench.
"You stole my battery," Dreth shrieked, wrenching one hand deeper, "so try stealing the mountain when it falls on you!"
Steam burst from the fracture and struck a discarded shield hard enough to flip it across the plaza.
"Sixty square miles will drop into this vault, and your hospital can share the grave with my army!"
Hajin planted his heel against a shifting slab while grit rattled through its widening seam.
"Oh, fantastic, he's gone full doomsday," he snorted, testing the Chain's weight, "your men are right behind you, they might want a better retirement offer!"
