Chapter 16: A Battle Begins in the City
Perth lay in ruins.
Broken towers leaned over shattered streets, and smoke curled through the empty skyline like dying ghosts. The city no longer looked alive—it looked claimed.
At the center of it all, the Arcane General walked forward without hesitation.
Each step echoed through the silence.
Behind him, Arcane Knights followed in disciplined formation, their armor stained by war and ash.
One of them stepped forward cautiously.
"General… why have we entered the city directly?"
The General did not stop walking.
"Do you question the command?"
The knight froze.
"N-No, sir."
"Then remain silent."
The General's tone carried no anger.
Only certainty.
But something in the air shifted.
A new presence.
A voice, casual and sharp, echoed through the broken streets.
"Well, this is awkward."
The General stopped.
Slowly, he turned his head.
Figures emerged from the smoke.
Not knights.
Not soldiers.
Ragged cloaks. Uneven steps. Smirks that didn't belong in a warzone.
The Arcane Drifters.
One of them tilted his head.
"So this is the famous Arcane General? Honestly… I expected more armor, less attitude."
Another chuckled.
"And less destruction. You're messy."
The General stared at them.
"Strangers."
"Arcane Drifters," one replied with a grin. "Try to remember it before you die."
For a brief moment, the air went still.
Then the General smiled.
A thin, unnatural expression.
"Then die."
He moved.
No warning.
No sound.
Only impact.
A Drifter's body collapsed instantly, the strike too fast for the eye to follow.
"W-what—!"
Before the others could react, the General was already among them.
One.
Two.
Three movements.
Each one precise.
Each one final.
Bodies fell across the broken street like scattered shadows.
A surviving Drifter stumbled backward in terror.
"This… this isn't possible…"
"He's not fighting… he's erasing us!"
The General stopped.
The remaining Drifter trembled.
"You should have stayed hidden."
His blade rose.
Darkness gathered at its edge.
A final strike—
BOOM!
A wall of blue flame erupted between them, splitting the street in two.
The General's eyes narrowed.
Slowly, the smoke parted.
A figure stood at the edge of the firelight.
The Commander.
His sword was drawn.
His presence alone shifted the pressure of the battlefield.
The surviving Drifter collapsed in relief.
"You're… here…"
The Commander didn't look away from the General.
"So this is the one causing all the noise."
The General tilted his head slightly.
"You are injured."
The Commander smirked.
"And you're ugly. We all have problems."
A tense silence followed.
Then—
The General smiled wider.
"Interesting."
The ground beneath them cracked.
The entire city seemed to hold its breath.
The Commander raised his sword slightly.
"Drifters… fall back."
The surviving members obeyed instantly, retreating into the smoke.
Only two remained standing in the broken street.
Commander.
Arcane General.
The General spoke quietly.
"Let us see if humanity has produced anything worth remembering."
The Commander's eyes sharpened.
"Try me."
The air exploded outward.
And the battle for Perth began.