Chapter 20: Code Breaker vs. Immortal
The battlefield had become a wasteland.
Ash drifted through the air as broken buildings smoldered beneath a darkened sky.
Shen lay motionless on the shattered ground, his Dark Mage High Mediator form finally exhausted. Nearby, the Commander stood alone, battered and bleeding, yet still refusing to fall.
The Arcane General looked down at him with a cold smile.
"So... even your Dark Mage High Mediator has fallen."
He slowly lifted his sword.
"What hope does an old man like you have?"
The Commander remained silent.
He took one step forward.
Then another.
Suddenly, crimson lines of light spread across his right arm like glowing circuits, climbing toward his shoulder and neck. His eyes shimmered with a brilliant digital glow.
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Authorization: Alpha Protocol."
A powerful surge of energy erupted around him.
"Code Breaker... Activated."
Kenya's eyes widened.
"So it really exists..."
"The power to rewrite magic itself..."
Without warning—
The Commander vanished.
BOOM!
He appeared behind the Arcane General in an instant, his fist crashing into the General's back with overwhelming force.
A violent shockwave ripped through the battlefield, splitting the earth beneath them.
The General slid backward before regaining his balance.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"You still choose to fight?"
"Impressive."
The Commander calmly lowered his fist.
"I'm not fighting."
He raised his glowing hand.
"I'm rewriting reality."
The surrounding space distorted.
Gravity twisted.
Time itself seemed to hesitate for a single moment.
Even so...
The wounds covering the General's body regenerated instantly.
The General laughed.
"I am not merely a warrior."
"I am immortality itself."
Before anyone could react—
A pillar of black flame erupted from the battlefield.
The overwhelming pressure forced everyone to shield their eyes.
From within the darkness...
Shen slowly stood.
His violet eyes burned brighter than before as dark energy surrounded his body once again.
He looked directly at the General.
"Then let's see if immortality can be balanced."
A confident smile crossed his face.
The Commander glanced toward Shen.
No words were exchanged.
None were needed.
Both warriors understood each other.
In the next instant, they charged together.
Code and curse.
Light and darkness.
Their powers intertwined as they launched a perfectly synchronized assault.
For the first time since the battle began, the Arcane General staggered backward.
His smile faded.
"You fight as one..."
"...yet you still fail to understand."
Shen pointed his sword toward him.
"Then explain it."
The General's smile returned, more unsettling than before.
"I was never created to win."
"I was created to never die."
"My soul resets."
"I am..."
"...a curse."
The Commander tightened his glowing fist.
His eyes remained unwavering.
"Then we won't destroy you."
A powerful surge of energy gathered around him.
"We'll seal you."
"For good."