The sky tore open with radiant symbols.
From the裂 cloud descended a towering being wrapped in burning scripture and golden chains of law. Its wings were not feathers, but living verses that reshaped themselves with every movement.
The battlefield froze.
Priests collapsed to their knees.
Soldiers forgot how to breathe.
The being's voice thundered across the land:
"Shadow-born…
You exist outside Celestial Law."
Hiroto stood firm, his shadow rising like a blade behind him.
"Then your law is weak," he said.
The Divine Judge raised its hand.
A massive wave of light slammed into Hiroto like a mountain.
The scar beneath him shattered outward, black glass exploding into the air. Hiroto was thrown across the field, rolling through dust and smoke.
"Hiroto!" Yui screamed.
Akari charged, spear glowing crimson as she struck the Divine Judge's side.
The impact rang like steel on a bell.
The Judge did not move.
It turned its burning gaze toward her.
"Mortal… withdraw."
Akari was hurled backward by invisible force.
Goro caught her before she hit the ground. "That thing's not normal."
The Divine Judge lifted both arms.
A massive glyph formed in the sky.
"Sentence of Faith."
Pillars of holy light crashed down across the battlefield, erasing trenches and shattering formations. Screams tore through the smoke.
Yui ran to Hiroto's fallen body.
"Get up… please get up…"
Hiroto pushed himself to his knees, blood running from his mouth.
His shadow thrashed violently.
"…No more running," he whispered.
The Watcher shouted from the ridge,
"Do not oppose it with power oppose it with will!"
Hiroto clenched his fists.
Not rage.
Not fear.
Not hatred.
Choice.
He stepped forward.
The Divine Judge struck again.
This time, Hiroto did not block.
He cut.
A blade of shadow split the descending light in two.
The Judge recoiled slightly.
"…You reject Celestial authority."
"I reject forced faith," Hiroto replied.
Chains of glowing scripture burst from the ground and wrapped around his arms and legs.
"Kneel."
Hiroto trembled.
Yui ran forward without thinking and stood between them.
"I don't believe in you," she said, voice shaking.
"I believe in him."
The chains tightened.
The scar beneath them flared violently.
Cracks spread outward like a heartbeat.
The Watcher whispered,
"…The land hears her."
The scripture chains shattered.
Hiroto surged forward, shadow forming into a spear.
He drove it into the Divine Judge's chest.
Light exploded.
The Judge screamed not in pain, but in disbelief.
"A mortal… denying Celestial judgment…"
Hiroto twisted the spear.
"Watch me."
The Divine Judge staggered backward, its wings dissolving into falling scripture. Its form fractured, destabilizing.
Not destroyed.
But wounded.
The battlefield stared in silence.
Akari rose slowly.
"…He pierced a Divine Judge."
The being retreated into the sky, its form unraveling into light.
"This world will remember your defiance…"
Its voice faded.
The clouds closed.
Hiroto collapsed to one knee.
Yui caught him.
"You idiot…" she whispered through tears.
"You challenge heaven itself."
He smiled weakly.
"Someone had to."
Far away, in unseen celestial halls…
A voice whispered:
"The Judge was wounded."
Another answered:
"Then send the Executioners."
And in the Broken Lands…
The War of Faith crossed the point of no return.
To be continued…