Chapter 42: War Part 33 - Arcane
"I see, so that was your game, Ithriel. You weren't just after the Human—you wanted to cripple our army for years," Darfin murmured, voice low and sharp as a blade.
He hovered high above the battlefield, suspended on unseen currents of wind, just out of reach of the snarling titan below—Atius, Giant General of Ithriel's horde.
The sky behind him bled hues of molten gold and burning orange as the sun began its slow descent, casting long shadows over the shattered landscape. The light caught in Darfin's silver armor, gilding him in soft brilliance, his long hair rippling like strands of starlight in the sky's fading warmth.
He narrowed his gaze, the winds whispering against his pointed ears as he scanned the chaos below. The scent of charred stone and blood-slicked steel rose on the thermals.
Far below, Atius shifted impatiently, thick arms rippling with muscle like coiled ropes, his pale skin smeared with streaks of dried crimson. The Giant's breath came in slow, volcanic puffs—steam curling from flared nostrils like smoke from a dying forge.
Darfin's brows knitted as his mind raced. 'I can't descend to help them; bringing this lumbering beast to the cliffs would spell disaster. Too many would die.'
His jaw tightened. 'I didn't want to expend this much mana so soon, but if this is the final stand, I won't hold back.'
He turned his head slightly, eyes drifting across the battlefield to the opposing cliff where the enemy god still sat.
There, on his polished throne of black obsidian, Ithriel lounged like a spider in its web—his glacial armor catching the dying sun and casting it cold. The light seemed to bend around him, dull compared to the god's cruel brilliance. His subtle but suffocating smirk stirred an old hatred in Darfin's heart.
'You're not better than Seraphine. You're filth. And that smile, wipe it off your face.'
Darfin's fists clenched at his sides. Nothing infuriated him more than those who caused Seraphine pain, so when he saw his lady standing helpless at the cliff's edge, tears streaming silently as her children were slaughtered, something inside him ignited.