Drained from sealing the Old Square Gate with Starborn light, Bryce leans on the quartz, unsure how long the light will hold or if help will arrive. She resolves to keep moving to the other Gates if she can, even as exhaustion makes every breath burn.

Aboard the helicopter, Fury, Hunt, Ruhn, and Declan watch three Asterian Guard tanks approach, their brimstone launchers primed. Hypaxia confirms the Guard’s presence and orders Fae and wolves to withdraw. Fury hails the units repeatedly, but they ignore all calls; Imperial Command is silent. The tanks halt outside the city and fire.

The first strikes rock Moonwood. Bryce sprints for cover but is trapped when debris collapses, pinning her leg. The Gate’s Starborn light shields her from demons, and she notices her injuries healing unusually fast, likely due to the Horn within her. She struggles to free herself as the Guard reloads, clearly intent on eradicating both demons and Bryce regardless of civilian casualties.

With no response from the Guard and new missiles angling toward the city center, Hunt accepts that conventional options are gone. He tells Fury to take the helicopter as high as possible, then unstraps and leaps, wings weak but unnecessary for the dive. Ruhn understands the cost as Hunt commits to a one-way fall.

As new brimstone rounds detonate and a lethal shockwave ripples toward the Old Square, Hunt spreads his wings and unleashes lightning, throwing himself over Bryce to shield her from the blast. The city convulses under the impacts as Hunt uses his body and power to protect her.