News of Westminster Bridge’s fall reaches Babel as gunfire echoes across Oxford. A gunman reports a fatality at the Jericho barricade; on the rooftop, Robin confirms through a telescope that a fair-haired civilian woman has been shot. The gunmen insist the angle proves it was not rebel fire, and the scholars retreat amid stray shots.

In the basement, Professor Craft declares the conflict has crossed into open warfare. Ibrahim protests their innocence, Yusuf warns it will not matter, and Meghana demands to know if they will surrender. Robin seizes the moment, arguing the killing will turn the city against the Army and that the rebels must hold the barricades. He privately welcomes the clarity of the Army’s atrocity and its galvanizing effect.

By night, Oxford erupts into sustained violence and cannon fire. Observing from the windows, the scholars watch the city convulse as Robin reflects on collapse and irrevocable change. Near midnight Abel arrives, warning that the civilians will tire and disperse, the Army will fire at dawn, and only the High Street barricade remains. He offers to ferry the scholars out while a rearguard distracts the troops; Robin refuses at first, then agrees to consult the group within the hour.

Returning upstairs, the scholars see soldiers massing on High Street while a small detachment advances. The troops part to reveal Letty, who steps forward under a white flag at the remaining barricade, heralding a potential parley as the siege reaches a decisive brink.