Darrow and the Howlers surge through the nuclear wake toward the Ash Lord’s tower and collide with nearly twenty elite dragoons. EMP countermeasures fail, and the fight turns into a savage aerial and cliffside melee. Milia dies; Darrow kills a Gold in a brutal grapple but is wounded and harried while Sevro demolishes foes in his starShell.

The Howlers are overwhelmed as the battle fragments. Thraxa fends off multiple attackers before being speared; Tongueless smashes into her assailants. Pebble fights over Clown’s broken mech in a ravine. Darrow orders a rally to the roof, where he and Sevro battle Grays and Obsidians around the Ash Lord’s shuttle.

Sevro’s mech is crippled by plasma and an EMP rocket, forcing a dangerous ejection. A towering Obsidian breaks Darrow’s shield, nearly cleaves his skull, and starts to scalp him. The Howlers’ position teeters on collapse.

A trumpet call heralds Apollonius and his armored knights, who descend onto the landing pad and carve through the Ash Guard, saving Darrow and reversing the tide despite being outnumbered. Apollonius greets Darrow, exultant, and dispatches Vorkian and Gaul to hunt the routed enemy.

In the aftermath, Sevro is injured, Thraxa receives first aid from Tongueless, and Pebble and Clown are missing. Alexandar, shaken but intact, is ordered to call the Nessus and hold the roof. Darrow leads Sevro and Apollonius into the tower to pursue the Ash Lord.