Chapter 43: The Sentinels Awaken

The air in Solmara shifted, the stillness breaking as the armored sentinels came to life. Their movements were unnatural, stiff yet deliberate, as if their bodies were bound by some unseen force. The cracks in their rusted armor glowed with red energy, and their hollow helmets turned toward Elias and his team, their empty gazes locking onto them like prey.

Lira took a slow step back. "Okay, I don't know about the rest of you, but I really don't want to fight an army of ancient, cursed warriors."

Cecilia spun her daggers, her smirk sharp. "Well, too bad, because I think they really want to fight us."

Reinhardt slammed his fist against his palm. "Finally! Some real opponents."

Marco groaned. "Reinhardt, no!"

One of the sentinels lurched forward, its massive greatsword scraping against the stone, before it suddenly charged, moving far faster than its rusted form should have allowed.

Kierian stepped in front of Elias, his blade flashing as he intercepted the attack. The impact sent a shockwave through the ruined street, dust and debris flying as their weapons clashed.

"These are not just mindless husks," Kierian gritted out, pushing back against the armored warrior. "They are bound to this place. Guardians left behind to ensure no one reclaims Solmara."

Elias dodged as another sentinel swung at him, its strike so heavy it cracked the ground where he had been standing. He activated his thrusters, boosting backward, his mind racing.

"These things… they're just leftovers from the Vanguard?" he asked, landing beside Marco.

Kierian deflected another blow, his movements precise but strained. "They are warriors who fell in the last battle… cursed to remain here as eternal sentries."

Ivy loosed an arrow straight into the gap between one sentinel's plates, but the glowing energy inside it absorbed the impact, the arrow burning away in an instant. She frowned. "Regular attacks aren't working."

Marco rummaged through his satchel. "Of course they're enchanted. Why wouldn't they be? Give me a second, I might have something."

Lira ducked under a sweeping halberd, barely avoiding decapitation. "You have one second, Marco!"

Elias gritted his teeth, eyes scanning the battlefield. These things weren't just armored zombies—they were resisting damage. If regular weapons weren't working, then that meant they needed—

His eyes flicked to his gauntlet.

Overwhelming force.

Elias activated his impact regulator, feeling the stored energy surge through his arm. He dodged around a sentinel, waited for an opening, and then—

Boom!

He slammed his gauntlet directly into the sentinel's core, sending a shockwave of raw kinetic energy rippling through its body. The ancient armor cracked apart, the glowing energy inside it violently dispersing before the entire figure crumbled into dust.

The others froze for a second.

Cecilia whistled. "Okay. That works."

Reinhardt grinned. "Finally!" He smashed his hammer into another sentinel, this time focusing his full strength into the attack. The moment his blow connected, the same reaction happened—the armor fractured, the energy destabilized, and the sentinel collapsed.

Marco snapped his fingers. "They're running on residual mana. Their bodies are enchanted, but they don't have an infinite source of power. If we disrupt the energy inside them, they can't regenerate."

Ivy knocked an arrow. "Then let's do exactly that."

Elias turned to Kierian. "You've fought these things before. What's the best way to take them down?"

Kierian dodged a halberd swing, twisting his sword in a tight arc before plunging it into the gap between a sentinel's armor plates. The energy inside the armor flared violently before shattering.

"You must break their cores," Kierian said, stepping over the dissolving remains. "Aim for the cracks where the energy is weakest."

Elias grinned. "You heard the man. Let's start breaking things."

Lira let out a long, suffering sigh. "I hate that this is actually working."

The team moved in sync, adjusting their tactics—striking at the weak points, hitting hard and fast before the sentinels could react.

Reinhardt tore through the front line, his hammer crushing armor and shattering cores.

Ivy provided support from above, her arrows precisely hitting already damaged points, weakening their structure further.

Cecilia danced through the chaos, her daggers finding the smallest cracks, cutting deep before slipping away.

Marco, finally finding the right alchemical mixture, threw a disruptor bomb that interfered with the sentinels' energy fields, making them vulnerable to attacks.

And Elias?

Elias tore through them like a living shockwave, his gauntlet cracking and shattering armor wherever he struck.

One by one, the sentinels of Solmara fell.

And then, at last, there was only silence.

The last sentinel collapsed, its armor crumbling into dust, leaving only the ruins of Solmara standing before them.

Lira slumped against a broken pillar, panting. "I never want to fight haunted suits of armor again."

Cecilia grinned, flipping a dagger. "I don't know, I thought they were fun."

Reinhardt stretched. "Good workout."

Marco wiped sweat from his brow. "Good gods, Reinhardt."

Elias exhaled, looking toward the massive obsidian fortress at the center of Solmara.

"We're not done yet," he said.

Kierian stepped forward, his gaze unreadable. "No. The real secrets of Solmara lie inside that fortress."

The wind howled through the ruins.

They had survived the sentinels.

But the true test of Solmara was still ahead.