Chapter 80: Final Duel

Chapter 80: Final Duel

Silvia's POV

The battlefield blurred around Silvia as Adrian closed the distance between them. The noise of swords clashing and men shouting dulled under the weight of the moment. All she saw was Adrian, the man who had once fought beside her, now standing as her greatest threat.

Their blades met in a shower of sparks.

Adrian pushed forward with force, testing her defenses. Silvia met him head-on, her sword a blur as she parried his relentless strikes. His form was the same, but there was something darker in his movements, something ruthless.

"You've gotten better," Adrian said, a smirk tugging at his lips, though his breathing was already heavier than it used to be.

Silvia gritted her teeth. "And you've gotten desperate."

She twisted, using his momentum against him, forcing him back a few steps. The battle raged around them, but no one interfered. It was their fight now.

Adrian wiped a trickle of blood from his lip, eyes gleaming. "You still think you can win? That your city, your people, will hold?"

Silvia lifted her sword, stance unwavering. "I don't think, Adrian. I know."

He lunged again, and this time Silvia met him with the full force of her determination.

Their swords clashed in a relentless dance, metal ringing out like thunder in the storm of battle. Silvia saw the way Adrian adjusted his footwork, how he tried to find gaps in her defense. He had studied her style in the past, but she had changed since then. She was no longer the soldier following orders. She was the leader forging her own path.

Adrian feinted left, but Silvia didn't fall for it. Instead, she stepped in close, blocking his blade with her forearm armor and slamming the pommel of her sword into his ribs. He gasped, staggering back a step.

"I see you've learned some new tricks," he growled, rolling his shoulder.

Silvia didn't give him a chance to recover. She pressed the attack, forcing him onto the defensive. He dodged her strikes, barely parrying one before another came. Sweat dripped from his brow, and for the first time, she saw doubt in his eyes.

Dragon's POV

Dragon cut down an enemy soldier, then turned just in time to see Silvia and Adrian locked in combat. He wanted to intervene, to rip that bastard apart, but he knew better.

This wasn't his fight. It was Silvia's.

Still, he wouldn't be far. If Adrian so much as tried to play dirty, Dragon would end him.

Tarren fought beside him, shooting an arrow through a Remnant soldier's throat. "Think she'll kill him?"

Dragon smirked, dodging a blade. "I think she'll make him regret every decision that brought him here."

Garrik, fighting a few feet away, snorted. "She'd better. We've got enough problems without this lunatic trying to rebuild Titan."

Dragon watched as Silvia's blade cut through the air, unrelenting, precise. She was magnificent. A warrior, a leader, and the one person he had sworn to protect, even if she didn't need it. His heart clenched as Adrian barely missed slicing across her arm.

"Come on, Silvia," he muttered under his breath. "Finish him."

The Turning Point

Silvia dodged a killing strike, twisting around Adrian's blade and countering with a slash across his arm. He grunted, stepping back, but his smirk never wavered.

"Still predictable, Earthstar."

She steadied herself. "And you're still overconfident."

Adrian rushed her, but this time, Silvia saw the feint before he could fully commit. She sidestepped, letting him overextend, and in that moment, she struck—her sword slicing clean through his armor, cutting deep into his side.

Adrian gasped, stumbling. Blood bloomed across his dark armor.

He dropped to one knee, his breathing ragged. "You… think this is over?"

Silvia leveled her blade at his throat. "It's over."

For the first time, Adrian's confidence wavered. He glanced at his fallen men, at the battle that was rapidly turning in Silvia's favor. He laughed, a bitter sound. "You really think this ends with me? The Remnants won't stop."

Silvia's grip tightened. "We'll see about that."

Adrian moved—but Silvia was faster. With a single strike, she ended it.

The battlefield fell silent.

The Remnants, seeing their leader fall, began to retreat. Silvia watched them go, exhaustion settling deep into her bones. The war wasn't over. But this battle was.

Dragon appeared beside her, his gaze flicking to Adrian's body before meeting hers. "Told you you'd make him regret it."

Silvia let out a breath, lowering her sword. "Let's go home."

Aftermath

Silvia stood over Adrian's body, staring down at the man she had once trusted. Memories flickered through her mind—training together, laughing over terrible rations, promising to protect the people of Titan before its fall.

"He chose this," she whispered, though part of her hated that it had come to this.

Dragon's warm presence settled beside her. "He did. And you chose to end it. There's nothing wrong with that."

Tarren strode over, wiping blood from her hands. "The Remnants are in full retreat. Some surrendered. Others ran. We'll need to track them down."

Garrik frowned. "We should execute the ones who surrendered. Send a message."

Silvia shook her head. "No. We show them mercy. If they see another way, they might take it."

Garrik scoffed but didn't argue.

Dragon smirked. "Merciful and deadly. You really are something, Silvia Earthstar."

She exhaled, exhaustion settling into her bones. "Let's return to the city. This war isn't over. Not yet."

As she turned, Dragon lingered a moment, his golden eyes studying her. Then, with a small smile, he followed.

Strengthening the Walls

The city was in the early stages of rebuilding. Silvia had made it clear to her council—this wasn't just about patching up wounds. They needed defenses, stronger walls, a clear strategy for future threats.

She sat with engineers, mapping out new fortifications. Dragon leaned against the wall, watching her. "You're really planning for the long game."

Silvia nodded. "This city can't survive if we treat every battle like the last one."

Dragon smirked. "That's why you're going to win."

She turned to him, something softer in her gaze. "And why I need people I trust beside me."

He tilted his head. "Then I guess you're stuck with me."

For the first time since the battle, Silvia let herself smile.