The Poet's System
Chapter 53: Chaos Erupts

Chapter 53: Chaos Erupts

What Astara heard from the Titans that day was peacefully buried, never to be spoken of again. Her soft smiles and quiet yearning to live beyond that knowledge were all the Titans needed to grant her wish.

However, time was slipping through their fingers. With one of the captains gone, the little time they had left became even less.

Giving Giselle time to gather her thoughts and make decisions was out of the question.

So, after a brief moment of reflection, they chose to take a day to rest before launching their attack.

As far as they knew, none of the Phantom bases they had encountered so far were the true headquarters. The main base was hidden deep within the forests, far beyond the city walls.

However, visiting it wasn’t supposed to be necessary—their primary objective was to defeat Giselle. But if things went awry, and Giselle somehow reached the headquarters before they did, it was said that things could get very ugly.

The plan was simple: they would head to the hideout along the southern and eastern borders—the one Medora had previously encountered—storm it, defeat anyone or anything that stood in their way, and reach Giselle.

But the titans wouldn’t fight alongside them. They were capable of taking on the Phantoms—the ordinary members and the recruiters who served directly under the captains—but only if Giselle wasn’t present.

If she was, things could spiral out of control. The titans wouldn’t be able to disobey Giselle’s commands, nor could they refuse Daylan’s. It was a conflict bound to turn ugly.

They rested for just a day. During that time, Daylan marked the titan with ink, hoping to teleport them in when the coast was clear of Giselle and their assistance was needed. When night fell, they launched their attack.

Everything had been running smoothly since Silver’s arrival. They learned just how much influence Giselle held over many of the higher-ups in Honor City—and understood that her death would only mark the beginning of a bigger conflict.

Still, she had to be eliminated, and whatever followed, they would face it head-on.

Darkness hung heavily over the night as the Fools quietly donned their masks, ready to strike.

The night belonged to the Poet; the King held the power to turn night into day at her will; and the Soldier commanded the very atmosphere of both. Together, they were unstoppable.

They moved carefully through the darkness, following Medora’s lead as they made their way to the hideout. Before long, they were within reach.

On Spine Street, a few Phantoms roamed, patrolling. This was a sign that the guards were most likely under their control as well, so they had to proceed with caution.

Slipping through the night, they left their foes lying lifeless on the ground one after another to Daylan’s hands.

Without hesitation, they followed Daylan’s lead. They had to finish everything before the sun rose in the east—there was no time to waste.

They maneuvered through the darkness toward the hideout. A few Phantoms fell along the way, but the real threat awaited at the building’s entrance, where most of the Phantoms gathered—accompanied by their recruiters, who guarded the gateway.

The moment Daylan and the others came within reach, they braced themselves for the inevitable, even as they approached with calm determination.

The Phantoms watched in confusion, wondering who dared to casually walk onto their premises—until they recognized the masks. In an instant, chaos erupted.

Shouts rang out as they scrambled for cover, weapons drawn, and charged forward.

Daylan smirked. He was nervous—not because of the small fry standing before him, but because of his mother.

Just as Silver had said, the reason for killing had to outweigh the value of the life he intended to take. And deep down, his heart wasn’t ready. Not yet.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Daylan and the others charged at the Phantoms. It was like a breeze through a park—none of them broke a sweat.

Medora’s flames tore through their defenses, Daylan moved like he was everywhere at once, and Astara casually unleashed blades of light that sliced the phantoms clean in half.

As the battle wore on, the Phantoms began to realize they were at a disadvantage. A few tried to flee but were swiftly caught and slaughtered by the recruiters.

The message was clear—there was no escape. Fear still lingered in the eyes of the others, but with death behind them and destruction ahead, they chose to fight anyway.

Even so, the Fools showed no mercy. The Phantoms were slaughtered to the last. The hideout had become nothing more than a blood-soaked battlefield. Lifeless bodies covered the ground as the Fools stood atop the fallen, facing the few remaining enemies with cold, unshaken resolve.

However, the Phantoms’ pathetic display irritated the recruiters, and without a moment’s hesitation, they finished them off themselves.

From the look of things, Daylan knew the recruiters would be stronger—perhaps they were the ones permitted to use enhancement potions. That meant they needed to work together to take them down quickly and efficiently.

Before Daylan could issue a plan, Astara stepped forward and unleashed a blade of light, cutting down over a dozen recruiters in an instant.

Daylan turned to Medora, who simply shrugged. He sighed and said, "Let’s finish them off as fast as we can."

The two of them rushed in to join the fight. The recruiters immediately downed potions, transforming into grotesque ghouls and savage hellhounds—but it didn’t matter.

Daylan had hoped they would all fight together, but Astara was doing her own thing—so they let her be. He and Medora moved through the chaos with flawless synchronization, cutting down enemies with precision.

They watched each other’s backs—Daylan’s speed balanced Medora’s slower movements, while her flames kept the ghouls at bay. Together, they were the perfect duo.

Astara had been distant since the day before, and in that moment, it was as if she was unleashing all her anger on the recruiters—yet she remained detached from Daylan and Medora.

As the battle dragged on, the recruiters began to realize just how outmatched they were against Daylan and Medora. No words were exchanged, but a silent understanding passed between them—they were at a clear disadvantage.

Daylan and Medora had little to worry about—until they noticed the number of recruiters around them had dwindled. The remaining ones had charged toward Astara, hoping to overwhelm her.

At that moment, Dark Spiral wore off—but upon reactivating it, Daylan dashed through the recruiters, slitting throats and cutting them down in mere minutes. Meanwhile, Medora gripped the tip of her sword, raising the intensity of her flames and burning them to a crisp.

They both joined Astara before she could summon her Star Aspect and let things spiral out of control.

The greater threats were still ahead, so wasting all their energy on the Phantoms and recruiters was a risk they couldn’t afford. That’s why Daylan wanted them to stay united.

Even so, the fight was taking more time than they had anticipated. The recruiters weren’t the strongest—even with the potion—but they were relentless and annoyingly persistent.

If a strike wasn’t precise, they simply rose to their feet and kept fighting—blood trickling from their wounds, unfazed by pain.

The battle was tipping in their favor—but time wasn’t. Daylan knew Medora was their most vital asset, not just for her flames but because she could heal them. Letting her become exhausted would be their biggest mistake.

With that in mind, he urged them to fall back—he would handle the rest himself. But his words fell on deaf ears. Astara simply muttered, "Take cover."

From her tone and expression, Daylan and Medora knew there was no room for argument—it was best to take cover.

However, Astara didn’t wait to see if they had taken cover. The moment Daylan saw her summon her Star, he quickly swept Medora into his arms—and in an instant, they were already a safe distance away.

When the light finally dimmed, the entire front of the building had collapsed, and the recruiters’ bodies had vanished—disintegrated into thin air.

"Is she okay?"

"Physically, yes... but emotionally? I think she’s lost."

Astara stood silently before the ruined building, watching as debris and shattered stone rained down. The wind brushed gently against her skin like the first breath of a blacksmith leaving the heat of the forge.

Relief—quiet, raw, and long overdue—washed over her.

Daylan and Medora joined her at the forefront but didn’t bother her with questions. They simply followed her lead—like the king she was.

They were just one step away from reaching Giselle—and even with Dark Spiral activated, Daylan’s patience was beginning to fray.

"You brats have really outdone yourselves."

The voice cut through Daylan’s daze, snapping him back to the moment. They all turned sharply, scanning the area for the source.

Two more captains—identical to the first, as if they were all clones of Daylan—emerged from the crumbling building, each flanked by a towering, ominous creature: hell bears, fierce and unmistakable.

"All this... just to kill Lady Giselle? I’m afraid that won’t be happening."

"Daylan, why do they all look like you?" Medora muttered.

The Fools’ expressions darkened. The closer the captains came, the more suffocated they felt—drenched in the weight of their presence. It was overwhelming.

Worse, Silver had mentioned nothing about any creatures—and yet their presence was on par with Gold.

"Shit,"