The battle between metal and earth ends with a victory in Selma’s favor. The drone she’d throw off axis stumbles backward, it’s long legs all askew as it tilts over. Right into the impact zone.

There comes a great shuddering of concrete and fraying metal, an enormous rumble like some great beast awoken from slumber. The skeleton of the office building, the survivor of one apocalypse, will stand no longer. Gravity and magic bring its steel beams and crumbling columns tumbling down in a grand cacophony of dust and debris, a tidal wave of force that sweeps across the nearby street and swallows up anything unlucky enough to be nearby.

Including the approaching army of drones.

Those stalwart autonomous soldiers were neither prepared nor designed for was comes to meet them. Their metal frames groan and squeal as the weight of the building comes down on top of them, burying the opposition in one fell sweep.

The air is thick with dust now, the dark of night made even darker. Yet not even one light can be seen amidst the rubble, no blinking LEDs or any sign of survivors. The frozen metal husk of the flying drone lays ruined on the street as well, crystalline fragments of frost scattered around its final resting place. Save the residual creaks and groans of the settling office building, all is quiet. 

Until, at last: 

“Field is clear--no more targets.” Comes the message from the Officers team. “Remaining teams are completing their objectives. We’re holding for now.”

The rain slows as the next hour passes by and the group of officers move forward to establish a small base in the shell of a more intact building nearby. From there they monitor the rest of the battlefield, but no further drones approach Team Kheper’s outpost. 

“Good work.” Liam, apparently the leader of the trio of officers, offers to the team of Ars Magi as they wait in their makeshift shelter. “With the building.” He nods toward Crystal after, adding, “And the flyer—we weren’t expecting that one.” 

“I can’t believe you just threw that mech around,” Gushes cadet Green, a tall and dark-skinned girl manning the computers. She’s already replaying the footage of Selma’s battle with the drone, re-examining the verdant Ars Magi’s bench-press technique. “We thought you were out for sure.” 

Time passes further, and eventually the officers receive word that the exercise has concluded.

Transports arrive to pick up the Ars Magi and their team of officers, ferrying them back out of the military zone. They part at the entrance to Nova Lux, the three officers saying their farewells before returning to their own academy.

When they make it back to the dorms the building is alive with activity, abuzz with the fervor of a successful mission. Most of the girls appear to have returned unscathed, though a few show bruises or other wounds from their encounters. Stories are being swapped, mostly of encounters with the same type of bipedal foe that Kheper faced in their own exercise. There are a few outliers though, and at least one tale of a building-sized version of the metallic walkers. 

Eventually the gossip windows down as it nears time for sleep. The Ars Magi retreat to their respective dorms and the lights go out, signaling the end to another day. Tomorrow are debriefings and performance reviews, but tonight…

It’s time to rest.