The courtyard trembled under shattered stone and lingering corrupted mana.
They stood in formation.
Front line — Ron, Maera, Lia.
Mid — Jax and Drevin.
Rear — Selene.
Varak Thorne stood alone before them, polearm resting against his shoulder, amber eyes gleaming with amusement.
Maera's red aura flared.
"Attack!"
The three in front launched simultaneously.
Ron shot forward first, dark blue flames roaring around his spear. He thrust low, aiming for Varak's thigh. Lia appeared at his right flank, her dusk-pink wind mana sharpening her blade into a slicing current. Maera charged head-on, claws blazing red, intending to overwhelm through sheer brutality.
Varak moved.
Not backward.
Through them.
His polearm spun once, intercepting Ron's thrust with a metallic screech before sliding along the spear shaft and redirecting it. Lia's blade sliced through where his torso had been a fraction of a second ago.
He leaned sideways just enough for Maera's clawed punch to miss by inches.
