For a heartbeat—
No one moved.
Ragnar stood frozen mid-step, claws half-formed, the roar still stuck in his throat. He had tried to move. He had tried to reach Kael.
But Seraphina's spell had been too fast. Too absolute.
He realized that she must've known that he would move if he saw Kael in danger.
She had made her attack faster, keeping Ragnar's speed in mind.
Rina's fists clenched until her claws bit into her palms. "…Damn it," she muttered, teeth grinding. "We… We really thought—"
Rovan lowered his hands slowly, his shoulders stiff. "An SS-ranker against an SSS-ranker…" He shook his head, bitter. "We shouldn't have doubted the gap."
Looking at Kael going head-to-head with Seraphina, landing attacks again and again, causing the barrier, which was said to be impossible to budge, to crack, they had started believing that Kael might win.
They had thought that Kael would do the impossible, but now, they could only close their eyes.
