The air around Albert changed before he even moved.
Byako flashed a sharp white, as if the blade had sensed the rising tension between the three combatants.
He didn't fly into the fray—he didn't need to. A step, a deep breath, and in the next instant, the sword sliced through the void.
The diagonal slash wasn't just a strike—it was a line of pure, condensed force that sliced through the air like a solid bolt of lightning, ripping through everything in its path. The sound came afterward, low and drawn-out, like the echo of distant thunder.
Samira and Strax realized it simultaneously. The energy of the blow was approaching too fast for anyone to block. In an almost instinctive movement, they both retreated—Samira sliding sideways, scales sparkling from the friction against the air, and Strax taking a step back, his hand already raised to deflect any fragments of the wave.
