Azel was nearly pushed off his feet by the tornado.
The force of it was unbelievable.
Wind clawed at him with invisible hands, dragging his clothes, tearing at his hair, shoving his body backward as though it wanted him in the air.
All around him the world howled and screamed.
Branches whipped past him like sharpened spears. Dust and leaves cut at his cheeks, peppering his skin with a thousand tiny stings.
The roar was deafening, loud enough to drown out even his own thoughts.
He might have been swept away entirely if not for instinct.
He called the goddess blade back to him with a thought, and the weapon responded instantly, materializing in his grip with a flash of starlight.
He plunged the blade into the earth at his feet, driving it deep enough that it acted as an anchor.
Muscles strained as he clutched the hilt with both hands, aura flooding his arms, locking his body against the gale.
The other three weren't as lucky as they were sent into the air.
