The leader stepped fully into the broken compound, his armored boots grinding splinters beneath their weight.
He was massive. Shoulders like a fortress, helmet plated with stolen iron, eyes glowing faintly red in the firelight. His curved blade hummed with a low resonance that made Shunya's teeth ache just hearing it.
Around him, the bandits howled as though the storm itself had answered their call.
Naomi did not flinch.
She moved to the front of the crumbling defense line, sliding her blade up into a precise guard. Her chest rose and fell with hard breaths, but her stance was steady, unshaken.
"Stay back," she murmured toward Shunya and Vikoria without looking. "This one is mine."
Shunya's heart stuttered. "Naomi—"
But she had already stepped forward.
The leader grinned beneath his helmet, his teeth flashing. "A girl? This is the champion they send to meet me?"
His laugh was deep, cruel. "You shall make a fine corpse for my men to celebrate over."
