Suddenly, the pressure on his throat loosened as air rushed back into his lungs.
Sykelion immediately rolled to the side, coughing violently as he sucked in several desperate breaths.
"Hah—! Hah—!"
He looked up, confused.
The Duke had stepped away.
For a moment, Sykelion thought the man was about to attack again.
Instead, the Duke was staring at the floor.
More specifically—
At the fox-shaped energy stone.
Somehow, during the struggle, it had fallen from Sykelion's hand and landed between them.
The Duke stepped on it and the moment his foot made contact, the stone reacted.
A faint glow spread through the carved fox.
The energy rippled outward and the Duke froze.
His breathing was still rough, shoulders rising and falling as if he had just run through a battlefield.
Seconds passed.
Then more.
The tension in the room slowly shifted.
The wild, murderous aura surrounding the Duke began to settle.
