As the smoke and lingering waves of spiritual energy dissipated, the battlefield revealed its aftermath.
Bodies.
Ash.
Destruction.
Yet, amid the devastation, one figure stood untouched.
Barak.
The acting Regent of the Boar Zodiac Family remained rooted in place, his towering frame unshaken, his golden eyes burning with a terrifying glow.
And before him—Lorath.
The Silver Fang.
The warrior who stood between Barak and death itself.
Lorath's body was steady, but his hand trembled. Not from fear, but from the raw force he had just endured. His sword was still drawn, its gleaming edge now humming with residual energy.
It had happened in a flash.
The explosion.
An attack meant to erase them both.
Yet, in the very instant before the spiritual energy detonation, Lorath had moved.
With speed beyond human comprehension, his blade had cut through the air, cleaving the explosion in two.
A feat that should have been impossible.
