The air changed.

  It wasn’t the wind. The wind had been there the entire time, moving through the valley in slow currents that bent the tall grass and carried dust along the cracked ridge.

  This was different.

  Heavier.

  The moment Draven drove the halberd into the ground and spoke the words Execution Protocol, the entire battlefield seemed to tighten.

  Thread energy ignited along the weapon’s blade.

  The faint filaments that had previously shimmered along the metal now burned brighter, weaving through the halberd like veins of molten silver.

  The ridge trembled.

  Small stones lifted and rolled down the slope as the pressure in the air thickened.

  Riven squinted toward the valley.

  “…Yeah.”

  He rolled his shoulders.

  “That feels worse.”

  Corin didn’t respond.

  His eyes remained locked on Draven.

  The man hadn’t changed his stance much.

  Still upright.

  Still calm.

  But the energy around him had.

  Before, he had been fighting.

  Now—

  He was executing.

  Draven moved first.

  The halberd came down with terrifying speed.

  Aurelion raised his sword.

  Steel collided.

  The shockwave from the impact blasted outward across the ridge.

  The ground fractured under their feet as the force drove Aurelion down to one knee.

  Dust erupted into the air around them.

  Draven twisted the weapon.

  The blade slid along Aurelion’s guard and snapped upward in a vicious backhand cut.

  Aurelion barely leaned away in time.

  The blade carved a deep trench through the rock behind him.

  Kael moved instantly.

  The staff spun through his hands and struck the halberd shaft, forcing the weapon off line before it could complete the swing.

  Draven pivoted.

  His elbow drove toward Kael’s chest.

  Kael blocked with the staff.

  The impact rattled his arms to the bone.

  He slid backward across the ridge, boots carving through dirt as he struggled to absorb the force.

  Draven stepped forward again.

  The halberd came around in a brutal sweeping arc that forced both of them apart.

  The ridge exploded where the blade struck.

  Chunks of rock and earth scattered down the slope.

  Riven ducked instinctively as debris rained past him.

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  “Okay,” he muttered.

  “He’s definitely serious now.”

  Corin’s voice was quiet.

  “He removed restraint.”

  Draven attacked again.

  This time the halberd moved faster.

  Not wildly.

  Still controlled.

  Still precise.

  But the weight behind each strike had doubled.

  Aurelion blocked the next blow.

  Then the next.

  Each impact drove him farther back across the ridge.

  His wings scraped across the ground as he fought to hold his footing.

  Kael moved beside him.

  The shadow at his feet compressed again.

  He planted the staff into the ground.

  The air around them thickened.

  Draven’s next strike slowed slightly as it entered the pressure field.

  Not stopped.

  But resisted.

  Aurelion countered instantly.

  His sword flashed forward in a diagonal cut aimed at Draven’s shoulder.

  Draven shifted the halberd shaft to intercept.

  The weapons clashed again.

  The ridge shook.

  For a moment—

  The three forces locked together again.

  Then Draven twisted sharply.

  The halberd broke the lock and swung downward with crushing force.

  Kael barely rolled aside as the blade smashed into the earth.

  The ridge split open beneath the impact.

  A shockwave rippled outward.

  Riven and Corin were thrown backward by the blast.

  Riven hit the ground hard and skidded several feet before stopping.

  “…Ow.”

  Corin pushed himself up beside him.

  “They’re isolating us.”

  Draven had pushed the others out of range.

  The fight now belonged only to Kael and Aurelion.

  Exactly as he intended.

  Draven pressed forward relentlessly.

  The halberd moved like a living thing in his hands.

  Sweeping strikes.

  Explosive thrusts.

  Sudden vertical blows meant to crush defenses rather than slip past them.

  Aurelion held the line as best he could.

  But every strike pushed him farther back.

  Every impact forced him deeper into the cracked earth.

  Kael circled to the side.

  The staff spun again.

  He struck the halberd shaft once.

  Twice.

  Redirecting the weapon’s momentum just enough to keep it from landing cleanly.

  But Draven adapted instantly.

  He shifted his stance.

  Changed angle.

  The next strike came faster.

  Aurelion barely blocked.

  The impact sent him sliding backward across the ridge.

  His wings slammed into the ground behind him.

  For a moment—

  He was down.

  Draven turned immediately toward Kael.

  Execution strike incoming.

  The halberd rose high.

  Kael compressed the shadow again.

  Gravity tightened around him.

  The blade descended—

  Then stopped.

  Not fully.

  But slowed enough.

  Kael twisted the staff upward.

  The halberd slid aside.

  The staff cracked across Draven’s guard.

  The impact forced Draven back half a step.

  The ground groaned beneath his boots.

  Riven blinked.

  “…He’s actually doing it.”

  Corin shook his head slowly.

  “Barely.”

  A voice cut through the chaos.

  “Left.”

  Everyone froze for half a second.

  Erythea stood behind them, spear resting lightly in her hand.

  Her eyes were locked on the battlefield.

  “High guard,” she said calmly.

  Aurelion reacted instantly.

  The halberd that would have crushed his shoulder instead scraped harmlessly along his blade.

  “Pivot.”

  Kael shifted his stance.

  The next strike missed him by inches.

  Draven attacked again.

  Erythea spoke again.

  “Staff low.”

  Kael moved without thinking.

  The halberd slammed into the compression field exactly where the staff intercepted it.

  The weapon deflected.

  Aurelion countered.

  The rhythm of the fight changed instantly.

  Riven stared.

  “…She’s calling it.”

  Corin nodded slowly.

  “She’s reading him.”

  Not predicting.

  Reading.

  Draven attacked again.

  Erythea spoke.

  “Now.”

  Kael moved.

  Aurelion followed.

  Their combined counterstrike forced Draven to shift his footing for the first time since activating Execution Protocol.

  Draven stopped.

  Just for a moment.

  His eyes shifted away from Kael.

  Toward Erythea.

  The realization was instant.

  Kael was dangerous.

  But he wasn’t the one controlling the fight.

  Draven adjusted his grip on the halberd.

  Then he moved.

  Not toward Kael.

  Toward Erythea.

  The halberd cut through the air in a brutal arc aimed directly at her.

  Aurelion reacted instantly.

  He lunged across the ridge and intercepted the strike.

  The impact threw him sideways.

  His wings slammed into the ground as the force knocked him several feet across the battlefield.

  Draven’s gaze remained fixed on Erythea.

  “You are the strategist.”

  His voice remained calm.

  Measured.

  “You will be removed first.”

  The halberd lifted again.

  Erythea did not move.

  Kael did.

  Shadow exploded beneath his feet as he launched forward.

  The staff swung upward.

  The halberd descended.

  And the ridge shook as the weapons collided.