The man's smirk widened slowly, curling across his face with a dangerous calm as he leveled his sword directly at them. The steel glistened with a faint reflection of the red moonlight, a cold shimmer that carried with it an unspoken threat.
Yuuna's breath hitched sharply, her chest rising as though she had swallowed the tension in the air. Her eyes began to glow faintly, and she raised her hand without hesitation. Crimson sparks danced at her fingertips, flickering wildly like unstable embers that threatened to ignite into a raging firestorm at any moment. The pressure around her hand alone was enough to make the air ripple with heat.
"Step behind me, Kouhei-kun," Yuuna whispered, her voice low but steady. Her eyes never wavered, locked entirely on the intruder before them.
