Beginning's fist followed, hammering the same spot. The old man gritted his teeth as fractures spread through the invisible shell. Lily's shadow loomed from behind, her mouth opening and closing in a broken rhythm as she forced her damaged body to move.
Prince's new shadows seeped outward, five more puppets forming, this time also from the demonic supernaturals that had already fallen.
The old man's eyes flicked around the battlefield.
Ghost. Beginning. Lily. The ants. The puppets. The human soldiers. The remaining demonic supernaturals.
And Michael.
His jaw clenched. Another tremor ran through his body. Poison seethed through his veins like molten tar.
He understood.
If he stayed in the middle of this circle, he would die here.
There was no more dignity in this fight, only the cold calculation of survival.
The next moment, something changed in his gaze.
The murderous light did not fade, but it cooled. Hardened.
Then he turned his back.
"...Huh?"
Varun froze.
