Gray and Tamemoto sat a short distance from the others, backs against a low boulder near the riverbank. T

  he current rushed past, carrying away the last traces of troll blood and river foam.

  Gray’s chest rose and fell heavily;

  every inhale pulled at the shallow cuts across his ribs.

  Tamemoto leaned beside him, small chest heaving,

  blood still seeping slowly through the bandage on his chest. Both were exhausted, limbs trembling from adrenaline crash and lingering pain.

  Gray turned to his brother first.

  “You did good,” he said quietly.

  His voice was rough, scraped raw from shouting and breathing dust. “You didn’t freeze. You blocked her sword. You fought.”

  Tamemoto looked up. His eyes were red-rimmed, but there was a small, fierce light in them. “I protected you this time,” he whispered.

  “I finally… protected you.”

  Gray’s throat tightened. He reached over and squeezed Tamemoto’s shoulder — firm, steady, silent.

  “I won’t lag behind,” Gray said under his breath. More to himself than anyone else.

  He reached into his tunic and pulled out the wand — Lumen Whisper. The dark wood felt warm against his palm, silver runes catching the fading light. He stared at it for a long moment.

  Lian Wei and Kurogane Rin approached, stepping carefully over the muddy bank.

  Lian Wei spoke first, voice low with respect. “That aura you used… it was clean. Controlled. How did you reach late Awakening at your age? And you’re from Orihara, aren’t you?”

  Rin tilted her head. “The way you moved — the precision. It’s not common for someone so young. Who taught you?”

  Tamemoto opened his mouth to answer —

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  A low, guttural growl rolled from the eastern ridge.

  Three warg riders burst into view.

  Massive wolves — gray-furred, red-eyed, foaming at the mouth — carried armored trolls on their backs.

  The trolls exuded aura — thick, red, oppressive. One rider carried a jagged spear, another a massive cleaver, the third a spiked club wrapped in chains.

  The lead troll snarled in the global tongue.

  “Humans die!”

  Gray and Tamemoto both froze for half a heartbeat — stunned that trolls could speak.

  The wargs charged.

  Gray surged to his feet.

  “Gah—!” Pain ripped through his ribs as he moved too fast.

  He ignored it.

  The Azure Fan Sect and Kagehana Dojo disciples positioned themselves instantly — blades drawn, chains rattling, stances low.

  Tamemoto jumped to the vanguard without hesitation, short sword drawn.

  His aura flared — sharp, focused — coating his blade and arms.

  He met the first warg rider head-on.

  Rin and Lian Wei each took a rider, their teams following.

  The trolls leaped off their mounts. The wargs kept charging — straight toward the rear.

  Gray saw one massive warg barreling toward him, jaws wide, claws tearing earth.

  He didn’t have time to think.

  Mana surged in his first circle.

  “Hngh—!” Gray grunted as the channels burned hot.

  Pain exploded behind his eyes, but he forced it down.

  He analyzed the ground — dry sand, shallow puddle from earlier rain, loose rocks.

  He thrust his wand forward.

  Mana converged.

  Aiko — the spiritism user from Azure Fan — snapped her head toward him. “Fluctuation…!”

  Gray cast a Water Ball — small, controlled, aimed not at the warg but at the sand in front of it.

  The ball burst on impact. Water soaked the dry ground, turning it into slick mud.

  The warg’s paws slipped — claws scrabbling uselessly.

  Gray cast again — Earth Spike.

  A sharp spike of stone shot upward from the mud.

  The warg impaled itself mid-slip — skewered through the chest. It howled — “RAAAGH!” — a sound of pure agony — and collapsed, twitching.

  Gray staggered.

  Pain tore through his channels — burning, searing.

  He spat blood onto the ground. “Gah…!”

  His vision blurred for a second, knees buckling.

  He looked up.

  The fight raged around him.

  Tamemoto held one troll rider — sword clashing against spear, aura flaring.

  Rin and Lian Wei fought their own, teams supporting with chains and polearms.

  The wargs circled the rear, snapping and lunging.

  Gray forced himself upright. Pain screamed in every muscle, but he gripped his curved blade tighter.