The blood-colored wind still howled.
Ethan and the Bloodfiend Lord hovered in deadlock, suspended in the sky as if the world itself had stopped breathing.
The Bloodfiend Lord's gaze was glacial—like death itself peering down from above.
Since Ethan had absorbed the blood orb he'd thrown, the Lord hadn't summoned another. A flicker of unease now danced behind those pitch-black eyes, edged with caution.
Then—silence.
The wind cut off like a blade.
And in that breathless instant—
Whoosh—
A streak of gold tore through the sky.
An arrow.
It carved an impossible arc through the clouds, trailing divine fire, and slammed straight into the Bloodfiend Lord's chest.
He didn't have time to react.
Light and blood exploded from the impact, blooming into a roiling fireball at his heart.
Ethan's eyes lit with fierce resolve.
"Now."
He shot forward like lightning, the air shrieking in his wake.
In a blink, his hand was pressed to the Bloodfiend Lord's forehead.
BOOM—
