The two remaining creatures held their ground. They did not charge but also didn't retreat further, instead deciding to wait for Albedo to make a move or for something to happen.
Albedo recognized the posture immediately. It was not a posture out of instinct or even fear, but conditional execution. They were buying time. Either for the space to react, or for something else to arrive.
His jaw tightened.
"Of course," he muttered. "You're not the end of the equation."
The mana drain sharpened again, a thin spike of pressure pressing against his skin like static before a storm. Not enough to cripple him, but enough to warn him to finish this quickly.
The two constructs advanced in a staggered pattern, one slow and deliberate, the other circling wide, claws dragging through soil and stone with a sound like tearing fabric. They were forcing him toward the shimmer without actually allowing him to reach it.
Guardians indeed.
