Halfway through, something clicked.
It wasn't bravery. It wasn't confidence. It was rhythm. The ugly, blood-soaked kind you earn only after almost dying together.
"Barrier's up!" Luna called, slamming the Book open. Light folded outward, forming a dome around the altar, thick and layered. Not pretty. Effective.
Kael whistled. "That's my cue."
He vanished into the chaos, daggers flashing in and out of existence.
Zeref shifted positions without being told, fire locking down the flanks, forcing the angels into predictable lanes.
Keiji anchored the rear, ice blooming wherever wings tried to slip through.
I stayed where I was. Hands burning. Teeth clenched.
"Progress update," Zeref shouted.
"Sixty-two percent!" I yelled back. "And they're not happy about it!"
As if summoned by the complaint, the angels lost it.
Their movements grew erratic, desperate. No more clean formations. They dove headlong into Luna's barrier, cracking it with reckless force.
