They were completely consumed by their battle, their clash tearing through trees and shattering buildings, leaving the villagers frozen in shock.
What none of them noticed was that whenever Waver drifted too close to their vicinity, Tsushiro subtly forced him back.
Waver noticed.
And he smiled.
"Your movements are getting sluggish," Waver mocked, putting distance between them. "Are you finally out of gas?"
Tsushiro paused, forcing steady breaths before shouting back, "As if you could wear me down!"
The lie was obvious. Waver saw straight through it.
So he set his plan in motion.
He raised his hand. Energized blood sparked violently around his palm, crackling like living lightning. This time, however, he didn't aim at Tsushiro.
He aimed past him.
At the villagers.
"Let's see," Waver said coldly, "if you hero types are all the same."
Before Tsushiro could react, Waver unleashed a wave of Blood Thunder toward the crowd. Tsushiro moved without hesitation, throwing himself directly into its path.
The attack slammed into him. Pain tore through his body as part of his robe shredded under the force.
"Looks like I was right on the money!" Waver laughed.
He raised both hands, charging an even greater attack. Tsushiro staggered into a defensive stance, bracing himself.
But that was when Waver vanished.
He reappeared behind Tsushiro in a blur of motion and fired the attack toward the fleeing villagers.
Screams erupted.
The villagers scattered in panic. Among them were the boy from before and his sister.
The girl tripped over a root and fell hard. She looked back, saw the attack closing in, and froze. Trembling, she clutched her doll and shut her eyes.
Thunder roared.
She opened her eyes to see a glass-like barrier standing between her and certain death.
Waver froze.
He turned just in time to see the flaming edge of Tsushiro's blade inches from his face. He barely managed to leap backward, the heat grazing his skin.
One look at Tsushiro told him everything.
Rage burned behind his eyes.
"I've never been snuck up on like that," Waver admitted, wiping sweat from his brow. "Impressive. But you're running on fumes."
Tsushiro didn't respond.
He vanished.
In an instant, he closed the distance between them and struck with a powerful upward slash. The flaming blade erupted on impact, the explosion igniting nearby houses and trees as Waver was launched skyward.
His upper robe was torn to shreds. Burn marks covered his chest as he gasped for air, crashing through the roof of a burning house below.
Tsushiro dropped to his knees.
He stared up at the sky, chest heaving as he fought for breath. When he finally steadied himself, he looked around at the devastation his flames had caused.
Then he turned back.
The glass barrier still stood.
The villagers were safe.
He exhaled slowly.
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.
The flames around him died out. His blade steamed as the heat vanished, replaced by an unnatural cold. A gentle hand rested on his shoulder.
Tsushiro turned.
Before him stood an elegant woman with white hair and flowing white-and-blue robes. Her pale blue eyes shimmered in the moonlight.
Shock stole his strength.
He could only manage one sentence.
"Fuyumi… why are you here?"