The flames roared around them like maddened beasts. The echoes of steel against steel, fire against flesh, will against will filled the air. Scathach and Albert clashed like primal forces, their eyes burning with hatred and wounded pride. Her spear sliced through the air with lethal grace, while Albert responded with heavy blows, each movement threatening to shatter the very ground beneath his feet.
But as this ancient duel raged, something else was happening: something younger, more personal, and dangerously unstable.
Strax clenched his fists, his body sweating and vibrating with tension. Dutch Blazer, instead of focusing on the confrontation between them, dismissed him, as if Strax were little more than a momentary nuisance. He dodged with ease, as if dealing with an apprentice... and his eyes, when not on Strax, were constantly on Albert.
