Bruce and Ash enjoyed the meal.
They kept eating. Kept grilling.
They laughed softly, adjusted seasoning, let the fire crackle. Anyone watching would have assumed they were insane, treating a lethal dungeon like a roadside restaurant.
Bruce's awareness, however, never wavered.
And then,
It happened.
His eyes widened just slightly.
Not one.
Not two.
But ten distinct mana distortions rippled through the forest shadows at once.
They were subtle. Layered. Overlapping. The Dark Variants weren't approaching from one direction.
They were surrounding them.
Bruce didn't hesitate.
BOOM!
Red snapped into his hand in a flash of crimson light. Mana flooded into the blade instantly, humming with lethal intent as Bruce slashed outward in a clean, horizontal arc. An arc of blood-red mana with the shape of a crescent moon tore through the air, ripping toward the shadows surrounding them.
At the same instant,
He gave the signal.
Ash reacted without a shred of hesitation.
