The fog swallowed the sound as if it was a living thing. Eleanor pushed herself up from the shattered cobblestone, trying to steady her breathing. The blast that scattered the squad still rang inside her skull. Dust clung to her white wings.
Lucy rose beside her, calm as stone, brushing debris from her dark kimono. Silvia slid into a guarded stance, blade drawn, already scanning the shadows.
They were alone. Allen, Robert, and Peter were gone.
Silvia exhaled softly. "She split the formation clean."
Lucy's gaze sharpened. "This wasn't random. Melody used a tuned shockwave to isolate us."
Eleanor steadied herself. "Is she hunting us individually?"
"No," Lucy corrected. "She's thinning us. Like a composer removing instruments she doesn't like." The cold logic settled a chill in Eleanor's mind.
Shapes dropped from the rooftops before they could speak again. The air vibrated unnaturally. Shadows peeled from the fog, stepping into distorted moonlight.
Black Angels. But these were different, radiating energy that was corrupted and highly refined.
The first towered, massive and armored in jagged obsidian plates fused to its rotting flesh. Its wings were shredded, but the bones had been sharpened into blades.
The second was leaner, faster, its feathers metallic and rattling like shrapnel. Its sickly amber eyes fixed on Silvia.
The third hovered, its body dissolving into streams of black smoke. Its voice whispered like static, weaving influence into the dense fog.
Silvia's jaw tightened. "These aren't rank-and-file."
"No," Lucy murmured. "These are Melody's Chorus. Sub-commanders."
Eleanor raised her daggers. "We're taking them?"
Lucy stepped forward, eyes glowing pale silver. "We must neutralize them to destabilize Melody's control over this zone."
Far from the noise of Envale, Katya stood at the rim of the Silent Canyon. She wore only the Vorlag's ceremonial linen. The canyon floor was carved with arcane symbols of restraint, glowing faintly purple. She knelt, her gaze focused only inward.
Drawing the Void felt like pulling razor wire through her spiritual core. The pain demanded perfect control to prevent immediate disintegration. She did not flinch, only tightened her discipline. She needed this power disciplined, not destructive.
The rock around her cracked under the chaotic strain, but the delicate symbols held the energy in check. She was close to the final infusion, the pact that would seal the terrible, necessary cost of her choice. The ceremony continued, silent and unseen.
The three Black Angels lunged simultaneously.
The hulking one, Gravel Maw, slammed the ground, sending tremors through the earth. Silvia dodged left, Eleanor right. Lucy stood firm, her shadow expanding beneath her feet.
Lucy whispered, "Moon Art: Crescent Lock."
A thin arc of blue light instantly froze the creature mid-step. Gravel Maw roared, muscles tearing as it tried to move, the seal binding its joints with intense pressure.
Silvia dashed in. Her blade ignited with pale red light. "Ember Form: Redline Dash!"
She shot forward in a streak of crimson flame, slicing across the creature's chest. Sparks exploded where her blade met the obsidian armor. The armor held firm, but the immense force shook the creature.
Eleanor followed up, needing to find a weakness. She spun her daggers, heat flaring. "Solar Art: Flashburst!"
Twin arcs of golden fire snapped outward. The impact staggered Gravel Maw, and large cracks formed along its plated hide, but the creature remained standing.
It grinned, a stretch of rotting teeth, then shed its armor like a beast molting. The obsidian plates launched outward in every direction like high-speed razors.
Lucy acted immediately. She swiped her hand across the air. "Divine Art: Lunar Veil."
A sheet of pale dusk materialized, deflecting the storm of blades. The clash rang like metal striking glass.
Silvia hissed. "It used its own defense as an attack."
"Focus," Lucy said, holding the veil. "It sacrificed protection for offense. Aim for the exposed joints now."
Eleanor's attention snapped sideways. The second Black Angel, Rattlewind, had vanished completely.
Just a metallic trill. SHING.
Eleanor instinctively ducked as the creature blinked back into existence behind her, wings spinning like sawblades aimed for her spine.
She slashed upward to parry, the clash raining sparks. Rattlewind's wings retracted, then fired again. Feathers shot out like bullets, ignoring the Lunar Veil's localized protection.
Eleanor twisted, letting fire coil around her calves. "Divine Art: Flare Step!"
She vanished in a burst of golden sparks, reappearing behind Rattlewind. Her heel crashed into its spine.
Rattlewind absorbed the blow but didn't fall. Its body contorted, joints snapping backward as it spun mid-air, wings buzzing.
It screamed, an ear-shredding metallic shriek. Its feathers sharpened further, glowing with corrupted divine energy, preparing another volley.
Eleanor's eyes widened at the speed. "Lucy, it's too fast to track."
"I feel it," Lucy said, dropping the Lunar Veil. She formed two blades of shimmering moonlight between her fingers. "Divine Art: Crescent Scatter."
She flicked them outward. The blades spun like curved stars, intercepting the incoming feather volley with surgical precision. The collision created a shockwave of silver sparks and black feathers.
Eleanor sucked in a breath. "They're more coordinated. They wait for us to commit."
Lucy nodded. "Melody's tuning them. She's controlling every rhythm. We need to introduce dissonance."
The third one, Hushling, drifted silently behind them. Shadowy tendrils crept toward Silvia's ankles, taking advantage of her focus on Gravel Maw.
Eleanor snapped her head back. "Silvia, behind you!"
Silvia slashed downward, but her blade passed cleanly through the smoke. The creature whispered, voice like broken strings. "be.still."
Silvia's movements seized. She gritted her teeth. "I can't move! It's silencing my nervous system!"
Lucy blurred forward instantly, silver light wrapping her arms. "Divine Art: Eclipse Crush."
She slammed her palm into the smoke-creature's chest. The impact shattered the shadowy form, sending tendrils scattering like torn cloth.
But it reformed almost instantly behind Lucy. Hushling's hand reached for Lucy's spine.
Eleanor's daggers erupted with golden fire. "Divine Art: Twinflare Break!"
She launched herself between them, blades crossing in a defensive arc. A miniature explosion of solar heat forced the smoke-creature back, its form sizzling and struggling to hold cohesion.
Lucy exhaled, calm. "Good timing. That power neutralizes the light."
Eleanor grinned. "Trying not to die, Commander."
The three Black Angels regrouped, forming a triangle once more, their bodies pulsing in sync. Their movement was a rhythmic, collective beat, the percussion of a deadly orchestra.
Silvia, now free, stared at the synchronized enemy. "They're harmonizing their divinity. Their strengths cover each other's weaknesses perfectly."
Lucy's eyes narrowed, tracking the enemy's collective aura. "Melody fights like a composer. Even her minions move in perfect rhythm, creating a flawless defensive formation."
Eleanor tightened her grip on her daggers, the golden fire burning steadily. "Lucy, what is the counter for flawless rhythm?"
Lucy stepped forward, moonlight spilling off her like she carried her own sky. "We break the harmony. We force dissonance into her composition."
And the three Black Angels lunged, the soundless attack moving as a single, terrifying wave.