The throne room didn't explode with noise, it exploded with pressure.
When Senna swung her sword of white light, the air in the room condensed, snapping like a bullwhip breaking the sound barrier. Rin didn't block it because blocking an S-rank construct with a D-rank body was a good way to get cut in half, so he glitched.
'Static Step.'
He flickered out of reality for a microsecond, the white blade passing through his afterimage, singing a high clear note that vibrated in his fillings. Rin reappeared inside her guard, his fist wreathed in gray void, driving a punch toward her ribs.
Senna didn't even look down. A hexagonal barrier of white mana manifested instantly on her side, catching Rin's fist with a bone-jarring thud.
"Too slow," Senna said, her voice calm, disappointed. "You're fighting like a brawler, Rin. You have the code of a god and you're using it to throw punches."
She flicked her wrist. The barrier expanded, detonating outward.
