The attack came without warning.
Swift.
Precise.
Fatal.
Katsuma emerged from the darkness.
Directly at Ryusuke.
Without hesitation.
Without announcement.
Without honor.
But Aethor reacted.
His body moved before thought.
Intercepted.
Dodged.
Pushed.
The blade changed target.
And found his body.
Silence.
For a moment…
no one understood.
Aethor looked down.
The blade embedded.
Deep.
Clean.
No immediate pain.
But then…
it came.
The poison.
Swift.
Cold.
Relentless.
His body failed.
Ryusuke held him.
—NO!
But Aethor already knew.
There was no way out.
There was no solution.
There was no calculation.
Only… error.
His eyes turned to the man.
Katsuma.
Momentary.
Watching.
Then he understood.
He never came to kill Ryusuke.
He came to kill him.
And he…
allowed it.
His last thought was clear:
I saw too late.
And then…
in the silence that followed…
a soft voice echoed in his mind:
— Khamael.