Chapter 5572

stood unmoving, clad in armor the color of sunrise metal. His eyes, visible through the helm’s narrow slit, burned like twin torches aimed straight into every heart.

The long sword in his grasp quivered, frost-bright edges glinting-a silent warning that even the faintest misstep would draw blood.

Sweat pearled along Enaricus’ hairline. The Guardians truly exist, and we have roused one of them.

He risked a glance at Percival and Esorin. Both wore the same hard mask he did-grim, cornered, unsure which move might unleash ruin.

Dark haze leaked from Percival’s sleeves, coiling like angry snakes around his armor. Shame and fury crashed inside him; he was heir to the Malevolent Path Hall, yet a single Guardian kept his rage leashed. But facing such a formidable presence, he dared not take reckless action. His fists clenched until the gauntlets squealed, eyes locked on the Guardian, daring him to blink.

Esorin half-closed his eyes, mind racing through stratagem after stratagem. If they mishandled today, the tension between the two palaces could ignite a calamity felt across every realm.

No weakness surfaced in the Guardian’s posture; Esorin found nothing to exploit.