The Venatori ambush is sudden, their numbers overwhelming as chaos erupts around you. Steel clashes with steel, and the acrid tang of magic fills the air. You hold your ground as best you can, parrying blows and striking back, but the circle of enemies tightens with every passing moment.

Your breath comes in ragged gasps, each movement growing heavier with effort, when a surge of green light bursts through the fray. Waves of wind and crackling magic follow—the air alive with flashes of power that rip through the Venatori’s ranks.

When the battlefield finally falls silent, you blink against the swirling dust and fading energy. The bodies of your attackers littering the ground around you.

Through the haze, Emmrich strides forward, his figure sharp and unyielding against the settling chaos. He reaches you in a few quick steps, his hands brushing over your shoulders as he kneels to your level.

“Are you alright, my dearest?”