Rui charged through the mansion's burning entrance, the Sword of Mercy blazing with pink-gold fury.
Smoke choked the grand hallway, but she pressed on, guided by the clash of steel and monster shrieks.
Inside the ballroom, chaos reigned.
Overturned tables provided makeshift barricades.
Shattered crystal crunched beneath her feet. The ceiling's elaborate chandelier lay in ruins, its scattered candles licking flames across embroidered tapestries.
Through the haze, she spotted Zou.
Zou's usually immaculate robes hung in tatters, scorched at the edges, revealing burns across his shoulder.
Golden foxfire whipped from his eight remaining tails as he fended off four drakelings at once, his movements sharper than his exhaustion betrayed.
A fifth drakeling, larger than the others, circled behind him.
"Zou!" Rui screamed, but her voice was lost in the cacophony of shrieks and crumbling architecture.
The creature pounced, claws extended toward Zou's exposed back.
