Chapter 578: Why are you here?
The air around Albert changed before he even moved.
Byako flashed a sharp white, as if the blade had sensed the rising tension between the three combatants.
He didn’t fly into the fray—he didn’t need to. A step, a deep breath, and in the next instant, the sword sliced through the void.
The diagonal slash wasn’t just a strike—it was a line of pure, condensed force that sliced through the air like a solid bolt of lightning, ripping through everything in its path. The sound came afterward, low and drawn-out, like the echo of distant thunder.
Samira and Strax realized it simultaneously. The energy of the blow was approaching too fast for anyone to block. In an almost instinctive movement, they both retreated—Samira sliding sideways, scales sparkling from the friction against the air, and Strax taking a step back, his hand already raised to deflect any fragments of the wave.
The slash passed between them, striking the ground a few meters ahead and splitting the earth in a deep, smoking line. Shards of stone floated in the air before being swallowed by a wave of white energy that slowly dissipated.
The battlefield, which until then had been a chaos of blows, suddenly fell silent. Only the distant crackle of Dutch’s white fire broke the air.
Strax spun to face Albert, his eyes narrowed, but not with hostility—with expectation.
“…” He said nothing, just waited.
Albert planted his feet firmly on the ground, the tip of Byako still slightly downward, but vibrating with the aftermath of the blow. He looked up at Strax and Samira, and then at Dutch, who held his sword raised, as if ready for anything.
“That’s enough of this,” Albert said, his voice thick with an authority that brooked no argument.
Then he twisted the blade and pointed it directly at Dutch.
The old warrior arched an eyebrow, but didn’t answer.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Albert raised his sword even higher, Byako’s glow intensifying as if reflecting the wielder’s own anger.
The white fire around Dutch wavered, as if reacting to the question. The silence that followed seemed ready to shatter with any wrong move.
The air seemed to freeze for an instant as Dutch raised his sword, the white fire flickering around the blade like a violent dawn.
He pointed the tip directly at Albert, his voice deep and filled with frustration.
“I came to see what the fuck happened to my daughters.”
The sentence didn’t come as a simple statement. It carried weight, demand, and an almost threatening tone, as if Albert’s answer would decide whether he would stand still or destroy everything around him.
Albert, however, didn’t respond immediately. He simply shifted his gaze to Strax, as if sensing he had something to say.
Strax slowly raised his hands, an exaggerated gesture of surrender, while giving a carefree half-smile. “Look… I have nothing to do with this.”
He stepped aside, leaning forward and pointing his thumb at Samira.
“I married this one.” He paused briefly to indicate it wasn’t a joke. “The other one started some trouble, and Samira beat her up.”
Samira raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as if she had no regrets.
“She’s fine… but she’s resting,” Strax added, shrugging.
Dutch’s face changed. The white fire around him seemed to compress, as if every particle of it was being drawn closer to the blade. His anger manifested itself not in shouts or threats, but in a silence filled with murderous intent.
Then, without warning, he lunged.
The blow wasn’t just swift—it was brutal, charged with pure white energy, slicing through the air like a solid bolt of lightning toward Strax. The flames surrounding the blade spread as if to engulf everything in its path.
But before the attack could reach its target, the ground glowed.
Intricate red lines appeared beneath everyone’s feet, tracing ancient symbols that expanded in a wide circle. In less than a second, a colossal rune rose from the ground, forming a translucent shield of crimson light between Dutch and Strax.
The impact came with a dull boom.
The white flames slammed into the magical surface and spread like waves against rock, sparks and fragments of energy flying in all directions. The rune trembled, but didn’t yield.
Dutch’s gaze narrowed, realizing what had happened.
Albert, for his part, lowered his sword, letting out a long sigh.
“That’s why she was so weak…” he muttered to himself. “She used everything she had to protect him…”
His eyes flickered briefly to a distant spot, where Scathach’s body lay motionless on the stone, partially shrouded in the mist of battle. She lay on her side, breathing raggedly, a barely visible glow of residual energy escaping her skin.
The final trace of the rune slowly faded, dissolving into the air like extinguished embers.
Albert took a small step toward her, but stopped. There was no time. He knew that if he let his guard down now, Dutch would not hesitate to take advantage.
“What a fool…” he added, still in a low voice, almost as if he didn’t want anyone to hear.
Strax glanced at him, noticing where his gaze rested, and frowned for a moment. Samira, on the other hand, kept her attention on Dutch, like a beast ready to spring at the slightest hostile movement.
The white fire flared again around the old man’s sword, but now there was something more restrained, almost studied. He knew someone had directly intervened to prevent it from hitting Strax… and that irritated him as much as the reason he’d been there.
The wind blew, carrying the metallic smell of blood and the smoke of the surrounding flames.
The battlefield seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the next move.
Albert, unhurriedly, twirled Byako in his hand, keeping her at hip height, ready to react. His eyes were fixed on Dutch, but the tension in his shoulders showed that part of his attention was still on Scathach’s unconscious body, and the risk of her not getting up anytime soon.
Dutch, for his part, remained silent. But the way he tilted his head slightly, adjusting his posture, spoke volumes: he wouldn’t back down.
It was a tenuous pause—the kind of silence that, at any second, could break into a new clash of forces.