As the Queen Card finished its charge, a low hum vibrated through the air like a held breath ready to collapse.
Aveline moved.
Hesitation would only invite death—she knew that better than anyone.
With a single, practiced motion, she stepped forward and slashed cleanly through the stream of water being siphoned into the card. Her sword, blackened with ancient enchantments and pulsing faintly with anti-magic threads, sliced the magic like silk.
The moment the blade met the stream, the water trembled unnaturally—quivering as if aware of its impending fate.
And then—
Boom!
The stream exploded into a burst of force and mist, an audible crack echoing like thunder as droplets rained down in a heavy, glittering spray. The shockwave shook nearby shop signs and sent a trash bin clattering down the cobbled road.
Cynthia gasped, stumbling back a step in sheer surprise. Her heart pounded.
She had seen anti-magic tools before—special runes, suppression cuffs—but this? Not like this.
