Biting winds swept the high hill behind the Tsukasa Faction, rustling the grass and trees.
Ukyo Saionji stood alone at its highest point. His bright yellow outfit accentuated his solitary figure, while the cold mountain breeze stirred his white hair.
As one of the Tsukasa Empire's top fighters, he possessed hearing so extraordinary it was practically cheating.
The acute perception he had honed as a submarine sonar operator before petrification had long since become instinct. Not even the faintest movement in the surrounding woods escaped his ears.
He had only been making his routine lookout patrol, casually surveying the dense forest at the foot of the hill.
But as the wind shifted, an extremely faint, abrupt sneeze reached him with perfect clarity.
Ukyo's clear eyes suddenly sharpened, and his relaxed air vanished in an instant.
His fingers shifted, closing precisely around the longbow at his side. His fingertips brushed the string as he quietly gathered strength. A low murmur drifted away on the wind, almost as though he were asking himself.
"An enemy?"
In the undergrowth, the sound of Chrome's accidental sneeze had barely faded before he froze, every hair on his body standing on end.
Kohaku reacted in a flash, clamping a hand firmly over his mouth.
Keeping her breathing low, Kohaku spoke in an urgent whisper only the three of them could hear.
"Quick, hide now!"
Gen Asagiri's heart had already clenched with fright. He dared not hesitate.
Moving in perfect unison, the three crouched low and used the scattered boulders and thick weeds as cover, swiftly slipping into a jumble of gaps between the rocks.
They concealed themselves entirely in the shadows and held their breath.
The air inside the crevice was stifling. All three deliberately kept their breathing faint, yet their hearts hammered so violently that