The tension in the suite had been suffocating for minutes, but everything changed the moment Martin's senses flared up.
His eyes darted to the ceiling vent, the soft scraping sounds confirming what he already suspected.
The assailants weren't just making a move from the outside; they were coming in from above.
"Get ready," Martin whispered to himself, his grip tightening on the wooden bars. His entire body tensed, ready for what was about to come.
Before he could give Emilia another reassuring word, the vent above exploded.
Metal grates were thrown to the floor with a deafening crash, and in the same instant, five black-clad figures dropped into the room like predators pouncing on their prey.
Martin didn't hesitate. His body moved with the fluid grace of a Grandmaster, the wooden bars in his hands whirling like extensions of his own limbs.
