Serena slowly opened her eyes, expecting pain, expecting impact, expecting the end—
—but what she saw instead froze her for a brief moment.
Damon stood in front of her, mid-motion, his body twisted slightly as he brought down a massive sledgehammer with both hands, the weapon cutting through the air with a heavy, crushing force before colliding directly with the Level 2 construct, the impact reverberating through the entire floor as the machine's upper body crumpled under the sheer weight and momentum, its frame folding in on itself as metal buckled and shattered, leaving behind a mangled heap that no longer resembled its original form.
He didn't stop.
The moment the strike landed, Damon shifted his weight and rolled to the side, his instincts kicking in just as a laser beam tore through the space where he had been standing a fraction of a second earlier, the energy blast scorching the ground as it passed.
