"You… you can talk?" Alice asked, utterly thrown.
But that brief moment of surprise was enough to make her drop her guard, and the dragon wasted no time seizing the opening.
Despite its enormous size, the creature moved with terrifying speed, twisting its body to strike her with the back of one of its claws.
Alice barely had time to react before the blow caught her full in the side.
Her body went flying, tearing through several yards of air before slamming violently into one of the village houses.
The structure couldn't withstand the impact and collapsed on top of her, burying her under an avalanche of wood, stone, and dust.
"ALICE!" Mark and Aria screamed at the same time.
But their worry lasted only a few seconds, because the rubble started to shift.
With a sharp shove, Alice pushed the ruins off herself and got to her feet, brushing the dust off her shoulders like she'd just tripped and nothing more.
"Ugh… shit," she grumbled, wincing. "Okay, that one actually hurt."
