Kael took a step forward.
He vanished.
Claudia's instincts screamed. She threw herself backward, her massive serpentine tail propelling her body with explosive force. A few strands of her hair fell to the ground, sliced cleanly by a blade that had passed through the space her neck had occupied a millisecond earlier. A thin slash appeared on her forehead—SLICE—blood welling immediately, the cut so precise she didn't feel it until the blood reached her eyebrow.
Kael materialized where she had been standing. His visor turned toward her slowly.
"You should have run when you had the chance," he said.
He attacked again.
CLANG. CRASH. FWOOOM.
Kael's blades descended in a relentless barrage. Each strike carried the weight of dual intents, Demonic Asura Fire, and condensed darkness. Claudia blocked desperately—her snake avatar reforming around her body, its scales absorbing blow after blow.
