SWOOSH.
The thing blurred downward—a slash of shadow and sharpened intent.
Damien's body shifted a fraction, instinct curling through his muscles too late to act—but just fast enough to register.
It landed barely a meter from him.
Teeth bared.
Claws outstretched.
He didn't move.
Because Elysia did first.
Her hand snapped forward, two fingers extended—not toward the creature's center, but its trajectory.
A pulse—no flash, no sound.
And then impact.
The beast's momentum reversed mid-air, its body folding sideways in a blink, ribcage imploding before it even finished its lunge. It hit the rock with a wet, final crunch, twitching once before going still.
Damien didn't blink.
His eyes stayed fixed on the smear it left across the canyon wall.
But his mind was already working.
'That wasn't G-rank.'
The weight of the thing. The speed. The presence.
Not much by awakened standards—but too much for baseline.
