Chapter 168: A Butterfly Against the Shadow
The hooded woman's claws ripped through the air with feral precision, each swipe carrying enough force to shatter the trunks of nearby trees. Snow exploded in every direction as her strikes gouged deep into the ground, but none found their mark. Tianyi flitted just out of reach, her movements too quick, too light, too unpredictable.
To anyone watching, the fight might have seemed like a mismatched dance; the raw power and relentless fury of the beast-like woman clashing against the unyielding grace of a winged dancer.
Tianyi’s wings shimmered faintly in the dim light, catching the mornign light as she darted between the branches. Her movements weren’t simply fast; they were alien, erratic, her sharp turns and sudden dives defying the rhythm of a conventional fight. The shadow snarled in frustration, claws carving empty arcs through the frost-chilled air.
'She’s powerful,' Tianyi thought, her antennae twitching faintly as they detected the faint pulses of malevolent qi radiating outward like ripples in a poisoned lake. 'Too powerful.'
The shadow's qi made her exoskeleton prickle, her body instinctively recoiling from the unnatural energy. But no matter how strong the enemy was, she couldn’t strike what she couldn’t touch.
The woman lunged again, clawed hand crashing into the trunk of a tree as Tianyi twisted midair, her wings propelling her upward in a graceful arc. She leapt higher, using a branch as a springboard, and landed lightly on the outstretched arm before she could react. Her delicate frame balanced perfectly atop the exposed limb, and for a heartbeat, their gazes locked.
One calm, almost serene, another wild and furious.
THWACK!
Then she kicked the shadow squarely in the face.