Chapter 121: Mystical Beast: Phoenix
Elreth ducked under a wide horizontal slash, embers trailing behind her as she spun, then thrusted upward at her opponent’s exposed side. The blow struck—but it was like stabbing a mountain. Her spear bounced off his dark carapace with a resounding clang, the flames barely leaving a burn mark.
"Too shallow," she whispered, gritting her teeth.
Suddenly, the enemy slammed his saber into the ground. A tremor exploded outward.
"Gravity Crush," he uttered, voice low and malicious.
Elreth felt her body suddenly plunge as if the entire weight of a collapsing mountain had fallen on her. Her knees buckled, bones groaning from the unbearable force. The forest trees around them bent and snapped like twigs, crushed by invisible pressure. She gasped as her lungs struggled to expand under the sudden gravitational pull.
"Let’s see that smug smile now!" the demon bellowed, lunging toward her, saber overhead.
Her vision blurred.
Move. MOVE!
At the last moment, her will ignited. A pulse of flame exploded beneath her boots—boom!—sending her shooting sideways like a comet. The demon’s blade crashed into the earth where she had just been, vaporizing the ground in a deafening shockwave. Chunks of earth flew into the air like cannonballs, trees disintegrated to ash, and a crater formed in the wake of his wrath.
Elreth landed hard and skidded across the dirt, panting, her armor cracked at the chest. She spat out blood.
But she grinned.
"You’re strong," she coughed, wiping her lip.