"What?! How can this be?!" Garyu was caught in the throes of double denial.
He had been certain his previous assault would have reduced Diru to nothing but cinders and dust. Yet, the surging tide of energy gathering atop Diru's horn proved him deathly wrong.
"Dammit!"
With fluid precision, Garyu snatched his right arm—still suspended in the air—and slammed it back into its socket. His healing incantations took hold instantly, reknitting flesh and bone a heartbeat before his teleportation spell flared, whisking him away.
BOOM!
At that exact moment, a crimson pillar of energy obliterated Garyu's former position, liquefying the surrounding earth. Diru sensed Garyu's presence nearby. Digging his four hooves into the empty air, Diru galloped through the sky, weaving through a lethal rain of light descending from every direction.
"You are truly a persistent nuisance," Garyu hissed, his voice trembling with rage.
