Ethan's figure surfaced out of the thunder.
He hovered there in silence, the snow-white core clenched in his hand, his gaze calm and razor-sharp.
"Don't waste your time."
His voice wasn't loud, but it cut cleanly into the creature's awareness.
"You're looking for a replacement core, right?"
The firefly jerked to a stop.
Ethan slowly raised the bead in his hand.
"Too bad."
"I'm not giving you that chance."
The instant the words left his mouth, the Heavenly Demon Lightning inside him fully detonated.
White lightning spread like a stormfront, sealing off the space around the firefly completely. Violent arcs crawled through the air—each bolt like a sharpened chain, locking down every path it could take and binding it in place.
The firefly gave off a shrill buzzing vibration.
It wasn't sound so much as an angry pulse of consciousness.
"You've gone too far!"
Its mental fluctuations spiked.
