The guardian's roar shook the ground, arms cleaving arcs of destruction. One swipe shattered half the ridge, sending boulders crashing down the mountain. Varik stepped into its path, bracing his blade two-handed. The impact detonated a shockwave that blew Lucen flat onto his back.
When the dust cleared, Varik was still standing. Unmoved. His blade buried in the guardian's remaining arm. With a wrenching twist, he ripped it free, and the arm shattered like glass.
Lucen coughed grit, rolling back to his feet. "You're ridiculous," he muttered.
Selindra launched herself from a foothold of ice, blade driving into the beast's chest. She vanished into the wound, carving from within, then exploded out the other side in a hail of crystal shards.
The guardian staggered, chest glowing with ruptured veins of abyssal energy. Still alive. Still moving.
It planted both massive legs, light building in every single eye at once. Not one beam this time. Dozens. All pointed down the ridge.
