No virtue… Why did I have to be such a devil?
Damien gritted his teeth, weaving beneath a massive claw that could have split him in two. The air around him roared as the limb struck down, spraying sand like shrapnel.
To his left, a shimmering bubble drifted lazily into view, a fragile sphere of light. It burst the instant another scythe-like limb cleaved through it, spraying faint motes of color before vanishing. The bubble had done nothing to slow the insect.
Then —
CLANG!
Damien's dagger caught the descending claw, but the force of the blow cracked the blade and sent a shockwave through his arms.
He didn't have time to curse. The impact hurled him backward, boots scraping deep furrows into the dune as he skidded across the burning sand. He landed hard but twisted his body mid-fall, rolling and rising to one knee, his dagger still glinting defiantly in his hand.
His chest rose and fell in ragged breaths, a bitter smile curling on his lips despite the ache in his arms.
