And then it erupted.
BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A column of blue fire tore upward, splitting the forest canopy as it shot into the sky. The explosion rattled the ground, trees bending away from the force. The shockwave rolled out in every direction, flattening shrubs, scattering leaves, and leaving the earth blackened and cracked where I had stood.
The blast was massive.
Immense.
Ariel staggered back a step, her breath coming hard and fast. The shimmering mirages she had conjured flickered and dissolved, her tails twitching erratically as exhaustion bled through her posture.
That attack had taken a massive chunk out of her.
But her molten eyes still blazed with defiance. She deemed the cost worth it, her gaze locked on the scorched crater where the flames still smoldered.
She was waiting—watching with a hunter's focus to see if her assault had finally finished me.
But as the smoke cleared, the truth hit her.
Her attack had caught nothing.
