The dragon's soul-fire breath should have killed him. Dante saw his death coming, a wall of white light which was blue-greenish energy that would erase him from existence. He didn't even have time to dodge.
CRASH!
A wall of black ice materialized between him and oblivion. It held for exactly one second before exploding into crystalline fragments, but that second was enough. The death beam deflected skyward, harmless.
Dante collapsed, his skin blistered and smoking. Across the battlefield, Masha crumpled to the ground. She'd thrown that barrier from fifty feet away while barely conscious, spent her last reserves saving the man who'd led them into hell.
The dragon's attention snapped to her like a predator spotting wounded prey. 'YOU DARE INTERFERE!'
"Masha!" Jin sprinted toward her fallen body, but the dragon was faster. Its massive form charged, each footstep shaking the island.
