It came through the press of bodies like a battering ram, its asymmetrical shoulders ploughing aside its own troops. The scarlet coral-like growths on its raised shoulder pulsed with each heavy step, and the spike jutting from its spine caught the light.
Its stretched, ugly skull swung toward her, the bulging eye quivering with rage while the sunken one stared out from its deep socket with cold cunning.
The snout-like jaw opened, rows of yellow teeth bared in a roar, and it brought the massive red axe down in an overhead chop that could have split a building.
Astensia caught it.
The Blessed Blade, reforged in an instant from the Buster Sword to a broad-bladed longsword more suited for the parry, met the axe edge-to-edge.
The impact rang across the battlefield like a struck anvil. The ground beneath Astensia's feet cratered, but she did not buckle. Her arms, sheathed in golden light, held firm. The Demon Commander's bulging eye widened in shock.
