The beast struck first... its tail whipping forward like a scorpion's sting. Jayden barely raised his forearm in time. The impact sent him skidding back, his large feet tearing furrows through the dirt. Pain flared where the spiked ball had connected, but he grinned through bloody teeth.
Then he feinted left, and drove forward with a crushing right hook. The Chthonix shrank itself immediately... allowing Jayden's fist whistling through empty air, then it reappeared at full size mid-lunge, horns aimed at his ribs.
Jayden twisted, taking the blow across his meaty shoulder instead. The horn tip scraped bone, sending white-hot pain down his arm. He answered by grabbing the beast's snout and heaving, flipping it onto its back with a ground-shaking crash.
