The sound was metallic and bone-deep, echoing through the forest like a bell struck by a god. Shockwaves ripped outward, flattening trees in a wide radius. Leaves exploded into the air as the ground buckled and caved beneath Lily's feet, forming a shallow crater.
Yet she did not move.
The Eliminator's limb, the jagged, chitinous, and curved scythe-like limb, was stopped. It had been cleanly blocked against Lily's hardened arm, silver sigils flaring briefly across her fur where the impact had landed.
For a heartbeat, they were locked together.
The Eliminator recoiled first. It leapt back, flashing and landing several dozen meters away, its many legs digging into the earth. Its form finally became clearer to Lily.
She slowly lowered her arm and looked at it with interest. Her lips curled slightly, revealing the edge of sharp teeth. Her silver sigil pulsed once like a heartbeat, but faintly.
"You hit hard," she said softly. Her tail lashed once against the ground, cracking stone.
