Whiish! Whiish! Whiish!
Three more crystalline shards streaked toward Kai.
He crossed his twin daggers and rang the first two aside, twisting his torso to let the third slice cleanly past his ribs.
A thread-thin line of red bloomed on his shirt, though nothing serious.
He slid back few steps, boots barely grazing against the moss-covered ground.
Shadows clung to him the way mist hugged the forest floor.
High above, perched on a thick branch, sat the emerald-haired elf.
Her half-lidded eyes glowed a fox-green that matched her hair; long ears twitched, reading the wind like antennae.
A faint smile curved her lips.
"Finish him, Sel," she murmured.
Behind her, shimmering like moonlight through glass, materialized a Crystal-Fox Spirit.
Its fur glistened like fractured quartz, twin translucent crystal tails fanned out like knife-blades. Its eyes glowed pale amethyst.
When it exhaled, the air chimed.
Ting!
Six shards formed in a tight fan around its maw—
Crack!
Whip!
