The gargoyle rolled its shoulders, the obsidian veins across its body pulsing as if responding to its rising power. The air around it rippled, distorting under the sheer heat emanating from its form.
Ethan watched, unimpressed.
The beast crouched slightly, wings spreading wide, then vanished.
Ethan's instincts screamed. He moved—tilting his head just in time to avoid the massive claw aiming for his skull. The sheer force of the missed strike sent a shockwave blasting through the fortress, cracking the walls.
Fast.
But not fast enough.
Ethan twisted mid-air, planting a foot on the gargoyle's outstretched arm, then launched himself forward, driving an elbow into the beast's chest.
Boom!
The impact folded the gargoyle inward, its body hurling backward like a meteor. It crashed into a stone pillar, reducing it to rubble.
Ethan landed smoothly, rolling his shoulders. "This all you got?"
A deep, guttural chuckle rumbled from the debris.
