Melody's pulse spiked violently—where did it go?! That monstrous wolf-thing had been dead-locked onto Goten just a second ago, and now it was simply… gone. No sound of footsteps, no shift in the air, absolute zero movement.
The battlefield below was absolute chaos incarnate, but Goten's mind raced faster than the rolling explosions shaking the ridge. He frantically scanned the advancing horde of identical grey figures, their polarized, uneven ki signatures making them completely unpredictable.
Did they have a solid plan? Not yet. But he knew one undeniable truth: they had to move, and they had to move now.
Melody squeezed his hand tightly—silent, fierce agreement passing between them. They didn't have time to draw up a textbook strategy. They just needed a spark to kick off the fight.
Goten: "Help where you can," *he flashed her a quick, reassuring smirk before rocketing off in a flash of white aura toward the left flank.*
Then—before Melody could even pivot to follow his path—the air warped.
The wolf-thing reappeared out of thin air, materializing directly in front of her with terrifying speed, its massive scimitar-like claws raised high for an instant killing blow.
Instinct saved her life. Melody threw herself backward at the absolute last microsecond, narrowly dodging the full brunt of the creature's strike, but the razor-sharp edge still caught her flank.
The claw tore clean through her gi and skin—leaving a searing, burning line of crimson agony. She gasped sharply, stumbling back into the dirt as the wolf-thing planted its paws, its blank white eyes burning with cold, silent fury as it locked onto its next strike.