I'm in the air, running solutions through my head at a speed I don't have the altitude to sustain.
"MOTORHEAD!"
Oliver's voice. A dull metallic crack echoes through the sanctuary—steel meeting dense bone.
He's already at the Turtarex's flank. He brought the full weight of the hammer down on the rear leg, and the impact was hard enough to shift the joint sideways. The angle of the limb buckles.
Timing. Perfect.
The Turtarex stumbles. Not fully—a hitch, a half-second loss of balance. Enough to snap its jaws shut and look behind it.
Everything happened in two seconds.
I throw my weight forward and drive Eventide into the creature's eye.
The blade meets resistance like steel on steel. The cut doesn't go deep—it skids across the surface, carving a shallow gash. The Turtarex whips its head sideways to protect the eye, and the motion catches me mid-stroke.
I fly backward like a bullet.
