Parasite Hounds surged up the face of the dune, twisted quadrupeds with worm-like heads and jaws that split wide to reveal rings of rotating fangs. Purple mucus dripped from their mouths, hissing as it struck the hot sand, but the creatures showed no hesitation as they rushed forward in a coordinated swarm.
Emery didn't slow.
Wind gathered sharply around his outstretched hand before lashing forward in a crescent of compressed air. The first dozen hounds were caught in its path and came apart mid-leap, their bodies sliced cleanly through before their claws could ever reach the ground.
A heartbeat later, dark green roots erupted from beneath the sand as Elysian Vines shot outward in every direction. They wrapped around the hounds that had escaped the initial attack, crushing their bodies and dragging them beneath the shifting sand before they could gain any footing.
