A second later the corrupted light reached its peak. The giant's fused chests split wider as dozens of mouths stretched open at once and the throats in it vibrated in unison.
The unstable and dense glow compressed inward, dragging surrounding death Magic toward it.
Erend reacted on instinct.
"Move!" he shouted.
Lightning detonated from his wings as he veered hard to the side, thunder cracking loud enough to tear the air.
The blast fired downward a heartbeat later.
A column of corrupted energy erupted from the giant's mouths, carving through the space Erend had occupied moments earlier.
The beam slammed into the ground behind them and erased everything it touched. Stone liquefied, ice evaporated, and the terrain collapsed into a smoking abyss.
Aesa felt the heat even from a distance. She spun midair. Her frost wings flexed hard as she redirected herself upward, narrowly avoiding the edge of the blast. Cold condensed around her arms as she thrust both hands forward.
