"Key turned," she muttered.
Her legs threatened to give out.
Now that the fight's sharp edge was gone, the rest of the pain came rushing in.
Her thigh burned where the first claw had raked along it. Her side throbbed under her coat, slick with fresh blood. Her arms shook when she tried to lift the sword again.
The mana tonic she had drunk earlier had stretched as far as it could. The recovery draught still dulled the worst of the damage, but she was getting close to the limits of what stubbornness could cover.
She staggered back to the edge of the room where she had dropped her pack behind a thick column. Every step was a small argument with her own body.
She sank down with a grunt, back pressed to the cool crystal, sword laid across her knees.
Her whole body trembled.
For a few heartbeats she allowed herself to just sit there, eyes half-closed, listening to her pulse roar in her ears and the softer hum of dungeon mana settling into a new pattern.
