The surprise of the explosion had taught it caution, and that caution slowed it down, making it predictable, stole the reckless aggression that had nearly killed Moon earlier.
But Moon kept planting runes, and the leopard, for all its new wariness, still got caught.
Twice more it misjudged, committing to a lunge over ground Moon had prepared, and twice more a buried rune threw it off its rhythm at the critical moment. Each time, Moon capitalized, Tempest Symphony flashing out with Cryothunder through every stroke, Phantom Strikes masking the real cuts among the false, his blade opening fresh gashes across the leopard's body.
Deep cuts slowly made its mark on the leopard's body, and the effect of the accumulated damage had begun to show.
