[Realm: Álfheimr]
[Location: Outskirts]
Dante barely had time to bring his right arm up.
The impact came like a cannon shot at point-blank range.
Cerberus twisted its massive body with terrifying fluidity, one of its barbed tails whipping around in a blur of black. The strike cleaved through the air, tearing a visible scar across the plains as it landed. Dante's guard absorbed only a fraction of it. The rest drove straight through him, launching his body backward as the ground beneath him detonated into pulverized stone.
He felt ribs scream. Felt something tear. He ignored all of it.
His body spun end over end through the air, the horizon flipping violently, debris streaking past his vision. Dante forced his core to tighten, twisted his shoulders mid-flight, and planted a boot into the earth the instant he touched down. The ground buckled under the force of the landing, a crater spiderwebbing outward—but he stayed upright, sliding back several meters before stopping cleanly.
