The 'male' beast turned completely, all its senses now focused on the anomaly.
It began moving toward Ren, each centimeter of its advance increasing the tension with growing menace.
'The broken flare,' Ren remembered his last possibility, fingers brushing against the device in his pocket. It wasn't just a signal, the crystal inside was designed to emit a pulse that the professor could detect from a significant distance.
If he could alter the pulse's specific frequency and release it instantly through the opening... His mind raced through the calculations, each second precious as the male drew closer.
Ren moved his hands and mana flow frantically, trying to modify the crystal's resonance before it was too late.
The male approached with inexorable purpose.
He wouldn't make it in time...
The beast was so close that Ren could see energy patterns swirling in its eyes, the hungry glow of a predator that had detected something amiss in its new territory.
