The smoke was different this time.
It didn't billow or drift like fog. It surged outward with violent purpose, forming shapes as it moved. Claws that looked almost solid. Armour plating that caught what little light remained. Something between smoke and matter that responded to Gabriel's will without conscious thought.
The wyvern's head snapped back toward him, frost breath redirecting.
Gabriel was already there.
His fist, wrapped in solidified smoke, drove into the wyvern's jaw with enough force to snap its head sideways. Teeth cracked. Black blood sprayed from its mouth and froze before hitting the ground.
The creature staggered backward, golden eyes wide with something that might have been surprise or fear or both.
Gabriel didn't stop.
He moved like the smoke itself, each strike carrying weight that shouldn't exist from someone his size. His swords became extensions of the crimson fog, cutting deeper than steel alone ever could.
