While Marcus was launching his follow-up strike, the Blood-Fiend Flower Demon had already moved ahead of him in the invisible chess match unfolding between them.
Just as Marcus prepared to hurl Desperate Strike again, the two Frost Golems flickered and vanished. In the next instant, they reappeared directly between him and their master, their translucent bodies forming a solid wall of ice-blue light. The movement was seamless, almost contemptuous in its precision.
At once, Pebble and Goldie stiffened.
Their aggression shifted.
The golems' Taunt flared, its influence sweeping outward like a cold tide. Pebble's hostility snapped toward the Frost Golems, overriding Marcus's command to focus the demon. Goldie let out a sharp cry and banked midair, talons angling toward the icy giants instead of the Flower Demon.
Marcus felt the break in synchronization immediately.
Deprived of Pebble's coordinated strike, he was forced to launch Desperate Strike alone.
