After roaring, Leon's now larger body dropped to all fours. He launched forward, aiming at the same first target as before.
But Phoenix was prepared this time. She received the incoming beastly comet with a gout of blue flames.
Aether fueled the power behind it, and Phoenix was pooling a lot in that one attack. She did not intend to kill him, but to block his path.
Her tactic worked, as Leon suddenly had intense heat to contend against in his dash. The flames were searing his flesh and burning his fur, but the force was also stopping his advance.
Astaroth used that moment of stillness to attack a few more times, this time from afar, with his bow. Athena had been riddling Leon with arrow after arrow since the beginning, but it all seemed for naught.
The wooden shafts only ended up being broken by the beast-man as he ignored the damage. She often camouflaged herself, trying to change her angles of attack, aiming for weak points as much as she could.
