Avin stared down at his sword, the metal still faintly glowing from the clash. "Oh shit," he muttered under his breath, eyes wide for a heartbeat before narrowing again. The blade trembled slightly in his grip, pulsing with residual mana, but he barely noticed. His gaze lifted back to Derrick.
Derrick sat against the cracked wall, his chest heaving, head bowed slightly. The blow had launched him far enough that his back had nearly slammed into the brick behind him. Now, he struggled to rise, groaning, but his body was already changing—shrinking. The veins that had bulged grotesquely a moment ago began to fade beneath his skin. His frame loosened, muscles deflating, shoulders drawing inward. The red hue bled out of his eyes like ink dissolving in water, and his breathing slowed to shallow, panicked gasps. The monstrous version of him was gone, leaving only a beaten, trembling man in its place.
