The black leopard pounced with terrifying speed, its massive form bearing down on Mira.
She braced herself, knowing she couldn't dodge in time.
"Hyahh!"
With a grunt, she raised her blade to intercept the beast's claws, but the force of the impact nearly knocked her off her feet.
CLANG!
The claws, shimmering with elemental energy of unknown origin, collided with her blade, sending a jarring shockwave up her arms.
The power behind the strike was immense, and she could feel the energy coursing through her blade, threatening to tear it from her grasp.
Gritting her teeth, she pushed back against the leopard's weight, but the beast's overwhelming strength made it a losing battle
"Mira!"
Alex shouted again, his voice edged with concern.
Mira's muscles screamed in protest as she held the beast off, her feet digging into the dirt for leverage.
The leopard snarled, its bloodied shoulder only adding to its rage, and with a sudden twist of its body, it forced Mira into the ground, pinning her beneath its weight.
'This thing is definitely a Variant class beast!'
But while the situation was quite anxiety inducing to Alex as he watched from afar, Mira was high in spirits!
It was naturally because this beast fit her requirements, and it was higher ranked than her too!
She would only have to kill two more beasts like this one and then she would be able to leave the Primordial Expanse whenever she liked!
The sharp burning sensation of the elemental energy continued to ripple across Mira's skin as the black leopard's claws pressed down on her blade, pushing it dangerously close to her chest.
Mira's heart continued to race, whether it be due to adrenaline or fear — she could feel the heat radiating from the beast's claws, just inches from her body.
With such a close up look and feel for the elemental energy wafting from the beast's claws, Mira could finally guess what element it was that it manipulated.
'It feels like a mix of lightning and fire...?'
But she couldn't quite get an exact grasp on it.
She summoned all the strength she could muster and shifted her weight, rolling to the side.
The movement dislodged the leopard's balance just enough to give her a sliver of space to escape.
She twisted her body and, with a fierce grunt, kicked the beast off her, sending it stumbling backward for a moment.
Alex rushed over at this moment, his eyes wide with concern and admiration.
"You did it!" he spoke, his voice filled with relief. "That was—"
Mira cut him off with a weak smile, still catching her breath.
"Close... too close."
Alex glanced down at the black leopard's corpse, then back at her.
"But you won, and you didn't even have to use Golden Presence this time! That's what really matters!"
Mira nodded, her legs wobbled slightly from the strain.
Alex moved quickly, steadying her with a hand on her shoulder.
She shot him a grateful look as she sheathed her blade, wincing slightly as her injured arm protested.
"I'm fine."
She said, though her voice was softer than usual.
Alex eyed the blood staining her sleeve but didn't push further.
He knew she wouldn't admit if she was hurting anyway.
Instead, he turned to the massive beast lying motionless before them.
"This thing was strong, definitely a Variant class."
Mira nodded in agreement, still catching her breath.
"We should be more careful, I wasn't expecting a fight like that."
Alex smiled wryly.
"Well, we know now to mask our scents for next time. But right now, let's deal with this thing and get out of here."
Mira chuckled lightly, shaking off the last of the tension.
"Yeah, no more surprises. Let's get out before something else shows up."
"Come on." Alex said, while supporting her so she could remain on her two feet.
"Next time, let's make sure the beast doesn't get so close to clawing your face off."
Mira rolled her eyes at him but smiled back.