The alpha shadow stalker hit Nox like a freight train made of darkness and teeth, its massive form slamming into him before he could finish dodging.
He tried to use Shadow Glide to slip aside at the last moment, his corrupted mana flaring around his feet, but the creature was impossibly fast for something its size and his reaction was a fraction of a second too slow. Its massive jaws closed around his left arm, teeth piercing through his corrupted mana shield like the defensive energy was made of nothing more substantial than paper.
Pain exploded up his arm in a wave of white-hot agony that threatened to overwhelm his senses completely.
"NOX!" Serian's voice came from somewhere distant, muffled by the haze of agony flooding through his nervous system.
