The battlefield had become a warzone of fire and fading strength.
Ron's claws scraped the dungeon floor as he skidded to a halt, panting hard, his velociraptor form showing deep black burns along his scaled shoulder.
Smoke rose from his hide.
One of his arms hung low, clearly dislocated.
Still, his eyes remained wild, unwilling to yield.
Shiro stood beside him, legs trembling. His black ninja uniform was torn and soaked in sweat, with several long singe-marks across his back and left thigh.
His shadow clones were gone now, completely shredded in the last barrage. His kunai was cracked. His breathing shallow.
Lina floated a short distance above the ground, her ghostly veil flickering and pulsing weakly.
Her ethereal arms were barely holding shape, and her mist-like body twitched with each painful heartbeat.
She could no longer summon more phantoms. Her soul energy had been drained thin from the repeated attacks.
