A long beam of dark red plasma tore from the Berserker's maw straight toward Liam as it realized the blast.
Liam's eyes widened immediately.
For the first time in the fight, the reaction wasn't calm calculation.
It was pure instinct.
He twisted his body mid-motion and fired a violent burst of flame from his left side. The blast shoved his body off its original path by barely enough.
The plasma blast passed him by a hair's breadth.
Heat and pressure tore across his cheek and shoulder as the beam shot past, close enough to burn through the edge of his clothing and sear a shallow line along his skin.
Then it continued forward.
The forest behind Liam vanished in a straight line.
