Silence followed.
Slowly, dust and purple mist drifted through the air.
The beast lay at the bottom of the crater, twitching weakly. The glow of its markings flickered. Its wings sagged. A thin wisp of purple energy leaked from its mouth, then faded into nothing.
The two bunny girls stared in stunned silence, their eyes wide, ears frozen upright.
Aiden stood to the ground beside the crater and looked down at the unconscious monster. His grin softened into mild surprise.
"Well," he said, exhaling through his nose, "that ended faster than I wanted."
Aiden stared down at the unconscious beast, eyebrows raised in genuine surprise. "Well… that didn't go according to plan. I was trying to beat it into submission, not knock it out cold." He crouched, poked the creature's shoulder, then gently flicked its ear. The beast didn't move. "Huh. Guess you finally decided to tap out, huh?"
