POP!
Burning stars and a hint of magical combustion give us a hint before the shooting star lattice EXPLODES. OUCH.
Pain. Burning fur. A bad sunburn, but worse. I shut my eyes against the flash, and I smell the choking odor of my fur on fire. My claws scrabble against the platform. Lobo howls in agony. After a nanosecond, I recognize my own roar.
The announcer shouts, "Philippus broke free! He broke free! An absolutely astounding escape from a trap engineered with precision and teamwork."
Our trap. Destroyed. While System played us like a fiddle. We were such simpletons.
I regroup, reclaiming my footing, reopening my eyes. The first thing I see is the energy field spreading from one quill to the next and enmeshing Philippus in electric armor and supercharged deadly quill tips. The second thing I see is Lobo shaking all over, as if our defeat can roll off his back like rainwater.
Temporary defeat. Just temporary.
