"Get down from here!" she roared, channeling all her power into a single blow.
The ground beneath her feet cracked as she concentrated fire in her arms, forming a glowing sphere so dense it seemed to contain a miniature sun. The air around it rippled, distorting everything within meters of it.
With a scream, she hurled the sphere at the phoenix.
The explosion was deafening. The fireball streaked across the sky, tearing through the smoke, and when it collided with the creature, the flash was so intense that for an instant it blotted out all the colors in the forest.
Sapphire fell to her knees, panting, her body sweating from the exertion. An arrogant smile formed on her face.
"Let me see you swallow that..."
But, little by little, the light from the explosion dissipated.
And there it was.
The phoenix, intact.
