Celeste's eyes widened as the hooks dug into her flesh. The hand behind her back shook for a moment, and red splotches began to form beneath the white cloth that wrapped her hand. A trap. She gritted her teeth, gripping the sword that was now attached to her hand tightly, with blood slowly leaking out from her hand and onto the grip. Taggerung lept from his position with unbelievable speed and force. Her eyes followed him, but his movement was almost too fast. The pair of claws came falling towards her, ripping through the morning air. She kicked back off of the ground into a backflip, moving her upper body up and out of the way. As she dodged the attack, however, she felt a sharp pain run through her leg. She landed a few feet away in a crouched position, and her eyes glanced to her leg. Blood was running from her shin. She remained in the crouched position, sliding one leg back a bit. She felt a wave of numbness wash over her body. Her pupils focused to near pinpoints. It seemed for a moment that the woman's already paper-white skin faded to near transparency. In that moment, she bolted forward at a much faster pace than she'd exhibited for most of the fight. A white blur flew over Taggerung, the woman's body twisting around in mid-air. She came down, spinning on one foot as she landed behind the pale creature, and lunging with full force, attempted to pierce the creature's back with the long sword. Her own curved sword came over the blade in a guarding position.