Bizarrely, Marcus' blow to the creature's knee proved quite devastating. As the stock of his rifle made contact, the entire middle section of the Mad One's leg seemed to shatter like brittle stone, unleashing a small shower of tiny fragments of bone and flesh, a puff of black dust and a splatter of blood, all while the now-severed calf and foot went its own way from the rest of the body.

But though it had suffered grievous damage, the Mad One was still mid-leap and mid-attack, meaning that the wounded leg did little to hinder its current actions. It was timing it so that its arms would converge on Arcturus about the instant it would hit the ground, putting its entire weight into the attack.