Even Lil' Shroom, who was just a few feet away, had her claws dug into Daisy's face, ready to rip her apart—skin, flesh, and all.
But suddenly, something felt off. Daisy's face... it softened. Like dough.
Lil' Shroom's fingers sank into it unnaturally deep, but there was no blood. No resistance. Just this eerie, yielding texture.
"What the hell...?" Lil' Shroom's brow furrowed, a jolt of unease shooting through her.
Then Daisy's whole body began to melt, her limbs turning pliable and snakelike. She coiled around Lil' Shroom like a constrictor, locking down her arms and legs.
A grotesque head slithered up to her neck, jaws yawning wide to reveal razor-sharp fangs—then it bit down, hard.
"RAAARGH—!" Lil' Shroom let out a howl of pain, her voice raw and confused.
"What the hell is this?!"
"Is this... some kind of illusion?!"
"..."
The entire rhythm of the battle shifted in an instant. But this wasn't Daisy's doing—not really. It was Nightbane's.
