[While Psyche's blasts stretched and ripped at the tendrils, Forrest's fire devoured. The appendage flinched away too late and the flames burned through the tendril in seconds. The ayakashi let out a voiceless shriek as its tendril flailed, cut, through the air, while the birds in its grasp instantly flew away in a panicked flurry. It tried snatching its puppets again but it was too weakened to catch them. The tendril fluttered, desperate, and then dissipated into dark mist as it crashed into the ground.

[It tried redirecting another group of birds in Forrest's direction, and Psyche shot another deflecting blast, careening into a wall. When it tried batting back, she grunted and sent it flying away again.]

I'll keep them off you! Just focus on cutting.

[The cuts were having an effect, if they dared look back at the ayakashi and its weave. With each string cut, the ayakashi's many limbs were forced to abandon a thread and the weave became a little smaller.]