The former, in fact; she had Cerberus Junctioned, and with it, magical energy fueling her speed to superhuman heights. She twisted as he lifted him, just enough to take the blow on her tensed obliques, though she still let out a low, wet cough as the blow landed.

"Fair enough," she growled through the pain. He'd left one hand free as he picked her up, so she yanked it up -- for no purpose other than to hold it to her chest. That hardly seemed like a counterattack, but the ferocious glint in her eyes and the sudden tension of the air as a junctioned Guardian Force's life force shuddered into place around her as she summoned it both felt like the moment before a lightning strike. "Problem is -- I have to report back on my mission too..."

The faintest hint of eyes formed in the air behind her. The GF's life force would protect her from blows until she summoned it -- and this particular one she could summon quickly indeed.