"Got a little bite to it"

Bardeelus' first, natural response was to attack its heart, but he couldn't find it. This thing was an abomination so it sort of made sense that its heart was hidden, killing it would become too easy if it wasn't. 

Overall, the situation refused to de-escalate. This beast's body started jittering, its leg muscles were clenching too, so surely it was getting ready to attack.

Bardeelus couldn't use his powers here, so in order to counter any of its attacks, he had to rely on the next best thing. He pulled that long, hooked sword out, and struck the beast with it!

Everything happened within a few seconds, he was quick with it, and even got surprised by his own speed. The monster backed away just a little bit, because he nailed that hook-like side of the sword against its head! A couple of squeals confirmed the damage.

Bardeelus left his sword on it, and backed away. It was stuck, and there was no point in pulling on a sword that could fly.