Clearly he had to give Lydia more credit; she really had been careful in picking her route through the shrubbery as Sephiroth's long stride occasionally has to vault over thicker vines or protruding roots from significantly older trees - if she did struggle or stumble at all he certainly didn't see it.

As soon as she reached the clearing she'd chosen, it was obvious why it had been chosen. Indeed, the canopy seemed much higher up, and thicker with only specks of sunlight coming through down onto the thin undergrowth. This was exactly the type of room that they needed.

A final Dash -once he'd made sure his line of sight was clear of any obstruction- brought Sephiroth just two paces from the back of the Golem. Drawing upon his Scholar skills, he cast Mad Scientist at Lydia, increasing her defense while he quickly dragged Masamune around to bear, spreading his combat stance accordingly.

The sharp drag of sharpened steel across rock sung through the clearing, echoing off the thinner, taller trunks of the trees surrounding the area they'd picked as the Golem made a grumble of a noise and started to shuffle around to face the new threat. Having generated enough enmity Sephiroth took a step back and resent his stance with his sword poised at his shoulder height; ready for the next -albeit inevitable- counter move.