His retaliation attack would have been deadly to others. But the flesh and bones of her face had simply liquefied into water. This made the barbs on the spike to fail to find any purchase on her face.
In fact, she wasn't injured at all. The water where her face used to be reverted to flesh and blood after she put some distance between them. It looked as if nothing had happened to her.
He muttered as retracted his nose spike and rubbed the spot where she had struck him, "That was disappointing. I was hoping to catch you off guard there."
She snorted at him, "I have been watching you just as you've been watching me."
This is another reason why he hadn't wanted to fight her. Because he didn't have what it takes to harm her.
Maybe if she were weaker, he would be able to nail her with the Mental Domination Network and prevent her from shifting her flesh to water. But she had the advantage of raw power and couldn't be hurt physically.