Two feet long and needle sharp, the Ice Spear rockets through the air as if shot from a cannon and slams into the croc’s chest.
CRASH!
Ice shards and scales fly as the spear shatters, but only after the tip is driven into the beast’s flesh. The monster turns to me again and prepares to open its mouths to douse me in fire.
I don’t have three brains for nothing, you sap!
Ice Spear!
Another projectile of concentrated ice zips through the air and smashes against the monster, just under its neck. Having avoided the thicker chest scales, a bloody hole is torn in the monster as the spear penetrates deep.
The flesh immediately begins to bubble and regenerate, but not quick enough.
As the monster recovers from the blow, I try to give myself a little extra time by Dashing to my right. It works for a moment as the croc raises its one free hand to defend against my next spear and momentarily loses sight of me.
It only buys me a few seconds, enough for me to start compressing the ice Mana until it turns from a glittering pale colour into a much deeper, richer blue.
Catching sight of me, the croc opens its upper jaws and unleashes a narrow torrent of blue flame. The air heats to searing hot as the flame ignites. But I was fore warned by my antennae and am already moving, Dashing right out of there.
In fact, wasn’t that Dash a little quicker than usual?
“Still wide open! Hahahahaha!” Vibrant cries as she Dashes wildly back into the fray.
Her carapace is still showing signs of a horrific crack in the process of healing, but she doesn’t seem to care as she positions herself behind the croc once more.
“Not again!” I cry, aghast.
“Ahaha! Why not?” she laughs and charges in, savaging its wounded leg.
The croc knows what to do this time and swings its tails. Vibrant has wised up and smartly Dashes low, sliding underneath the strike and running clear.
She bought me just enough time.
Forceful Ice Spear!
This spear is four feet long and dense, the ice a deep, sparkling blue as if formed from the waters of the deepest depths of the ocean. As I activate the spell, it crackles into existence over my head before blasting through the air at the croc.
The spear strikes home against the croc’s gut. Instead of shattering, it drives right in, burying half its length into the beast.
“ARRRRRRRRR!” the croc bellows in pain and swings at the air wildly.
My brains are fried, and my Mana is low. I task both sub-brains with holding the ice construct in place and give my Mana a chance to recharge. I’ve been sucking Mana out of the ground all this time through my legs, but my consumption has been high. I’ll need to take the fight to the croc the old-fashioned way.
Exhausted, I can only open my mandibles wide and charge in.
“Yay!” Vibrant shouts and charges back in again.
The croc is reeling from the Ice Spear buried in its gut. I bet that took a decent chunk of HP! Please be close to dead. I don’t think I can fight much more!
Shattering Bite!
Pumping out as much stamina as I can, I begin to mindlessly bite at the croc, mechanically chomping as much as I can. At some point I fail to dodge a wild swipe of the claws, and the croc tears a foot long gash in my side that requires me to immediately trigger my Regeneration Gland.
That stings!
The croc is staggering, but so are we. Vibrant has nothing left in the tank and Crinis is almost sagging with exhaustion. Tiny has managed to sit up but he hasn’t been able to get back into the fight. Not for lack of trying. He’s dragging himself through the dirt with one arm whilst the other is held against his doubtlessly shattered ribs.
The croc becomes increasingly desperate, growling and roaring with pure rage. Pinned to the spot, unable to move due to a leg that feels as if the weight of the world were resting on it, attacked from all sides and bleeding, the beast does the only thing it thinks will save it.
It opens its lower mouth and covers itself in fire.
[Ahhhhh!] Crinis screams and rapidly untangles her limbs, flinging herself out of the flames.
Damn that hurts!
I’m cooking right here!
The heat may be intense, but the croc is cooking itself just as surely as it’s cooking us. This is the last-ditch attack!
Vibrant falls back from the flames, but I stay. Overhead, the massive croc looms, its double jaws gaping as it laboriously heaves air into its burning lungs.
My antennae twitch. I can sense the next moments before they happen. The croc stretches wide its lower jaw and lunges, seeking to end the pest that has caused such injury to it in one bite.
In my mind, it happens in slow motion, every movement following a pattern that I’d already seen. I spin around, facing away from the croc. The jaws are almost upon me as I raise my abdomen high, presenting the justice department in all its glory.
I fill the monster’s guts with acid one second before its jaws close and tear away at my flesh.
121. To Consume the Beast
Turns out, letting a giant crocodile take a sizeable chunk out of your business district is exceedingly painful. Like. It hurts a frickin’ lot.
FTAGN—MY ASS!
Is this a hostile takeover of my commercial operations? What the hell, Croc!
In that one strike, my HP has plunged perilously low. I activate my regen gland again to let whatever regeneration that has accumulated up to this point flow into my system and pull me back from the brink.
[Deep Meditation has reached Level 2.]
I bet it has.
[Cerebral Endurance has reached Level 4.]
If the brain is a muscle, then I’ve pumped the heck out of mine. I’m certain its sprained. Thank goodness for Meditation keeping my mind relatively calm. It isn’t stopping me from rolling around in agony as I contemplate life without a backside, but it is allowing me the freedom of thought to openly mock myself. So that’s something.
The croc isn’t doing any better than me, thankfully. I fired both barrels of acid straight into his open mouth. I’m assuming that both sets of jaws share one throat, so the poor sucker has little hope of getting anything out of his mouths. The sticky acid will be hardening and gumming up his pipes just as fast as it burns through that soft, soft inner flesh.
“HSSSSSS! HARAAAARRR!” the croc gurgles and hisses, falling to the ground as it thrashes about and throws itself off-balance due to its one extra-heavy leg.
CRASH!
The enormous beast falls heavily into the dirt. It raises all of its available claws to rip and tear at its own neck, ripping away scales and skin.
Wait a sec. Is that what I think it is? Is it just me, or is that croc turning a little blue?
Sure enough, the croc is choking. The acid has solidified and blocked its throat, forbidding the passage of air.
I lie panting as my body slowly tries to regenerate. A huge chunk has been ripped out of my carapace and my insides have been exposed to the world. I barely want to move as I watch the croc gradually struggle less and less. Growing more feeble with the passage of time, until finally—
[You have defeated Level 53 Garralosh Praeceptorem.]
[You have gained XP.]
[You have reached Level 15.]
[You have reached Level 16.]
[You have reached Level 17.]
[You have reached Level 18.]