Remarks filled with terror and confusion rang through the air as everyone stood in dread before the monstrosity.
"Whatever it is, it's going down!" Armis's voice rang out in the dreadful silence, a flash of green glow accompanying his words as he called forth his armor. Charging at the monster, he shouted to Arian, "C'mon, Pisshead! Let's tear apart this lizard!"
As Armis and Arian rushed towards the Lizard Monster, Aurelia tried to stop Armis in fear. "Armis, no! W—"
"Aurelia, watch out!" Poduria yanked Aurelia back just in time, preventing her from stepping into a stream of green liquid that charred the sole of her shoe. "That is acid! Please, everyone move carefully! The floor is covered with acid!" Lyco called out, filling everyone with caution and concern.
Alan turned towards Longiseus, who was watching Armis and Arian charging towards the monster. As the monster began to charge back, Alan called out to Longiseus, his tone filled with urgency, "Commander, any moment now!"
Longiseus looked back at Alan, his eyes filled with fury and desperation. Grunting hard, he took out his shield from his back and pulled his sword from his mark. Bellowing loud, he filled the air with his command, "EVERYONE! Get ready! This is the moment we have been dreading! Wield your weapons, set your eyes on the target, and turn your fear into anger and fury! No one shall halt until that thing is shriveled into the ground, torn apart limb from limb!"
Longiseus's battle cry filled the air with resolve, jolting everyone into action. The chamber glowed with flashes of green light as the group stood tall behind Longiseus and Alan, ready to follow them into battle. Alan bellowed the final command before they charged towards the creature behind Armis and Arian.
"Crimson Army, focus on killing the beast! Team Goliath, focus on defense! And remember, no soul of ours shall perish before that monstrosity kneels before us! Now, charge!"
At Alan's command, the group charged towards the monster, splitting into different directions. Armis, clad in his golden armor, shone in the torchlight flickering on the walls.
A determined smirk crossed his face as one of the creature's heads lunged at him, jaws wide open. With a swift sidestep and a powerful roundhouse kick, Armis sent the head crashing to the side. But another head swiftly lunged at the airborne Armis, smashing him into the wall with itself.
Seeing this, Arian quickly slid across the ground before leaping high into the air. He extended his arms towards the monster and conjured a massive torrent of wind, blasting it at one of the creature's heads.
The impact hurled the head back, crashing into the wall with a resounding impact that filled the chamber. However, as Arian landed, another head of the monster spewed flames at him, taking him by surprise.
Unable to defend himself in time, Arian covered his face with his arms. Just before the flames could reach him, a thick veil of water shielded him from the scorching heat. Opening his eyes, he saw Poduria wielding water to protect him. Quickly, Arian used his air-wielding ability to lift himself out of her way as Artereia leaped into action.
Artereia moved gracefully behind the water shield, spinning in fluid, dance-like motions.
Poduria stepped back, handing over control of the water to Artereia, who strengthened the veil. With another elegant twist, Artereia transformed the water shield into a sphere.
She then thrust her arms forward, sending the water sphere into the monster's open maw. As she landed, she extended her arm toward the creature's struggling jaw and clenched her fist, causing the water sphere to burst inside its mouth. The force sent the lizard monster crashing back into the wall.
As Armis found himself trapped under the crater in the wall, struggling to keep the beast's jaw from closing on him, Lyco rushed to his aid from one side while Lady Roartad approached from the other.
With a determined grunt, Lyco summoned numerous giant pillars of rock from the ground, thrusting them into the monster's neck with all his might, almost piercing through its tough skin. The creature recoiled in agony as Lady Roartad swiftly hurled her mace and chain toward its neck, ensnaring it tightly. With a forceful yank, she pulled the chain back, causing the mace to clash into the beast's eyes. The monster let out a bellowing cry of pain, loosening its grip on Armis.
Armis quickly leaped down, catching his breath as Lady Roartad, with the help of their combined strength, attempted to pull the beast down. Sensing an opportunity, Armis swiftly joined them, using his raw strength to assist in lowering the creature.
As the beast lowered, Armis sprang into action, unawarely joining forces with Bretren, who jumped in from the side. Together, they delivered a skull-crushing blow to the monster's head, the impact echoing through the chamber sending the head of the monster hurling back.
"Armis, focus on defense, let them take the hits!" Lyco's voice boomed across the chamber, earning a glare from Armis. Refusing to back down, Armis shouted back defiantly, "No!" He charged toward another head of the monster, Bretren following closely behind after a nod of approval from Lady Roartad.
Leotrus and Orioros stood tall, ready to counter the two lunging heads of the beast. As the heads approached, they suddenly spewed out balls of flame aimed at Leotrus and Orioros.
At the last moment, Relecta joined the fray, stepping in from behind them and conjuring a shield of water with ease. The flames exploded into steam upon contact with her shield. With a determined glare, she gritted her teeth and extended her arm, conjuring multiple water shrapnels that swiftly pierced the heads of the monster, causing it to recoil in pain.
Relecta exchanged proud nods with Leotrus and Orioros, who took advantage of the monster's moment of agony. They leapt onto the beast, ready to deliver their attacks.
Orioros extended his hand above his head, conjuring a giant sphere of flame in the blink of an eye. On the other side, Leotrus rolled back his sleeves, revealing darkened marks of knives on each wrist. The marks glowed green as he yanked out his arms, releasing a flurry of knives into the air. With a unified battle cry, they both shouted, "DIE, BEAST!"
Orioros scorched the scales off one of the monster's heads, shoving his ball of flames into it with an explosion. Leotrus riddled the skull of another head with his knives. Both heads retreated in agony as Leotrus and Orioros landed beside Relecta, prideful smirks on all their faces.
"Come, beast, as I shall free you from the shackles of evil and send your soul to Roiran for judgment!" Longiseus yelled, charging at one of the monster's heads. As it charged back, Longiseus swiftly sidestepped at the last moment, taking the brunt of the monster's charge on his shield. With force, he drove his sword into the monster's neck, running forward and slicing it in half. The creature's head bellowed in agony before slamming lifelessly to the ground. Longiseus drew back his sword, turning with skidding feet to watch the head fall.
Longiseus turned and saw Alan charging at the two heads of the beast together. Their roars filled the chamber, reverberating through every brick in an attempt to instill fear in Alan's heart. But Alan, undeterred and with eyes filled with calm, quickly leaped onto the neck of one head. The other head lunged at him with its ferocious jaws.
At the last second, Alan jumped with such speed that he seemed to vanish, leaving the beast and Longiseus's watchful eyes stunned. The lunging head, unable to stop its charge, bit down on the neck of its companion, causing a scream of agony. Alan reappeared above, seemingly out of thin air, holding a massive rock in his hand. His body contorted and prepared for a powerful throw, he locked his sharp gaze on the eye of the monster.
With blurring speed, Alan hurled the rock. The force of the throw broke through the wind, momentarily deafening all other sounds. The rock tore through the eye of the first head and continued, piercing through the neck of the other head. The beast roared in anguish, the echo of Alan's precise and devastating strike resonating through the chamber.
Alan began his descent, turning his attention toward the second bellowing head that lunged at him in fury. It opened its mouth wide and spewed ferocious torrents of flame.
Alan's eyes widened, preparing to counter, but suddenly, Longiseus jumped in, taking the brunt of the flames on his shield. The head intensified its fiery assault, causing Longiseus's shield to heat up and burn his hands. About to lose his grip, Longiseus gritted his teeth in desperation and fury.
In that moment, calm words reached his ears:
"Reserare Scaena III…..Palma Gigantis…"
Time seemed to hang still as Longiseus watched Alan extend his hand from behind him. With his palm outstretched, Alan thrust his hand forward. A sudden burst of wind followed, pushing the fire back into the creature's mouth. The head of the monster was hurled into the wall with a giant crash, the resounding impact filling the chamber.
Armis charged at the head of the creature, with Bretren trailing behind. Seeing them approach, the creature roared and lunged ferociously. Armis and Bretren ran side by side, a smirk playing on Armis's lips as he yelled out, "Come here, you lizard!"
In response to Armis's battle cry, the creature opened its jaws and spewed fire at the duo. Halting suddenly at the oncoming flames, Bretren and Armis looked around for a way to defend themselves. Suddenly, a large boulder was hurled through the air, almost crushing the duo but startling them instead. They looked back to see Aurelia flying through the flames, tied to the boulder by her whip.
Using the boulder as a shield, Aurelia pushed through the flames and forcefully shoved it into the creature's mouth, breaking a couple of its teeth in the process. The boulder exploded on impact, leaving the creature recoiling in agony with its mouth wide open.
Aurelia quickly took advantage of the moment, ensnaring its snout with her whip. She pulled herself onto its head with a powerful yank and, with her whip still tied to the creature's snout, used all her strength to keep its mouth gaping wide as she yelled out to Armis, "Honey! Now!"
Armis smirked proudly at Aurelia's efforts and exchanged nods with Bretren. They both began running at full speed. Armis moved forward and leaped upwards as Bretren increased his pace. Just as the monster began to overpower Aurelia and close its jaws, Bretren, using the full force of his legs, jumped right at the monster.
Armis, descending from above, aimed at the creature as well. In a collective effort, Bretren delivered a powerful mid-air punch that shattered the monster's upper jaw in half, while Armis, with all his strength, landed on the lower jaw, breaking it in two. The head of the creature fell lifeless after a bellowing scream of agony.
The last head of the creature roared deafeningly, shooting fireballs in every direction. The group rallied together for a final, desperate assault. As the monster hurled fireballs, Relecta, Poduria, and Artereia moved ahead, creating water shields to protect the others. Steam filled the chamber, and through the haze, Armis and Bretren leaped high into the air. Arian and Leotrus followed from the sides, launching a projectile of air and a barrage of knives.
The attacks struck the monster's eyes, causing blood to spray from its sockets. Bretren and Armis, descending together, delivered hammer blows to its head, sending it crashing down before it could scream. The impact created a crater, spraying blood and debris in all directions. As the head began to rise, filling its mouth with flames to shoot, Orioros jumped in, bursting flames inside its mouth with an explosion, leaving it bloody and wide open.
Aurelia and Lady Roartad moved in quickly. Lady Roartad hurled her mace at the monster's neck while Aurelia ensnared it with her whip. With a powerful pull, they crashed the beast back to the ground. Lyco then called forth pillars of rock from beneath the monster's head, piercing its flesh and riddling it with holes.
Alan and Longiseus charged forward for the final strike, but their advance was halted as Bretren and Armis landed with such force that their collective stomp exploded the creature's head and the ground beneath it, creating a violent eruption of blood, flesh, and debris.
Everyone shielded themselves from the onslaught of blood and shrapnel. Arian used a gust of air to deflect the chunks of flesh, while the water trio enveloped themselves in a protective dome. Aurelia and Lady Roartad took cover behind a fiery shield conjured by Orioros. Alan crouched behind Longiseus's shield, safe from the flying debris. Only Armis and Bretren stood tall in the center, covered in the monster's blood and gore.
As the echoes of the explosion faded, a profound silence settled over the chamber. They exchanged glances, then cautiously looked at the fallen creature, their hearts filled with disbelief and relief. Armis and Bretren stepped forward from the center of the bloody aftermath. A collective smile spread across their faces as they gathered together, confirming each other's safety and excitement.
After a final scan of the chamber, ensuring the giant, lifeless body of the monster was truly defeated—with its heads crushed, torn, smashed, sliced, burned, punctured, and exploded—they erupted in a triumphant cheer, their voices ringing out in unison:
"YEAH!!!!!!!"
Alan and Longiseus exchanged surprised glances, their eyes wide with disbelief. Counting heads, they turned to each other, their smiles slowly spreading.
"We did it," they uttered quietly in unison.
"Yes, we did it! We defeated it without any loss, without any casualties," Alan exclaimed, his grin stretching from ear to ear as he approached Longiseus. Longiseus mirrored Alan's movements, closing the distance between them.
"Yes, we did it. The prophecy, the inscriptions—they were wrong. We've defeated the beast. We've won!" Longiseus exclaimed, his voice filled with triumph.
Almost on the verge of embracing, Alan and Longiseus stopped short as Aurelia, Artereia, and Bretren approached, their faces filled with amused smiles at the sight of the two jubilant leaders.
Artereia chuckled as she sauntered over to Alan and Longiseus, her tone teasing and playful.
"Why are you two so gleeful? These two brutes stole your thunder, Commander," she remarked, gesturing towards Bretren and glancing back at Armis, who was currently being cleaned up by Relecta and Poduria, while Lyco and Arian teased him.
Orioros and Leotrus had moved towards the gate, which had been obscured by the creature's massive body earlier, exploring ways to open it.
Longiseus chuckled at Artereia's remark. Before he could respond, Bretren grunted, disintegrating his gauntlets back to his mark. He began removing bits of blood and meat from his hair, his voice grumbling as he spoke.
"Doesn't matter who delivers the final blow. Victory belongs to all who fought in the battle," Bretren declared.
"Yup, whatever he said," Alan remarked, smiling at Bretren's words. Artereia reacted with a smirk, but Aurelia turned to her, passing a glare and speaking sharply, "Hey! Who the hell are you calling a brute? My husband is not a thief; he's a proud warrior destined to kill this beast!"
Artereia responded with a cringed smirk and furrowed brows before walking away. Irritated by her reaction, Aurelia continued to banter with her as Bretren also began to walk away after nodding at Longiseus.
Longiseus turned towards Alan, exchanging smiles with him. A sense of calmness began to settle over the two after such tense hours. But suddenly, the air grew still, everything went silent, and all movements were suspended in mid-action. Time slowed down for Alan, and his eyes widened in shock as he saw the necks of the fallen creature begin to shake. Then, as time returned to its normal pace, a scream echoed in the chamber:
"Commander, watch out!"
Alan and Longiseus exchanged horrified looks as they witnessed the destroyed heads of the creature disintegrate into dust, leaving behind bloody stumps.
In a horrifying instant, bulbs of meat, flesh, and blood expanded from the headless stumps, and with a blinking explosion of slime and blood, two other heads grew out from the same stump, each with its own neck. To their astonishment, all the other necks of the creature did the same, filling the air with the smell of acid.
In a chilling synchrony, three heads of the creature simultaneously lunged forward, a sight witnessed only by Alan, Orioros, and Leotrus standing on the other side of the chamber.
In a matter of moments, chaos unfolded as the three heads lunged at Aurelia, Artereia, Bretren, Alan, and Longiseus. Aurelia and Artereia, engrossed in their banter moments ago, snapped their heads around, eyes widening in horror as they saw the gaping jaws of the creature mere inches away from them.
On the other side, another head simultaneously lunged at Bretren. Aware of the imminent danger moments before the others, Bretren attempted to counter the creature's charge. However, hindered by the blood covering his body, he struggled to summon his gauntlets in time.
In a swift and instinctive move, Alan, sensing the imminent danger, forcefully shoved Longiseus away from the creature's open jaws, while simultaneously leaping out of harm's reach himself. In the next moment, the chamber echoed with three bone-chilling snaps of the creature's jaws followed by two bloodcurdling screams.