Chapter 55: Lizards and Men
"ANIMA!!!"
There was a giant lizard-type anima hanging on the ceiling at the exact spot that the crystal was protruding from, but for some reason, they could not see the Anima when it was only being illuminated by the light of the crystal. It was only when the flames covered it that they were able to see where it was!
The anima immediately raced out from the light of the flames and everyone in the cave went into a fighting stance as the Anima disappeared into the light of another crystal. James shouted at the flame user to bring up a large bonfire! They needed to create more light so they could see where the anima went!
But before James could chase after the Anima, he was blindsided by another Anima who appeared from behind and slammed into him!
Boom!
The anima sent James into the wall, and James put his hand in front of his face as the Anima used its leg to kick James deeper into the rock!
What the hell is this power!?
This Anima was nothing like the one they faced when they came to the tunnel! That Anima was just a disaster class, but this one was definitely a calamity class! It had to be on the same level of power as the Anima that Mark fought in the city! The new Anima was also a lizard-type Anima, but this one was standing on two legs and looked more like a lizardman than a lizard.
James dragged himself out from the hole before the lizardman could hit him again, and he quickly tackled the lizardman with a loud shout.
"Focus on the other anima! I'll handle this one!"
Once James shouted this out to the other superhumans, he dragged the lizardman a few steps away from the superhumans before he drew back to try and get some space between them. The lizardman immediately swung its large tail at James, but James wasted no time as he lashed out with a punch of his own while activating his blessing!
Toon!!
Boom!
A loud musical note rang out from his fist as it impacted against the anima, and the Anima roared in anger as its tail was almost torn off from the force behind the punch! James charged in and dodged under another tail swing as he grabbed the Anima's legs and roared in anger as he dragged it into the air and made the Anima fall on its side!
He immediately sent a punch down at the Anima, but it was able to grab James by the head and toss him into the wall of the cave before the punch hit!
Boom!
The anima slowly got to its feet and stormed over to James. It lashed out with a massive punch, and James reared his head back and used his forehead to counter the punch!
Toon!
Boom!
Another musical note rang out as James released sound waves from his forehead and used it to amplify the intensity of his headbutt! If not for that trick, James would have definitely lost his head at that moment, but he was able to counter the punch, and the Anima stumbled back and this gave James some time to recuperate as he dragged himself out from the wall again.
He needed to find a way to kill this thing so he could go help the A and B ranks that he left behind. James didn't know how strong that other lizard-based anima was, but James knew that it would be difficult to deal with it because of how it used the illumination of the caves to hide itself. If that anima is anything like this one, then the A and B ranks would not stand a chance!
"Rarggghhh!!"
James dashed at the anima and used all of his strength to tackle the Anima back into the wall of the cave!
Boom!
The two of them burst through the wall, and they appeared in another part of the tunnel. There was a steep fall right on the edge of the new area, and James had to struggle to hold onto the edge of the wall so he wouldn't fall down into the darkness below.
"Argh!"
The lizardman was holding tight to James' leg with its claws, and James immediately used his blessing to release a large burst of sound waves from his legs, dislodging the monster from his leg and making it fall down into the darkness below! But before it even went far, the lizard reached out with its claws and grabbed hold of the cliff face to stop itself from falling!
If you looked closely enough, you would see thousands of sharp stalagmites and spikes down there, and it would mean certain death if they fell into the trench from this height.
"I'm too old for this shit! Just die already, you fucking lizard!"
James could only curse as he forced himself back to the top with a lot of effort! His leg was throbbing from the wound the lizard inflicted with its claws, and James knew that he was bleeding without even looking at it. It was throbbing and spewing blood constantly because of how much effort he was exerting to stay standing.
Roar!!
The lizardman was also able to reach the top quickly, and it charged at James again as the both of them began to exchange blows right on the cliff edge.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
James knew that one mistake from him would end up with his death, and he tried his best to draw the monster toward the cliff while also making sure not to put too much weight on his injured leg. He dodged under one of the monster's swipes, and he released one of his largest punches right into the monster's stomach to make it stumble back in surprise!
He grabbed its tail once it lashed out, and he dragged the monster closer to him and smashed another punch into the monster's back!
The monster roared in anger and used its hind legs to kick James in the stomach! James stumbled back, and he was forced to put a lot of weight on his injured leg as he immediately stopped himself from stumbling too close to the edge!
He got his balance, and he was able to get back into the fight, but a scream from one of the superhumans that he left behind made him turn his head to glance at what was happening!
That was his only mistake.
Squelch!
A deep gash appeared over James' shoulder as he was cut through by the lizardman's claws, and his eyes widened as blood sprayed out over the floor. He immediately gained some distance between him and the monster while holding his shoulder in pain, but the monster didn't even bother chasing after him because it could already be seen that James was going to lose.
A small upturning of its lips shocked James and James narrowed his eyes in anger once he saw it.
It was laughing.
James fell to one knee as the blood loss from both his shoulder and his leg was starting to get to him. He was going to die here if he didn't stop the bleeding.
The lizardman only watched James for a few moments before another scream echoed from the superhumans outside. The superhumans outside were only able to hold the stealthy lizard for a few seconds, but they were severely overpowered because of how elusive it was.
Most of them died due to the lizard's stealthy attacks and raw brute strength, and now only three of them were remaining.
The lizardman turned to walk back into the cave so it could get some of the humans as well. If it left the stealthy lizard to its own devices, then the stealthy lizard would eat all the humans and leave nothing for it!