WHUUM—!
I jumped back a fraction of a second before the tail slammed into the ground where I had just been standing. The damp soil split, mud and small stones flew into the air. The impact was felt through my feet even though it didn't hit directly.
If that had hit my back—
I cut off that thought before it finished.
"HRRRAASS!"
The lizard turned quickly, far faster than seemed reasonable for its size. Its jaws opened wide, revealing rows of inwardly curved teeth. A pungent smell assaulted the air, sharp and alien.
Suddenly, from its mouth, a spray of dark green liquid shot toward me.
Panic struck faster than my mind could process.
I jumped sideways reflexively, almost losing my balance.
I landed on one knee, my palm bracing against the ground. My waist throbbed sharply, the pain clearer this time, like a forced warning. I gritted my teeth, suppressed the sensation, forcing my body to obey.
SSHHH—!
The liquid hit the ground where I had stood, hissing loudly, leaving a black stain on the moss and damp soil. Thin steam rose briefly, and the piercing stench stabbed my nostrils.
It was poison.
The realization came late, but fast enough to make my blood run cold. Until now, I thought the threats were only teeth, claws, and tail. But I had miscalculated, and that was no small mistake.
"HRASSSS!"
The lizard gave no pause. It lunged again, its movement low and fast, its head aimed directly at my waist. That was no coincidence. The lizard was smart enough to recognize the weakest point clearly visible to it, and it attacked without hesitation.
But that was precisely my chance. I twisted my body, shifted my weight, then kicked as hard as I could.
THUD—!
"RAAAK!"
My kick slammed into the side of its jaw. The vibration traveled from my shin to my knee, then to my hip. Hard. But not enough to knock it down. Its body was just pushed sideways a little, still standing, heavy and steady like a large boulder nailed to the ground.
Too heavy. Much heavier than the bear I'd fought. Even sturdier than the troll I could stagger with my kicks. This lizard's resilience was different. Its scales absorbed most of the impact of my attacks, and its dense muscles were like a second layer of armor behind its natural one.
It retaliated with a foreclaw, a quick swipe aimed at my upper body.
SHRAAK—!
I tried to pull my arm back, but I was too late. The claw grazed my shoulder, the same left shoulder that had just recovered from the wound against the troll. Heat flashed, sharp and wet. Blood immediately flowed, warm, dripping to the ground.
"Uggghh… Damn..." I hissed softly, not from panic, but from real, undeniable pain.
The wound wasn't too deep, but it was enough to make the movement of my left arm stiffer, and blood began to flow from my shoulder. I retreated several steps, changed my angle, forced distance. I couldn't get stuck in one direction. If I let it set the rhythm, I would tire out first.
I had to make it keep turning, force it to use its tail, jaws, and poison spray interchangeably. Each switch might drain its energy, even if just a little.
Blood still dripped from the wound on its neck, the result of my first attack. But the lizard moved as if the wound wasn't there. No signs of weakening. No slowing movements.
Poison dripped from its jaws, falling to the ground with a faint, almost inaudible sound, but its effect on the surrounding soil was clear, the moss blackened and withered instantly. It seemed to sneer, if a creature like that could be said to do so, not an expression, but the way its jaws opened a little wider, as if waiting for me to make the next mistake.
It swept with its tail again, wider this time, forcing me to choose retreat or advance.
But I didn't retreat.
I advanced.
I slipped into close range, right under the arc of its tail, to the side of its belly. The risk here was high. One mistake, and I'd be crushed between its body and the ground. But I didn't have many choices.
I raised my hand, locked onto the attack angle, then drove my nails into its belly with all my strength.
KRSSHREK—!
The scales there were thinner, more fragile than those on its back. I tore without hesitation, moving my hand in one long pull. Blood gushed more profusely, staining my arm up to the elbow and the ground beneath us. The lizard roared, its voice deafening.
"RAAAKKHH!"
Its body jerked upwards with full force, its muscles contracting like released springs.
I was lifted half a meter off the ground, losing all contact, then flung sideways with a force that blurred everything.
THUD—!
My back hit the hard ground. The world shook momentarily, my vision blurred, breath was forced from my lungs as if pulled by an invisible hand. Pain radiated from my back to my chest, and my ribs felt cracked.
I rolled instinctively before its jaws snapped shut where I had fallen.
CRASKH—!
Its teeth hit empty air, clashing against each other with a loud sound like stones colliding. If I had been a second slower, my head or arm would have been crushed.
I rose to a half-standing position, my breathing heavy and irregular. My chest rose and fell sharply, each inhale felt like drawing a small knife into my lungs. Blood from my shoulder dripped to the ground, forming a small patch that quickly soaked into the soil.
The poison still hadn't touched me directly. But it was only a matter of time. This lizard was smart, it didn't just rely on physical strength. It was waiting for me to tire, for my movements to slow, and then the next poison spray would be harder to avoid.
I assessed again, quickly, while continuing to circle. It slowed down slightly, almost imperceptibly, but enough to feel. The pause before its next attack was half a second longer. Its wound was bleeding a lot, not fatal, but enough to disrupt its coordination.
But I wasn't in good condition either. My left shoulder was stiff. My waist throbbed every time I turned. My ribs felt cracked from the earlier impact.
I needed to end this. Now. Before my body truly became incapable.
I waited for it to attack again.
It opened its mouth wide, its neck swelling slightly, a sign it was about to spray poison again.
I knew what would happen now, and this time, I was ready.
I ran toward it.
Not away.
Straight at it.
It sprayed poison in a wide arc.
I dove sideways and forward, nearly touching the ground, my body tilting sharply. The poison missed my face by centimeters, I could feel its heat, the pungent smell that immediately made my eyes sting and my throat burn just from the vapor.
SSHHHH—!
I emerged right under its jaw before it could close its mouth.
I leaped with all the strength left in my legs.
Both my hands slammed into its head, my claws slipping through a narrow gap between thick scales near its left eye.
"RAAAKKHHH!"
The resistance of the scales was clear, hard and defiant, the vibration traveling up to the bones in my arm. I twisted my wrist, then pulled downward, using my entire body weight as leverage.
The lizard went berserk. Its body slammed into the ground repeatedly, while its tail swept wildly in all directions, each impact reverberating heavily, like a fallen log being hammered into the earth.
I was swung, almost thrown off. My hands began to slip from its blood and my own.
Its tail came from my blind spot.
BLAM—!
The impact hit my back like a sledgehammer. Air was forced from my lungs, followed by a bitter, metallic taste as blood sprayed from my mouth in one forced exhale. My vision whited out momentarily, the world vanished from sight, replaced by blinding white light.
Something warm spread across my back. Not just pain, my muscles felt torn from within, as if my ribs were being pressed out of place. My breath hitched, short and sharp.
"AGGHHHH!" A scream escaped my lips before I could stop it.
But I didn't let go of my grip. Not now. Not when I was this close.
I shifted position with a desperate move, one hand digging deeper into the ruined eye socket. I felt something soft and fragile behind it, the shattered eyeball and soft tissue behind.
I pressed deeper, ignoring the disgust that arose.
The lizard shrieked loudly, its voice splitting the night's silence with an intensity that made my ears ring.
"HRAAASKKKK!"
It flung its head sideways with brutal force. I was thrown, my body flying through the air before hitting the surface of a rock, the only large boulder in this open area.
KRAK—!
"AKGGHH!"
My already wounded, bleeding back hit the rock with a dull sound, making my heart seem to stop for a moment. Pain exploded from my back, coursing through my entire body like lightning striking from within. My body slammed down and rolled on the ground, my breath gasping and irregular, while my vision swam before slowly refocusing.
For a few seconds, I couldn't move. My body refused to respond to my brain's commands. My hands trembled violently. My legs felt filled with molten lead.
The lizard turned toward me. One eye was ruined, blood flowing freely from the empty socket. But its other eye, the right one still intact, stared at me with pure hatred. It wouldn't stop. Not until one of us was dead.
It charged again, more brutal, more reckless, but also more dangerous because losing half its sight made it not know when to stop.
I forced myself to rise. Every movement felt like dragging my body through broken glass. Blood flowed from the wound on my back, from my shoulder, from my hands. My already torn uniform was now almost useless, just wet rags hanging and clinging to my skin.
I saw its tail coming again.
This time, I couldn't dodge completely.
WHAM—!
The tail struck my side, throwing me several meters. I rolled on the wet ground, mud and blood mixing on my skin. I stopped face down, my breath short and shallow.
Get up. Get up now!. Or die here.
I pressed my palms into the ground, pushing my body with the last of my nearly spent strength. My waist screamed in protest. My ribs felt broken. But I rose again.
The lizard approached with heavy steps. Its blood flowed from several wounds on its neck, belly, and head. But it was still standing, and still strong.
And I... I could barely stand upright.
But then I saw it.
The large boulder that had just hit my back.
A crazy idea formed in my head. An idea that might kill me. But I had no other choice.
I retreated slowly, making the lizard follow me. I positioned myself so the large boulder was right behind me, a few meters away.
The lizard opened its mouth again. Its neck swelled.
Poison.
This time, I didn't fully dodge. I jumped sideways at the last second, but this time—
SSSHH—!
A splash of poison hit my right arm.
"AAAGGHH!"
Heat flashed like fire. The skin on my arm blistered instantly, flesh burning from the corrosive fluid. The pain was unlike anything I'd ever experienced, like thousands of hot needles stabbing simultaneously, like my arm was immersed in boiling oil.
I fell to my knees, my left hand gripping my burning right arm.
The lizard saw its chance. It lunged, jaws wide open.
I rolled sideways at the last second, a desperate move more from reflex than conscious thought.
Its jaws snapped shut on empty air, but the momentum of its large body made it unable to stop.
It crashed into the large boulder.
KRAAK—!
"RAAKH—!"
Its head hit the rock with full force. The sound of impact was like thunder. The lizard staggered, its steps unsteady for the first time.
This was my chance. My only chance.
With my right arm burning and nearly immobile, I rose. With trembling legs and blurring vision, I ran.
I leaped onto the still-staggering lizard's back, ignoring all the pain exploding in my body.
My right hand, the only hand I could still move freely, drove into the back of its neck, right at the old wound I'd made at the start of the fight.
KRSHREK—!
My claws pierced deeper, tearing the already damaged muscle, delving until they touched the hard structure beneath. I felt a strange vibration at my fingertips.
The lizard thrashed wildly. Its body twisted hard, trying to throw me off. Its tail swept the ground, its claws raked the air. But I was no longer trying to hold on with conscious effort.
I clenched.
I tore.
Instinct suppressed everything.
I twisted my wrist, stabbing and pulling brutally, clawing into that wound with no direction but destruction. Flesh ripped. Bone scraped. I didn't care what I destroyed.
And I thought only one thing.
ATTACK UNTIL IT DIES!
KRSSHREK—!
KRSHREKKK—!
KRSSSHREKKK—!
"DIE... DIE NOW!" I shouted with a hoarse voice.
The lizard screamed again, longer, weaker.
"Hsssssrraa... raaa..."
Its movements slowed. Its body began to sway.
I pulled deeper, feeling something snap under my claws, the spine, or a major nerve, I didn't know and didn't care.
Then the lizard fell.
The large body collapsed to the ground with a heavy sound, raising dust and mud.
I was still on its back, my breath ragged, my vision almost completely dark. Blood flowed from so many wounds I no longer knew which was the worst.
My right arm still burned, the pain not lessening in the slightest. My shoulder bled. My back was soaked with blood. My ribs were broken, and my waist was torn open again.
But I had won.
I fell from the lizard's back, my body could no longer support itself. I lay on the ground, staring at the mist-covered night sky.
But I wasn't finished.
I knew what I had to do.
With a movement more like dragging than crawling, I approached the lizard's body. My left hand, which could still move, used its claws to cut into the flesh on its belly, the part with the thinnest scales.
Fresh blood flowed out. Dark red meat was exposed.
I took a piece.
Without hesitation, without thought, I put it in my mouth.
I didn't think about the taste. All I did was chew, swallow, then take another.
And another.
Even though my body was exhausted and in pain.
But I didn't stop. I kept eating.
Because this was how I survived. How I became stronger.
After a few bites, it came.
Heat.
Starting from my stomach, then spreading like fire through my veins. Not the painful heat of the poison earlier. This was different. This was a forcing heat, a transforming heat, a rebuilding heat.
"Ugghh..."
My body began to tremble. My muscles contracted uncontrollably. My bones felt like... cracking and fusing back together simultaneously.
The pain was worse than all the wounds I'd sustained today.
It was as if my body was being dismantled and rebuilt from the inside, cell by cell, tissue by tissue.
"AKhhh...."
I screamed, but my voice barely came out. My strength was gone. Only a weak moan that vanished into the night's silence.
Then my vision began to darken.
The last things I felt were the cold ground against my cheek, the warmth of blood still flowing, and the heat burning relentlessly from within.
Then everything disappeared.
I passed out beside the lizard's carcass, my shattered body slowly beginning to repair itself in the darkness, forced by the foreign power now flowing in my blood.