Slujj flew above the two of them and sat on a branch with his eyes peeled open. Taking that as his cue Lians sent a Ki blast to blow up a cloud of dust to serve as a smokescreen. He didn't stop there as he shot out multiple orbs of energy to crash into the surrounding trees. They wouldn't hurt the beast by a long shot, but he hoped the confusing extra stimulus from the sound and movement would be enough to disorient it for a moment. It was a race against the clock and every single second counted.
Soon the beast moved. With a grace that was shocking for its sheer size, it moved as if a phantom in the night, leaving hardly a trace of sound. Every step looked lazy, but even so, it ate up the distance. The strange rhythm of the movement made it difficult to keep track of the beast, especially with its natural camouflage. No matter how much he focused on the creature and how he tuned his senses, he couldn't keep track of the Lion. It blinked in and out of his awareness and he felt a dread gnawing at his bones.
A death one can brace for was easy, the fear of the unknown, however, was all-consuming. A couple of leaves fell from above. He was so busy looking around the ground he didn't even notice a large shadow overlapping his own. A paw larger than his torso came slicing downwards to crush his skull. With its speed and mass, there was no doubt that such an effort would be the same as cracking an egg.
"ABOVE!"
Thankfully the warning came in time and Lians managed to dive out of the way before the blow connected. A large crater formed and the monster had a look of surprise in its eyes. It was certain that the green one had not noticed its presence, so how did it dodge? In the end, it didn't matter to the beast as it quickly went back to the swing of the hunt and disappeared once more.
"Thanks." This was his plan, the only hope they had. By using their telepathic link to share information they could make use of the different vantage points to prepare. Plus with Slujj in a relatively safe area, he could focus more on his Ki sense.
It was a deadly game of cat and mouse with the slightest mistake being fatal, but it was all they could do.
The seconds crawled by as this pattern continued before a growl was heard. It was harsh and rumbled within their chest, more akin to a jet engine's roar than anything a living being should be able to make. It seems the novelty of the game had worn off for the beast and it was about to end things.
"Just another 30 seconds Lians! They're almost here!"
Slujj also realized that he couldn't manage this on his own so he flew off his perch and stood beside Lians, they had their back to each other but were far enough apart that a single blow wouldn't be able to catch them both. This was it, the final burst.
Yet even with all their fear, they had still ended up underestimating it. Slujj was standing tall with his guard risen as high as he could, his eyes darted between every tree, his senses tracked every shift in the wind and every shifting shadow. He had looked at the trees when it happened.
"Huh?" Why were the treetops growing closer? Wait, why was he upside down? Such was his thoughts as his torso was sent flying upwards and his lower half fell limply to the side. A heavy thud and it was turned to a sickly green and purple paste beneath a furry foot.
It had been 3 seconds. 27 more to go.
Lians wasn't sure if Slujj was dead or alive, he didn't have the time nor leisure to worry about such things as cruel eyes glared at him. He could see his pale and soak sweated face reflected in it's glowing yellow eyes. In a desperate move, he launched an energy wave at the orb directly in its center. He was heaving heavily after expending a considerable amount of power in such a short time frame.
Surely, that'd have done the trick? The eyes were the weakest part of any living being and he didn't know anything that wouldn't be fazed after having its eye blown up. Even a warship wouldn't necessarily be able to survive the payload he just unleashed on the thing point-blank.
The smoke cleared away by a hot gust of wind, or so it seemed, but he quickly realized the horrifying truth. It was merely the exhale of the beast. There wasn't even a scratch on the damn thing, it had merely blinked some dust out of its eyes before once more looking at him. To show him the futility of his struggles, the absolute certainty of his demise.
"SHIT SHIT SHIT, DON"T YOU FUCK WITH ME!" Blast after blast came from his hands like a minigun, all to no avail. Fear overcame him as if a cold hand gripped his heart in a vice hold. This couldn't be how his second life would be. He refused! Yet in the face of the harsh reality, his refusal meant jack shit for all it was worth.
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A whip of its tail crushed his ribs and nearly bisected him like his friend, it was merely by virtue of him having jumped back at the last moment that saved him. The arm he used to block the blow was sent flying into the distance and only a quick application of Ki to cauterize the wounds prevented him from bleeding out.
He fell to his knees before coughing up blood. He could hardly breathe with his crushed lungs and the edges of his vision exploded with stars. He had to think, but it was so hard. He couldn't keep doing the same thing, it clearly wasn't working. Don't panic, calm yourself. Easier said than done. He repeated the words like a mantra as he scoured his brain for a solution.
Finally, he remembered something. Something that could change the situation. He couldn't win, but he didn't have too. He just needed another 20 seconds.
Focusing on his Ki he circulated the energy around his body, suffusing it with the power of his life force. Then with a great heave commanded it to change, to grow, to expand.
Gigantification.
He grew and grew until his legs matched the tree trunks and his head towered past the mountain tops. His every breath drank in the clouds and caused gales. Yet he was still hopelessly outmatched. In sheer physical strength, he may as well have been an infant trying to compete with Mr. Olympia. Besides strength, this body didn't truly provide much besides making himself a bigger target after all his Ki level stayed the same, but that was exactly what he was aiming for.
The creature was surprised at first, but it didn't matter in the end as it senses no danger from the strange two-legged beast. It merely gained a bigger meal. It tore him apart, literally. Deep gorged were made in his legs which could compare to skyscrapers, his right arm was flung miles away, and he was bleeding enough to fill rivers. The entire section of the forest was dyed a deep purple as his blood fell like a torrent of rain.
He was left a shredded mess, but a breathing one nonetheless. He had lasted long enough for Shell and his squad to arrive. They quickly knocked the beast off him before forming a protective formation around him and a Dragon tribe member. One of his eyes was destroyed already, but his other could faintly see the upper half of Slujj. It seems that he had survived, if barely. Not even a Namekian's impressive regeneration along with healing magic could save him though it seems as his Ki was rapidly fading and he could see the frustration in the Older Namekian's eyes.
He himself wasn't in much better shape as while he was more "intact" than his companion he had suffered an enormous amount of damage.
He sat in silence as he watched the warriors of the tribe fend off the Beast. Truly it's physical dominance was clear to see as it knocked aside half of the men with ease. They were no more than pinballs to it. Only shell and two others had managed to even wound it and even then it had caused them to suffer deep cuts.
Shit, wasn't this really bad? Would the rescue squad need rescuing themselves? Wouldn't he be completely boned in this situation?
Thankfully such thoughts proved unnecessarily as Shell managed to unleash a powerful energy bomb within the body of the beast. He had baited it with his arm and sacrificed the entire limb to give it a devastating blow. While it might've been a crippling if not an outright fatal tactic for any other race, Namekians were a sturdy species who could heal from almost anything if they had enough energy and time.
It was enough to cause the lion's entire head to blow up like a blood-filled balloon. He wasn't sure if that was more a testament to Shell's incredible powers, or how idiotically powerful and sturdy that the thing was to only be missing a head.
"Are you two alright?" Shell had approached the group with a worried look on his face, ignoring the fact that he was badly wounded and profusely bleeding himself. A subdued nod from the medic was all he needed to understand the situation as he saw Slujj's state for the first time.
All the other warriors came to us with their head hung low in grief.
"I'm sorry we couldn't make it here sooner, Slujj. May you find peace with the Ancestors."
"May you find peace with the Ancestors." A phrase that all repeated in sync. There was no God worshipped here, but rather Heroes and Wisemen from their people were treated as guardian spirits.
Suddenly a scream took them all by surprise before they could recover almost half of them were taken out of the fight in pieces.
"Impossible!"
It was a second Nimian lion, one even larger than the one before. Nobody had expected this. Nimian Lions were solitary creatures by nature. They did not get along and did not even have a concept of companionship even amongst themselves. Cannibalism was not a rare occurrence when two were forced to be in each other's presence or territory for too long.
Yet, no matter what their common sense told them, their eyes stated otherwise.
By the time they got out of their stupor into a battle-ready stance, which was merely a handful of seconds, their battle potential was cut down to merely a third of what it was. Although only half of them were incapacitated their effectiveness was crippled. They relied on superior tactics and teamwork to fight, now their formation was broken and the information stream was no longer as all-encompassing as its previous work. Small errors popped up because of this which slowly snowballed. It was a massacre. Seeing what had happened it's fellow Nimian Lion the clever beast didn't even allow them a chance to do it once again.
It kept its mouth firmly shut and never stayed in one spot for too long. Darting in and out of the treelines it took them down one by one, rendering them unable to make effective use of their superior number. Panic and confusion set in.
...
Was this the end for him?