Nick willed himself to remain focused, fighting through the fear and adrenaline surging through his veins. His electric anticipation of the battle to come. He took a deep breath and concentrated, conjuring a mana dart in the little time he had left. The silvery missile shimmered into existence and started circling round his brow, ready to fire on his command.
His preparations complete, he gripped his javelin tight and took aim, looking for somewhere that an attack would make a difference. He decided that his best bet was to arc the weapon around the beast’s prolific horns and penetrate the joint of its shoulder, which was hidden behind the glistening sheets of muscle covering the monstrous creature’s body.
Nick waited until he heard the twang of bowstrings to let loose, attacking in concert with his team. He knew that this was the only free shot they were going to get, and only because the mutated beast seemed unable to conceive of them as threats.
Four javelins, three arrows, and a crossbow bolt went streaking through the air, the javelins lagging behind the rest by a handful of heartbeats. He prayed that it would be enough to make a difference, eyes tracking the missiles in flight.
The rhino didn’t even flinch.
It came waltzing through the rain of missiles like it was stepping through a light spring shower. Half of the attacks went wide, fell short, or glanced off its array of horns. But the rest, including Nick’s javelin, struck true, sinking a few inches into the creature’s dripping flesh. It blinked in confusion as wounds blossomed across its body, astonished that its prey had the audacity to fight back, however slight the injuries.
The beast opened its maw and roared, its fury so raw that it chilled Nick’s bones, tensing up as it prepared to charge. “Shit. That thing is a literal meat shield,” Kenji muttered. “Conventional weapons aren’t going to do much damage unless we can hack our way down into its guts.”
The moment that the mutant was distracted, Nick took aim and fired his mana dart. The magic missile went streaking toward the fallen rhino. The angry beast ignored his spell until it drew near, then whipped its face out of the way at the last possible moment.
“It can sense mana,” Nick called out. “Don’t use your ability unless you’re sure it will hit. We can’t afford to…” His words were cut short when a glowing emerald crossbow bolt sank into the side of the rhino’s neck, which had been exposed by the abrupt turn of its head.
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Veronica had used the momentary distraction provided by Nick’s spell to land a hit with her acid-infused bolt. Unfortunately, Paul couldn’t follow suit. Not while there was a chance that the team could be caught in his ability’s radius. Still, this development was a hopeful sign, as it demonstrated that their abilities could still be useful if they got the timing right.
Half a heartbeat after the bolt sank into the disgusting muscle-hide of the fallen beast, the sickly green glow flowed out of the missile, suffusing the fibers of the monster’s flesh. “I don’t think that it’s used to its new body yet,” Veronica yelled. “It’s easy to land a hit when it’s distracted. With any luck, this bolt will eat right through its neck and take off its head.”
The effect of Veronica’s ability was instantaneous and shockingly efficacious, especially considering the sheer power of the mutated beast. The vast chasm in attributes lying between themselves and their corrupted opponent. The meat around the puncture wound began to sizzle like bacon frying in a hot pan. Muscle smoking and spitting, then running like beeswax beside a bonfire.
The powerful solvent quickly began to spread, the patch of afflicted tissue widening from the size of an orange to that of a watermelon within a paltry handful of heartbeats. It must be naturally vulnerable to acid. It doesn’t have any skin and that ability attacks its tissue directly.
“What’s this, ladies and gentlemen?” The announcer’s voice jumped an octave. “Is it possible, however inconceivable, that team Earth is still in this fight? I can’t believe that such a weak ability is working so well.”
For a moment, Nick felt a spark of hope ignite within his chest. Maybe, just maybe, Veronica’s attack would be enough to win this fight all by itself. Unfortunately, Nick’s newborn optimism was fated to falter and die exactly five seconds later.
Because that was when the fallen rhino’s neck began to shudder and pulse. Not the natural movement of its body, but an animation of its muscle fibers themselves. Just like when the corrupted beast had transformed, the individual strands of sinew running along its powerful neck began to writhe, undulating like serpents as they came to life and began moving of their own accord.
The dissolving mass of acid-infused tissue started to separate from the rhino’s body, like an invisible sculptor was pinching off a piece of wet clay from a work in progress.
The ball of sizzling meat fell to the arena floor with a sickly splat, still bubbling away as the hunk of flesh was reduced to a puddle of foul pink goo. A premonition of doom arose to constrict Nick’s heart. The rhino was immensely powerful and lightning fast. If it was capable of high-speed regeneration as well, they were all going to die. It was as simple as that.