Acid launched out of my mouth. I aimed another blast at the Reptan’s injured leg, joining in with another barrage of arrows. Its trajectory looked good this time. Or not. I winced as I watched my shot catch one of the arrows, causing both to peter out before reaching the target. Another miss, damn it not a single salvo has landed. I cursed myself. I looked back and soon realized that neither shot would have landed anyway. The beast pulled its foot back just before any of the shots from the current attack landed.
“For a big bastard, it's pretty quick,” I said under my breath.
I looked at the reptan’s injured foot again; no blood seeped from it anymore. Its natural healing clotted the wound. The scales were still missing, but the dark purple flesh had grown back.
I panted. I’d been shooting out acid for what felt like forever now. Not a single one landed. We’d been fighting this giant reptile for a while now, though I wasn’t sure exactly how long. I had no timers up or anything so that meant no way of keeping track. All I could tell you was we weren’t winning.
But we weren’t losing either.
I watched on as its head twisted to the side and jaws opened wide, aiming a chomp at two of the shield bearers. They braced, back to back and shields up, before its mouth clamped shut on them. Teeth gnawed and scraped against the shields, a nasty grinding sound came from where their suits of armor scratched against each other. The two were completely pinned down. But that just left the lizard open.
Before the two were completely overwhelmed by the gnashing, Greatsword Cat Lady swung another blow at the injured foot while the beast was distracted. A fresh wave of blood splashed out. The monster’s jaw opened back up with a roar, letting the two scramble away from its clutches, ear drums bursting probably but alive nonetheless.
But how long would this gash stay open for? It was the fourth time she managed to open a wound on the beast but it kept closing them back up before we could get any real damage done.
Daila belted out another command to fire.
Acid pooled in my mouth as I inhaled through my nose. I fired off another shot, this time trying to aim low, to avoid messing up the guys in the backline who knew what they were doing. But the glob only managed to make it three quarters of the way there before it lost its velocity and fell to the ground.
I balled my fist, cursing myself some more while readying another salvo.
Tawny had better luck than I, she actually landed her electric blasts, but we didn’t have a way to tell if they were affecting it. The yellow arcs just ran up its heavily scaled legs without the monster so much as snorting if lizards can snort.
Hait was tasked with catching anybody that might get flown by us. A hilarious concept from the outside, but one that was truly necessary. Our frontliners were being thrown like sacks of potatoes by this thing. But I had to give it to them, they kept getting back up with some aid from the healers.
Arrows infused with different energies and abilities flew through the air once more, only a few meeting their marks. Many bounced off its hard scales while others just missed as the Reptan moved around. A whole host of colors exploded along the reptile's foot, the rainbow of explosions then running up its leg. Daila landed on the ground next to me, she had to jump to get a better throw. Daila’s nose twitched as she grabbed a few more vials.
The beast retaliated once again, its uninjured foot swiping through the frontliners, knocking half of them back. It knocked some dirt and debris into the air and a small rock hit my unprotected arm, cutting it open. Nothing bad, it’ll heal quickly.
Hait caught the Cat Lady with a water wall as she flew overhead. Some blood ran down her forehead, but fury and thrill filled her eyes, she was far from out of the fight.
This was the cycle. The battle had turned into the same back and forth between us and the gargantuan reptile. I shook my head. It's turning into a battle of attrition. One we’re gonna lose if nothing changes. That’s a certainty.
Something needed to change to catalyze this battle. But whatever that was, I was trying to figure it out.
I looked at the monster’s bleeding appendage again, the blood flow slowing yet again as its crazy healing factor worked to close the wound. I remembered Len telling me the reptile monsters had better regeneration abilities. That was a key attribute for them. For reptile gene wielders as well. The big boost in CON and Protective Mucus showed that it was true for Salamandras form.
That was probably the ticket to the fight. If we could impede that regen then we could truly focus on the wounded leg and make the beast topple, or at the very least slow it down.
Before I could ponder on it some more, another blast of wind blew through the air, pressure coming from the reptan’s latest swing. My mouth opened a little as I raised my guard, some of the acid I was preparing dripped out, landing on my exposed arm. Right on the freshly opened cut too. I winced at the pain, swearing at this form. How are you going to be an acid focused form and be hurt by your own acid? How stupid.
It stung something fierce as the burning sensation pricked and grew. I looked down at it, watching the small droplet burn through the skin and widen the gash. The small drop of acid ate through my flesh. I went to wipe it immediately, but before I could, some of my overactive salamander sweat mixed with it. The light orange sweat sizzled and foamed as the two collided. It was some sort of chemical reaction. Less than a second later, the burning stopped, along with any pain coming from it at all.
It looked like the thick sweat acted as some sort of base, neutralizing the acid before it did any damage to me. I checked my health bar and saw that it was only down two percent. Good. I wished to experiment more, it was the first time I saw the interaction but now was maybe not the best time.
“FIRE!” Daila commanded again. But instead of joining them, I just stared at the chemical burn on my arm. It would have kept burning had the sweat not stopped it. Eating the flesh.
That’s it: The acid. It's got to be the best chance at stopping the healing. If I could get enough on the wound then maybe it’d burn the flesh badly enough to actually slow or stop the regeneration. If I could jump on its foot and just let loose. I looked up.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Daila was staring at me, but I ignored it. She must have noticed I hadn’t fired last round. I kept my attention on the fight. I did not need the added distraction.
The beast roared out again, now trying to stomp those at the front. Our melee fighters were forced to dive out of the way or else be crushed. They stumbled back to their feet with just barely enough time to block the next swipe of its claws. I was shocked at how quickly they brought their guard up. I wouldn’t be able to do that. Not with an arm down.
Nope, no way I get close, not with it thrashing about like that. I’m nowhere fast enough in this form. Maybe Gremlin would have a chance. Or a gardenia boosted Tigris maybe, damn I’d kill for some right about now. But one-armed Salamandras, no way. I wouldn't have the acid anymore either. I looked around searching for an answer to get me closer.
I turned back to the cat woman fighter; she sat on the ground as one of the supports near Hait gave her a pick-me-up. Her sword lay on the ground next to her.
Then the lightbulb went off. Maybe I can coat her blade in the acid. Then she can deliver it. That might be enough to at least slow the healing down enough for us to get more damage off.
With my new plan unfolding in my head, I hurried over to the cat woman. The very attractive cat woman, the one wearing incredibly tight fitting armor. The one that was in fact a woman.
My movement slowed with each step I took toward her, before halting just next to Hait. He looked up at me as I stood frozen.
Trash. This form is trash. This garbage form with its garbage hold-ups and its garbage bullshit personality issues.
The cat woman started getting up, nodding thanks at the support while I grew ever more angry at my new form, along with the female-born anxiety, I can't forget about that.
“Liam, what’s up?” Hait asked.
I turned to my shell shouldered teammate. “I, cough, I need you to….tell her to stop.”
I shakily pointed at the cat woman, who was grabbing her sword from the ground.
“Why?”
“Not now, just, uh, do it.”
“But I don’t know her name and you know—” Hait waved his hand around, gesturing to the chaotic battle we were in the middle of. “She’s kind of needed out there.”
“I know but, um, she needs my, um, uh, fluids.”
“What? Time and place Liam.” Hait looked at me with a disgusted look.
“No! Just, damn it, I have a, ah, plan.”
The whirlwind whipping around in my stomach was making conversing quite difficult, even with Hait. But if he could just tell her my plan, then we might have a chance. However, before I could get another word out, someone’s hand touched my lower back, a woman’s hand—I could tell because of how quickly my body locked up from the simple touch.
“Sergeant Glasgown!” Daila’s voice came from behind me as she walked in front.
The woman turned to Daila and saluted. “Ma’am!”
“Hold one moment. Captain Foster needs to speak with you. I believe he has a plan.”
The woman’s tail flicked as she glared at me, clearly upset that someone, especially a lower level, was keeping her from the bloodshed. Yet she didn’t break the salute.
Three sets of eyes locked on to me, waiting for whatever I had to tell them. Each gaze felt like it was burning my entire body, worse than the acid ever could. My mind was going blank. I had the words, they were just simply stuck in my throat. This nervousness blocked them from coming out.
“Well kid, say something!” The woman said, thrashing her tail about, her face twitching as her eyes darted from the battle and then back to me.
“Screw it, I ain’t got time for this.”
“Captain Foster, speak,” Daila said, her words oddly calm for this situation.
The pure waves of anxiety and anger mixed around in my whole torso, this wasn’t the time to fuck around. We needed to fight, and I held the key to winning. That’s what my gut was telling me.
Glasgown, the cat woman turned away, about to bound back into the fray. Tears swelled in my eyes. I looked around wildly, searching for an answer to this stupid problem. The woman’s leg muscles bunched up, she was about to jump. I need to do something. Anything.
I tilted my head up to the flaming sky. I closed my eyes and screamed.
“ACID! I NEED TO COAT YOUR SWORD IN ACID!”
I didn’t turn my head or open my eyes. My breathing was all over the place and my stomach was doing flips like I had just run a marathon while drinking nothing but warm milk, but I needed to get this all out.
“IT SHOULD STOP ITS HEALING. OR SLOW IT DOWN AT LEAST.”
Once I stopped, I lowered my head, but kept my eyes shut, half expecting the woman to clock me for shouting at her.
“Bring your sword over,” Daila said in a hurry.
I braved to open a single eye, only to see a large blade in front of it.
“Well, get on with it.”
“Huff…huff…” My stomach roiled, bubbling as others turned to see what my outburst was about.
After a few seconds, it had its way. I threw up all over the woman’s sword, turning on the acid mix just before miraculously. The acidic vomit covered the entire blade, some splashing to the ground. Though this acid acted differently than my normal stuff. It actually globbed up well and stuck to her blade. It almost looked like a really gnarly paste or glue. Way different consistency than the normal stuff. Must be the vomit mixture. Man, I really need to run some tests with this form.
She swung it around for a moment. Some acid splashing off of it, but the majority held on.
“Eugh, this better work. And it better not have done permanent damage to Betsy,” the cat-tailed lady said with a glower.
She ran off before I could even process any of her words, rejoining the battle.
My eyes wandered after her as I prayed it would work.
We in the center watched on as the east twisted its head at the frontliners again, its wounded leg no longer dripping blood.
“GIVE ME AN OPENING BOYS!” It was the cat woman, with the now nasty greenish blade pointed at the beast, who yelled out the command. The other frontliners that were scattered looked over to her. In a collective shout, they answered with an “AYE” and re-grouped, shields raised. They started banging on them, egging on the lizard to strike once more.
The jet black eyes of the Reptan shot over to them. It accepted the challenge, swinging its claws at them again.
With a crash, the beast’s claws collided with the shield line. Only two were blown away this time. The rest held their ground, some of the fighters jamming weapons into its feet this time.
Cat lady flew through the air again, twirling just as before, landing a fresh new gash across the lizard's foot. It hadn’t even attempted to dodge it. It focused solely on the line of soldiers in front. But that was a mistake on its part.
As the blade sunny into its raw flesh, blood shot out again, yet this time it was dark and viscous.
The beast pulled its foot back and roared into the air. It was a different roar than anything else so far.
That one sounded painful.