Swinging the gleaming sword this time, Bully was determined to strike with lethal precision. His eyes narrowed with a deadly intent as he aimed at his target. Just then, a shadow passed swiftly by his side, casting an eerie silhouette in the moonlight. Without warning, he felt a tremendous force behind him, propelling him through the air.
Desperately clutching onto his sword, Bully plummeted toward the unforgiving ground. Just before impact, he managed to thrust the blade into the earth, saving himself from a bone-shattering fall.
As he regained his footing and composure, he spotted an unexpected threat hurtling toward him with astonishing speed. It appeared to be a long, sinuous green rope-like entity. Bully's instincts kicked in, and he recognized it immediately. Without hesitation, he swung the mighty saba at the approaching rope, cleaving it in two. Simultaneously, he executed a graceful leap, narrowly evading a menacing, spike-tipped tail that lashed out at him.
Having deftly avoided the tail's deadly strike, Bully took a moment to survey the chaotic battlefield. The creature that had sent him airborne was revealed: another fearsome lizard-like beast, akin to the one he had encountered earlier. To his dismay, three more of these formidable creatures joined the fray.
Despite the mounting odds and a troubled expression on his face, Bully remained unyielding. Gazing up at the night sky, he realized that the sun had long since dipped below the horizon, casting the battlefield into eerie darkness.
As Bully contemplated the encroaching darkness, an unexpected threat emerged from behind him. A sleek, jet-black cat, its head lowered and body poised for a lethal pounce, prepared to assail him.
"Roar!" The cat emitted a low growl as it lunged towards Bully, but he was ready. In a swift motion, he swung the saba behind him, severing the cat's head from its body.
Before Bully could fully process this gruesome encounter, the lizard creatures retaliated, extending their long tongues to strike with deadly precision.
Meanwhile, Levi and Twain were not idle spectators to the chaos. Levi had drawn a massive bone sword, its sheer size and weight a testament to its origins from a colossal beast. She struggled to wield it, but she managed to plant the sword's tip firmly into the ground.
The lizard creatures attempted to overwhelm them with a barrage of tail strikes, but Levi's bone sword proved an impervious shield, effortlessly deflecting their assaults. Twain, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to unleash a flurry of lethal arrows. Despite not hitting their mark, the arrows succeeded in distracting the menacing creatures.
Levi temporarily holstered her pistol, focusing on countering the incoming tongues with her imposing sword. Though it strained her strength, she remained unwavering.
Amid the chaos, Levi couldn't help but note the peculiar nature of the tongues. They seemed venomous, a grim realization she made as she continued to evade them.
Back in the thick of battle, Bully's face glistened with sweat, not out of fear or exhaustion, but from the relentless struggle he found himself in. While his companions grappled with multiple foes, he confronted a single, tenacious lizard determined to end him.
This particular creature had clamped its powerful jaws around Bully's sword, and a tense standoff ensued. Bully recognized that brute strength alone wouldn't free his weapon.
With a calculated move, he shifted his body, swiftly releasing his grip on the sword while retaining it with one hand. His free hand shot out like a bullet, a punch delivered to the beast's vulnerable chin. The force of the blow was staggering, breaking the lizard's jaws and forcing it to relinquish the sword. Stunned and in pain, the creature staggered backward.
Bully wasted no time. He unleashed a series of relentless strikes, each blow battering the lizard's scaly hide and driving it deeper into the earth.
Anticipating the lizard's tail attack, Bully leaped high above the creature, then spun with a cyclonic force, slamming into the lizard's body. The impact created a massive crater, and the lizard's formidable scales offered no protection against Bully's might.
Surveying the aftermath, Bully began to search the lizard's remains intently, seeking something of great importance. Yet, before he could uncover his prize, a long, sticky green tongue darted into the crater, capturing him before he could react.
The other lizards, drawn by the death of their kin, converged on Bully, their collective attention now squarely focused on him.
Meanwhile, Levi and Twain rushed to Bully's aid, only to be repelled by the swift and powerful tails of the lizards. Mark, their helpless observer, watched in agony. He wanted desperately to assist but remained paralyzed, incapable of intervening.
In the midst of the turmoil, a shadow descended into the crater Bully had created during his intense battle. Mark's eyes widened in confusion and apprehension. "What is that?" he wondered aloud.
To his astonishment, the shadow emerged, clutching a luminous, light blue crystal. Mark's heart raced, and he found himself muttering, "What kind of creature is that?"
The shadowy figure clenched the crystal in its grip, and in an instant, the crystal shattered, releasing a cascade of shimmering blue pixie dust that enveloped the figure. As the dust cleared, a new creature emerged – a red lizard, distinct from its green brethren.
With determination blazing in its eyes, the red lizard swiftly moved to confront the others. It swung its tail with deadly precision, felling one of the lizards with a single strike. Then, it turned its attention to the lizard that held Bully captive.
"I'll bite off your tongue!" the red lizard declared, sinking its teeth into the offending appendage.
Bully, still reeling from the shocking turn of events, watched in disbelief. It wasn't just him; Mark, too, struggled to comprehend what he had witnessed. The world had indeed changed.
As Mark processed this revelation, he heard a voice behind him and turned to find a tall boy with dreadlocked hair. However, something else about the boy captivated Mark's attention.
"Dike!" Mark exclaimed, his heart racing as he approached the small figure standing beside the dreadlocked boy. But as he drew nearer, his expression shifted from joy to a bewildered realization.
"You...you're one of us!"