Leech could only watch helplessly as Germain dragged Worm down the stairs. He breathed a small sigh of relief, knowing that Worm could handle Germain for now, then hurried over to Owl's side.
Owl lay sprawled on the floor, his sunglasses gone, his whole body twitching and convulsing uncontrollably. The flames had died down, but his badly burned flesh still sizzled with scattered sparks, some glowing against the charred, dark-red skin.
Owl's outstretched hand, with bones peeking through his burnt skin, reached toward Leech, and his lips moved, trying to form words, but he couldn't say anything beyond incoherent groans.
"Ah... ah... ah..." was all he could manage.
Leech ordered the leeches he'd thrown earlier to crawl onto Owl's body, hoping they could stabilize him, but he knew this was only a temporary fix. Owl needed medical attention fast, or his burns would be fatal.
Owl understood his predicament, and his eyes pleaded with Leech, begging him to send him to the nearest hospital. But Leech had other priorities.
"From the moment you joined the 'Shadow Beasts,' you knew the risks," Leech said, his voice devoid of sympathy. "Germain is dangerous, and Worm can't handle him alone. If we don't focus on the mission, we'll be picked off one by one."
Leech nodded toward the open doorway. "Bat will be here soon. He's dealing with the woman next door. With his flight skills, he'll get you to the hospital faster than I can."
Owl's eyes grew dull with disappointment as Leech carefully stepped through the gap and made his way down the stairs.
Downstairs, chaos reigned. The room looked like a war zone, with broken furniture, overturned sofas, and scorched curtains ignited by the flames. The original occupant of the room had fled, screaming, as soon as Germain and Worm tumbled into it.
In the center of the room, Worm was battling Germain. In less than 20 seconds of combat, Worm had lost a large chunk of his right arm, blood pooling on the floor from the gaping wound.
Germain wielded a Cleaver in one hand and a flamethrower in the other, though he hadn't yet fired it.
The room was thick with smoke and fire, the heat and chaos escalating as the two combatants circled each other, each trying to gain the upper hand.
After Leech jumped down, he watched Germain carefully, then slowly moved toward Worm. He spat out a clump of fat larvae and pressed it onto Worm's severed arm to temporarily stop the bleeding.
"The flamethrower uses a lot of Nen," Worm said with a grimace, giving Leech crucial information. "He can't keep it up for long. He's waiting for us to step into the flamethrower's range."
Leech nodded and whispered some bad news in response.
"Worm, I'm running low on 'goods' in my stomach, and Owl is out of the fight. If the next attack doesn't settle things, we're in trouble."
"Understood," Worm replied, gritting his teeth. "This guy's stronger than we thought. Even though we were ready, we underestimated him. We should have all attacked together."
It was easy to say now, but who could have predicted that things would turn out like this?
Suddenly, Germain made a move. The Cleaver in his right hand disappeared, replaced by a black shield. He set it down in front of him, the embossed design reaching just up to his chin.
Germain bent down, leaving only half of his face and the nozzle of the flamethrower in view on the shield's side, then slowly advanced toward Worm and Leech.
The two "Shadow Beasts" tensed up, their breathing heavy.
"This guy's not giving us any breathing room. He's forcing us to act!" Worm muttered.
Worm had no long-range attacks, and now he had lost his right arm. The fat larvae thrown by Leech weren't much of a threat.
Even if they did have long-range capabilities, that shield would block almost anything they could throw at it.
The emergence of the shield signaled Germain's readiness. He knew the two foes might have medium to long-range attacks in their arsenal.
In this situation, the duo could either let Germain close in and face his flamethrower up close, or try to outmaneuver his shield and strike from a different angle.
When they moved together, Germain kept turning the shield to face them. If they separated, he'd likely drop the shield and focus on one of them.
Germain's approach was relentless, like a tank, and it made both Worm and Leech feel the weight of his advance.
"Leech," Germain announced suddenly, "I'm coming for you first. Your leeches can't deal any fatal damage to me quickly, and you don't have Worm's ability to burrow underground or through walls."
Leech, a rotund man, scowled at this.
"He's baiting you!" Worm quickly warned, "When he starts using the flamethrower, our only hope is to scatter. If we stay together, we're sitting ducks."
This was the challenge the "Shadow Beasts" faced. If one of them fought alone, Germain would likely overwhelm them with his shield and flamethrower. But if they stuck together, they'd be caught in his barrage of fire.
The only strategy was to split up, one distracting Germain while the other struck from a different angle.
Leech was sweating profusely. Worm urged again, "Leech, don't fall for his trap."
"I know," Leech replied flatly.
Yet he knew that if he and Worm separated, Germain would target him first. He had limited options for escape and counterattack.
He recalled what happened to Owl not long ago and shuddered at the thought. Although he had advised Owl to embrace his role as a "Shadow Beast," he didn't want to share Owl's fate.
Germain was getting closer. He gripped the flamethrower, ready to unleash it on Worm and Leech.
"Huh—" A burst of eerie flames erupted!
"Now!" "Worm" shouted as he leaped and wriggled downward, burrowing through to the lower level like a slippery eel.
"Leech" froze for a moment, then felt a wave of intense pressure. Without hesitation, he dashed to the left.
As expected, Germain's gaze shot toward Leech, sending shivers down his spine.
"Is he really going to single me out?" Leech thought, feeling the prickling of fear at the back of his neck.
In a surprising move, Germain didn't remove his heavy winged shield. Instead, he set down the flamethrower and gripped the shield with both hands, preparing to charge at Leech.
"Shield? Is he reducing his attack range? Does he not have enough Nen for the flamethrower?" Leech was taken aback by this move, feeling a sense of confusion mixed with terror. But there was no time to dwell on it—he had to act fast.
He tried to run towards the exit, but a wall of flames blocked his path, forcing him to keep running aimlessly around the room.
It felt hopeless, like death was imminent.
"Worm!" Leech shouted in desperation.
Yet, in the very next moment, Leech understood Germain's strategy. Germain didn't use the flamethrower because the real target wasn't Leech. Leech was just a decoy.
If he could quickly take down Leech, Worm would likely flee.
"He's baiting Worm into making a mistake!" Leech felt a chill down his spine.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Germain's feet cracked, and Worm launched his attack. He extended his left arm, aiming to grab Germain's ankle.
However, Germain was too sharp to fall for the same trick twice. He had been keeping an eye on the ground and, the moment he sensed something odd, he slammed his shield down hard, smashing Worm's left arm.
The impact was brutal, and Worm screamed in pain as his arm twisted unnaturally, bones jutting out from beneath his brown skin.
Worm tried to pull back, but his mangled left arm refused to move. Germain quickly switched his shield for a Cleaver, grabbed Worm's left arm, and yanked him out from under the floor.
Lifting him into the air, he brought the Cleaver down with all his might, splitting Worm's head in two. Worm only had time to let out a final groan before succumbing to his fate.
Leaving Worm's body behind, Germain turned his attention to Leech.
Leech, witnessing Worm's brutal demise, was in a state of panic. In his terror, he couldn't even see where he was standing. He stumbled over a shard of broken glass, slipped, and fell into a pool of scalding hot water and fire.
Leech screamed as he caught fire, his entire body becoming a rolling fireball.
********
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