Without wasting any time, Axel leaped over the broken cart in the supermarket as the monster invaded, cutting off its tentacles to free Ave. The monster flung her against the wall, causing her to groan in pain.
"Are you okay?" Axel asked, his face full of worry as Ave continued to wince in pain.
"Look out!" Ave yelled with a serious expression, jumping on top of Axel and rolling away with him as the monster prepared to strike with another tentacle.
"Let's talk later when we take down that monster, okay?" Axel said, catching his breath with a determined expression. He then helped Ave to her feet, and the two proceeded to attack the monster once again.
"The gun isn't having any effect on it!" yelled Logan from his hiding spot, still shooting his gun fiercely at the snare beast.
"Out of eight tentacles, you were only able to cut two," Ave said, her body tense. "We might all die here if we don't do something to kill that beast."
"We should aim for its visions right now. Only by targeting those organs would give us a better chance at killing it," said Axel, with a fierce gaze fixed on the monster which was still wincing in pain from its cut tentacles. Even though his words were directed to Ave, who was standing beside him.
"Where is its vision?" asked Livi, with a confused expression. "It doesn't have traditional eyes."
"System please reply," said Axel while panting for breath heavily.
(The Snarebeast does not have traditional eyes. Instead, it has two large sensory organs on the front of its head. These organs are capable of detecting minute vibrations in the air, allowing the Snarebeast to "see" its surroundings without the need for light.)
"That settles it then. Those sensory organs in front of its head is what we're gonna be shooting at. You're an archer, right?" Axel asked, his gaze still focused on the beast, but his question directed to Ave, pointing to the bow and arrow in her hand.
"Yeah! That's one thing I'm good at," replied Ave.
"One thing you're good at and you couldn't use it to save yourself earlier," said Axel with a smirk.
"What?" Ave asked with a confused expression.
"Anyways, I'll need you to use your bow and arrow to shoot at that monster. Your target is its sensory organs," said Axel, now shifting his gaze from the monster to Ave. "Let's see how skillful you are," he added, and soon directed his gaze back to the monster.
*GROWLS*
"Now is the time. It has gotten over the shock of cutting its tentacles. Get ready to shoot at it once it directs its attention here," said Axel with a serious expression. "Remember, the aim is its two sensory organs."
Ave nodded and swallowed hard, her hand trembling as she held onto the bow string and arrow.
The monster turned its gaze toward Axel and Ave, giving a loud growl and began running towards them with a fierce look, its serpent tongue ready to devour its prey.
"Sensory organs, Ave!" Axel yelled, but Ave's hands were trembling in fear and she couldn't prepare the arrow.
"Darn it!" Axel cursed bitterly, gritting his teeth. He quickly stood behind Ave, taking hold of the bowstring and preparing to shoot the arrow.
Twang*...
.....…....
Axel released the bowstring and the arrow shot off at full speed.
Whoosh*....
Thud*.....
"Perfect!" Axel murmured as the arrow hit its target, piercing deeply into the monster's sensory organs and causing it to wince in pain.
Axel prepared another arrow, which also traveled at full speed and pierced deeply into the snare beast's second sensory organs, making it let out a loud growl of pain.
"Perfect!" Axel muttered. Without wasting much time, he hopped on the snare beast's back with his axe in hand and cut off its other tentacles. Despite the beast continuing to wince in pain and crashing Axel's back against the wall, causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood, Axel was determined not to give up. He raised his axe for a second time, aimed at the beast's neck, and struck it, causing its body to fall to the floor along with him, crashing against the hard wall of the supermarket and making him vomit a mouthful of blood once again.
"Axel!!!" Ave yelled, fear and terror evident in her eyes as she watched Axel wince in pain on the floor. She quickly ran up to him, cradling his head in her lap.
"You could have died, you know," said Lionel, panting heavily on the floor. "That was a dangerous move, guy."
"Are you okay?" Ave asked, her voice filled with worry as she focused on Axel, who was still struggling to catch his breath.
"I'm okay, it's nothing, but I might have broken some ribs," Axel replied, attempting to get up from the floor but ultimately lying back down due to the pain in his back and side.
"Sorry! Let me help you up," said Ave as she held on to Axel, putting her arms around his waist to lift him off the ground.
"Hey guys!" called a voice. Turning to look, Logan, Florence, and Rosa walked out of the store room, holding on to one another.
"You survived!" exclaimed Ave, leaving Axel and running over to them to give them a hug.
"I got abandoned so soon," murmured Axel to himself as he shook his head in disbelief, watching Ave run towards Logan, Rosa, and Florence.
"I'm relieved that I was able to survive. I was so scared when the smog demon took on my mother's appearance. Now I really miss her," Florence said with a sad expression.
"This isn't the time for emotional scenes. Let's focus on the task at hand," Logan said, rolling his eyes in disdain.
"Others have turned to rock. It's heartbreaking to see them defeated by the demon," Rosa said with a sad expression. "By the way, where's Livi?" she asked, her expression now alarmed as she scanned the supermarket for any sign of Livi.
"You're right. I haven't seen her either," Axel said, holding onto his injured waist.
Lionel and Ave's faces turned to sorrow as the other players asked about Livi. Ave couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes any longer, and they started to fall.
"What's wrong, Ave? Just tell me," asked Rosa, holding onto Ave's shoulder and waiting for an answer with a concerned look.
"She's dead," Lionel announced bluntly, his face hidden behind a mask,. "The snare beast sucked her blood," he added, pointing to Livi's lifeless body, now just a husk.
"What?" Is that really Livi? Rosa asked with tears rolling down her cheeks.
GROWLS*
Just as Rosa was about to run towards Livi's body, a loud growl was heard, causing her to stop in her tracks.
The players turned their gaze to where the sound was heard, and saw the snare beast, alive again.
"I thought you killed it, Axel," said Logan, with a terrified expression.
"What's going on, System?!" asked Axel, his tone laced with anger.
(The Snarebeast is a highly resilient creature, and it's possible that it could survive the axe attack.)
(Even if the Snarebeast was mortally wounded, it still won't be killed. It's something of a supernatural being, with powers beyond the physical realm. Destroying its physical body may not be enough to truly kill it.)
"Darn it!" cursed Axel as he gritted his teeth in anger.