The creature, resembling a humanoid deer, had its movements sluggish due to the effect of the hardening spell, allowing Akatani to engage in close combat. As a result, his direct strike with the anomaly sphere, the "Heavy Ball," landed successfully.
Dust rose as the creature slammed into the base of a rock pillar. It brushed the dust away with its hand, revealing itself. The steel-like upper body was now exposed; the once tight white shirt had been completely torn apart by the acidic fumes and the recent powerful blow. The sight of its bare skin heightened its unnaturalness—it was a dark, almost coal-like black. Even with the highest concentration of melanin, human skin would never turn that shade of black.
On the creature's left chest, the coal-black skin was deeply cracked and indented—the spot where Akatani's anomaly sphere had struck. The concave wound began to heal rapidly; it seemed it wasn't a fatal blow.
