The attack was so swift that Lara was completely caught off-guard. And yet, she still managed to save herself from being entirely decapitated. She had done so by rapidly thickening the bone of her cervical vertebrae, successfully stopping the swift attack as the knife became etched upon her bone.
Her blue eyes then flashed with rage as electric sparks emerged from her hands. She made a tight fist and sent it forth with terrible power while holding her bleeding neck with her free hand. The young man however, had already escaped from her grasp, using his attack as cover for his retreat.
He now stood just a meter from her.
Lara had failed to register this through her mutilated state and did not correct the trajectory of her punch accordingly.
BAM!
The rotten wooden floor exploded into countless shards as her fists collided with it.
"Lara!"
At the same time, Eric had become aware of the dire shift occurring behind him. He stared upon Lara's figure, now covered in blood on her left side, and upon the young man not too far away from her. Rage surged within his chest like a furious tide as he made eye contact with the cold figure, their eyes of a matching color.
"I-I'm okay! F-Focus!"
Just then, Eric's ears picked up the footsteps of the monster.
Damn it!
He was unable to decide which choice to make, was he to help Lara, deal with the monster, or kill the figure which had their entire lower jaw fully decayed away.
The next moment an unknown force, like an invisible gust of pressure, hit his body and engulfed it. Suddenly he felt himself lose something indescribable. He forgot about the young man, or about the monster approaching and just ran to his partner.
His care for her was spiked by the sight of her half mutilated state. Meanwhile, the young man seemed to grasp a squirming hung hand and ran out. Eric reached Lara in a single dash, blood was pouring down her slender porcelain neck. A plain kitchen knife etched into it firmly. His heart raced.
"Are you okay?!"
Lara's expression had turned ugly, she removed the knife in one movement then yelled out.
"Behind you!"
Eric's eyes widened as his back grew cold. Facing them now was a towering corpse figure. It looked down upon them with cold hollow eyes then sent forth three fists from its right side. Thinking quickly, the bleeding Lara kicked Eric with tremendous strength, sending his tall figure flying. Not a moment after, three rotting fists collided with the wooden floor. The impact sent smithereens everywhere while at the same time completely shattering the hands of the corpse monster.
Its hollow eyes stared upon its three stumps, then its rotten skin writhed and moved forth, forming a new set of hands. Lara watched this scene with grim tension. She removed the hand which was grasping at her bleeding neck, revealing smooth and soft white skin. Of course her entire neck was still bathed by her blood, however the source of its bleeding had ceased.
The monster's eyes were now locked onto her, ready to take action. Before it could though, an electric fist impacted its side. The monster swayed in the opposite direction while its flesh was charred by the scattering currents.
Lara got to her feet then made her way beside Eric. Her hands were lit by the same blue sparks of electric current which surrounded Eric's own.
"It's decaying away, we can win but it's a matter of endurance!"
Eric said in a tense voice. Lara nodded, her posture that of a warrior. At the same time her mind wandered to the figure of that young man and of the scene which she witnessed upon her entry. Anger and rancor simmered inside her as she had a sudden thought.
Don't tell me… Did that bastard use us as glorified scapegoats?!
*****
Half an hour later, the two inspectors sat sprawled on the ground with their breathing heavy. All around them was rotting wood and pieces of scorched flesh. The battle with the appalling monster was over. It had truly been one of attrition.
The flesh of the walking undead was easy to destroy, however it kept on replenishing itself. The duo were forced to exhaust this aspect of the monster's powers before they could hope to go in for any killing strike. In the end though, by the time it ran out of hanged flesh to absorb, the monster was already close to falling apart from the own decay of its body.
What remained were the two inspectors, tired and in a slight daze. Eventually, Lara turned a fiery gaze at Eric's way.
"Idiot! What was that earlier?! I can understand not going after that unknown guy but why come check if I was okay? So long as my head remains intact then I can heal!"
Eric stared at Lara silently. He then sighed and grasped his head.
"I don't know, I just saw you bleeding and became so worried all of a sudden…"
He paused, thought deeply with a somber expression before continuing.
"I think… I think something is affecting me even now."
Lara's anger was somewhat stifled by Eric's strange reaction. She thought for a moment, then said sternly.
"If that's the case then we need to get you under the care of the Minor HQ, or at least have captain meet us here."
She pulled out a small communicator and began her transmission.