บท 28: A Fight of Terror and Horror (3)

I had to act fast.

Each wasted second could mean my death. Ignoring the gut-wrecking pain in my hip, I hastily pulled the HP-Potion card from my left sleeve.

As soon as I had a good grip on it, I crushed it apart. Black light (or rather darkness) spread out from it; and as it disappeared, a red potion appeared in my hand.

I pulled it close to my lips and bit into the cork. A dull taste mixed with the sweetness of my blood filled my mouth.

Tearing the cork with my teeth out from the bottle, I pressed it against my lips and drank its content. It was spicy and burned my throat. It didn't give me the impression of healing in any way.

But I kept going.

In a matter of seconds, the bottle was emptied. My throat burned and felt as if it was set ablaze. Beads of sweat rolled down my face, and tears welled up in my eyes.

'What did I just drink?!' I howled in my mind.

But now I realized: the pain in my hip was gone. It felt as if nothing happened at all and nobody ever hit me.

The only difference from before the hit were the cracks in my illusory light armor. Even though the potion could heal my body, it couldn't heal my armor.

The trembling of the ground intensified and the wall's debris near me quivered and shook.

The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly was not far away from me now. It savagely lunged towards me with its maw wide open, showing it disturbing teeth.

Quickly, I pulled the Grenade Card from my right sleeve, twisted my fingers which held it, and shot it into the grizzly's mouth. Nearly simultaneously, I rolled to the side and went out of the beast's way.

The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly pounded into the spot where I was earlier and swallowed the card in the process. A tremor shook the floor from the impact and the last debris from the wall crumbled down on to the grizzly's head.

It got even madder!

Popping noises of bones echoed from it and its claws scratched over the marble floor. A deep, throaty snarl came from the beast and it bellowed at me; spit flew out from its maw.

'It didn't explode?' I wondered.

'I thought it would break in its mouth or belly…'

The truth was hard to digest. I just wasted an expensive, green-circled grenade…

But I still had hope. If I could manage piercing its body and hitting the card, it would definitely explode inside it.

With new-found determination, I stood up again and clutched the spear tighter. The spear arced behind me, and I thrusted it towards the grizzly's belly.

Multiple blazing iron chains came shooting at me and I had to change the spear's path to deflect the incoming chains.

Clanking of metal sounded out and flashing sparks sprayed into the air. Even though I deflected multiple chains, I couldn't get nearer to the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly's body.

Suddenly, a short bellow pounded against my ear. The grizzly's body turned, and it pounced towards me, flashing its fangs and targeting my neck.

My legs reacted fast and I jumped back. The beast's mouth missed me by a hair's length and shot by me.

My only chance to pierce its body was to get rid of the chains or at least keep them occupied. But it wasn't as easy as it sounded.

The orb of fire, which floated above my head, got weaker with each second as my mana decreased. It seemed that I couldn't maintain it for any longer.

But judging from the time, I could soon use my spear's skill again. This would be my only chance to keep the blazing chains occupied.

I managed it once to pierce it while debris occupied the chains; so I felt confident in repeating it. I only had to stall for time until I can use the skill again.

The blazing orb charged at the grizzly's snout; and before the beast could react, the orb crashed against it.

The sizzling of skin raised my hairs and gave me goosebumps. But how could I miss this opportunity? I rushed to the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly's side as fast as I could. The chains slithered through the air and pounced at me again.

This time I knew it better. Before, I reflected the chains just so that they don't hit my body. But this time, I let the chains glide along the spearhead and shot them with all my might back at the beast.

Clanking and clanging of scorching hot metal echoed through the lonely hall. The reflected chains whistled through the air and whipped at the monster's body.

It snarled and squealed in pain.

The blazing orb kept its mouth occupied and I its chains. The seconds slowly bled by, and the temperature of the orb decreased as well as its size. Finally, my mana depleted, and the orb vanished with a flickering noise.

'NOO!! Not yet! Not yet!' I screamed inwardly and cursed.

I still couldn't use the "Heaven's Strike" skill. There were only a few seconds remaining until I could use it again. But those seconds impacted my life greatly.

I no longer had anything with me that could distract the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly. The only choice left was to fight the chains and the beast without anything other than my spear.

As the next chain shot towards me, I jumped back to gain distance. The beast's blood-red eyes glared at me, sending a shudder through my skin.

I drew my foot backwards and a scratching noise came from this motion. I bended my knees lightly, going into a horse-stance, and held the spear with one arm.

It arced to the side, and I drew the spear behind my back, ready to slash forward.

Meanwhile, the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly shot its mouth open, baring its teeth, and growled deeply. It rumbled and grumbled with a slight vibration in the floor, travelling through my shoes.

Saliva dripped down its mouth and its ugly tongue wiped over its scorched snout, easing the burn.

I rammed the spear-shoe against the marble floor, cracking it apart, and made it known that I'm ready –ready to tear the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly apart.