344 No Time To Waste

"What is that horrible sound!" Maribelle exclaimed as she covered her ears. 

"It's the reptilian creature!" Boss shouted back as he looked up. 

Much to his surprise, the nine-tailed beast was unaffected by it. It stood its ground, staring intently at the reptile creature. The beast seemed to be waiting for its opponent to make the first move. 

In the distance, Queen Willow noticed what was happening, including the emergence of the nine-tailed beast. Though she did not know where it came from, she could sense its aura from where she stood. 

It felt familiar. She had met this beast before, but in a different form. 

"That's Vyrena," she mumbled to herself. 

Indeed, the nine-tailed beast was Vyrena, in her Kyu form. The blasts from the explosives she had used earlier on the wall had destroyed the red bands around her wrists. 

She was no longer limited by them. It allowed her to access the abilities she had all along. The ability to shapeshift. 

In her Kyu form, Vyrena massacred the monkey beasts and leapt downwards into the open space. She was surprised to see that she ended up in what looked like an abandoned city. 

When she heard the shooter weapons going off, she knew the survivors were in danger. Vy's arrival came in the nick of time as she attacked the reptilian creature head-on. 

But her little attack was only enough to knock it back. It was not enough to knock it out. Vy bared her teeth and growled at the reptilian creature as it glared intently at her. 

It tried to hiss at her, but the lack of a jaw just produced guttural noises and splatters of blood. The reptilian creature lumbered forward, this time at greater speeds towards Vy. 

Vy propelled herself forward, taking on the creature head-on. Knowing that it now lacked its jaw, she only needed to worry about its claws and tail. As if on cue, the reptilian creature curved its body at the last moment. 

As it turned, it used the momentum to swing its tail to Attack. Vy was caught in the attack which sent her flying to the side. But she caught her footing quickly and regained composure. 

There was no time to waste!

She launched herself forward once more. Her paws were covered with black flames, leaving behind a trail of fire as she went. When she reached her prey, she clawed at its face.

Her sharpened claws dug into the scales of the creature. The black flames helped to burn through its scales, revealing the flesh beneath. As she clawed down, three deep cut wounds were formed across the reptilian creature's eye. 

The cuts were so deep it tore through her skin and cut her flesh beneath. Boss and the children winced as they saw the nine-tailed creature take the attack. 

Vy gritted her sharpened teeth as she felt the intense pain from the wounds. She backed away from the creature, leaving a trail of blood.

-I was too careless.- she said to herself as she looked back at the creature. 

Though the loss of blood was not serious, Vy knew she could not afford to get more battle scars. She needed to watch her movement. Caution was the name of the game. 

Looking at the creature, Vy assessed the situation. Her flames were able to injure the creature, which was a good sign. If the creature had regenerative powers, it would make everything more complicated. 

Just as she was about to dismiss the idea, Vy noticed that the creature had stopped bleeding. Though its jaw was still hanging loose, it seemed to be slowly repairing on its own. 

-I can't let you fully recover.- she said to herself.

Black flames began to swirl all around Vy, until the flames covered her entire body. Then, she propelled herself forward, heading straight in the direction of the reptilian creature. 

Once again, it attempted to use its tail to attack. This time Vy was prepared. As the tail swerved towards her, she leapt into the air and released a stream of fire from her mouth. 

Using the momentum of her leapt and fall, she landed down upon the creature as its entire body was consumed in her flames. The flame burned its scales, causing it to peel and reveal the flesh beneath. 

Vy noticed immediately that the creature was trying to increase the speed of its regenerative healing. But she was not about to let it win. Without mercy, she clamped her jaw into the neck of the creature, with flames covering her sharpened teeth. 

Using as much force as she could muster, she bit down. Her sharpened teeth punctured the neck of the creature. Blood oozed from the newly formed puncture wounds.

The creature wriggled its body, screeching in agony. Vy exerted her full body weight on the creature to keep it from moving but it was not enough. She needed to be bigger. 

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she felt as if her form grew larger in size. Within a matter of seconds, she was no larger than the reptilian creature. This made her bite even more powerful. 

It was enough to sever the head of the creature, but its body still seemed to have a mind of its own. It was still able to regenerate and move. 

-The heart.- 

Vy used her senses to trace the location of the creature's heart. She still had its head in her mouth. She crunched down upon it, destroying the brain before discarding it to the side. 

When she located the heart, she realised the creature had two. But it did not make a difference for her. Vy protracted her sharpened claws and dug into the flesh of the creature. 

Her flames kept the scales from regenerating. That made it easier for her claws to burrow through the flesh of the creature. Through the open cavity she had created in the body of the creature, she tore the hearts apart and burnt them with her fire. 

With the creature defeated, Vy stepped back, her fur soaked in the creature's blood. Her flames continued to rapidly burn the corpse of the reptilian creature.

Only the bones remained.