Leech watched helplessly as Worm dragged Gelman downstairs. To his surprise, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then he hurried over to Owl.
Owl was lying on his back on the floor, his sunglasses long gone. His whole body kept twitching uncontrollably.
He had finally managed to put out most of the flames himself, but a few sparks still flickered over his severely burned flesh, blackened and dark red in patches.
Owl's face was unrecognizable. He reached out a hand, its bones visible through the flesh, and his ruined mouth opened and closed as if begging Leech for help.
"Ah... ah... ah..." But Owl could no longer form complete words.
Leech could only command all the fat worms he had just thrown to crawl over to Owl and attach themselves to his body, hoping they could keep him alive.
Still, he knew this wasn't a lasting solution. If Owl wasn't taken to the nearest hospital soon, burns like his would be fatal.
Owl realized this, too. With his vocal cords damaged, all he could do was make "ah, ah" sounds and plead with his eyes.
But Leech didn't do as Owl asked.
"From the moment you became a Shadow Beast, you should've been prepared for this. Gelman is dangerous. I can't leave Worm to deal with him alone, or he'll pick us off one by one. Completing the mission comes first."
"Don't worry. Once Bat takes care of the woman in the next room, he'll come over. With his ability to fly, he can get you to the hospital faster than I can."
With Owl's disappointment plain to see, Leech headed for the hole and carefully jumped down to the floor below.
The room below had a similar layout. The original occupant had already screamed and fled the moment Gelman and Worm crashed down into it.
Now the room was in disarray. The sofa had toppled over, the chairs and table were smashed, and the sheets and curtains had caught fire. Flames and thick smoke surrounded the two enemies.
But less than twenty seconds into their one-on-one fight, a large part of Worm's right arm had already been cut off. Blood dripped from the stump onto the floor.
Gelman held the Meat Saw in his right hand and the Flamethrower in his left, but he made no move to step forward and fire it.
After landing, Leech kept his eyes on Gelman as he slowly moved to Worm's side. He spat out a clump of fat worms, which attached themselves to Worm's severed arm and temporarily stopped the bleeding.
"The flamethrower takes a lot out of him, so he can't use it nonstop," Worm told Leech grimly, sharing a crucial piece of information. "He's waiting for us to get within its range."
Leech nodded, then quietly told him some bad news.
"Worm, I don't have much 'stock' left in my belly, and Owl's out of the fight. If the next attack doesn't decide things, we'll be in trouble."
"I know." Worm gritted his teeth. "This guy's even stronger than I thought. We came prepared, but we still underestimated him. We should've brought the whole team."
That was easy to say after the fact. Who could've expected things to turn out like this?
Just then, Gelman made a new move.
The Meat Saw in his right hand vanished, replaced by a black shield. He set it upright on the floor. The shield's winged relief reached just below his chin.
Gelman bent over, revealing only half his face and the nozzle of the Flamethrower in his left hand from behind the shield. Then he began advancing toward Worm and Leech.
The two Shadow Beasts immediately understood what he was doing, and their breathing grew heavy.
"This guy's not giving us any chance to gain the advantage. He's forcing us to make a choice!"
Worm had no ranged attacks, and now he'd lost his right arm. Leech's fat worms weren't much of a threat either.
Even if they had ranged attacks, that shield would probably block them.
Gelman had materialized the shield as a precaution. He was acting on the assumption that they might have medium- or long-range attacks.
That left them with two choices: wait for Gelman to close the distance and hit them with the Flamethrower, or take the initiative and go around the shield to attack.
If they moved together, Gelman would keep turning the shield to face them.
If they split up, he would probably immediately put away the cumbersome shield and choose one of them to take out first.
Now Gelman was advancing like a tank. The pressure of his relentless approach made both men swallow hard.
"Leech," Gelman suddenly said. "I'll go after you first. Your leeches can't kill me quickly, and you can't escape by burrowing through the ground and walls like Worm."
The plump Leech couldn't help frowning.
"He's trying to bait you!" Worm quickly warned him. "When he uses the Flamethrower, we'll have to run in opposite directions to improve our chances of survival. If we stick together, we'll be sitting ducks."
This was the problem the Shadow Beasts faced now: alone, they would be killed by Gelman in an instant; together, they would be pursued and hit by the Flamethrower.
Thinking it over, they'd have a chance only if they split up, with one drawing Gelman's fire while the other counterattacked.
Leech was drenched in sweat.
When Worm received no reply, he warned him again. "Leech, don't fall for it!"
"I know," Leech muttered.
But he knew very well that if he split up from Worm, Gelman would most likely go after him first, since he had no suitable means of escape or counterattack.
He couldn't help thinking of Owl's condition just moments ago.
He had told Owl to accept what came with being a Shadow Beast, but if it happened to him, he knew he'd find it hard to accept.
Gelman had come close enough to Worm and Leech. He raised the Flamethrower.
Whoosh—the flames burst forth with a bone-chilling roar!
"Now!" Worm shouted. He leaped straight toward the floor below and burrowed through it like a loach.
Leech froze for a moment, then ran wildly to the left, fighting down his overwhelming fear.
Sure enough, Gelman looked toward Leech, making the latter's scalp prickle.
Is he really going after me?
The next moment, Gelman did the unexpected. Instead of putting away the cumbersome Winged Shield, he lowered the Flamethrower and gripped the shield with both hands, allowing him to pursue Leech more quickly.
The shield? He's deliberately shortening his own attack range? Does he not have enough Nen Energy left to use the flames?
Leech was stunned, but he didn't even have time to vomit up the few fat worms left in his stomach.
He tried to run for the door, but the wall of fire around him blocked his way, forcing him to keep running for his life.
If he stopped, he was dead.
"Worm!" Leech shouted in terror.
But the moment he cried out, he understood Gelman's intention.
Gelman had deliberately put away the Flamethrower because Leech wasn't really his target. Leech was only bait.
If Gelman killed Leech quickly, Worm would most likely flee at once.
He's trying to trick Worm into misjudging the situation! Leech felt a chill run down his back.
Just then, the floor beneath Gelman's feet suddenly split open. Worm had indeed launched an attack. His left arm shot up, reaching for Gelman's ankle.
But Gelman wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice.
He had been watching the floor closely. The moment he noticed something amiss, he raised the shield with both hands and slammed it down, hitting Worm's left arm squarely.
Crack! Worm cried out in pain. His left arm twisted instantly, bending to one side, and the bone jutted out through his brown skin.
He tried to withdraw below the floor, but his completely mangled left arm couldn't bear his weight. Worse, it was wedged in the hole, preventing him from escaping in time.
Only then did Gelman swiftly put away the shield and summon the Meat Saw. He grabbed Worm's left arm and pulled him bodily out from beneath the floor.
The Meat Saw rose high, then came down hard, striking Worm's head and splitting it in two.
All Worm could manage before the end was a breath that sounded like a sigh of despair.
Gelman dropped Worm's corpse and turned to chase Leech.
Seeing Worm die, Leech was overwhelmed by panic and terror. He didn't even see the glass shards at his feet before stepping on them. He slipped forward and fell into the scorching flames.
"Ahhh!" He caught fire and screamed, turning into a rolling ball of flames.
Before you continue