492 Chapter 492: Chaos Chimera (2/2)
Fortunately, I had learned how to buy myself the time that I needed. Leo materialized, along with the pride of Leo Minor, and they pounced on the Chaos Chimera, who flailed about frantically. The bony apertures lined along its neck, body and tail fired over thirty beams, but my Constellation lions were more agile and flexible than my three horned spirits from earlier. They weaved through the devastating array of beams and slashed with their claws. As I expected, though, their claws didn't do much to the tough bones of the Chaos Chimera.
”Leo, Regulus!”
The golden blast of mana seared from Leo's body and slammed into the Chaos Chimera's midriff, causing it to stagger. It didn't leave so much as a scorch, though, but I had already anticipated that. While Leo's Regulus was powerful, it still wasn't enough to disintegrate a monster the size of the Chaos Chimera.
Growling, the skeletal creature swiped at Leo, who deftly evaded its claws. Several bony cannons along its neck whirled about to fire at him, but Leo was already catapulting over the beams, and jumping about in a zigzag manner to weave through them. While the Chaos Chimera was distracted by the leader of the pride, the smaller Leo Minor crept in closer and pounced on it, slashing at its flanks and legs. With a snarl, the Chaos Chimera shook them off, its tail whipping out and sending them flying. It stomped on one unfortunate Leo Minor, causing him to vanish, and then the beam cannons along its tailed flared up, ripping into several of the slower Constellation lions scrambling to get away.
With a vengeful roar, Leo mauled the Chaos Chimera's head and gouged out several shards of bones. The Chaos Chimera retaliated by opening its mouth and attempting to blast him with its charged mana beam at pointblank range, but Leo let go and allowed himself to fall. Landing gracefully on the ground, he unleashed another golden pillar of Regulus, which knocked the Chaos Chimera's jaws to the side and engulfed its skull-like head. Once again, the beam went awry and lanced harmlessly toward the heavens.
”Phew…”
I exhaled in relief when I saw that my remaining Constellation spirits were okay. Leo retreated, just in time to avoid another deadly stomp as the Chaos Chimera's head emerged from the smoke with a screech.
”Rigel.”
With the word on my lips, I summoned the blazing arrow into existence. The air around me rippled violently from the potent maelstrom of power that now surrounded me, the atmosphere actually distorting from the sheer amount of mana that suffused me. Taking aim, I then released the blue and gold arrow at Chaos Chimera.
At the same time, my Leo and pride of Leo Minor chose that instant to vanish, to seek shelter from what was coming.
”!!!”
Digging himself out of the rubble, the battered Henry James emerged just in time to see the spiraling arrow strike the writhing Chaos Chimera and explode. His jaw dropped as he tried to shield himself, and the entire area vanished in a blinding flash of light, an enormous explosion that consumed most of the half-demolished museum and wrecking the rest of the beleaguered structure. A mushroom cloud blossomed into the air.
”What the fuck is this bullshit?!” he howled. ”Nobody told me anything about this?!”
Those were the last words that left his mouth before the shockwaves buffeted him and he was sent flying several dozen meters away, his body almost incinerated from the sheer, hellish force of the fiery explosion.
Miraculously, he was still alive. Laughing hysterically as he landed amidst the disintegrating rubble, most of his body burned into ash. Crawling up with his remaining hand – the other arm having been burned off – he pulled his remaining half of his body above the pile of debris to watch the dispersing explosion. Glaring down, he scoffed.
”Not bad, not bad at all, kid! But that won't be enough! This is the Chaos Chimera we're talking about here! Unless you're more powerful than the Sword Saint herself, you can't destroy it!”
The flames had died down by now, and the currently blackened frame of the Chaos Chimera staggered out, smoldering. There were thousands of cracks that lined its skeleton, and it looked as if it was going to fall apart any moment now, but against all odds it had survived.
And it was angry.
The ghostly flames burned furiously in those empty sockets and it whirled around to glare at me. Its maw yawned, and a new charged mana beam coalesced within, getting ready to surge out with a vengeance and obliterate me.
”Honestly, you did great, kid! You have surpassed all expectations! But too bad your nuke spell isn't enough! Not against a monster of this caliber!”
”Well, I kind of expected it,” I admitted with an indifferent shrug as I finished casting my next big spell. ”Which is why…Draco, it's your turn.”
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