My spirit animal is a F–Rank gecko-Chapter 61: Azure basilisk (1)
"What is it, Jaster?!" Stella shouted at the frozen boy. She looked around her and saw everyone looking outside the window, their faces wearing the same frozen expression as his.
Curious, Stella wanted to look, but she glanced at Zara, who was unconscious in her arms.
She carefully laid Zara on the table and got up to look out the window.
"Hey, what are you seeing—" Stella’s eyes and mouth flew open at the sight outside.
"What’s that....?"
Outside, a colossal serpent rampaged through the street.
Its scales were a deep gray-indigo, almost black beneath the dim sky. Along its neck, a wide frill glowed from within, as if ancient lightning had been trapped beneath its skin.
The creature’s eyes were pitch black, its pupils shining with a pale blue light.
The serpent slithered violently through the street, sending cars skidding and people fleeing in terror. Screams filled the air.
Then its gaze fell upon a woman and her child.
The beast raised its head and opened its massive jaws.
At once, the glow inside its neck frill began to move. Indigo sparks rushed upward, drawn toward its mouth. The particles collided violently, crackling with thunder as they condensed into a swirling sphere of lightning.
The mother and child reached a dead end.
Behind them, the towering serpent loomed over the street, the storm of energy growing brighter in its mouth.
The woman’s mind raced as the sounds of panic echoed around her—people screaming, her child crying.
The dark indigo sphere grew larger, pulling in dust and debris as the air trembled around it.
Then instinct took over.
She shoved her child aside and ran. The child hit the ground hard.
"Mom...?" Her hand reached out for her mother, her eyes squinting as the indigo ball grew bigger and bigger.
And, just as suddenly as the snake had appeared, its head turned toward the running mother and released the ball of thunder directly at her.
BANGGGG
The indigo ball struck the mother head-on. The impact created a massive earthquake that made Jaster lose his footing.
He staggered a bit, while some people in the café fell to the ground. Stella, though, held onto the table, her eyes still fixed on the child lying on the street.
"The child.....she needs help!" She gripped Jaster’s shoulder tightly.
"Jaster, please take care of Zara for me." Her eyes were filled with determination, but this was bad news for Jaster.
"Wait, Stella!" She ignored his warning and scrambled out of the café. His head was still ringing from the last earthquake. That snake had managed to create an indigo ball of lightning that sent ripples of earthquake for miles.
"This is bad.... What kind of spirit looks like that? Is it an evil spirit?" Jaster thought for a moment but dismissed the evil spirit theory, if that were the case, it would have been covered in black with red eyes.
Then, is someone is doing this on purpose?
Just then, he heard Zara groan. She woke up and held her bleeding head.
Jaster’s eyes widened, and he rushed toward her.
"Are you okay?" He gently touched her back, keeping her steady.
"Ugh.... No. My head keeps buzzing. What happened?" Zara looked at Jaster. The white-haired boy was taken aback by her bloody face.
"Wait right here. I’ll wash off your blood." He got up and saw the waitress hiding behind the counter.
"Hey, ma’am, is there any medication or at least a towel here?" The waitress startled, then calmed down when she saw it was just a boy.
"Yes, I have some. Wait, let me get it!" She quickly scrambled to the kitchen, while Jaster returned and saw how much blood was spilling from Zara’s head.
Trying to find something to stop the blood flow, and finding nothing, he quickly took off his Bondspire jacket while Purple hopped out of his pocket.
He tightly wrapped the jacket around the bob-cut girl’s head. Jaster couldn’t see it through all the blood on her face, but Zara was shocked by his act of kindness. She let out a weak smile for him.
---
(Stella POV)
She rushed outside into the ruined city and saw the massacre the beast had created. Cars were flipped upside down or crashed into each other. Many dead bodies lay in the street, painting the concrete floor cherry red. Fire erupted in many buildings, and the screams of civilians echoed in Stella’s ears.
Her eyes were filled with terror at everything unfolding, but then a girl’s crying pierced through all the civilians’ screams.
She saw the monster slither toward the little girl. Its colossal tail slammed into a building, sending rubble pouring down.
It towered above the crying child. Its eyes dilated at the sight of her tears. The beast opened its giant maw and began creating that indigo ball again.
"NO!" Stella screamed into the air. She started sprinting toward the two figures, walking through the red-painted street and pushing past all the panicked civilians.
She ran as fast as she could. Her chest glowed cyan, and particles formed in the air as she ran. The particles coalesced into a gray wolf that ran alongside Stella.
"Snowy, disturb the snake’s charging!" She commanded her spirit animal. The wolf silently nodded.
The serpent’s indigo ball was almost finished charging, but before the beast could do anything further, Stella lowered herself until she was sliding across the bloody pavement. She reached the girl and scooped her up mid-slide.
The beast was confused for a second. Its head turned toward the two girls. It didn’t see the gray wolf leap forward and bite the serpent’s head.
"SHRRAAAAAAAK!" The monster’s shriek echoed through the burning street. The gray wolf kept biting the back of its head. Azure blood gushed out with every bite, painting the gray fur azure. It kept going for a while until Stella whistled at her spirit.
She was on the other side now, the child in her arms, still crying.
The canine immediately understood Stella and jumped down from the serpent’s back. It started running toward the two girls.
The beast coiled its head toward them and the running wolf, its eyes burning with rage and revenge. It released its charge.
But instead of the usual indigo sphere, it launched a volley of electric beams at them. Every time a beam passed, debris and dust got swept inside it.
"Snowy!" Stella reached her hand out for her wolf, and in the last second—
