It was just enough. Kori's was able to reposition and cast her spell right before it happened. With Oben's vitality linked to her own, he would be protected for some time. Unfortunately, he was right in the lizard's striking range. With zero hesitation, the lizard reared up and stared directly at him. Then, that horrible croak echoed in the room.

Chhrrrrrrrrrrr.

Varanense was able to see it clearly. The lizard's gullet had crushed the earth inside of it. Then, every muscle in his neck tensed and convulsed. It wasn't any of their doing; no, the lizard was making its move. Its head quickly jerked towards Oben, maw open wide. From deep within the gullet came a blast of a thick mud. It felt unlike anything he had ever felt before. It wasn't like being splashed by a puddle. No, this was more like being struck by a giant's hammer. Oben had no other option than to accept being launched back into the hole covered in mud. His entire body was difficult to move. Were his ribs broken? Maybe. The adrenaline made it hard to actually feel the pain. At the very least, he knew that he could still walk and move his arms. The mud all over him, however, was different. It felt constricting, as though it was slowly drying up and forming cement.

Kori felt the pain too. Getting struck in one place was one thing, but being struck all over one's body was entirely different. Oh boy, it hurt. If there was any similar feeling, it would be a savage body slam. One could recover, but they were still going to feel it in an hour.

"The natural order shan't be obeyed. Deform and mold to my will creating something anew rather than reborn. Disavow the endless reformation of time and create one final form: Gaia Spear!"

Penn had, meanwhile, been casting her magic. Offensive magic was always a useful feat; it often took much out of an adventurer, but its effects would often completely change the tempo of a fight. Formed from Penn's small, outstretched hands, fine particles of earth began to float and form a ball. Then, Penn snapped. Her pointer finger aimed directly at the beast's gullet. The center of the ball went first, causing a massive spear-like shape to form as it flew towards the beast. A direct hit, the spear cut into the lizard's skin. All though it was unable to pierce muscle, orbs of soft earth appeared between the layers of muscle and skin.

The lizard unleashed an unholy roar of pain as it ended its rearing. It slammed onto the ground, wheezing as it expelled the muddy goo from its mouth. For now, the adventurers would have an advantage.

During this time, Castor had made a mad dash around the beast. Taking cues from Varanense, he swung to take the monster's good eye. As the lizard attempted to catch its breath, Castor had thrust with all of his might; the eye was a much denser target than he had ever experienced. Schlrlrrrrk; the spear's tip entered the iris and then got stuck. The lizard, startled from losing a considerable amount of vision, quickly shook its head. Castor had to leap away, lest he be struck by his own spear shaft.

The lizard was unable to use its eyes and it had to recover. They would, most likely, be able to push in a few free attacks. Maybe, at least. They had no idea what this lizard was capable of.

_{Late Noon///Floor 3}

---

A jet of mud swamped Oben completely, but all Varanense thought about was how lucky they were that the lizard wasn't a fire-breather. Someone else could get the masked swordsman out; he'd have to continue the onslaught instead. Both eyes were down. His breathing was still under control. Setting the crossbow against the ground, the tanned archer slotted in the next bolt and pulled the string upwards with the entire strength of his body. There was a click, and he kicked up his oversized weapon once more, weaving behind the pillars to get the angle on another vital target.

The monster wasn't moving now. The next will be its sense of smell. Positioning himself in front of the beast, Varanense let out another sharp breath. "Firing!" he called, praying that the others would have the sense to stay still while a projectile shot from behind them.

And then, of course, he did fire. With a powerful whump, the arrow flew for right nostril, and already, he was reloading. It wasn't normal for him to try so hard, but then again, Dahlia was looking rather spartan and might actually allow them to get a couple of broken bones and ruptured organs before stepping in.

---

---

A brief shimmer hovered over both Kori and Obenn, before the latter was swallowed in a torrential sea of grime and mud spewed forth by the giant lizard. Though nothing impacted the cat girl physically, the magic caused all her nerve ends to flare as the magic shared the crushing impact of the attack, her body being assaulted in every direction. The phantom pain wasn't anything she wasn't used to, however, though admittedly her previous uses of the spell had been in situations that were much less dire and life-threatening. At the very least it wouldn't cripple her, evidenced by how she immediately leaped back into the fray after Penn opened a wound in the beast's skin.

Kori raised her long, heavy blade, driving her blade into the fresh opening between the lizard's layers. Obenn would have to be helped later; the advantage the party had now could not be given up.

The bolt that Varanense had fired struck true. His bolt sunk deep within the lizard's nostril, embedding itself deep within. Had the beast not been mostly still, then it would be an amazing shot. Instead, it was just what needed to be done. The lizard, however, barely reacted outside of a recoil of pain. It still bidded its time, its stomach flat on the ground.

Right after the path was clear and the chance of friendly fire was lowered, Kori's attack was much more... intense. As she thrust her blade in the wound, what she pierced was not flesh; it was dirt. Her blade reached the deepest out of anyone, with half of the blade inside of the lizard. Though much of the wound may not have been her own doing, the reptile recoiled even further, almost hissing in pain from his new wounds.

But it didn't. The lizard remained eerily quiet.