The Dominant Crab

The sound was initially faint but quickly grew louder. Lily, startled, turned her head to look down the dark stairway. Suddenly, as if witnessing a horrifying scene, she gasped and fled from the stairwell towards Simon.

Hearing Lily's cry, Simon immediately turned and saw a dark shadow emerging from the stairway leading to the rooftop. It was a water rat beast. Following closely behind it, more shadows surged forward, all of them water rat beasts.

These creatures had previously surfaced from the water, not climbing the walls but instead slipping through a window into the building's thirtieth floor. Now, they were making their way up the stairs, finally reaching the rooftop.

Seeing the swarm of water rat beasts, Lily panicked and ran towards Simon. Simon realized the gravity of the situation; Lily was no match for these creatures. If even one of them managed to catch her, she would be in grave danger.

At that moment, Simon had just evaded an attack from the sea iguana in front of him, jumping to its side. He noticed the creature lowering its body slightly, a clear sign it was about to lash out with its tail.

As anticipated, the sea iguana planted its four limbs firmly on the ground, its tail whipping towards him. Simon, having predicted this move, braced his iron rod at an angle on the ground, veins bulging on the back of his hand.

The tail struck the iron rod with a resounding "thud," sending vibrations through the rod. Simon's right arm felt an immediate numbness from the impact. The force of the sea iguana's tail was immense but insufficient to bend the iron rod. Instead, the tail was forcefully rebounded.

Seizing the moment as the sea iguana recoiled, Simon closed in. His left hand formed a fist, activating "Ravenous Fangs," and he plunged it into the sea iguana's head, then raked downward, carving four deep gashes into its skull.

All four Ravenous Fangs pierced deeply, slicing downward and inflicting fatal wounds. Blood gushed from the four slashes, cascading out in torrents. A surge of information flooded Simon's mind—he had gained two more Spirit Sources, bringing his total to 13/20.

Having succeeded, Simon noticed Long was equally swift. Long closed in on a sea iguana, delivering a decisive blow to its head and unleashing "Soul Devourer." As a Level 3 Spirit Source wielder, Long only received one Spirit Source per kill, unlike Simon who received two. Now, Long needed five more Spirit Sources to advance, while Simon required seven.

Lily rushed to Simon's side, her face pale with fear. From the stairwell, five or six water rat beasts emerged, fanning out towards Lily, Simon, and Long. With the sea iguanas dealt with, Simon steadied himself, shaking off the numbness in his right arm from the previous battle. He felt the invigorating surge of newly absorbed Spirit Source energy and prepared to confront the oncoming water rat beasts.

Suddenly, the creatures halted and, in an astonishing turn of events, they abruptly reversed direction, retreating back into the darkness of the stairwell.

"What's happening?" Long, wielding his steel shovel, had just charged forward, ready to strike the water rat beasts. He paused in bewilderment as they fled. 

"Did we scare them off?" Long realized with a hearty laugh.

Simon's heart skipped a beat, a sense of unease surging within him. He swiftly turned and glanced toward the edge of the rooftop. There was no way the three of them could have frightened off the water rat beasts, so the only possibility was...

As Simon turned his head, he saw three lizard heads emerging from the edge of the rooftop—three enormous sea iguanas had climbed up. 

"Perfect timing!" Long chuckled, not with fear but with anticipation. Despite the toxic threat posed by these sea iguanas, they had gained some experience from the previous battles. Long, needing just five more Spirit Sources to advance, welcomed the challenge and the opportunity to gain more.

Before he could finish his thought, the three sea iguanas assumed an offensive stance, ready to charge. Suddenly, with a loud crash, a massive shadow rose behind them. A monstrous crab, the size of a round table, leaped up, following the sea iguanas. Its entire body was gray, with a shell diameter exceeding 1.5 meters. Its enormous pincers, nearly two meters long, extended menacingly. One pincer reached out and grabbed a sea iguana from behind.

The sea iguana let out a harrowing scream, writhing in an attempt to break free. Suddenly, blood gushed like a fountain. Simon's eyes widened, and Long, who had been nonchalant moments before, was now visibly horrified.

The sea iguana, clutched by the crab's pincer, was severed in half, as if it had been sliced at the waist. Simon and Long both gasped in shock at the gruesome sight.

They used iron rods and steel shovels to strike the sea iguanas. Though they inflicted some damage, none were able to deal a significant blow, a testament to the toughness of the iguanas' hides. Now, however, this sea iguana had been severed by the giant crab's pincers. Just how sharp and powerful were those claws?

In the midst of their astonishment, the giant crab's pincers swung out again. The formidable sea iguanas appeared utterly defenseless against its assault. One iguana was swatted, tumbling through the air and plummeting off the rooftop. Another, caught by its tail, struggled frantically, ultimately severing its own tail to escape. It bolted from the rooftop and disappeared from sight.

Evidently, the giant crab had no real interest in the sea iguanas; its true targets were Simon and his companions. The iguanas were merely obstacles in its path. With its legs scuttling rapidly, the crab advanced toward the trio.

"Retreat!" Simon shouted, realizing this formidable creature was beyond their ability to confront. A direct confrontation would likely result in casualties. He grabbed Lily's arm and bolted towards the stairwell.

Long, unwilling to face the monster alone, dashed after them, shouting, "I get it now! The rats weren't scared of us, they were scared of this thing!"

Simon thought, you just figured that out? Clutching Lily, he rushed into the stairwell, with Long close behind. The giant crab crashed into the entrance just a moment later, its body slamming into the stairwell with a thunderous noise.

"Phew, that was close. It's too big to get in," Long sighed in relief, breaking into a grin. He stood at the stairwell entrance, gripped his steel shovel tightly, and struck at the giant crab obstructing the doorway.