As Kanaria described, the Tier 2 Thylacoleo was a large predator with powerful jaws and large, retractable thumb claws. The color of its fur was quite dark, adapting to the mall’s environment, which had no light.
Because of the mall’s structure, it was hard to see the beast if they didn’t focus.
"Melody?" Clovis frowned. Fortunately, there was some light outside, but the sun was about to set soon, so they didn’t have a lot of time.
"The AI will assist you in identifying the beast," Melody replied as she remained on the third floor.
Kanaria was standing on the fourth floor while Jay and Clovis remained on the first floor, ready to engage the beast.
"There are no beasts around us, so you are free to get wild."
"Roger." Clovis and Jay exchanged nods.
Now that they had gotten the confirmation, they went to the section where they found the Thylacoleo.
As expected of the marsupial lion, its instinct was pretty sharp. Before Clovis and Jay could ambush him, the lion turned around and pounced on Clovis.
Foll𝑜w current novels on fɾēewebnσveℓ.com.
Clovis wouldn’t be able to stop the lion in his current condition. However, it didn’t mean that he would be useless.
Instead of hitting the lion with the sword, Clovis actually jumped to the side as if he were struggling.
The lion immediately rotated its body so that it could land feet first while facing Clovis.
Clovis tossed the short sword to the Tier 2 lion, albeit the latter skillfully dodged it. Seeing that the beast was about to make another leap, Clovis ran to the giant opening where there was a void leading to the floors above them. Kanaria was waiting over there.
Seeing how Jay was approaching him from the other side, the lion had no choice but to chase after Clovis, planning to kill him first before Jay could catch up.
Clovis retracted his short sword before pulling out his gun, aiming at the beast.
Out of reflex, the beast leaped to the side to avoid the bullets, but it turned out Clovis was playing with him. The pistol was just a fake to create a bigger gap between them, allowing him to reach the mall’s entertainment zone.
When the beast noticed the change of scenery, it sensed a danger that didn’t come from Clovis. However, it was already too late to return as Jay was straight behind him.
Hence, the beast pounced on Clovis, planning to kill him first before anything happened.
Clovis waved his long sword with all the strength he could muster, but the beast’s sharp teeth actually caught the sword, preventing Clovis from completing his swing.
At the same time, the two paws pushed Clovis to the ground.
"Tsk." Clovis held his sword as hard as possible, but the lion was shaking its head to take the sword away from him. As a result, Clovis let it go while raising the short sword. If he could pierce the head, everything would be over.
However, the beast pressed Clovis’s hands, knocking the short sword away. With this, Clovis had no other item to protect himself and the lion only needed to take a big bite on his head.
When the situation started getting awry, Clovis actually smiled.
After all, his aim was only to buy time.
"!!!" The lion’s instinct kicked in as it suddenly leaped to the side as Jay’s blade suddenly flashed above Clovis. Unfortunately, it didn’t hit the lion.
*Ro—!* The lion wanted to let out a roar to scare them while calling reinforcement, but a bullet suddenly hit the beast’s jaw.
It was Kanaria. While the beast’s instinct should be able to sense the danger, it was still not fast enough to avoid the bullets. When the beast dodged Clovis’s gun, it was looking at and matching the gun’s movement. On the other hand, the beast didn’t know Kanaria was on the fourth floor due to the shorts’ camouflage ability.
The lion turned its head around, seeing Melody pointing her gun at him.
There was only one thing to do. The beast turned around, trying to escape. However, Clovis took advantage of the distraction to shoot the beast from behind.
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
The lion’s right feet went limp as the balance shifted abruptly. Jay hurriedly closed in and slashed the beast’s back before jumping away.
This Tier 2 Thylacoleo tried to growl, but Kanaria released another shot on its stomach.
Without hesitation, Jay closed the gap once again and swiftly severed the beast’s head.
This was a Tier 2 mutated beast, yet Clovis and the others hunted it easily.
Although Jay wanted to fight this beast by himself, he knew that the situation was a bit urgent and they had to leave the city as soon as possible before another beast wave happened.
After killing this Tier 2 beast, Melody came down and extracted the essence, while Jay walked to Clovis and extended his hand.
"How is it? Getting pushed down by a beast instead of a woman?"
Clovis chuckled while taking his hand. "If you want to know the answer, try it yourself."
"There is no sign of disruption in the area. I see no beasts on the radar, so I believe that we have accomplished our mission." Melody explained. "We also have completed two other missions: one related to the Tier 3 overlord, and the other is another Tier 2 beast. I will provide pictures of them as well to make it easier to claim the reward."
"Got it. Thank you, Melody." Clovis nodded.
"Then, are we going back now? Or do we camp for the night?"
"If we leave right now, we should make it in time. Though, Jay has to drive it a bit faster. Travelling in the dark is dangerous after all," Kanaria replied while going down the stairs.
"In that case, let’s go back immediately. I take it that you are not too tired to drive, Jay?"
"Sure." Jay nodded. "But I’m not dealing with everything after we reach the city."
"Of course. You can even stay in my house today and I will bring out the chicken nuggets again." Clovis gave him a thumbs up.
"I’m in." Jay smirked while Kanaria said, "You better not forget about me."
Clovis chuckled. "Still, everyone, thank you for your hard work."