No one knew when mysterious bald man appeared. He just suddenly showed up at exact moment when New York Police Commissioner almost died.
This not only stunned ordinary people but even shocked Lizardman.
Twice strength of a normal man? No, this was at least three times strength of an average adult male.
Lizardman had no intention of turning this into a mere test of strength. His o r claw, along with his thick lizard tail, swiped at a speed of 70 miles per hour.
If it hit, man's fate would be no better than SWAT officer who was just sent flying.
"Haah!" man let out a thunderous roar, raising his leg in a lightning-fast kick.
"Thud—" A deep, drum-like sound echoed.
massive Lizardman, likely weighing over 500 pounds, had a visible dent in his abdomen. With sharp vision, Gwen saw a brief, crater-like indentation form on Lizardman's stomach.
Kratos' terrifying strength clearly injured Lizardman's internal organs.
In next moment, enormous Lizardman was sent flying backward.
Despite Lizardman's remarkable agility and balance, he couldn't control his body, crashing and bouncing off multiple cars before finally digging his claw into ground after five flips, barely stopping himself.
Before Lizardman could react, Kratos had already rushed over, wielding his strange twin flaming blades.
While Kratos and Lizardman were locked in battle, Gwen couldn't hold back anymore. Tears welled up in her eyes as she ran toward her father.
"Dad... no, Captain Stacy, are you okay?" Gwen rushed over, supporting her collapsing father.
Gwen's words made George doubt his hearing: How could this mysterious heroine, whose file sat on his desk, speak with his daughter's voice?
But that voice, that movement—this was unmistakably his little girl!
George had become Police Commissioner not just from passion but also from his sharp instincts.
He realized that his injuries weren't too severe, though they looked terrifying. bulletproof vest had been pierced, and Lizardman's sharp claws had cut through his skin and muscle, leaving four coin-sized wounds just below his collarbone that were still bleeding.
In a critical moment, he found strength to put on an act.
"I… help me take off… vest… Gwen, there's a first aid kit in car…"
George pointed with his blood-covered finger toward police armored vehicle behind him. Gwen was truly panicked, and once again, she let it slip: "Got it, Dad… I mean, Captain."
George was now absolutely certain he hadn't misheard.
But he had to keep act going.
Playing along, he 'weakly' allowed Gwen to help remove his vest and apply hemostatic powder and gauze to his bleeding wounds.
Only after they had finished, and it seemed his life was finally saved, did he suddenly grab Gwen's wrist and whisper, "We'll talk at home tonight. I need an explanation."
Gwen froze.
No matter what, her father being safe was greatest relief for her.
Gritting her teeth, Gwen shot a web and swung onto a nearby steel cable. She noticed that Peter was still busy rescuing people, while Kratos remained locked in battle with Lizardman.
This was no fight for humans.
Lizardman was terrifying—anything his claws touched was destroyed. bus door he scratched shredded like twisted paper, tearing apart with a screeching metallic sound.
His enormous tail lashed out, cracking asphalt and leaving a five-centimeter-deep gouge in ground.
But Kratos…
Gwen had seen fast fighters and strong fighters, but she had never seen anyone combine speed and power so perfectly.
His movements were broad and exaggerated, with wide steps and fully extended arms, exuding a raw, violent energy.
Time after time, Kratos dodged Lizardman's claws and tail with precision, all while slashing at Lizardman's flesh with his strange twin blades, creating a storm of blood and scales.
Hard lizard scales, each size of a thumbnail, were sliced off and flew into air, followed by sprays of green Lizardman blood.
If se were just superficial wounds, next attack was different— Lizardman's overly aggressive lunge was perfectly countered by Kratos. He blocked claw with one blade, then ducked low and lunged forward. In a flash, a half-meter-long gash appeared on Lizardman's abdomen.
Green blood and intestines spilled out.
For a normal person, such a wound would have been fatal, if not incapacitating.
To Gwen's shock, Lizardman's horrific wound began healing before her eyes. muscles twitched and closed gash, while even intestines were absorbed back into newly formed muscle.
A chunk of intestine dangled grotesquely from Lizardman's stomach, swinging as he moved, a terrifying sight.
This was why Kratos, despite having upper hand, hadn't been able to finish Lizardman yet.
This three-meter-tall green monster could take a beating!
On other side, under pain and endless bloodshed, Lizardman became increasingly violent, launching indiscriminate attacks on all humans around him.
He even hurled cars at fleeing civilians.
But Kratos paid no attention, focusing solely on inflicting damage on Lizardman.
He was completely unconstrained by notions of morality, which frustrated Lizardman.
Gwen watched anxiously from side. It wasn't that she didn't want to help, but fight was moving too fast, and her combat style was completely different from Kratos'. A wrong move with her webs could hinder Kratos.
Lizardman's incredible regeneration gave him many chances to make mistakes.
But what about Kratos?
She didn't know. He looked human, and Gwen wasn't willing to risk him taking a direct hit.
She'd never forgive herself if she got in way.
As a true genius, Gwen was never short on observation skills. It didn't take her long to realize that Kratos, though seemingly random, had been subtly driving Lizardman toward a mysterious tanker.
"Hazardous materials… liquid nitrogen!?" Gwen's eyes lit up as she grasped Kratos' plan.
Understanding her ally's intentions made next move simple.
As if rehearsed a thousand times, Kratos dodged another claw strike, and a huge wad of webbing slammed into Lizardman's face.
"Ah! Aaargh!" Lizardman roared in frustration.
If Dr. Connors had been born a Lizardman, perhaps his heightened sense of smell would have helped him react. Unfortunately, he had been fully human until recently.
Suddenly blinded, he panicked and instinctively reached to tear off web with one hand, while wildly swinging other to fend off Kratos.
"Nice!" bald man's praise gave Gwen a strange sense of satisfaction.
I helped him! I finally helped!
Not wasting Gwen's perfect assist, Kratos ducked low, delivering a full-force horizontal slash that nearly severed Lizardman's left ankle.
With his immense strength, he dealt a blow of true, physical destruction!
Even with Lizardman's tough hide, his ankle was almost completely severed, hanging on by just two centimeters of skin and muscle.
blade's momentum carried through, slicing tendons of Lizardman's right ankle as well.
"Arrrgh!"
beast-like roar didn't faze Kratos. Instead of attacking other vulnerable spots, he delivered a powerful kick straight up.
"Boom!"
This kick destroyed Lizardman's balance.
He tumbled like a giant, rolling gourd.
After crushing seven or eight cars, his back slammed into tanker.
"Checkmate!" A grin of triumph spread across Kratos' rugged face.
A bomb was tossed.
With an earth-shattering explosion, a massive spray of liquid nitrogen gushed out, dousing Lizardman.
"Aargh!"
What… what is this?
As Dr. Connors began regaining his human mind, he was horrified to realize that extreme cold was rapidly diminishing his agility and strength.
Not only that—his supposedly 'limitless' regeneration had slowed to a halt.
Before Connors could fully comprehend what was happening, towering figure of Kratos loomed over him once more.
"Slash!"
One of Kratos' strange blades pierced through Connors' chest, while other sent his head flying high into air, his world spinning wildly.
No longer did beastly growls emerge from severed Lizardman head, but rather, human words.
"Am I… dead?"
(End of chapter)