The cat granny let out a scream louder than any other sound she made ever since she appeared. The oil was scorching hot, but it only started to smoke and catch fire when splashed onto the cat granny.

Gloria, Tae Kuo and Gyuu Park took this window of opportunity and rushed to Sue’s side, for she was the only civilian in the apartment right now.

“Are you okay!?” Sue still held the pot in her hand up, ready to use it as a red hot blunt weapon should she be forced into a fight. “Is it - is it dead?”

“No. I don’t think it - ” Gyuu Park shook his head, but before he could say anything else, his legs gave out and he almost fell onto the ground, if not for Tae Kuo’s catching him by his arm.

“What happened?” Gloria immediately knelt by his friend.

“He’s bitten. The dark energy is this creature poisoning him!” Tae Kuo wiped the sweat off his forehead: “We need to take him to a care center! We can’t - ”

“Okay! I’ll buy you some time, can you help him for now!?” Gloria grunted, every fiber of her muscles hurt, she just did not have the luxury of escaping right now. With her fingers trembling, she reached the inner pocket of her jacket and took out a wooden coin - the same oiled blessed coin made by lightning struck peachwood gifted to her by Gyuu Park. As she infused her Qi into the coin, she felt the hairs on her shoulders, the backer of her neck and forearms standing up. Tingling sensation pulsated through her body, numbing the muscle sore she felt, yet simultaneously causing a throbbing, burning pain in her head, eyes and ears. “Sue! You go with them, now!”

Sue shook her head, as she held the door open with her left handto let Tae Kuo carry Gyuu Park out of the apartment, while holding the pot in her right.

Large chunks of skin and flesh were melted off the cat granny’s body. Pale gray smoke rose and filled the entire apartment with a foul burnt smell. The cat granny stopped struggling on the ground after a while, and started standing up, using what was left of her extremities.

“Sue, what are you doing here?” Gloria grunted as she raised the coin up: “Leave!”

“No. I’m here with you.” Sue shook her head, while still holding the empty metal pot.

The cat granny gurgled and turned her face towards Gloria. The eye on her throat bulged out, staring at her, specifically the coin held in her fingers. She hissed, showing once again her sharp fangs. Within the blink of an eye she launched herself from the ground directly at Gloria.

Gloria’s mind moved, but her body lagged behind. Her hand holding the oiled blessed coin missed the cat granny’s head by just a hair, and she was tackled to the ground in the kitchen. The coin dropped on the floor and rolled to a corner of the living room..

“Sue! Run!” Gloria screamed.

Sue did not listen, the base of the metal pot in her hand landed on the back of the cat granny and made a loud bong. The hit also cracked something, and left a visible, even grievous dent on the cat granny’s head, from the edges of which one could even see yellow and black layers of bones and similar dark tar seeping out.

The cat granny screeched and swung her right hand at Sue, knocking the pot completely away from Sue’s grasp and leaving a small scratch on the back of her right hand.

Sue fell onto the ground, but immediately locked her eyes onto the coin lying on the ground. She struggled up, and dragged herself to the position of the coin, crawling and stumbling.

Gloria grabbed the cat granny’s right wrist and left shoulder in an attempt to block the creature’s attacks. But the cat granny just forced her body down with her mouth open, aiming her bite at Gloria’s neck.

Gloria concentrated what was left of her Qi on her forehead and butted her head upwards, just in time to make contact with the creature’s nose. Another cracking sound came, this strike seemed to have broken the creature’s nose bridge.

Sue screamed, with equal desperation and determination, as she slammed the blessed oiled coin onto the dent on the cat granny’s head.

Sparks of lightning exploded from the coin. Sue was thrown back and down on the ground behind. Gloria screamed, with the bolt of electric energy coursing through her at the same time.

But the contact between the cat granny and Gloria was short-lived: the creature jumped up and banged her head on the ceiling, then fell down while continuing shaking her head, seemingly trying to shake off the coin that was embedded into her skull. Glowing cracks crawled from the back of her head onto other parts of her body, like destructive, red hot vines.

Sue tried to stand up, but the feeling of getting electrocuted and having been thrown almost completely across the room kept her legs shaking and unable to move at all. This time, it was Gloria who made the move. She pulled herself up from the kitchen floor, ran to her friend’s side and began dragging her towards the door.

The cat granny lunged at Gloria and Sue, one last attempt at an attack. The cracks that had reached her waist area burst, and a gust of dark fog shot right out of the sliding door leading to the balcony, breaking her lower body off. Her arms and hands lost control before they could touch anyone. Glowing cracks filled up the cat granny’s face and entire upper body. Her upper body lost the ability to maneuver or even move, and simply fell onto the floor and shattered like a glass statue.

Gloria got one good look at the pieces scattered on the floor before she pulled Sue out of the apartment: they were all pieces of wood, including barks and roots, with some clay pieces mixed in.