The battle between Zach's familiars, the Nilma chief, and the snake-like intruder was clearly in favor of the humans. But the intruder's scaly face showed no signs of distress or worry. They had only gotten a few meager scratches here and there. He was being suppressed, but he hadn't even shed a drop of blood yet.
However, the humans were far from done. Alzara's curses were piling up, Mandra's magic was seeping into the intruder's fire energy, and the chief was still growing stronger. He even appeared to be transforming.
A phantom leopard sometimes appeared when he struck or overlapped with his body. His skin started turning yellow and brown with the fur of a leopard. His hair retreated back into his head. His ears grew longer and fuzzier as they moved on top of his head. His nose grew flatter and wider while his mouth extended and expanded to fit the fangs that grew.
