Author: Christian Salabert | Banner: Jackson Morris
The crystalline terror known as Krystalak marched through the forests of Japan, searching for a source of energy to feed on. He had sensed a large power crystal and had been making his way towards it for the past few days. But it seemed that his long trek was finally at an end. The mineral monster had reached the Kitami River, and jutting out of the river’s shores was an enormous glowing crystal, just brimming with energy. The unnatural evil grinned. He could almost taste the power radiating from within. As he approached the crystal, the berserker kaiju trampled over a nearby village, destroying it and crushing its screaming denizens underneath.
The crystal was within reach now. His claws outstretched, Spacegodzilla’s spawn was about to grasp the glass-like tower, when suddenly, a reptilian form exploded out of the river! Taken by surprise, the feline esque monster leapt away from the crystal and turned to face the sudden arrival, finding himself face to face with Varan the Unbelievable!
The massive monitor reared his head back and let loose with a fierce roar, commanding Krystalak to not only get out of his territory, but to leave the crystal alone. The primal god had long since claimed the crystal as his own, having come quite accustomed to feeding off its power, and he had no intention of letting someone else have it without a fight.
Leaping into the air and soaring directly at the more powerful beast, the triphibian slammed into the crystal monster’s gut, tackling him to the ground. Surprised and stunned by the sudden attack, the crystal cretin was slow to react as the finned reptile smashed his fists into the sides of his head over and over. Sparks flew as thick claws collided with the crystal-like plating on the rabid beast’s face, withdrawing a cry of pain with each blow. As the spiked lizard prepared to strike him for the sixth time, the mutant opened his jaws and unleashed a powerful Prism Beam, blasting the crested creature in the face and sending him careening off his chest.
Shaking his head to regain his wits, the tyrannical lifeform climbed to his feet, his eyes zeroing in on the prehistoric creature, who by now was back on all fours. The crystal spikes on his back glowing, the gemstone beast unleashed another white beam. But just as the dirt at the varanid’s feet exploded, the mighty Obaki was already in the sky, circling his crystalline foe. The feral gemstone organism watched his foe circle him, waiting for the reptile to land. When it seemed like that wasn’t going to happen, he fired another Prism Beam at his foe, but Varan skillfully avoided the blast. Nearing a large mountain, the glider kicked off with his feet, speeding directly towards the pinkish-white beast. But the gemstone beast was ready for him, snatching him in his claws and tossing him through the air, sending the giant reptile crashing onto his back.
As the Siberian superpredator struggled to get back to his feet, the living prism charged up another beam and let it fly, blasting the downed reptile. Rolling across the dirt, Baradagi roared in fury, getting back to his feet and rearing up onto his hind legs. Swinging his arms at the unnatural creature, the triphibian struck the creature in the chest with his claws, but the spawn of the crystals barely felt the blows. Twirling himself around, the bearded beast raked the divine defender across the face with the cluster of crystals on the end of his tail.
Howling in pain, Varan staggered back, but he refused to give in. He leapt towards his foe, once again tackling him to the ground, but this time the crystal creature planted his feet into his scaly gut and kicked him away. The spiked saurian was quickly back on his feet this time, and as Krystalak got back to his, the Obaki leapt high into the air. Before the feral beast could react, the forest king dropped down, slamming his feet into the beast’s head and flooring him once again. The speeding glider quickly lunged and bit down on the forked tail, only to shrink back and shriek in pain, breaking several of his teeth on the rock-hard armor.
As the Unbelievable clutched at his mouth, the sadistic golem rose to his feet and approached the reptile. The wounded varanid looked up in time to see a crystalline fist smash into his chest, sending Baradagi crashing onto his back. The crystal monster reached down and snatched a thrashing tail, lifting the triphibian reptile into the air and spinning him around with it. The legendary lizard cried out as the berserker twirled him through the air again and again, finally releasing him and letting him smash face-first into a mountain.
The squamate stumbled, dazed by the blow, as Krystalak let loose with a hiss-like laugh at his opponent. Flexing his claws, the bloodlusted combatant closed in on his prey, ready to tear him to pieces. But the forest god was ready for him by the time he reached him, once again lunging at the crystal maniac and taking him by surprise, knocking him to the ground. This time, however, Varan spread his membranes once more, taking to the air. Getting back to his feet, the prismatic predator watched as the glider settled on a tall cliffside not too far away. Roaring in annoyance, the crystalline organism called his foe back to the fight, but the stubborn lizard simply growled in response, almost as if he were taunting the crystal demon. Baring his teeth, Spacegodzilla’s “son” marched towards the cliffside, ready to scale it and continue the fight. The monster monitor watched closely as the mutant terror sank his claws into the side of the cliff and began to climb. The ancient reptile waited until his foe was half-way up, then leapt off the edge, his membranes unfolded. Swerving around, the triphibian struck with his tail, dislodging the pink beast and sending him plummeting back to the ground. With a thunderous boom and a pained grunt, the rabid fighter crashed onto his back, his crystal spikes jammed into the ground. It was then he quickly realized he had a problem – his spikes were stuck so deep in the earth, he couldn’t pull them out and get back to his feet.
The flying squirrel of the reptiles landed not too far away, watching as his manic foe struggled to dislodge himself from the soil to no avail. Roaring loudly, the varnaid charged, tearing into the crystal monster with his teeth and claws. The gem devil cried out as he tried his best to defend himself from the onslaught, but due to the awkward position he was stuck in, he didn’t do all that well. He tried to nail the quick beast with another prism blast, but the spiky reptile easily avoided the beam and went on with his vicious attack. The chromatic creature swung his arms around, trying to hit his opponent, but his strikes missed more times than they hit. The being worshipped as Baradagi simply struck again and again, unimpeded in his assault. Wrenching a small boulder out of the ground, the protector hurled it at the trapped tyrant, breaking it on the beast’s face. The malformed demon shrieked in pain and anger as the rock shattered across his armor-plated face.
Krystalak knew he had to do something, or else this damned lizard would be able to finish him off at his leisure. He focused his power, channeling a large amount of it into his crystalline heart, causing it to glow intensely. A moment later, a blinding white shockwave of energy erupted from a white torso, slamming into Varan and sending the triphibian flying through the air, shrieking in pain. The spined beast groaned as he hit the ground and crashed into a hillside. The ground trapping his crystal spikes having been atomized in the blast, the lithe being jumped to his feet, snarling at his wounded foe. The reptile, badly burnt, stumbled as he weakly tried to get upright once again. The living inorganic marched up to the injured varanid and kicked him hard in the side, sending him flipping over, back towards the river. Another kick sent it even further back.
Weakly, the Unbelievable turned to face his foe, still refusing to admit defeat. The diamond devil eyed his foe carefully, his tail flexing behind him. The territorial predator roared in defiance, taking a step closer, causing the berserker to spin around and whip his tail forward, unleashing a large crystal shard from its tip. The shard shot through the air like a dagger, lodging itself deep into a scaled throat. The mighty reptile cried out in agony as it pierced his flesh, causing irreparable damage. The cries became gurgled as the Obaki staggered back towards the river. Finally, Varan The Unbelievable collapsed into the water, sinking to the bottom of the Kitami River.
Krystalak reared his head back, letting loose with a roar of victory. His foe defeated, he turned back and faced the giant power crystal, ready to claim his prize.
Winner: Krystalak
A very special shout out to Alex Merdich for the assets used in this banner. Be sure to follow him on his YouTube and other social media for his wonderful sculpts.
