The forest was alive with the sounds of distant predators. The moonlight barely pierced through the thick canopy, casting long shadows along the twisted roots and overgrown brush. The six of them moved carefully, their eyes scanning the terrain as they followed the faint traces left behind by their target.

  Jin crouched beside a disturbed patch of soil, brushing his fingers over deep claw marks embedded in the earth. His eyes glowed faintly as he activated Piercing Gaze. “We’re close,” he muttered. “Whatever it is, it’s big.”

  Ren leaned against a tree, arms crossed. “No surprise there. Uncommon-tier Essence Beasts aren’t exactly rabbits.”

  Riku crouched beside Jin, frowning at the tracks. “The claw spacing is irregular. It’s not walking in a straight line. Either it’s limping, or it’s hunting something else.”

  Mei nocked an arrow, scanning their surroundings. “Let’s hope it’s the first.”

  Sora placed a hand on the ground and closed her eyes. A faint ripple of energy spread outward. “No...it’s not wounded. But it’s circling something ahead. We’re not the only ones hunting tonight.”

  Ren’s grip tightened around his sword. If something else was drawing the beast’s attention, that meant they had a chance to strike before it noticed them.

  Then they heard it.

  A deep, guttural clicking sound echoed through the trees. It was slow at first, almost methodical, like something testing its surroundings. Then it grew erratic—faster, sharper, layered with a wet, unnatural chittering that sent a shiver down Ren’s spine.

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  Jin exhaled. “That’s not a sound I ever want to hear again.”

  Sora opened her eyes, voice barely above a whisper. “It’s a Kagutsuchi Stalker.”

  Ren frowned. He had never heard of that before. “Explain.”

  Sora’s gaze was unreadable. “Uncommon-tier Essence Beast. Not the strongest, but one of the most dangerous hunters in this region. They don’t overpower prey—they play with them. Track them for hours. Corner them. Starve them. And when they’re too exhausted to fight back...”

  She trailed off.

  Riku finished for her. “It tears them apart, piece by piece.”

  Ren sighed. “Great. Love that for us.”

  Jin stood. “We should leave. Now.”

  Mei shook her head. “We can’t. We need to kill something uncommon-tier to pass, remember?”

  Ren smirked. “Besides, it’s only dangerous if we let it hunt us. So we don’t play its game. We make it play ours.”

  Daichi cracked his knuckles. “I like that plan.”

  Riku studied the tracks one last time before motioning forward. “Alright. We find it first. Hit it hard. End it fast.”

  They advanced, following the sound of that awful clicking.

  Five minutes later, they saw it.

  The Kagutsuchi Stalker was perched on the trunk of a massive tree, its limbs splayed outward like some monstrous arachnid. Its body was sleek and elongated, its dark carapace reflecting the moonlight in shifting hues of blue and violet. Sharp, jagged ridges ran along its back, pulsing faintly with an eerie bioluminescence.

  But its head was the worst part.

  It had no eyes. Instead, its face was an unsettling arrangement of vertical slits that flexed and expanded, producing that horrible clicking sound. Its jaw was split into four separate mandibles, each one dripping with thick, clear fluid that sizzled against the bark of the tree.

  Ren grimaced. “Okay. I’m starting to see the problem.”

  Mei swallowed. “That thing is fast. If it gets too close, we’re dead.”

  Jin activated Piercing Gaze. “It has a weak point on its underbelly, but only when it’s lunging. Otherwise, its exoskeleton is too thick.”

  Riku’s eyes narrowed. “Then we bait it.”

  Ren grinned. “Lucky for you, I’m good at pissing things off.”

  Daichi stepped forward. “I’ll take the front.”

  Riku smirked. “Alright. Let’s kill this thing.”

  The hunt had begun.