The creature hit Ria’s ice shield like a runaway train, the barrier shuddering, cracking, but holding. Whoa. The thing was fast, its massive, hooked talons lashing out, tearing chunks of ice, shards flying like broken glass.

  One swipe caught Caleb, sending him flying across. He slammed into the wall, his body slumping to the ground.

  “Caleb!” Alex yelled, his hands already moving, a torrent of ice shards hurtling toward the creature’s gaping maw.

  They shattered against its hide, leaving no mark. It didn’t even flinch, its attention fixated on Alex, its massive form lumbering towards him.

  “Disperse!” Ria shouted, already darting away.

  They scattered, the cavern echoing with the creature’s heavy footsteps, its guttural growls, the rasp of its mandibles.

  Mark rushed to Caleb’s side, hauling him to his feet. “You okay?”

  “That bastard packs a punch,” he groaned, clutching his ribs. He spat out a mouthful of blood. “What in the fuck is that thing?”

  Mark’s heart raced as he turned around just in time to witness the monstrous creature closing in on Alex, its razor-sharp jaws snapping hungrily.

  Alex fired another blast of frost, but it shattered harmlessly against it.

  Shit…. we are running out of options.

  “Shit!” Alex roared, slamming his hands on the ground. The cavern floor quaked, and a forest of jagged ice spikes burst up, impaling it from every angle.

  Yes!

  Nisha saw her chance and pounced. Her blades glinted as she landed on the creature’s back. With swift precision, she stabbed into its flesh, filling the cavern with a piercing howl of agony.

  With a violent shudder, the creature busted out, ice bits and chunks of its own flesh flying everywhere.

  Nisha, thrown off balance, managed to flip away just as the creature turned, its focus honing in on her.

  “Caleb, can you still move?”

  “Y-Yeah,” he grunted, straightening up, his face pale.

  Nodding grimly, Mark’s eyes tracked the creature as it set its sights on Nisha next.

  The air was thick with its fetid, ever-shifting stench - a miasma of rotting aromas that seemed to shift and intensify with each rattling exhalation.

  Holy shit. How do we kill this thing?

  His eyes narrowed as he studied the abomination’s erratic, loping gait toward Nisha.

  She was quick, her blades flashing, but she couldn’t dodge forever.

  Time for a distraction. He shot a quick burst of plasma, a searing blast of energy that caught it’s attention.

  A low, guttural growl bubbled up from its maws as it veered towards him.

  “Huh, that was easy,” he muttered, already backpedaling. Too easy…. This thing is fast.

  Turning on his heel, Mark broke into a sprint, leading the slavering horror away from the others. He risked a glance over his shoulder - it was keeping pace with disturbing ease despite its ungainly, convulsing form.

  Have to keep moving…think, damn you! There has to be something!

  The sound of heavy footfalls and rasping breaths filled his ears as he racked his brain.

  Thinking quickly, Mark channeled his lightning at the cavern ceiling above. Showers of rock and debris rained down, momentarily obscuring it from view and slowing its relentless advance.

  He spun, unleashing a torrent of lightning into the dust cloud, the cavern walls flashing blue with raw energy.

  The dust settled, and the creature stood there, unfazed, not a scratch on its hide. What the fuck? It roared, its three maws snapping, and then, with shocking speed, it scooped up a chunk of rubble and hurled it at him.

  He barely had time to raise a barrier, the impact shattering it, sending sparks flying.

  The creature closed the distance in a single, thunderous leap, the ground shaking beneath its weight.

  Mark stumbled, his shield flickering into existence milliseconds before a hooked talon slashed towards him, aiming to rip open his stomach.

  The attacks came in a flurry, each blow powerful enough to shatter stone, slamming into his barrier, a cacophony of shrieking magic and raw force.

  Dodge. Block. Parry. He reacted instinctively, his void barriers flaring into existence, deflecting the creature’s onslaught. But there was no pattern, no rhythm, to its movements. One moment a talon would be slashing at his face, the next a maw would be snapping at his legs.

  More than its sheer brute strength, it was the thing’s erratic, twitching movements that made it so impossible to counter or evade. I can’t keep this up.

  Sweat dripped down his forehead, his heart hammering against his ribs. He couldn’t keep this up forever. Sooner or later, he would slip up, and one of those blows would find its mark. Gotta find an opening.

  His boot snagged on a loose rock, sending him stumbling backward. Shit! He hit the ground hard, the air knocked out of him. Looking up, he saw a massive talon, as thick as his thigh, plunging toward his face.

  Fuckfuckfuck!

  The talon stopped, frozen in mid-air, inches from his face. The creature, its entire grotesque form. was locked in place as if someone had hit pause.

  From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Ria - arms outstretched, jaw clenched in concentration. She stopped it.

  Alex and Caleb wasted no time, unleashing the full brunt of their arsenals.

  Alex’s ice shards, like frozen daggers, crashed against its tough skin. Caleb roared, his hands pulsingas he sent shockwaves blasting into the beast, making the whole cavern tremble. Mark jumped in too, adding his lightening to the chaotic mix.

  “RRAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!”

  For a moment, it looked like they had it—their combined attacks shredding its flesh, its monstrous shape twisting in agony.

  But then, just as quickly as it began, their attack… vanished.

  The spells faded, the ice melted, and the shockwaves died down, leaving the creature standing there, unscathed, its cold, pitiless eyes locked on them.

  Mark stared, his mouth open in disbelief. They had thrown everything they had at it, and it hadn’t even flinched. How?

  A wave of despair washed over him, cold and suffocating. He knew, with a chilling certainty, that they were fucked.

  The creature, shaking off the last vestiges of Ria’s frost, started towards Mark again. He raised a barrier, bracing for the impact. But then, it veered away, moving towards Caleb instead.

  What the… Why …

  Alex blasted out another wave of frost.

  Mark’s head spun as he saw the creature pivot again, its hulking form jerking towards Alex with terrifying speed.

  “It’s not working!” Alex yelled over the chaos.

  “We have to keep trying!” Ria howled back as they both continued their assault on the creature’s impenetrable hide.

  “Hold your fire!” Mark shouted, sending a small, harmless spark of plasma.

  As expected, the talon-laden horror pivoted once more, zeroing in on Mark with those unblinking eyes boring into him.

  “Don’t attack yet!”

  “Are you crazy?”

  He held up a hand, cutting off the others’ concerned shouts.

  “Mark…” Ria began.

  “Just…. hold it. And attack when I give the signal. Not a second sooner.”

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  Taking a deep, steadying breath, he simply stood his ground and waited as the unholy juggernaut closed the distance with horrifying speed. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to flee, to raise his defenses. But he remained stock-still, fixing the oncoming horror with an unwavering stare.

  “Have you lost your fucking mind?” Nisha shouted from somewhere behind him.

  “Just wait…”

  The creature was nearly upon him, fanged maws gaping wide to rend flesh from bone. Its stench overwhelmed his senses, a mix of decay and rot that made his eyes water.

  Wait for it…wait…

  Finally, as the first serrated talons descended towards his unprotected form, Mark gave the signal.

  “NOW!”

  Ria reacted with blinding speed, unleashing a torrent of deadly icicles. The sheer mass of frozen projectiles slammed with enough brutal momentum to halt it’s attack mere inches from Mark’s face.

  He felt the passing rush of frigid air across his cheek as the thing’s trajectory altered again, carrying it towards Ria. That’s it.

  “Guys! Listen up!” Mark shouted. “I think I’ve got it figured out!”

  Caleb, wiping blood from his mouth, gave him an incredulous look. “You’ve what now?”

  “It’s targeting whoever attacks it last!”

  Testing his theory, Nisha casually hurled a rock at the creature’s side. It bounced harmlessly off its leathery hide, but the creature instantly pivoted.

  Before it could reach her, Alex wreaked another blast of ice, forcing the creature to change course again.

  “Well, I’ll be damned…” Caleb breathed. “It does have tunnel vision!”

  Nisha nodded. “Insane singular focus, tracking nothing but its last attacker.”

  “Exactly!” Mark confirmed. “Which means as long as there’s someone actively engaging it…”

  “…we can control where it moves,” Ria finished, lips curving into a grin. “Great!”

  Caleb let out a bark of grim laughter. “Not bad! But how exactly does this help us bring that damned thing down?”

  Mark grimaced, his mind racing. He didn’t have the full solution yet, but he had a starting point, a way to gain some control over the situation. We can use this.

  “First, let’s tighten the circle around it…. Spread out!” He commanded, waving his arms in a fanning motion. “We need to start pulling it in different directions, making it harder for it to maneuver. Don’t let it get close. Play it safe.”

  Alex snorted. “One hit from that fucking thing will be pretty damn final.”

  “Exactly,” Mark nodded grimly. “Ria, whenever you get a chance, focus on its neck. Try to freeze it. Immobilize it.”

  “Got it.”

  With that, they dispersed - spreading out into a wide perimeter around the lumbering horror. Caleb took the first turn, hurling a brutal sonic blast that slammed into it’s shoulder with enough force to crater solid rock.

  Predictably, the creature responded by reorienting towards the warrior in a flurry of twitching appendages and raking talons. But as it gained speed, Nisha struck, her blades hitting their target precisely, splashing ichor everywhere.

  It pivoted again with alarming swiftness, completely disregarding its previous target as it bore down on the inked mage with thunderous footfalls.

  But no sooner had it reset its trajectory than Alex joined the deadly dance, ether lancing forth in searing waves of annihilating power.

  On and on it went - a lethal game of multidirectional keep-away as they systematically herded the abomination’s movements, never allowing it to fully commit to any one vector of attack.

  Wear it down. Tire it out. Soon…. it has to give.

  ▲▼▲—∞—▼▲▼

  The cavern echoed with the sounds of their desperate battle - the crack of frost, the whoosh of displaced air, the thud of footsteps, the creature’s guttural roars and breaths.

  It was hard to tell how long they had been fighting in this standoff, as minutes seemed to stretch into hours while they kept shifting positions - a carefully choreographed ballet of attack and evasion.

  Caleb was struggling, his breath coming in ragged gasps, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead. Nisha, her tattooed arms a blur of motion, moved with a fierce grace, her twin blades flaring in the glowstick light. Even Alex, burdened by the relentless demands of casting spells, struggled to keep up with the intense pace of the battle.

  Only Mark and Ria seemed relatively unaffected, their movements still fluid, their reserves still strong, though he could see the faintest traces of fatigue etching her movement. We can’t keep this up much longer.

  But there was a glimmer of hope amidst the chaos— with every forced shift, the creature’s movements grew slower and more sluggish. Their continuous attacks were gradually weakening it, sapping its unnatural speed.

  Mark’s strategy was working.

  Key had been Ria’s precise and unrelenting focus. Every time the abomination changed direction, she seized that fleeting window to encase more of its grotesque anatomy in thickening bands of ice. She’s a fucking genius.

  Its massive neck, its knobby joints, now glistened with thick layers of frost, its movements visibly hampered.

  Time to end this.

  “Caleb, Nisha- keep it moving!” His voice cracked like a whip. “Don’t let up for a second! Alex, Ria, focus on binding it!”

  Caleb and Nisha renewed their assault, their combined attacks a whirlwind of sound waves and flashing blades. They were all over the place, not giving it a second to breathe or target anyone else.

  At Alex’s signal, sharp frost spikes, thicker and sharper than before, erupted from the ground, forming a cage around the creature, trapping its legs and lower body.

  “GRRRRAAARRRGHHH!!”

  The beast’s roar thundered through the air, a fierce symphony that shook bones and chilled hearts in the darkness.

  Ria slammed her hands together, and massive slabs of dark ice, infused with a strange, swirling energy, rose from the ground, encasing the beast’s colossal claws in an icy grip, rendering them immobile in a shimmering prison.

  “SKREEEEE!”

  Its thrashings weakened even further, each jerk more sluggish than the last as their improvised restraints took merciless hold.

  Mark closed his eyes. Focus your intent. Control it.

  He took a deep breath, feeling the familiar energy flowing through him, the void pulsing beneath his skin. He extended his hands, his fingertips glowing, and began to shape the void, weaving it, molding it, like a sculptor working with clay. Ghostly blue tendrils snaked from his fingertips, intertwining, growing denser, taking shape.

  A massive sword construct, its blade shimmering, materialized above the creature, its edges honed to an unnatural sharpness. With a surge of power, he made it bigger and sturdier, filling the space with its imposing presence.

  “GWAAAAARRRGH!”

  The trapped monstrosity seemed to sense the growing threat, unleashing a bone-chilling howl of primal fury that shook the very cavern. Its struggles against the restraining bonds redoubled in frantic violence.

  “Hurry the fuck up!” Alex yelled, his face strained.

  Almost there. Mark focused on the creature’s ice-encrusted neck. That’s the weak point. He channeled the last of his energy, sharpening the blade to a pinpoint of pure destructive force. With a final roar, he brought the blade down.

  The blade struck, and he felt a powerful backlash, a shockwave that hit him like a blow. Damn, this thing is tough.

  Muscle cords stood out in taut relief along his neck and forearms, the exertion mounting with every agonizing second.

  He pushed harder, channeling more energy into the blade, forcing it deeper.

  The creature resisted, straining and convulsing against the crushing weights of their combined energies.

  Some of the ice restraints shattered, and Alex cried out, his concentration broken.

  “H-Hold it together!” Mark shouted.

  Ria, her face pale but determined, poured more ether into her frost, conjuring a new wave of ice spikes that impaled the creature, holding it in place.

  Mark roared, his voice a primal echo of the power surging through him, and pushed with all his might, forcing the void blade deeper & deeper into the creature’s flesh.

  For a moment, everything froze in a gruesome stillness.

  Crunch.

  The creature’s head got chopped off and just plopped onto the ground. Gore gushed out pulses from its neck stump. The remaining limbs twitched and jerked for a second, then went still.

  They stood there, catching their breath, staring at the mangled remains of the creature. Silence descended, broken only by the drip, drip of water and their ragged breathing.

  “Fuck,” Caleb groaned, crumpling to the ground. “Fucking hells…”

  “Cazzari’s rotting ballsack,” Nisha swore, sinking to her knees. “T-That thing was a fucking nightmare.”

  “We’re not done yet,” Ria said, ever pragmatic. “We need to find Elia.”

  “With all due respect, Mam,” Caleb groaned, “I don’t think I can move another damned inch right now.”

  “If we stop now, he might get away again!” Alex pressed. “We’ve got to press on!”

  Nisha’s bark of harsh laughter bordered on the edge of hysteria. “Oh? And what if we run into more of those…things? You think we’ve got another round like that in us?”

  An uneasy silence met her words.

  They all knew the answer. They were exhausted, their energies depleted. Another encounter with that monstrosity would be a death sentence.

  Mark felt a sudden chill, a prickle of unease that had nothing to do with the creature’s fetid stench, which still lingered in the air. Something’s wrong.

  He frowned and scanned their surroundings intently as the unsettling feeling grew.

  “Mark? You okay?” Ria asked, sensing his sudden shift in mood.

  “I don’t know… something feels… off.”

  “Feels?” Caleb grunted and slowly sat up. “Come on, man - we just busted that nasty fucker’s ass! Take a damn breather and enjoy the moment.”

  And then it hit him. A voice wormed into Mark’s mind, grating and slithering like someone gargling fetid pus before vomiting the vile directly into his consciousness.

  He collapsed to his knees with a choked cry, clutching at his temples as the psychic assault intensified.

  “You got to be fucking kidding me,” Nisha muttered.

  Mark’s gaze, blurry with pain, slowly lifted.

  The creature’s blood, which had been pooling on the floor, was flowing backwards, drawn towards the severed neck. Thick strands of viscera pulsed and twisted, pulling back into the gaping wound with unsettling movements. Flesh and bone knitted together, a grotesque parody of healing… regenerating.

  Even the severed head moved across the stone floor as if by itself, snapping back into place with loud clicks that echoed in the cavern.

  A ghastly glow surrounded the reconnected parts as the creature stretched its rebuilt neck with a deep inhale.

  Its multiple eyes swiveled, focusing on them, their look cold, malevolent, hungry.

  Mark scrambled to his feet, the rasping voice still echoing in his mind, a chilling premonition of what was to come. What the fuck was that? He pushed the fear aside, focusing on the immediate threat, summoning the last dregs of his void energy, a thin, flickering barrier forming around him.

  The others rose beside him, shoulders squared despite the naked terror etched across their features.

  We’re screwed.

  The creature, its wounds now fully healed, turned, its attention to Nisha.

  “Over here, you twisted bastard!” Alex yelled, blasting it with a barrage of frost.

  But the thing didn’t so much as adjust its trajectory an inch. Those eyes bored into her as it cocked its mutilated head in a sort of curious way.

  Then, it opened its three fanged mouths and emitted an unearthly sound.

  “RRR-SSSS… HHRRR-SSSS…”

  It wasn’t a human sound, not even an animal sound.

  “GGGGRR-SSSSHHH… GRRRR-KKKHHRRR…”

  It was a guttural, gurgling noise, like rocks grinding together, mixed with a high-pitched whine that deeply unsettled Mark.

  “The fuck is it doing?” Caleb spat.

  Is it… laughing?

  “Grrrrr… Kkrrrraaaahh… Grrrrraaaahhhh…”

  The eerie trill changed to a deep, staccato chuckle that made the hairs on Mark’s neck stand up.

  In an instant, its mocking laughter turned into violent aggression. It struck with incredible speed, impaling Nisha before she could react.

  “NO!”

  With a dismissive flick, the creature tossed the body aside, her blood spraying across the floor in a grim arc.

  Mark’s gut churned as she crashed to the ground, blood seeping out beneath her, dark and stark against the stone.

  “No…” Ria’s voice cracked, her hands trembling as ice formed haphazardly around her.

  Caleb let out a roar of rage, charging forward recklessly—until Alex yanked him back. “We can’t help her. Not now. Run, dammit!”

  He’s right. The strategy they’d relied on, was gone. They were exhausted and wounded. They had no chance against this… this thing.

  Mark didn’t hesitate. He scooped up Nisha’s body, a wave of grief and rage washing over him, and ran, his enhanced speed a blur.

  The others followed, their footsteps echoing in the cavern, the creature’s roars and howls pursuing them.

  Mark risked a look back and saw the horror moving, its monstrous form shifting rapidly as it closed in. The creature’s lifeless eyes seemed to promise a terrifying end if it caught them.

  “Faster! Run faster!”

  He shouted, though his voice sounded tinny and muted against the roaring of his own pulse.