Chapter 24 Purgatorio

  A purple glow greeted him, illuminating the cavern walls. It was similar to the glow from the other side of the mountain, though these were smaller and dimmer. The sound of his footsteps echoed faintly in the stillness, but he came to a halt and slumped against the cavern wall, sliding down until he was seated. He tried to close his eyes, his body desperate for rest.

  But a faint sound—barely more than a whisper—prickled at his senses. His eyes shot open. Something was moving in the darkness. Squinting into the shadows, he caught a flicker of motion before a form lunged at him. Instinct took over. He rolled to the side just as a grotesque screech split the silence.

  Scrambling to his feet, he bolted, his pulse hammering in his ears. Behind him, something pursued—its steps quick and unnervingly precise.

  He risked a glance over his shoulder. Emerging from the shadows was a human-sized insectoid creature, its segmented body glistening like polished purple obsidian. Its blade-like arms gleamed wickedly, and its multifaceted eyes shimmered with an otherworldly glow. Its grotesque mandibles clicked as it unleashed another piercing screech, charging at him with unnatural speed.

  “Shit!” Iryoku cursed, diving to the side just in time to avoid being impaled by the creature's scythe-like appendages. Drawing his daggers, he countered, slashing toward its thorax. The insectoid parried with its bladed arm, the impact nearly wrenching the weapons from his grip.

  A chill ran down his spine. His instincts screamed for him to flee. Turning, he sprinted deeper into the twisting tunnels of the cavern. The pain from his burns and injuries weighed on him like chains, but his fear drove him forward. The insectoid’s screeches echoed behind him—and then multiplied.

  More creatures emerged from the shadows, their monstrous forms illuminated briefly by the cavern’s dim light. Hulking beasts with massive claws and slavering jaws joined the hunt, some lizard-like with glowing eyes that pierced the darkness. Each new threat forced him to dodge and weave, barely evading their claws and teeth. His only hope was that the monsters might turn on one another, but they seemed singularly focused on him.

  He kept running, lungs burning and muscles screaming for relief, until the cacophony of pursuit finally began to fade. Slowing his pace, he pressed himself against the cold, damp wall of the cavern, his chest heaving. He strained his ears, listening beyond the pounding of his own heart. Silence.

  "Calm down… disappear…" he murmured to himself, closing his eyes. Focusing every ounce of his will, he tried to suppress his presence, as though willing himself invisible. Moving cautiously now, he crept deeper into the labyrinthine tunnels, his steps light and deliberate, every sense heightened.

  After what felt like an eternity, he found a rocky outcropping jutting from the cavern wall. Climbing onto it, he leaned back against the wall, clutching his daggers tightly as if they were his last lifeline. His body sagged with exhaustion, his eyelids growing heavy. For a fleeting moment, his eyes fluttered closed.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  The reprieve was short-lived.

  A jolt of danger rippled through him, snapping him awake. He sprang to his feet just as an enormous claw slashed through the air where he had been sitting, carving deep grooves into the stone.

  “Dammit!” he spat, stumbling back and raising his daggers defensively. His breath caught as his attacker stepped into the faint light.

  From the shadows emerged a monstrous, wolf-like creature. Its grotesquely elongated body was shrouded in dark crimson fur that blended seamlessly with the cavern’s gloom, as though camouflaged by the darkness itself. Its arms were unnaturally long, ending in claws sharp enough to carve through rock. Overgrown fangs jutted from its gaping maw, glistening with saliva, and its milky-white eyes glowed faintly, fixating on him with a horrifying, predatory intensity.

  Iryoku tightened his grip on his daggers, his body trembling from exhaustion and fear. No rest… not here. If I stop now, I’m dead, he thought grimly.

  The beast lunged at him with terrifying speed, its razor-sharp claws narrowly missing as Iryoku dodged to the side. The force of the strike shattered the rock where he’d stood moments before, sending jagged shards flying through the air. Panic clawed at the edges of his mind, but he forced it down. He needed a plan—fast.

  Sheathing his daggers, he took off running. But this time, no matter how far he sprinted or how sharply he changed direction, the monstrous wolf stayed relentlessly on his heels. Its unyielding presence sent an icy chill crawling up his spine. He darted left, jumped over jagged rocks, and slid under low-hanging stalactites, trying every evasive maneuver he could think of. But the creature’s persistence was unmatched.

  His danger sense screamed at him, a constant pressure that refused to subside. Each second, more blood dripped from fresh wounds. Cuts opened across his body as sharp claws grazed him, the pain tearing through his focus. As he rounded a corner, his heart stopped. Standing before him was the mantis-like monster from earlier, its scythe-like arms raised in readiness.

  Without hesitation, Iryoku sprinted straight toward it. The mantis hissed and slashed its deadly blades downward, but he dropped to the ground, sliding underneath the attack and narrowly escaping its reach. Scrambling to his feet on the other side, he chanced a glance back, praying the two monsters would turn on each other.

  His hope was fleeting.

  The mantis struck first, its scythes slicing through the air, but the wolf’s speed was terrifying. With one swift swipe of its claws, the wolf tore the mantis apart, splitting its body cleanly in two. The scythe-like arms fell to the ground, useless against the sheer power of its foe.

  “Oh, fuck me sideways,” Iryoku muttered under his breath, his heart pounding as panic surged through him. Turning away from the gruesome scene, he ran, his legs burning with every step. The labyrinthine caves twisted and turned, but no matter where he went, the sense of impending doom followed, spiking to unbearable levels.

  Then it happened.

  A searing pain tore across his back, and a wave of heat surged through him as blood gushed from the wound, making him wobble and lose his footing. “No…” he gasped, stumbling forward. His legs gave out, and he collapsed with a heavy thud. Desperation drove him to crawl, dragging himself inch by inch, but his body refused to obey. He had no stamina, no strength.

  The sound of heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed closer, each one resonating like a death knell. Iryoku’s vision blurred, the edges darkening as his breath grew shallow. The monstrous wolf loomed over him now, its grotesque maw opening wide, ready to deliver the killing blow.

  Just as the creature lunged, a sudden, bone-shaking impact rocked the cavern. A sickening sound of claws piercing flesh echoed through the air, followed by the heavy thud of a massive body collapsing to the ground.

  Iryoku barely registered the noise through his fading consciousness. His eyes fluttered shut as darkness overtook him, the world slipping away into silence.