The small fire burned low now, casting long, wavering shadows against the uneven stone walls. The camp had settled somewhat, though tension still lingered beneath the surface like a taut wire ready to snap.
Kael sat a little apart from the group, sharpening his bone dagger with steady, deliberate strokes. The rhythmic 'scrape, scrape' of stone against metal filled the silence.
Sera was still observing him. Not openly, she was too skilled for that, but her eyes flicked toward him every few moments, like she was expecting him to make a wrong move.
Kael ignored her. Let her watch. He had nothing to hide.
Reiner and Mira were speaking in hushed tones near the fire, their heads close together. Their words were too quiet to catch, but the occasional glance in his direction told Kael they were discussing him. Assessing whether bringing him along was wise or foolish.
Luthen, the broad-shouldered axe-wielder, had pulled out a small whetstone and was running it over his weapon's blade with slow, practiced movements. The sound blended with Kael's own sharpening, creating an oddly harmonious rhythm.
Oris, the quietest of the group, sat cross-legged near the fire's edge, staring off into the darkness beyond their circle of light. His fingers tapped lightly against his staff in an irregular pattern. He was not nervous exactly, but restless. A slight uneasiness he didn't know the cause of.
A faint noise sounded then disappeared like it never happened.
Kael heard it before the others. A soft shuffle, barely noticeable over the crackling fire, coming from one of the nearby tunnels branching off from their alcove.
His muscles tensed instantly. The sharpening stone stopped mid-stroke.
He wasn't the only one who noticed. Luthen's hand moved slowly toward his axe. Mira's fingers twitched toward the staff resting across her lap. Even Reiner shifted slightly, one hand drifting casually, too casually, to his sword hilt.
The flickering firelight made it difficult to see beyond their immediate surroundings. Shadows danced and twisted, playing tricks on the eyes. But Kael kept his gaze fixed on the tunnel entrance where the sound had come from.
The air had changed. It wasn't just the usual oppressive atmosphere of the dungeon, this was different. Heavier and more immediate. It felt like something was watching them from just beyond the light's reach.
Then something moved.
A blur of darkness lunged from the tunnel.
Kael reacted instantly, his body moving before conscious thought caught up. He twisted to the side, rolling away from his sitting position as claws slashed through the space where he'd been a heartbeat before. Stone chips exploded where the strike landed.
The creature skidded to a stop just within the firelight, its form finally coming into clear view.
[Peak-level Feral Beast: Shadow Maw]
Its body was sleek and elongated, like a massive panther made of shifting darkness given physical form. Jagged fangs gleamed in its maw, each one as long as a dagger. Its eyes were deep, like abyssal pits that seemed to swallow light itself. Those eyes locked onto Kael with predatory intensity.
Then another one emerged from the tunnel. And another. Three in total, moving with unnatural silence.
"Shit," Luthen cursed, springing to his feet with surprising speed for someone his size.
The beasts didn't hesitate. They moved as one, their bodies blurring into streaks of black as they lunged at different targets.
Kael's mind sharpened, adrenaline flooding his system. There was no time to think, only to act.
The first Shadow Maw lunged at him again, its movements eerily silent despite its size. There were no growls or warning sounds, just lethal intent.
Kael ducked low, twisting his body as claws swiped just inches from his throat. He could feel the displaced air, smell the strange metallic scent that clung to the creature.
He moved fluidly, letting its momentum carry it past him before striking out with his dagger.
The Abyssal Fang Dagger sliced through shadowed flesh like it was cutting through water. Black blood, thick and viscous, spilled onto the stone floor, hissing faintly where it landed.
The creature let out a soundless snarl as its mouth open but no noise emerging, twisting in mid-air to counter. But Kael was already shifting his stance, reading its movement. He kicked off the ground, using the creature's own body as a springboard, and drove his blade deeper into its flank.
A second Shadow Maw went for Reiner, but the noble was already prepared. His sword flashed in a controlled arc, intercepting the creature mid-leap with practiced precision.
The impact sent a harsh 'clang' through the cavern as steel met shadow-flesh. The beast recoiled, black mist hissing from the wound like steam. But it didn't dissolve. The wound didn't slow it down much.
Mira and Oris unleashed spells almost simultaneously. Bolts of crackling primal energy, blue-white and searing, slammed into the third beast, forcing it back several steps. Sera's bow sang, an arrow striking true and punching into the creature's shoulder.
But the Shadow Maw barely flinched. It shook off the arrow like an irritating insect.
They were fast, too fast for their size. And resilient.
Kael barely had time to disengage before the first creature recovered, wounds already closing with disturbing speed. His eyes narrowed as he watched the torn flesh knit back together. 'They regenerate. Fast.'
"Tch." He pivoted on his heel, dodging another lunge by a hair's breadth. Claws scraped against his tattered cloak, tearing new holes.
Reiner gritted his teeth, blocking another strike. "These things don't go down easy!"
"We need to hit them harder," Mira snapped, fire already forming in her palms, orange flames dancing between her fingers.
Kael didn't respond. He'd already noticed something strange. The dagger in his grip, it was reacting.
A faint pulse ran through the Abyssal Fang Dagger, like a heartbeat synchronized with his own. The same eerie energy he'd felt when he first picked it up, but stronger now. More active.
When he'd cut into the Shadow Maw, the blade had done more than just wound it. The black mist that made up part of the creature's form had recoiled from the edge, pulling away as if burned. And for a moment, Kael could have sworn the dagger was 'absorbing' it.
His grip tightened around the handle.
He let the creature lunge at him again, but this time he didn't fully dodge. Instead, he twisted at the last second, deliberately letting its claw scrape against his arm, pain flaring hot and immediate, while his dagger struck true, piercing straight through the side of its skull.
The effect was instant and dramatic.
The Shadow Maw's entire body convulsed violently, its form shuddering as if something unseen was ripping through it from the inside.
The black mist composing its body began to unravel, streaming toward the dagger like water down a drain. Then, in the span of three heartbeats, it dissolved entirely. Not into dispersing mist, but 'into' the blade itself.
---
[System Rewards]
[You have acquired primal energy of Peak-level Feral Beast: Shadow Maw]
[Essence Absorbed: +9 EXP]
[Blood Points: +3]
[Experience Points: 34/100 EXP]
[Level-up Progress: 34%]
[Abyssal Fang Dagger resonance increased]
---
Kael exhaled sharply, feeling something surge through his body. A rush of energy different from the usual experience gained from a kill. This felt more... direct, flowing from the dagger and into his body.
But there was no time to analyze it.
The other two creatures hesitated. Just for a moment, their abyssal eyes widening as they sensed what had happened to their packmate. But that moment was all the opening the group needed.
Reiner didn't waste it. He surged forward, his sword suddenly crackling with visible aura, pale blue energy wrapping around the blade. He brought it down in a precise, brutal overhead strike that split the air with a 'crack'.
His blade cleaved straight through the second Shadow Maw from skull to torso, splitting it cleanly in half before its form dissolved into rapidly dispersing mist.
Mira and Oris finished the last one together. Twin arcs of lightning and fire, blue and orange intertwining, collided into the creature at once from opposite angles.
The final Shadow Maw opened its mouth in what should have been a scream but remained silent, its body spasming before vanishing into nothing.
The cavern fell still once more. The only sound remaining was the quiet crackling of the dying fire and five people breathing hard.
Kael exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulder where the creature's claw had grazed him. Blood seeped through his sleeve, but already his Adaptive Regeneration was working, the wound beginning to close.
He could still feel the lingering energy from the dagger settling into his body. It was faint but definitely present, like embers cooling after a fire.
Mira was the first to break the silence. "That..." She frowned, glancing between Kael and the weapon in his hand. "What did you just do? That beast didn't just die. It was 'absorbed'."
Reiner was watching him carefully too, sword still drawn but lowered. So was Sera, bow half-raised. The hostility in her eyes was still there, but now it was mixed with something else. Something closer to wariness. Maybe even a touch of fear.
Kael didn't answer immediately. He simply turned the dagger over in his grip, watching the faint, pulsating crimson glow within its dark blade. The pulse had quickened slightly, as if the weapon was more awake now.
"I killed it," he said finally, voice neutral. "Nothing more."
That wasn't a lie. But it wasn't the full truth either.
Reiner narrowed his eyes but didn't push the question. Smart man. Instead, he ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair, exhaling heavily. "Well. That was fun."
Luthen scoffed, cleaning black blood off his axe blade. "Fun, my ass. Those things shouldn't even be on this floor. Shadow Maws are deeper third-floor beasts at minimum."
Oris nodded slowly, his expression troubled. "The dungeon's shifting again." His voice was barely above a whisper. "The corruption's growing. Spreading upward through the floors."
No one spoke after that.
They could all feel it. The weight of something much dangerous than just another dungeon floor. Something was wrong with this place. And they were walking deeper into it with every step.
Kael sheathed his dagger and sat back down, returning to sharpening his bone blade as if nothing had happened.