Gar'mavak's voice rolled out like thunder. "You dare enter my chamber? My children await your destruction."
Callum drew an arrow from his quiver. "Children? These are nights out for a monster birthday party!"
Trisha cracked her knuckles. "Party foul."
"Stay focused," Alex shouted.
Callum dove left, Trisha flipped right, and Alex shot straight up with a gust of air, narrowly avoiding a swipe that split the cave floor.
Trisha landed in a slide, stabbing two minions before they could react. "These guys are faster than the last batch!" she shouted.
Callum was already firing, each arrow glowing with magic—hitting monsters with deadly precision. "And smarter. They're flanking!"
"Focus on the boss," Alex called out. "I'll cover you!"
He raised his hands and unleashed a dual-element attack—stone and fire—directly into the monster's chest. The impact knocked it back a step but barely left a mark.
Gar'mavak roared and swung his massive claw in a wide arc. The minions rushed forward.
Callum released two arrows in quick succession—one exploded midair, spraying a concussive blast to scatter the creatures; the other struck one in the forehead. He spun backward, landing in a crouch near Alex's side.
Trisha darted left, blades slicing through legs and torsos. "Cutting them off at the knees," she yelled, "literally!"
A pair of monsters pounced on her, ripping into her midsection. She staggered but spun backward, driving her elbow into one's head. Then she dropped low, sweeping a leg to send them both flying.
Gar'mavak swung again—this time aiming at Alex. Alex used his Earth skill to raise a stone wall that exploded up from the ground, deflecting the claw with a crash of rock. Stone chips flew like shrapnel.
He pressed forward, fireball in hand, and hurled it at a cluster of monsters. The flames ignited ferns and fungus, creating a wall of fire between them and the beast. But Gar'mavak shrugged it off, steam rising from his shoulders.
Callum knocked another creature over with a spirited arrow, panting.
"Crowded in here," Alex commented, summoning water to douse the accidental blaze. "Focus on the parent!"
"Speak for yourself," Trisha joked, slicing through three more minions. A claw grazed her arm—blood oozed—but she stayed upright.
"You alright?" Alex called.
"I'm okay," she grunted, rolling to her knees—but blood now ran freely down her arm.
Alex dashed toward her, sliding beside her and placing a hand over her ribs. "Hold still."
A soft green glow spread from his palm. Bones knit. Cuts closed. Her breathing steadied.
"Ugh… that hurts less. Thanks, Doctor Quack," she said, forcing a grin.
"I'll take that as gratitude."
Callum shouted from across the battlefield, "Alex! There are monsters behind you!"
Alex turned to see three sprinting at him. He raised a wall of stone just in time—crunch! —and followed up with a horizontal gust of wind that sent them flying.
Trisha moved like a blur in black. She ducked low, dodging a slash, then countered with a sweeping kick and a jab to the throat. "If you're going to make minions," she said through gritted teeth, "at least make them pretty!"
Callum drew back his bow and let loose three arrows—one exploded, one with piercing wind, and the last with a concussive blast that knocked three creatures into the wall.
Alex threw up a wall of earth to separate the spawn into clusters. "Focus! Group left side!"
Callum reloaded. "Twelve on the left, more coming from above!"
Alex stomped, summoning a spike of stone from the floor, skewering one creature mid-leap. Then he twisted and sent a blade of air slashing through the air, knocking another two back.
Callum seized the moment, launching a volley of explosive arrows down the center, catching half the minions in mid-charge.
Trisha was already back on her feet. "Let's tag-team the boss!"
They charged together. Trisha moved like liquid shadow, her blades slicing at the monster's ankles and knees. Alex came in high with a fist coated in molten stone, slamming it against the beast's face.
It staggered—finally.
But then it responded. A massive claw came out of nowhere and struck Alex across the chest.
He flew backward, slammed into a wall, and collapsed to one knee, coughing up blood.
"Alex!" Callum shouted, launching two explosive arrows that detonated against the creature's side. It roared but didn't fall.
Alex gritted his teeth, placed a hand on his chest, and summoned his Healing skill. Warmth surged through his body. Bruises faded, ribs realigned. He stood slowly, pain ebbing.
"I'm okay," he gasped. "Just—winded."
"Don't die," Trisha said as she parried another strike. "I'm not done flirting with you."
Callum fired again, but the arrows barely scratched the boss's armor.
"He's covered in stone plating!" Callum shouted. "We need to crack it!"
Alex flared fire into his hands and hurled a sphere at the beast's chest—it landed, but the flames spread harmlessly across its hide.
"Not enough," Alex muttered. "We need to expose something softer."
Callum leapt down from his perch and joined them on the ground. "We need to take out its legs. It's too top-heavy. That's its weak point."
"Got it," Alex said. "Cover me."
Callum fired a rapid volley, pinning the boss down while Alex ran low, summoning vines and stone to trap one of its feet.
Trisha saw it and screamed, "Hey! Over here, rock-for-brains!"
She dashed toward the boss, slicing at its legs. One of her blades caught a joint in its stone-hard knee—the creature staggered.
"Callum, now!"
Through clenched teeth, Callum pulled an arrow from his side and fired. The arcane arrow struck the exposed joint and froze it solid.
Alex followed with a focused fireball—boom! The stone armor split.
"Now!" Alex shouted.
All three converged—Alex with a flaming fist to the chest, Trisha stabbing into a cracked plate, and Callum firing an aimed shot into the exposed joint.
Boom!
Enraged, the boss broke free, letting out a blood-curdling screech. It swung both arms in wide arcs, smashing into the walls and sending tremors throughout the chamber.
It flailed—one claw catching Trisha across the shoulder. She yelped and fell back.
Alex dashed to her again, hand glowing.
"Stay still," he said.
"I hate this part," she groaned as the healing light surged through her. "It tickles."
"Better than dying."
The boss was staggering now, bleeding black ichor, its roars getting weaker.
But the cave itself was crumbling from all the power being thrown around. Chunks of stone began to fall from the ceiling.
"Wrap it up, people," Callum said, wiping blood from his brow. "Before we bring the whole damn mountain down."
Alex focused his energy, combining wind, fire, and earth in a swirling spear of elemental fury.
"Distract it!" he shouted.
Trisha ran up again, throwing one of her daggers into the beast's eye. It shrieked and lunged blindly.
Callum fired one last arrow into its mouth.
Trisha raised her dagger high. She froze a moment, trembling, then plunged it into Gar'mavak's heart.
Alex hurled the elemental spear into the exposed chest wound—
BOOM.
The blast tore through the creature, lighting it up from the inside. Fire shot out from its back as it convulsed and crashed to the ground with a final groan that echoed through the cave.
But the battle wasn't over yet.
All around them, the remaining minions—those that hadn't been crushed in the chaos—began screeching in panic. They skittered toward the cracks in the cave wall, trying to escape back into the shadows.
"Nope," Callum said, notching another arrow. "You don't get to run."
With practiced precision, he loosed three arrows in a row—thwip-thwip-thwip! —each finding a target. The minions shrieked and fell, twitching.
Trisha, blades still slick with dark ichor, sprinted after a cluster trying to slip past the rocks. "Where do you think you're going?" she said, leaping onto a ledge and driving her daggers down. One. Two. Three. Gone.
Alex didn't even bother with flair. He raised both hands, called forth waves of wind blades, and swept through the chamber. The remaining minions were lifted off their feet—slammed against the cave walls like ragdolls, limbs cracking.
Then silence.
Not a breath of movement remained except the quiet drip of water from the ceiling.
Trisha exhaled. "Now that's what I call pest control."