The cavern stank of rot and damp stone.
Ravi's lungs burned with every breath, his arms aching from swinging the pipe until his muscles felt ready to tear. He could taste iron on his tongue his own blood, or someone else's, he didn't know anymore.
The system timer ticked mercilessly in the corner of his vision.
[Time Remaining: 18:42]
They had survived this long, but the beasts weren't slowing. Their white, lidless eyes gleamed faintly in the blue glow of the system torch. Every time one lunged, Ravi caught the flash of teeth jaws unhinged too wide, lined with blades.
He tightened his grip on the rope linking the survivors together. The chain had shrunk; too many had been dragged into the dark, leaving only a handful bound to him and Arjun. The line felt lighter now, emptier, like a reminder of loss.
One survivor whimpered behind him. "We-we can't hold them. We can't "
"Shut up," Ravi growled. His voice was raw, ragged. "You talk like that, you're dead before they even bite you."
Another skittering sound. The beasts circled, patient. Too patient. Ravi knew the pattern by now. They attacked in waves, testing, breaking the weak, wearing down the strong.
Arjun stood calm as ever, bowstring taut, eyes fixed on the shadows. His voice was steady. "They're not attacking. Not yet."
"Which means they're waiting for something worse," Ravi muttered.
And then it happened.
The air shifted. A new sound echoed through the cavern not the shrieks of the pack, but a low rumble. Heavy. Steady. The sound of claws gouging deep into stone.
The smaller beasts fell silent, retreating into the dark as if yielding to a greater predator.
Ravi's breath hitched. He didn't need to see it yet. He remembered this part.
The alpha.
The blue torchlight flickered, and in its wavering glow, two enormous eyes emerged from the shadows.
Not white like the others, but burning gold. Slitted pupils, wide and hungry. They locked onto the survivors with a predator's focus, unblinking.
"Eyes," Ravi whispered. "From the east."
The creature stepped into the light.
It was huge—twice the size of the others, its body a twisted mockery of a lion. Muscles bunched beneath pale, stretched skin, every rib visible. Its mane was a mass of writhing tendrils, slick with slime, twitching like they had minds of their own. Its jaw cracked open, revealing not one row of teeth but three, spiraling back into a throat that seemed bottomless.
The survivors froze. One man dropped his weapon entirely, trembling as he stumbled back.
Ravi's instincts screamed. "Don't run "
Too late.
The man bolted into the dark. The alpha moved like lightning. One moment, its golden eyes blazed in the torchlight; the next, it was gone. The sound of bones crunching echoed from the shadows. The man's scream cut off abruptly.
The beast reappeared, blood dripping from its jaws.
Ravi swallowed hard. His mouth was dry. His hands shook on the pipe, but he forced them still.
"Alright," he muttered to himself. "Lion-dog nightmare with three mouths. No big deal. We've seen worse… right?"
No one answered.
The alpha padded closer, slow and deliberate. The smaller beasts followed at a distance, forming a ring of glowing eyes in the dark.
Arjun drew an arrow. His voice was calm, but lower now, edged with tension. "We take the head. Nothing else will matter."
Ravi smirked weakly. "Oh sure. Just the head. Easy target."
The alpha roared.
The sound was deafening, shaking dust loose from the cavern ceiling. The torchlight flickered wildly, and in that chaos, the beast lunged.
The rope jerked as survivors braced, swinging weapons wildly. Ravi thrust his pipe upward, meeting the alpha's descending jaws. The impact rattled his bones, the metal groaning under the force. He screamed, shoving with everything he had.
Arjun's arrow hissed through the dark. It struck the alpha's neck, embedding deep. The creature howled, thrashing, tendrils snapping through the air like whips. One caught a survivor across the chest, tearing flesh open. The man dropped, blood spraying.
Coins blinked faintly as another body was claimed.
Ravi gritted his teeth, rage fueling him. "Not again. Not this time."
He slammed the pipe into the alpha's jaw. Once. Twice. Bone cracked. Blood poured hot across his arms. The beast reared back, shrieking, its golden eyes blazing with fury.
The timer ticked.
[Time Remaining: 11:03]
Too long. They couldn't last that long against this thing.
Arjun's voice cut through the chaos. "The eyes. Aim for the eyes."
Ravi didn't think. He moved.
With a roar of his own, he lunged forward, pipe raised. The alpha swiped, claws carving stone inches from his chest. He ducked, sliding beneath its swinging limb. His pipe shot upward, slamming into one blazing golden eye.
The beast shrieked, staggering, blood and ichor pouring from the ruined socket.
Coins blinked across his vision, but he barely saw them. His body was pure motion now, survival burning through every nerve.
The alpha reeled, one eye ruined, tendrils flailing wildly. But the fight was far from over.
Ravi spat blood, gripping the pipe tighter.
"Come on then," he hissed. "Let's see who's hungrier."