Clive's breath hitched as the humanoid bat monster swooped down from above. There was no warning sound. No roar. Only a massive shadow dropping like a black blade thrown by the darkness itself. Its claws sliced through the air, aiming for Clive's shoulder. He twisted his body, his sword striking the creature's wing bone. A wet crunch followed, then a spray of greenish-purple fluid splattered across his face.
The monster twisted mid-air, landing on the wall with disturbing agility, before launching at him again. Its claws raked Clive's arm, tearing through cloth and skin, leaving three lines that immediately spilled warm blood.
"Fall back! Don't fight!" Clive shouted, his voice breaking under ragged breathing and grinding tension. He grabbed Ted by the collar and yanked him back hard, nearly making the man stumble.
The fourth corridor was no longer just a stone passageway. It was a giant cage whose door had just been opened. The cells on both sides throbbed like the beating hearts of a living beast. The old stone emitted faint creaking sounds, as if something inside was clawing back. A dim purple glow crept along the walls. Not as lights, but like veins pulsing slowly, filling the entire corridor with a bruised, unhealthy color.
And from every branch, every crack in the stone, every dark spot on the ceiling, the monsters emerged.
Not running.Not leaping wildly.
They appeared like hunters intimately familiar with their terrain.Like a circle closing, centimeter by centimeter.
The humanoid rat monster was the first to strike. Its body was small and thin, but its movement was far too fast for something so fragile-looking. A short snort came from its snout before it darted low across the floor, its fur standing like soft needles.
Its fangs sank into Dorde's ankle.
The sound of tearing skin rang clearly, followed by Dorde's scream echoing down the corridor. The creature's teeth clamped onto his flesh with a force that felt like hot iron being driven into his body. Blood sprayed from between the rat monster's gray-white fur.
Dorde stumbled backward, nearly losing his balance.
Zorilla appeared from the side like a living wall dragged into battle. His hand grabbed Dorde's collar, yanking him away from the monster's jaws, then he swung his left fist with full force.
His punch smashed into the rat monster's head.
A short cracking sound rang out, but it wasn't bones breaking. It was more like an empty shell struck hard. The creature flew back several steps, its body spinning in mid-air before flopping onto the ground.
But it rose.
It stood up so fast it was as if Zorilla's punch was nothing more than an annoying tap. Its black eyes glowed, its pupils narrowing sharply. The purple core in its chest flickered like a tiny light blinking too fast, as if its heart had been insulted and wanted revenge.
From the front, the ground trembled. A humanoid boar monster emerged from another passage. Massive, fat-muscled, its skin covered in coarse black-brown bristles. Heavy snorts burst from its large snout.
It stood in the corridor and immediately blocked the entire path, like a living door that could not be moved.
Zorilla straightened his shoulders. He stepped forward. His right fist pulled back.
And he swung.
The impact sounded like a sledgehammer slamming into a chisel with enough force to reshape metal.
The boar monster did not fly back. It did not collapse. It only shifted half a step… then stopped. As if its entire body was made of hardened rubber that absorbed Zorilla's punch instead of flesh and bone.
It lifted its head. Its small, hate-filled eyes stared at them without a hint of expression.
"Our attacks aren't landing," Zorilla hissed. His voice was barely audible, as if he himself couldn't believe what his fist had just felt.
"This way!" Clive veered sharply into a narrow side corridor. It was too small, like they were entering the belly of a stone serpent. Clive shoved them all into an empty cell whose door had been destroyed.
The smell of old iron and mold mixed with the stench of monsters approaching from behind.
Ahead of them, Glenn moved.
A humanoid monkey monster suddenly dropped from the left wall, its motion unnaturally graceful for something its size. Its long arms drifted through the air like ribbons, its body twisting to build momentum. It landed in front of Glenn, its back arched like a drawn bow ready to snap.
Its eyes stared directly at Glenn. Too intelligent. Too aware.
Glenn raised his sword.
The monster did not attack immediately.
It spun slightly, as if dancing. Showing off its long, black, curved claws. Then it bent its knees and launched upward, clinging to the ceiling with one hand, moving like a spider playing a game.
Its movement was swift. Smooth. Controlled.
Then it dropped from above at lethal speed.
Its claws descended toward Glenn's face.
Dilos came from the right like lightning. His sword struck the monster's claws before they touched Glenn's skin. A metallic, sharp clash echoed. Dilos twisted his body, shoving Glenn forward with his shoulder.
"Run!" Dilos shouted. "Don't stop!"
Glenn stumbled but immediately quickened his pace. The blue light in his body pulsed faster.
Behind them, the footsteps of other monsters filled the corridor, merging into a rhythm of death closing in from all directions.
Dean and Reis were at the very back. It was their job to guard the rear. Tiny decisions meant life or death. And a single second was enough to destroy everything.
When Glenn first dashed through the narrow corridor, he still believed things could be controlled. But behind them, Dean tripped on a small piece of fallen stone that had broken off the ceiling long ago. His foot dragged slightly, his body swayed before dropping to one knee. Reis, right beside him, stopped instinctively. His shoulder twisted back, his hand lowering to lift Dean and help him stand. It was only one second. One inhale.
And that was enough.
From the darkness behind them, a humanoid wolf monster shot forward like an arrow released from a tense bow. Its clothes tore as it moved. Its mouth gaped impossibly wide, its jaw cracking as if lubricated by rage. Its fangs clamped onto Reis's leg. The bite was so powerful that Reis was lifted slightly off the ground before the monster yanked him backward. Reis fell, his face slamming into the floor, a howl ripping through the narrow corridor.
Dean spun around so fast his spine cracked from the sudden movement. His sword rose in a panic-fueled swing. He slashed wildly, aiming for the wolf monster biting Reis.
But he never reached it.
From the left, a humanoid serpent monster slid out of the shadows, its long body glistening with dull scales, and wrapped around Dean. The coil closed around his neck like a living iron rope. He jerked, his knees hitting the floor, his breath instantly strangled. His voice escaped in broken gasps, hoarse, like someone trying to speak while their lungs filled with water.
"Help. Help."
The plea barely formed. The coil tightened. The veins in Dean's neck bulged. His eyes began to roll white.
Glenn turned at the sound. He stopped as if hitting an invisible wall. His eyes widened, all color draining from his face.
"Dean. Reis."
He wanted to go back. His body moved on instinct. His shoulders trembled. His fingers tightened.
But Clive grabbed his wrist hard. The grip wasn't a request. It was a force meant to save him.
"Don't go back." Clive's voice cracked from despair.
"We have to."
"We'll all die if we go back." Clive snapped. Not out of anger toward Glenn, but because they were standing at the edge of ruin.
Behind them, the tragedy unfolded like an ancient ritual carried out with full ceremony yet filled with savagery.
Reis thrashed as the wolf monster dragged his body into the center of the monster circle. His nails scraped the floor, leaving long pale streaks. His breath came in ragged bursts, his voice hoarse from endless screaming. The humanoid boar monster walked forward like an officiating priest. Its breath billowed from its huge snout, releasing hot air mixed with the stench of rotting flesh. Its snout touched Reis's body, not attacking yet, only smelling. Assessing. And once it decided, its fangs descended into Reis's abdomen.
Reis's scream shattered the air like glass struck by a stone. It did not last long before it cracked, wavered, and collapsed into a broken whimper.
The boar monster shook its head left and right. The movement tore Reis's stomach wider, and warm organs spilled out, swaying in a mix of blood and bodily fluids. The rat monster leaped onto Reis's arm and began gnawing at his skin and flesh like someone ripping apart hard bread without patience. A bat monster clawed at his face. One, two, three swift slashes. Reis's eyes were plucked from their sockets with motions like harvesting fruit from a branch.
Dean was still alive when the serpent monster released its coil. He fell, coughing blood, his body trembling like an old machine losing power. His hand reached out, grasping at the air. He no longer called anyone's name. He was only fighting for breath. But the wolf monster was already lowering itself. Its jaws locked around Dean's head. The sound of his skull breaking was so loud, like a coconut smashed against a stone with full force.
Dean's body jerked once. Then went still.
Above it all, a laugh echoed. A high-pitched laugh. A laugh far too bright for a place like this. A laugh that felt like cold nails being hammered into the eardrums.
Mola laughed.
"You may eat the ones without a core. Go ahead. Enjoy your feast."
As if this were a banquet. As if she were a queen allowing her servants to enjoy the meal.
The monsters went wild. They slammed Reis's body, tore him apart, ripped, pulled organs with hands and claws. Bones cracked endlessly, like chains being snapped by gears. Flesh flew, blood splattered into the cracks of the walls. The floor became a sticky pool of red.
Clive stopped for a moment. Just a moment. He turned. He looked at all of it.
He memorized it. Every detail. Every soundless scream. Every drop of falling blood. Every broken bone. Everything.
Because this would become the reason to stay alive.
They finally exited the corridor. The door of the fourth corridor closed behind them, the sound of metal heavy, like a hammer sealing a coffin.
The third corridor felt like a different world. No overwhelming smell of metal. No monsters waiting with open jaws. No sound of Mola's laughter cracking their spines.
Glenn fell to his knees. His shoulders rose and fell unevenly. His eyes stared at the floor but were unfocused. The blue energy in his body flickered unstably. The blue light began to be followed by purple. Switching back and forth. As if the two colors were fighting each other.
Dilos approached Glenn carefully. "Glenn." His call was soft, afraid of triggering an explosion.
No response.
"Glenn." Dilos held his shoulder.
Glenn looked up. Tears gathered but did not fall. There was a wound that could not be seen. A frozen anger. But above all, there was something that should not be inside him.
That purple flash.
"I heard her voice." Glenn whispered, as if afraid of his own voice.
"Whose voice," Clive asked.
"Mola." Glenn pressed his chest, right above the core. "She called to me. She said I've become part of them. That this core can change. Can become like theirs."
Ted turned away. Dorde clenched his clothes. Zorilla stepped forward, his body standing as a shield for the team.
"Are you being controlled?" Dilos asked with a very careful voice, like handling thin glass.
"I don't know." Glenn answered honestly. There was no pretension. And that made it even more frightening.
But the most terrifying part was Glenn's expression. Outwardly he looked normal. Pale face. Red eyes. Slightly trembling lips. But his voice was calm. Very calm. Like a night ocean, smooth, dark, and silent before a massive storm crashes in.
Then something knocked on the fourth corridor door.
One.
Two.
Three.
The knocks were not loud. Not rushed. Even polite.
Everyone froze immediately. Breath halted. Hearts seized.
The knocking stopped. The silence became thicker than the air itself.
Then Mola's voice appeared. Soft. Very sweet. As if she stood right behind them, whispering secrets only Glenn was allowed to hear.
"Glenn." Her voice was soft like cold silk. "You forgot something."
Glenn stood so fast Dilos stumbled half a step back in surprise.
"You forgot to take your friends," Mola continued in a tone like teasing a child. "But it's alright. I kept some for you."
Another knock.
Four.
Five.
Six.
A scraping sound on the floor followed. Something dragged. Heavy. Wet.
Then something was pushed through the gap under the door.
Something round.
Something with tangled hair, torn skin, and hollow eye sockets.
Dean's head.
Not long after, Reis's head followed. It rolled until it stopped at Glenn's feet. His mouth half open, as if trying to say something he never got the chance to finish.
Blood dripped from the door gap, drawing a thin red line across the floor, like a boundary separating life and death.
Mola laughed softly. A small laugh. An intimate laugh. A laugh far more dangerous than a scream.
"See you soon, Glenn," she whispered. "We're waiting."