A gust of wind ripped across the cavern, following the wake of an enhanced arrow from Matt. The blast of air took the drops of acid and rapidly fading mana shards with it, splattering the mixture across the far cavern wall. Matt was quite proud of his newest Skill [Gale Arrow]. While he hadn't gotten to show off its penetrating power yet, he was happy enough that its other properties were useful.

  Victor grinned as he stepped back lightly, his blade flashing out once, twice, then three times, cutting deep gashes in the snake's hide before he returned to a guard position behind his shield. The battle was going well, he thought. Their aggression was keeping the large ophidian monster in check, unable to make large moves often or risk being punished for them. The snake whirled its tail, whistling through the air. Victor and Alex both stepped forward, bracing themselves and accepting the blow on their shield. The two men rocked back with a grunt but were able to keep their feet. Another salvo of magically enhanced arrows and frost shards flew overhead, striking the snake, forcing it back on the defensive. This boss seemed to be simple enough; it was just big, tough and last. Had they taxed themselves overly in the fighting beforehand, that 'last' part would have been much more of an issue, but they were still relatively fresh. The boss was a strong monster that was, to be certain, but it also seemed to be a simple one, a brute.

  Victor shuffled back in step with Alex, watching the monster intently. As much as the adrenaline and the ensuing battle had steadied his nerves, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Something just under the surface. Like cracking open a fruit to find it filled with maggots. Peeling back the skin of a dream to find a nightmare underneath.

  It was like they’d received a stay of execution, but the guillotine was still hanging over their heads. Like an ant that dodged a boot, just waiting for the other foot to drop.

  He couldn't afford that much time to ruminate on the matter; however, while the boss was a relatively simple one, that did not mean it was an easy fight. Simple and easy were not the same thing at all. Victor's shield came up covering his left side, meeting the snake's tail as it lashed at him. he skidded back several feet under the weight of the attack, his thick soled boots failing to find purchase against the cavern floor. To his right, Alex dove in, blade biting into the serpent's side over and over again to cover for Victor. It was the same as ever, with large, simple monsters, textbook. Wait for it to overextend, flank, then punish. Simple, and almost always effective. It was like Novocaine, it'd work eventually with minimal risk as long as you gave it enough time.

  The massive snake let out a hiss of frustration that echoed across the cavern chamber as it thrashed about, its movements becoming more wild in its rage. Alex took the brunt of it when the snake whirled, fixing its baleful glare on the tank. It lunged forward like lightning; fortunately, Alex was prepared and able to get his shield in between the maw of the monster and himself. Alex was sent skidding back several meters under the weight of the blow; however, Victor shifted over to cover his teammate while he recovered from the blow. There was no need, however. A fresh barrage of magical projectiles slammed into the boss monster's head, forcing it to turn away from Alex as he recovered his posture. A stray projectile struck the snake in the eye, sending blue ichor spraying over the chamber as the boss thrashed wildly, hissing in agony.

  "Keep it up!" Victor called out to his team; he could feel they were at a threshold. If they could just push it over the edge, they could avoid the guillotine he felt hanging over their collective necks. He triggered several Skills at once, wincing under the mana drain. His [Relentless Charge], [Crushing Blow] and [Power Strike] activated all at once. Victor flew across the cavern towards the snake like a rocket sled on rails, his destination a collision course with the monster. He slammed into the snake shield first with bone shattering force, the combination of Skills having made him a mana powered, human battering ram. His blade followed a moment later, biting deep into the monster's side.

  Activating [Disengage], the Skill carrying victor a dozen feet away from the boss, he took in the situation. He'd done a significant amount of damage; he could see a several foot wide section where the beast's ribs had been caved in and its scales sundered, leaving a gaping wound that was bleeding heavily. We can do this; we just have to keep hammering away at it until it's done. We can do it.

  That was the moment everything began to go wrong.

  The snake reared back, and he could see the hate and pain in its glowing eyes. A familiar green glow appeared in its throat once again. Victor glanced back at Sofia; she wasn't going to be quick enough. She was in the middle of summoning up another salvo of frost shards; she wouldn't be able to drop that spell and switch to prepare a barrier fast enough.

  "Split!" Victor called out for Alex as he leapt to the side to avoid the coming projectile. The acid never came. Victor caught the flicker of intelligence in the serpent's eye, and his heart seized as his blood ran cold. He remembered every warning his gut had offered since entering the dungeon, every tiny inconsistency, every gnawing doubt. Too simple, too easy, too direct—this wasn't a brute, it was a monster that thrived on its animal cunning.

  The snake's mouth snapped shut, and its tail crashed into Victor like a runaway train, blasting the air from his lungs as he was caught off guard on his sword side. He was bodily hurled across the cavern like he was the stuffed toy of a child throwing a tantrum. Victor smashed into the wall at a speed that would have seen a normal human reduced to paste, or just a red smear on the wall. He saw stars before the black descended over his vision.

  —-

  Alex heard the sickening crunch before he saw Victor hit the stone. He bellowed his name, scrambling to intercept the snake before it could press its sudden advantage. “Vic! You good?” other voices called out for Victor to confirm his status. There was only a ragged, wet cough from the shadowed rim of the chamber, but Alex didn’t have time to check if the Captain was even conscious. The boss had shifted targets, and it was now barreling straight for their backline.

  The snake’s focus shifted in a heartbeat, a cunning predator smelling blood anew. It didn’t hesitate, didn’t so much as flicker in doubt, driving itself into the newly opened gap in their line. Alex refused to flinch, his entire body a tense wire, blade snaking out in a wild arc to catch the snake’s chin as it lunged for Sofia.

  Sofia was already reacting, her fingers slashing through the air as she finished her spell one-handed. Her other arm was outstretched, palm aimed flat toward the snake's oncoming maw. A shimmering frost wall erupted between the snake and herself, but the beast crashed into it and nearly shattered the barrier in a single strike. The impact lit up the chamber with a flurry of blue-white snow and dust, obscuring everything. Between Alex's strike and Sofia's barrier, they'd managed to divert the attack that would have devastated the team. The snake reared back to strike again.

  Alex swore, squared his stance, and took the hit as the tail swept back around. The blow hammered him to one knee, but he didn’t let go of his shield. If anything, he gripped it all the tighter, driving his blade into the ground to keep from being flung backwards. He felt the edge of panic inside him, a tremor that would have become real fear if not for the cold surge of anger that followed. Not while Vic’s down. Not in front of my sister. Not today.

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  “Matt! Dave!” Alex roared, locking eyes with the pair. “Focus fire! Buy us a second!”

  The snake was already reorienting, muscles coiling to strike at Sofia. Matt fired off a [Gale Arrow], whether through luck or Skill, it didn't matter; the arrow flew true and struck the snake in its already injured eye. The boss recoiled with an ungodly shriek, the sound splitting the air of the cavern like a bone saw in the eardrums. Alex staggered to his feet, blinking to clear the tears that spilled from his eyes. The monster's head thrashed in blind agony, colliding with the cavern roof and walls, sending a rain of dust and scale fragments tumbling down like shrapnel. For a single moment, the team was united in their savage hope—if it bled, it could die, and this thing was gushing blue down onto the dungeon floor, litre by the litre.

  That was when it happened.

  None of them saw the veil ripple behind them, not a single soul registered the thing that slipped through, the shadow peeling loose from the black and unfolding into something almost, but not quite, man-shaped. As if a demented artist that had never seen a human being had listened to a bad description of one like a litany. Even the drone's detection suite failed to blip; dozens of sensors and its lens, sharp enough to spot a rat chewing wires at a distance of several hundred feet, simply glazed over the figure as it darted from the wall.

  Alex caught a flicker of motion at the edge of his vision, but his eyes slid right over it, unable to focus properly on the source of the movement. It was like trying to focus on a holographic image when it was out of alignment. Matt only noticed when a cold pressure twisted his left wrist, and then the bow was gone, yanked from his hand by a force that was impossibly fast and even stronger.

  He turned—there was a person there, a twisted man-shape, skin slick and glossy as patent leather. Not skin, armour maybe? Black armour that seemed out of proportion to human shape. Armour that resembled terrifyingly familiar pitch black chitin. The thing moved like a time lapse, hands clutching at Matt's throat with jerky, inhuman movements and an eerie calm.

  Matt gasped, but his thought was driven from his mind as he was struck three times in the span of a second. The first strike broke Matt's right arm; the second caved in his ribs with a wet, hollow sound. The third snapped his leg like a twig at the knee, the sickening crunch echoing clear across the chamber.

  Sofia screamed Matt's name and flung a volley of frost bolts into the sensory void that was Matt's attacker. The projectiles traced a flickering silhouette—there, a glimmer of refracted light, the inhuman figure jerking Matt along like a rag doll, limbs trailing along the ground. The frost spells struck, but the figure barely flinched, absorbing the impact with no issue. Dave's arrows followed, but the thing's glossy armour deflected them, turning the projectiles aside with contemptuous ease. Not even contempt, as if the attacks were completely beneath the creature's notice.

  Alex, running on rage and adrenaline, charged forward, closing the gap in a desperate bid to intercept the creature before it could leave with Matt in its clutches. He slammed the edge of his shield into the thing's back, but instead of shattering chitin or staggering the creature, the figure simply pivoted with the blow. An arm like a steel cable lashed out and caught Alex by the throat, lifting him off his feet.

  The hand was freezing cold. The chill burned into his skin as it squeezed, but the grip wasn't crushing—more like it was taking his measure. Then it flung him aside with casual force, Alex hitting the ground and rolling once, twice, before scrambling upright. The thing didn't pursue. Its focus was on the veil; it seemingly paid little attention to Matt, who hung limp in its grasp, barely conscious. A moment later, the creature passed through the veil and was gone from their sight. Along with Matt.

  —-

  Stars seemed to glimmer across Victor's vision as he came to. He knew he wasn't dead; he hurt too much for that. It felt as if he was back in his pre-system body after having been beaten by half a dozen men with baseball bats. He could hear shouting echoing around him, but he couldn't seem to understand the words; he could hear the worry and desperation, though. He shook his head as he dragged himself to a seated position. Everything felt heavy, even his mind. He couldn't think straight, and everything felt dull, even sounds, like someone had stuffed cotton in his ears. They pushed a bit too far, and now the cotton had invaded his brain, muddling his thoughts.

  Something was wrong with his eyes. Every time Victor blinked, black streaks slithered at the edge of his vision, like the afterimage of a camera flash except jagged and alive. He was distantly aware of Sofia's voice, high and brittle, calling for him, but it took too long for the syllables to resolve into meaning.

  The thing was still here. Not the snake—the other one, the figure that moved in spasms, human only in the vaguest sense. It stood where the veil had been, a split in the blackness, and it was dragging something behind it. Matt, limp and twisted, his mouth a perfect O as if he was still trying to scream.

  Victor's mind rebelled. He tried to crawl forward, but his body moved underwater, every muscle a separate argument. The monster turned. It had no face, only a shimmer of oily blackness that rippled with each craned movement. As if sensing Victor's attention, it cocked its head—a dog that had spotted something half-interesting in the grass. Then the black streak thing turned and wandered away, its attention elsewhere.

  Potion? Potion! Need a potion.

  Victor's addled mind snagged on the idea, whether by instinct or dint of training, there was no way of knowing. Numb hands fumbled at his belt pouch seeking the familiar red restorative he knew would be there. All around him, Victor could hear shouts and screams, but the tenor had changed. He could tell they weren't screaming his name. It was someone else. Unbeknownst to his conscious mind, a combination of training, muscle memory and instinct had brought the potion vial to his lips, and he sputtered for a moment before slugging back the contents. He didn't even taste it, choking it down in one big gulp, small dribbles escaping and running down his chin. He drained the large vial like a man in the desert dying of thirst.

  The change was almost instantaneous, like a light switch flipped on in a dark room; the fuzz and fog cleared away from Victor's mind.

  Then the horror set in.

  It wasn't his name, everyone was screaming. It was Matt's. Turning his head in slow motion, he watched Matt and the creature vanish back through the veil that led back out into the dungeon. Dragging Matt's limp body behind it like a doll. Anger surged through Victor's veins, driving strength back into his limbs. He rose from the ground, furious and ready for a fight. That Thing had his teammate. His friend.

  It’s got Matt!

  Victor growled. He wanted to rush after Matt, get him away from that abomination, but he couldn't leave the rest of the team. A cursory glance showed him how ragged they were. While he was out, they'd done more damage to the snake, but it had also done some damage of its own by the looks of it. Dave looked fairly fresh, but Sofia and Alex were looking rough, ragged. The loss of Matt and his Skills would hurt their ability to keep the boss suppressed, and they would pay for it if he left to go after Matt. If he didn't go after Matt, though, Victor was certain he was as good as dead.

  Victor reeled as he struggled to come to a decision. He was the leader; this was his job. The safety of the team before all else. The situation was untenable and very bad. The worst they had ever been in, Alex was in rough shape, armour dented and shield on the verge of crumpling, he could see the large man's shoulders sagging. He would have had to take all the punishment himself with Victor down. Sofia looked just as exhausted, likely from having to expend extra mana in an attempt to cover for Alex. Dave seemed relatively fresh but was clearly barely holding it together, given the situation they were in. Matt's condition was unknown, and that one tore at Victor's mind like nothing else. Victor grimaced before glaring up at the drone circling the chamber above them. His choice was made.

  "SOS! Mayday! Mayday! On the authority of Banner team lead Victor Blackwood, requesting immediate reinforcements!" Victor roared up at the drone, his voice crashing through the chamber. It was all they could do. He could see that damn snake coiling up again, glaring at them. It will be coming soon. They would be slowly overwhelmed by the snake now that they were missing Matt. It was a choice between struggle and maybe live, or lay down and die, dooming their missing friend as well.

  That was no choice at all.

  Victor raised his shield to just below eye level and prepared for another charge. He had mana to burn and multiple Skills that he could bring the pain with. He was going to put them to use until reinforcements arrived. He wasn't sure the drone would be able to transmit from this far into the dungeon, but he had no other choice and nothing else to pin his hopes on.

  “Request acknowledged. Reinforcements en route.” The tinny robotic voice of the drone’s AI cracked through the chamber.

  Victor grunted. At least that had worked. "Hang on, Matt, just hang on." He activated his Skills and charged at the snake.