Chapter 70: Tami!
The beast stepped forward from the darkness.
At first, only its eyes were visible, two faint blue points that moved slowly through the blackness like distant lanterns. The rest of it followed gradually, as though the cave itself was unwilling to fully reveal it all at once.
Yuto’s stomach dropped the moment its full shape became clear.
The creature filled a large portion of the tunnel ahead. Its body was massive, built like something that had grown out of the cave rather than entered it. Three heads sat atop a thick, heavily muscled neck structure that split from a single trunk. Each head moved slightly out of sync with the others, as if each had its own awareness but shared the same body.
Its skin was rough and uneven, layered in brown scales that looked almost like hardened bark in places. Jagged spines ran along its spine and shoulders, some curved, some broken, all of them sharp enough to catch what little light existed in the cave. Its breathing was slow but heavy, each exhale carrying a damp heat that pushed outward into the tunnel.
Then it growled.
Not once.
Three separate sounds overlapped, forming a single low vibration that seemed to come from the walls as much as the creature itself.
Tami took an instinctive step backward. His heel scraped against stone, the sound too loud in the enclosed space.
Yuto felt fear settle into him in a simple, immediate way. Not panic yet. More like understanding. The kind that arrived before action, before strategy, before anything useful.
This was not something they were meant to casually engage.
His mind tried to calculate distance, exits, timing. None of it helped. The cave was too narrow. The creature was too large. Every direction felt like it led back into the same problem.
Beside him, Maya had gone still.
Her eyes were open slightly wider than usual, focused on the beast’s movement rather than its size. Fear was there, but it didn’t take control of her posture. Instead, she adjusted her stance slightly, shifting her weight onto her back foot.
That detail grounded Yuto more than anything else.
She was afraid, but not frozen.
Without speaking, Maya drew her sword.
The sound of metal leaving its sheath cut through the cave cleanly.
That sound did not remove the fear, but it gave it direction.
Right.
Running was not an option.
Yuto exhaled once, then reached for his blades. The familiar weight of them settled into his hands as he summoned Shiny and Beetle.
Shiny appeared first, blade drawn, his form stabilizing instantly in front of Yuto.
Beetle followed, landing with a heavy metallic thud that echoed through the stone floor.
Tami swallowed hard, then raised his hands and summoned his panther. The creature emerged low to the ground, muscles tense, eyes fixed on the target ahead.
The beast continued forward.
Each step shook the ground slightly. Dust loosened from the ceiling in faint trickles. The cave suddenly felt smaller than it had moments ago.
Yuto moved first.
He broke into a sprint, boots striking stone in quick rhythm. His swords came up in a controlled motion, angled outward rather than forward, aiming to create contact rather than force a kill strike immediately.
He aimed for the central neck.
At the same time, Maya moved along the left wall, her steps light and precise. She used the uneven stone as support, pushing off it to close distance faster than a straight run would allow. Her blade drove forward toward the joint beneath one of the side heads.
Shiny followed the opposite angle, cutting in toward the second head with a direct strike.
The panther moved lower, slipping beneath the beast’s body and aiming for a weak point near the rear leg. Its claws scraped stone as it adjusted mid-run.
Tami followed after it, less precise but faster than expected, closing the gap with brute force momentum.
The first exchange landed almost at once.
Yuto’s blades struck upward into thick scales. The impact vibrated through his arms, forcing him to adjust his grip immediately.
Maya’s strike found a joint seam. Her blade pierced slightly deeper than expected, drawing a brief reaction from the side head, which jerked back sharply.
Shiny’s blade connected cleanly, forcing the opposite head to recoil.
That opening was enough.
The panther slipped under and raked its claws across the beast’s hind leg. Deep lines opened along the scales, dark fluid seeping out immediately.
Tami followed the movement, bringing both gauntleted fists into the exposed joint. The impact echoed with a sharp crack that briefly overpowered the cave’s natural sound.
Beetle charged directly afterward, its armored frame lowering as it rammed into the beast’s torso with full force.
For a moment, the creature shifted backward.
Not much.
But enough.
Yuto noticed it immediately.
A small gap in their expectation of how strong it should have been.
Hope flickered briefly.
Then all three heads moved.
The left head snapped downward first, jaws clamping onto Shiny’s blade. Metal screeched against teeth as the creature twisted violently and flung him across the cave. Shiny hit the wall hard enough to leave visible cracks in the stone before dropping out of view for a moment.
The right head shifted toward Maya. Its movement was faster than expected, not just physically but in timing. She barely reacted in time, throwing herself backward as its jaws struck the wall where she had been standing. Stone shattered outward in a spray of fragments.
The central head turned toward Yuto.
He crossed both swords immediately, blocking the incoming strike.
The impact drove through his arms instantly.
It wasn’t just force. It was weight layered with acceleration.
He was pushed backward across the ground, boots scraping helplessly as he lost traction. His back hit a stalagmite with enough force to knock air from his lungs.
For a brief second, everything blurred.
Then clarity returned.
The beast wasn’t attacking randomly.
It was coordinating.
Each head covered a different angle, reacting to movement rather than simply striking. When one attacked, the others adjusted positions to limit escape routes. Space was being reduced deliberately. Every movement from them was being answered in a way that forced a predictable counter.
Yuto tightened his grip.
This wasn’t just strength.
It was structure.
Beetle charged again, attempting to re-establish pressure. The beast responded without hesitation. One of its spined shoulders slammed into Beetle mid-charge. The impact sent the summon rolling across the cave floor, scraping loudly against stone before it came to a stop.
The panther tried to reposition, but a side head swept low and struck it mid-motion, sending it tumbling into darkness along the edge of the cave.
Tami refused to stop.
Even after seeing the coordination, he moved again, pushing forward toward the damaged forearm joint from earlier. His breathing was uneven, but his focus was locked on the opening he thought he could recreate.
Yuto saw it immediately.
"Tami, watch out!"
The warning came too late.
Tami had already committed to the movement.
The central head dipped slightly, a subtle shift that looked like an opening.
Tami reacted to it.
That was the mistake.
The right head struck first, snapping forward with sudden speed. Its jaws hit Tami’s guard and lifted him off his feet immediately.
Before he could recover, the left head followed.
A heavy impact drove into his stomach.
The force carried him across the cave in a straight line. He hit the far wall hard enough that the sound echoed sharply through the tunnel.
Stone fractured outward from the point of impact.
For a moment, there was only motionless silence where he landed.
Then he slid down the wall and collapsed onto the ground.
Unmoving.
