The question hung in the air like a blade.
"What do you guys think I should do?"
The thing wearing Bunny’s face smiled at them.
It was almost perfect.
The same warm expression. The same familiar tilt of the head. Even the same little smile Bunny used when she was about to say something ridiculous.
But the eyes were wrong.
Too bright.
Too focused.
Too hungry.
Kelly’s hand moved before his mind had fully caught up.
His fingers found the flare at his belt.
The emergency signal.
The one reserved for threats serious enough to demand an immediate response from the kingdom.
He tore it free.
Click.
The mechanism snapped open.
A brilliant red flare erupted from his hand and shot toward the ceiling, illuminating the sky in a violent crimson glow before disappearing into the blue and white above.
The signal was unmistakable.
Kingdom-level threat. Immediate response required.
Anyone capable of seeing that flare would understand what it meant.
Guards.
Knights.
Guild members.
Anyone close enough to respond.
Help was coming.
But Kelly knew exactly how much time they had.
Not enough.
The creature looked up at the fading red light.
Then back at them.
Its smile widened.
"Calling for help?"
Kelly didn’t answer.
He looked at the others.
Grom.
Mira.
Darian.
Kelme.
Aria.
Then back at the creature.
His expression became strangely calm.
"Buy time."
Everyone went silent.
Kelly’s voice was flat.
Not frightened.
Not angry.
Just certain.
"Even if it kills you, buy as much time as you can."
Aria’s eyes widened.
"Kelly—"
"We made a mistake."
He tightened his grip on his weapon.
"Now we pay for it."
His eyes hardened.
"Not by dying pointlessly."
He looked toward the creature.
"By making sure that thing is still here when help arrives."
Nobody hesitated.
Grom stepped forward.
"Then let’s make it count."
---
Grom moved first.
His shield was gone, shattered during the battle with Don, but that didn’t matter.
He didn’t need a shield.
He needed his body.
The massive warrior charged.
The creature barely had time to turn before Grom crashed into it.
His arms locked around its torso, pinning its arms against its sides.
"NOW!"
Mira’s bowstring snapped.
An arrow flew.
Then another.
Then another.
The arrows struck the creature across its body, forcing its attention toward Mira.
The creature looked down at Grom.
Then at the arrows.
Then back at Grom.
It laughed.
"You people are serious?"
Grom tightened his grip.
"Very."
The creature’s smile returned.
"I must be a better con artist than I thought if I made you this delulu about thinking you could hold me down."
It flexed.
Grom’s eyes widened.
The creature simply threw him aside.
Grom hit the ground hard and rolled across the stone floor.
"Grom!"
"I’M FINE!"
He planted one hand against the floor and forced himself upright.
The creature tilted its head.
"You’re tougher than you look."
Grom spat to the side.
"You talk too much."
"I’ve been told."
---
Darian attacked next.
His twin blades flashed through the crimson-lit chamber.
One strike.
Two.
Three.
Four.
He moved quickly, changing angles constantly, refusing to give the creature a predictable rhythm.
The creature avoided every strike.
"You’re fast."
Darian didn’t answer.
His left blade came from below.
The creature stepped over it.
The right followed.
It leaned away.
Another strike.
Another dodge.
Then—
The creature caught his wrist.
Darian’s eyes widened.
The creature twisted.
Darian dropped one blade.
He immediately drove his other sword toward its shoulder.
The creature caught that wrist too.
"Interesting."
Darian gritted his teeth.
The creature studied him.
"You knew you couldn’t win."
Darian stared back.
"I don’t need to win."
He kicked the creature’s knee.
It barely moved.
"I just need you to waste time."
The creature’s smile disappeared.
Then it threw him aside.
Darian crashed onto the dirt.
He immediately reached for his sword.
---
Mira kept firing.
She had moved farther back, using the trees and broken stone around the entrence for cover.
Her shots were deliberate.
Joints.
Hands.
Eyes.
Anywhere that might slow the creature.
But it wasn’t behaving like a normal body.
Its form rippled whenever an arrow came close.
Sometimes the projectile passed straight through.
Sometimes the creature simply wasn’t there anymore.
Mira narrowed her eyes.
"You’re getting predictable."
The creature appeared beside her.
Mira’s eyes widened.
She immediately ducked.
A hand passed over her head.
She rolled away and fired from the ground.
The arrow struck.
The creature looked down.
Then smiled.
"Adorable."
Mira reached for another arrow.
Her fingers paused.
Her quiver was getting lighter.
The creature noticed.
"You’re running out."
Mira’s expression didn’t change.
But her fingers were beginning to tremble.
"Maybe."
She drew another arrow.
"But you’re still here."
She fired.
The creature vanished.
The arrow struck the wall.
---
Kelme moved through the shadows.
He had been watching.
Not fighting.
Watching.
He was trying to understand the creature.
Its movements.
Its habits.
Its rhythm.
There was always something.
A tiny hesitation.
A fraction of a second after certain attacks.
A slight shift before it changed direction.
Kelme waited.
Then he struck.
His knife flashed.
The blade connected with the creature’s side.
For the first time, the creature actually recoiled.
Kelme’s eyes widened.
He had felt resistance.
He had actually hurt it.
Barely.
But enough.
The creature looked down at the blade.
Then at Kelme.
"Interesting."
Kelme pulled the knife free.
The wound was already disappearing.
"You almost hurt me."
Kelme stepped back.
"Almost is enough."
The creature smiled.
"No."
It took a step forward.
"Almost isn’t enough."
---
Aria was running out of strength.
She could feel it.
Every spell demanded more than the last.
Grom’s injuries.
Darian’s broken wrist.
Mira’s exhaustion.
Kelme’s wounds.
She had been keeping everyone standing for far too long.
Her hands trembled as she cast another healing spell.
Warm light surrounded Grom.
His breathing steadied.
Then Aria nearly fell.
Kelme caught her shoulder.
"You okay?"
"Fine."
"You don’t look fine."
"I said I’m fine."
Another explosion sounded behind them.
Aria turned.
The creature had thrown Darian across the room again.
She immediately raised her hands.
"No."
Kelme stopped her.
"Aria."
"He needs healing."
"So do you."
"I can still fight."
"You’re nearly empty."
Aria clenched her teeth.
"We need to finish this."
"I know."
"No."
She looked at him.
"We need to finish this now."
---
The creature laughed.
"You’re talking about me as though I’m not standing right here."
It walked toward them.
Slowly.
Almost casually.
"I can hear everything."
Its gaze moved between them.
"Every plan."
Every fear.
Every doubt.
"Every desperate little thought."
The shadows beneath its feet began to move.
"You’re exhausting yourselves."
Kelly stepped between it and the others.
"Good."
The creature looked at him.
"Good?"
"You’re talking."
A pause.
Kelly raised his weapon.
"Keep talking."
The creature’s eyes narrowed.
"You think you’re clever?"
"No."
Kelly stepped forward.
"I think you’re wasting time."
That made the creature’s smile disappear.
---
The shadows erupted.
Fog poured through the space.
It spread rapidly, swallowing the floor and climbing toward the sky.
"Everyone stay together!" Kelly shouted.
Aria reached toward Kelme.
"I can’t see!"
"Neither can I!"
Mira’s voice came from somewhere nearby.
"Where is it?!"
Darian shouted.
"I don’t know!"
Grom roared.
"STOP SHOUTING!"
"WE CAN’T SEE!"
"THEN USE YOUR EARS!"
The creature’s voice echoed through the fog.
"Good luck."
Its laughter came from everywhere.
"Find me."
Kelly didn’t move.
He listened.
Footsteps.
Breathing.
Stone shifting.
The creature wanted them afraid.
Wanted them guessing.
Wanted them striking at shadows.
But Kelly had spent years fighting monsters.
He had learned something important.
You didn’t always need to see a monster to know where it was.
"You’re there."
The creature stopped.
Silence.
Kelly smiled.
"Found you."
He attacked.
His weapon cut through the fog.
The creature moved just in time.
"How?"
Kelly followed.
"You’re not invisible."
Another strike.
"You’re just hiding."
The creature vanished.
Kelly turned.
"You’re behind me."
The creature stopped.
For the first time, there was genuine surprise in its voice.
"How?"
Kelly’s expression remained calm.
"I’ve been fighting monsters for long time, and you motivated me to puch over my limit."
He stepped forward.
"I’ve dealt with illusions before."
The creature laughed nervously.
"You can’t possibly see through mine."
"I don’t need to."
Kelly raised his weapon.
"I just need to know where you are."
---
The creature changed tactics.
It created an illusion of Aria.
She appeared through the fog.
"Kelly!"
He didn’t hesitate.
He struck.
The illusion shattered.
Then Kelme appeared.
"Kelly, stop!"
Another strike.
Gone.
Mira.
Gone.
Grom.
Gone.
Darian.
Gone.
The creature’s voice finally lost its amusement.
"Stop."
Kelly kept walking.
"Stop it!"
Another illusion appeared.
Kelly struck it apart.
"I said stop!"
"I can’t."
The creature’s voice echoed through the chamber.
"Why?!"
Kelly’s answer was immediate.
"Because you need me to believe what you show me."
He raised his weapon.
"And I don’t."
---
The creature abandoned the illusions.
It came for him directly.
Its attack struck Kelly across the chest, forcing him backward.
He stumbled.
Then recovered.
The creature attacked again.
Kelly blocked.
The impact drove him to one knee.
"Why?"
The creature’s voice was no longer playful.
"Why won’t you stop?"
Kelly stood.
"Because I don’t have to win."
Another attack.
He blocked.
"You’ve already spent most of your strength playing with us."
Another.
The creature’s movements were still frighteningly fast.
But they weren’t as effortless as before.
"And now you’re far from your lair."
Kelly breathed heavily.
"Far from whatever gives you strength."
The creature stared at him.
Kelly smiled.
"You’re weaker."
The creature’s expression darkened.
"Don’t pretend you understand me."
"I don’t need to."
Kelly raised his weapon again.
"I just need to keep you here."
The creature attacked.
Kelly took the hit.
He staggered.
But he stayed standing.
"WHY?!"
Kelly’s voice became strangely calm.
"Because I’ve already given up."
The creature paused.
"What?"
Kelly looked directly at it.
"I’m not saying I want to die."
His grip tightened.
"I’m saying I’m no longer afraid of it."
The creature stared.
Kelly continued.
"My will is clear now."
He stepped forward.
"I have one thing left to accomplish."
The creature’s eyes narrowed.
"And what is that?"
Kelly smiled.
"Your downfall."
---
The others were still fighting.
Grom was on one knee.
But he was still swinging.
Darian’s injured wrist hung uselessly at his side, but his remaining hand still held a blade.
Mira’s quiver was empty.
So she stopped using her bow.
And started fighting with whatever she had left.
Aria was barely standing.
Her mana reserves were almost completely gone.
"I can’t."
Kelme looked at her.
"Keep going."
"I don’t have anything left."
"Then find something else."
"What?"
"I don’t know!"
Kelme shouted over the chaos.
"Use your anger!"
Aria stared at him.
"Use your spite!"
"That’s your advice?!"
"YES!"
He grabbed her shoulder.
"Just don’t stop!"
Aria looked toward the battlefield.
Grom was still fighting.
Darian was still fighting.
Mira was still fighting.
Kelly was still fighting.
Even after everything, none of them had stopped.
Aria took a breath.
Then raised her hands again.
"Fine."
Light gathered around her fingers.
"I’ll keep going."
---
The creature was slowing down.
Not because they had seriously injured it.
They hadn’t.
Not yet.
But something had changed.
It was no longer playing.
Its movements had become sharper.
More desperate.
Its attacks came faster.
Harder.
Less controlled.
The confidence was disappearing.
The creature looked around.
At Grom.
At Mira.
At Darian.
At Kelme.
At Aria.
Then finally at Kelly.
"Why won’t you die?"
Kelly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Because pride has a price."
The creature stared at him.
"You’ve insulted us enough."
Kelly raised his weapon.
"So now the debt gets paid."
---
Then they heard it.
Footsteps.
Far away.
But approaching.
Metal.
Voices.
Many voices.
Aria’s eyes widened.
"Do you hear that?"
Kelme listened.
Then smiled.
"They’re here."
More sounds followed.
Armor.
Orders.
Weapons being drawn.
The kingdom’s response force had arrived.
Kelly looked toward the forest.
"Good."
The creature turned.
For the first time, its expression showed something other than amusement.
It looked almost afraid.
Aria noticed.
So did everyone else.
The creature’s gaze flickered toward the darkness inside the tomb.
Then back toward them.
Its breathing had changed.
Its confidence had cracked.
It had spent most of its strength fighting them.
It had wasted even more of it playing with them.
And now it was outside whatever place gave it the greatest advantage.
Its own territory.
Its own lair.
Its own strength.
All of that was behind it.
Help was coming.
The creature finally understood.
It had miscalculated.
Aria slowly reached for the knife at her belt.
Her hands were trembling.
Her body was exhausted.
Her mana was nearly gone.
But she was still standing.
She looked at the others.
Then at the creature.
"Let’s finish this."
The creature’s smile returned.
But this time, there was nothing playful about it.
The spqce around them filled with the sound of approaching footsteps.
The fog began to thin.
Weapons were raised.
Everyone prepared themselves.
The battle wasn’t over.
Not yet.
But it was ending.
One way or another.
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