Dera froze, paralyzed by dread as the creature lunged at him, its needle-like fangs glistening with venom, dripping toward his face.
"Flame Aura, Second Technique—Scorching Slash!" Sir Ike's voice cut through the darkness, his sword blazing with an unnatural fire.
VLOOM!!
The fiery aura coiled around the beast's neck, searing flesh before…
SLASH!
Its head detached in a swift, violent arc, and the rest of the body collapsed to the ground with a sickening thud. The decapitated creature lay twisted and twitching, dark ichor pooling beneath it, staining the damp cave floor.
"That was close… You alright, Dera?" Sir Ike asked, his voice steady, though his eyes were sharp with lingering caution.
"Y-yeah… I'm alright." Dera stammered, though his heart thundered in his chest.
KIEEEEK!!
A shrill, unearthly sound echoed from deeper within the cave, like nails scraping against a rusted metal tomb. This time, it was not a lone creature. A horde was coming.
"Incoming!" Mori yelled, bracing himself and then—
VHOOM!
Dozens of shadowy forms that looked like lycans, slithered from the darkness, their eyes gleaming like orbs of pure malice. They came from all angles, ravenous, relentless.
The hunters sprang into action, each wielding their clan's Aura techniques with practiced precision, striking down the venomous beasts in a deadly dance of fire, ice, and wind. Injuries tore at their flesh, blood splattered across the stone walls, and Arya hurriedly mended wounds, her hands glowing with a pale green, wavering light.
Despite the team's coordination, even Sir Ike's seasoned commands weren't enough to stem the tide.
"There are too many of them!" Udeh yelled, Struggling with multiple finnless Venoms.
"Seriously, there's no end to these bastards!" Mori roared, his voice straining against his fatigue.
Then, Sir Ike steadied himself, planting his feet wide apart. His eyes were fierce, his sword held aloft, as a pure, unbelievable amount of Aura began to gather.
"Everyone, stand back," he ordered, his voice low, but laced with deadly resolve.
Mori's eyes widened. "That stance… is he really going to—"
"Get back!" Mara screamed, pulling others away. "He's about to use his Black Number technique!"
KIEEEEK! The creatures lunged, their fangs bared, their bodies convulsing with lethal intent.
Sir Ike's aura erupted with an inferno, filling the air with blistering heat.
"Black Number, First Technique… Ablaze!"
BOOM!!
A torrent of flames exploded from his blade, roaring through the cave, consuming every Venom in sight. The screams of the burning creatures twisted through the air, until the last echo faded into silence.
"As expected of Sir Ike, his black number technique always seem to impress me no matter how many times I see it" Mori murmured, pride swelling in his voice, though his face was pale. Dera could only stare, awe-struck, a tremor of hope kindling in his chest. Someday… could I be that powerful?
"All right," Sir Ike called, sheathing his blade. "Let's rest and let the Potters get to work."
With the immediate threat extinguished, the team took a brief rest. Dera and the other potters mined the blue Aura crystals embedded in the cavern walls, their eerie light casting ghostly shadows that danced across their exhausted faces. Thirty minutes later, their work was done.
"All right, let's move deeper," Sir Ike commanded. "Time to hunt the boss of this cave."
They ventured further in, the air growing colder, thicker. Finally, they reached a towering gate. Unlike the portal at the cave's entrance, this one was grotesque—a monolithic slab etched with twisting, ancient symbols and a massive inscription above that sent chills down their spines.
"Tomb of the Ancient Finned King?" Sir Ike read aloud, his voice echoing ominously. "A… double venom cave?"
"What does that mean?" Dera asked, his voice barely steady.
Sir Ike's gaze remained fixed on the gate. "Even I've never seen one… but from what I've heard, they're as dangerous as facing a higher finned venom than the initial grade number"
A palpable unease swept over the group. Mara swallowed, her voice strained. "Sir Ike… maybe we should let this one go."
"I second that," Udeh added, a shiver in his tone.
"Come on, you scaredy cats," Mori scoffed, though there was a thin sheen of sweat on his brow. "Rumors are rumors. What's the worst that can happen?"
"Still," Sir Ike said, looking at them each in turn, "anyone who wants to leave, now's the time. No shame in it, and you'll still get your share of the Aura crystals."
They all looked at each other and not a single person moved.
"Since it's settled, then." Sir Ike stepped forward and pushed the gate open with a groan of ancient, grinding stone.
As they entered, a chill like icy claws ran down their spines. The cave plunged into pitch-black darkness.
FUM... FUM... FUM!
Purple flames flickered to life on age-worn candle stands, casting a haunting light that revealed a straight path leading to an immense, empty throne and a massive, rectangular coffin atop a three-tiered altar, bathed in shadows. The air was thick with the stench of decay and something far older, far darker.
"Check out this architecture…" Mori's voice was little more than a whisper as he gazed around, entranced.
Sir Ike's gaze fell on a stone tablet near the altar. "Hold on, there's something inscribed here," he murmured. The script was in the ancient Venom tongue, used long before they adapted to Earth's language. He squinted, deciphering and translating the eerie message aloud.
As the others admired the eerie beauty of the double Venom cave, Dera felt as if his soul had been snared in invisible chains. His body was locked, his heart pounding, sweat beading on his skin.
It wasn't just fear. It was a primal, unshakable sense of dread. A feeling of countless eyes watching, lurking in the darkness, biding their time.
For as long as he could remember, Dera had been able to sense things — danger, malevolence, the quiet intent of others. But this… this was worse than anything he had ever felt, a looming shadow that seemed to pull him into an abyss.
An overwhelming, malevolent presence that clung to him like a suffocating fog, worse than the dread he felt on the day his family was slaughtered.
"Hey, Dera… are you okay?" Arya asked, her voice sounding far away, noticing his paling face.
"W-we… need to leave… now." his voice was barely a whisper.
"What?" Arya asked, her brow creasing.
"Everyone!" Dera's voice cracked, a note of hysteria breaking through. "We need to get out of here... now!"
"Just a second," Sir Ike said, his finger tracing the last line of the inscription.
"If I'm reading this right, I think… it says, 'Welcome To The Culling Game.'"
The words had barely left his lips when—
BOOM!!
The gate slammed shut behind them, the deafening sound reverberating through the cavern. Darkness closed in, and a monstrous, unholy voice echoed from every corner, deep and guttural.
"Let… The Game… Begin."