"AAAAHHH! My fist is on fire!" Yuno bellowed, shaking his hand frantically as small flames licked his knuckles.
Hugo groaned, his voice laced with exasperation. "Damn it, Yuno! I told you that's a Lava Hound, a C-rank monster! Its saliva ignites on contact!"
Before Yuno could retort, the beast stepped into the light. The Lava Hound was a hulking, canine-like creature with glowing cracks running along its obsidian-black body.
Streams of molten lava oozed from its jaws, sizzling as they hit the ground. Its eyes burned a fierce orange, locking onto the trio like a predator savoring its prey.
The hound let out a guttural snarl, its body radiating intense heat that made the air shimmer around it.
Shine took a cautious step back, his cyan eyes darting between the monster and Yuno's flaming fist. "Uh, guys? Are we seriously doing this? Because I'm starting to think this isn't our best idea."
Hugo tightened his gauntlets, his sharp gaze fixed on the Lava Hound. "Too late now. Shine, get into position. Yuno..."
He turned to his teammate, who was still flailing his burning hand. "Stop playing around and focus!"
Yuno growled, finally dousing the flames by slamming his fist into the dirt. "Alright, alright! But I'm punching that thing right in its stupid lava face!"
The Lava Hound growled louder, its molten saliva dripping onto the ground and igniting small fires.
The heat intensified as the monster lowered its body, preparing to pounce.
Hugo smirked despite the tension. "You'd better make it count. Here it comes!"
The battle was on.
The Lava Hound lunged forward with a guttural snarl, its molten claws slamming down toward Hugo.
Hugo raised his gauntlets just in time, crossing them to absorb the impact. The force of the blow rattled through his arms, his boots skidding slightly against the scorched ground.
The monster loomed over him, its glowing body radiating intense heat that made Hugo's skin prickle and sweat bead on his forehead.
Even through his gauntlets, he could feel the searing warmth creeping closer, threatening to overwhelm him.
"Ugh... it's like standing in front of a furnace." Hugo muttered, his voice strained as he held his ground.
The Lava Hound snarled, pressing harder against his defense, its molten saliva dripping dangerously close to Hugo's feet.
The air shimmered with heat waves, distorting the scene as the beast bared its jagged, fiery teeth in an intimidating display.
"Anytime now, guys!" Hugo shouted through gritted teeth, his muscles straining against the monster's relentless force.
Shine dropped to one knee a few paces away, his sniper rifle already in position.
His cyan eyes sharpened, scanning the Lava Hound for an opening. "Hold it steady, Hugo." he called out, his finger hovering over the trigger.
"I'm trying!" Hugo growled, still bracing against the monster's crushing weight.
Yuno, meanwhile, charged forward with a determined roar.
His massive frame barreled through the heat waves radiating from the Lava Hound as he wound up a punch. "Get off him, you overgrown campfire!"
BAM!
Yuno's fist connected with the Lava Hound's side, sending molten sparks flying as the monster stumbled slightly.
But as his hand made contact with the scorching-hot surface of it skin, a familiar searing pain shot through him.
"Ahhh! My hand's on fire again!" Yuno yelled, yanking his fist back and frantically shaking it in the air.
His muscles bulged as he blew on his knuckles, his expression caught somewhere between anger and frustration.
Hugo groaned from under the hound's weight. "Damn it, Yuno! I told you it's a Lava Hound! Of course, it burns!"
"You could've warned me before I punched it!" Yuno snapped, cradling his throbbing hand.
Shine sighed, adjusting his aim as the monster turned its attention to Yuno. "You two are hopeless." he muttered before squeezing the trigger.
Then suddenly Shine smirked, the corner of his lips twitching upward as he steadied his aim. "Time to end this."
BANG!
The bullet struck true, hitting the Lava Hound square in the groin. The monster froze, its glowing eyes dimming as a low, guttural whine escaped its throat.
It staggered once, twice, then collapsed to the ground in a heap, the heat radiating from its body fading as it disintegrated into ash.
Hugo and Yuno both winced in unison, their hands instinctively covering their lower regions. "Oof…" Hugo muttered, his face scrunching in shared sympathy.
Yuno, still shaking his burnt hand, shot Shine a wary glance. "You know... despite looking like an innocent kid, you're terrifying."
Shine stood up, slinging his rifle over his shoulder with a casual shrug. "What can I say? Aim for the weak points."
Hugo gave him a flat look as he dusted himself off. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."
Shine chuckled, his youthful appearance contrasting sharply with the ruthlessness he'd just displayed. "Don't worry, Hugo. You're safe... as long as you don't act like a monster."
Yuno shook his head, muttering under his breath. "Scary, and smug."
The trio trudged forward, the faint glow of the dungeon's core guiding them deeper into the unknown.
The air grew heavy, the temperature fluctuating between a bone-chilling cold and a stifling heat.
Suddenly, a shadowy figure loomed ahead. Then another. And another.
Emerging from the darkness were five monsters, all too familiar: a Shadow Sprout, a Cinder Bat, a Wind Hawk, a Vine Wraith, and at the front, leading the pack, a Lava Hound—its molten eyes glaring at them with vengeful fury of it kind.
The three stopped dead in their tracks.
Yuno blinked, his muscles tensing. "No way. That's... that's gotta be a joke."
Shine lowered his rifle, his smirk wiped clean off his face. "Oh, come on. We just dealt with you guys!"
Hugo stared at the group, his gauntlets tightening. He broke the silence with a loud, frustrated swear word, "F—K!!"
Yuno followed up, his voice booming. "WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?!"
Even Shine, normally calm and collected, groaned loudly. "You've got to be freaking kidding me!"
The monsters didn't wait for the trio to finish their collective swearing. With a unified roar, they charged forward.
Hugo turned to his team, panic in his voice. "We're in deep sh–t now!"
"NO KIDDING!" Yuno shouted, cracking his knuckles as his muscles began to bulk up again.
"Guess we'll die together." Shine sighed, lifting his rifle and taking aim.
As the monsters closed in, the trio glanced at each other one last time.
"Ready?" Hugo asked, trying to muster some confidence.
"Absolutely not." Shine deadpanned.
"Let's just punch our way out of this mess!" Yuno roared, charging ahead.
And with that, chaos ensued.
____________________
The scene opened with the trio slumped on the ground, utterly drained.
They looked like they'd just run a marathon while carrying boulders drenched in sweat, breathing heavily, and covered in dirt and scorch marks.
Yuno flopped onto his back, staring blankly at the cavern ceiling. "I... I think my muscles are suing me for abuse."
Hugo leaned against a rock, his gauntlets clinking softly as he let them drop beside him. "I feel like my soul left my body three monsters ago... and it hasn't come back yet."
Shine sat cross-legged, his sniper rifle leaning against his shoulder, his usually pristine hair now a chaotic mess. "I think I saw my life flash before my eyes. And you know what? It was boring. I need to get a hobby."
Yuno groaned, dragging himself into a sitting position. "At least you didn't punch a Lava Hound. Twice. My hands feel like roasted marshmallows."
"Whose idea was it to fight five monsters at once?" Hugo muttered, glaring at Yuno.
Yuno pointed at Shine. "HIS! He shot the Lava Hound first!"
Shine held up his hands defensively. "Hey, it was self-defense! That thing was eyeing me like a steak dinner!"
"Well, thanks to you." Hugo sighed dramatically, "we're now one sneeze away from death."
Yuno smirked weakly. "Look at the bright side."
"There's a bright side?" Shine asked, raising an eyebrow.
Yuno grinned, flexing his burned hand. "At least we're not dead yet!"
"Yeah yeah..." Hugo and Shine muttered in unison, rolling their eyes.
As they continued their banter, the ground beneath them shimmered faintly, and the monster corpses began to dissolve into glowing particles, drifting upward like fireflies before fading into nothingness.
Yuno blinked, watching the Vine Wraith's remnants vanish. "Oh great, now even the evidence of our hard work is gone. Fantastic."
Hugo rubbed his temples. "It's a dungeon simulation, Yuno. The monsters aren't real, remember?"
"Tell that to my burnt hands and bruised ribs!" Yuno retorted, holding up his scorched palms. "That felt pretty real to me!"
Shine, still catching his breath, glanced at the fading particles. "At least the clean-up crew's got it easy. No need for mops or buckets when the dungeon does the work for you."
Yuno rolled his eyes. "Yeah, lucky them. Meanwhile, we're out here putting our lives on the line for points and bragging rights."
Hugo stretched his sore arms and stood up, groaning slightly. "Well, let's just be thankful this is a simulation. If these things were real…"
Shine cut him off with a tired laugh. "We'd be even more dead than we already feel."
The trio stood in silence for a moment, watching the last of the glowing particles fade.
Yuno sighed dramatically. "So... does this mean we're done, or is the dungeon planning to throw more at us?"
Hugo crossed his arms. "If it does, let's hope we don't have to fight another group of those monsters."
Shine nodded, still trying to steady his breath. "Agreed. One was already bad enough."
Continue...