A roar echoed up from the cavern, and Lucian came to a stop. "What the hell was that?"
"Cavern beast," Tuck said, squinting down with his bad eyes. "We never should've started mining this far down.
Ryker and the others stood behind them, watching a group of ten workers, including Elysia and Kael, fighting for their lives.
One of the Soulless was already down. Their mangled body seemed to be nearly torn in half. Blood pooled out around them at a worrying rate.
"I need to get down there," Lucian said, patting his pockets. He'd left his tools back at the base, but he always made sure to keep spare bandages, sewing materials, and Galios petals on him in case of an emergency.
Hopefully it would be enough to save some lives.
"What?" Ryker asked. "Not you too! Why are some of you so bloodthirsty?"
"There's people dying down there right now, Ryker. I have the skills to save their lives. It would be selfish not to put them to use."
"I can't let you go down there alone," Ryker said, hefting up a pickaxe. "I'll watch your back while we get some people to safety."
"Aye," Tuck said. "Me too."
The three of them stepped onto the platform, and one of the Soulless lowered them down to the battlefield.
*******
Kael charged at the beast with his pickaxe raised.
The cavern echoed with the beast's low growl, the sound vibrating through his chest. His heart thudded in time with his footsteps as he sprinted, the heat of the battle coursing through his veins. The creature, towering and grotesque, swung its massive claw in an arc toward him, its enormous limbs a blur of motion.
Kael's instincts kicked in just as the claw came down, massive and swift, sending a gust of wind whipping through his hair. Without hesitation, he dropped to the ground, rolling beneath its massive leg, his body sliding across the stone floor.
Within a moment, he was pushing himself back to his feet, rounding behind the beast.
He watched, searching for an opening, his senses sharpened. As it turned away, exposing its thick, scaled hide to him, Kael seized the moment. With one fluid motion, he raised his pickaxe high, the blade gleaming in the dim light of the cavern.
Then he drove the blade into the beast's side, the steel biting into the creature's scales with a crunch.
The creature roared in pain and spun around, searching for its attacker.
But Kael was already gone, running back toward the front.
Its attention now diverted, Kael's eyes flicked toward the others.
This was the opening they had been waiting for.
The workers, their faces determined and grim, seized the opportunity and lunged forward, their weapons raised. The air filled with the sound of pickaxes striking the beast's thick hide, a chaotic symphony of metal against scale.
But it was Elysia who moved the quickest—who moved the deadliest.
Kael's eyes widened in surprise as she blurred into motion, her body just a streak as she closed the gap between her and the creature in the blink of an eye.
Elysia was much more capable of using a pickaxe as a weapon than he would've thought.
She slashed the creature's back left leg, her weapon slicing through the scales with ruthless efficiency. One strike, two, three, four—each cut deeper than the last.
Within a span of mere seconds, she had landed five perfect blows across the beast's thick leg.
The other workers slashed their tools at the thing, but didn't do nearly as much damage as Elysia.
The creature let out a guttural roar of pain, its golden blood spilling from the deep wounds profusely. It stumbled back against the wall, its body smacking against the obsidian.
It seemed to be losing its balance, its movements more erratic, and its golden blood staining the ground beneath it. For a moment, it almost seemed like the battle might tip in their favor.
Now, it was just a wild animal, trapped, cornered, and fighting purely out of instinct.
The hair on the back of his neck stood up.
The noise coming from the beast's throat changed. It wasn't just a growl now—it was something primal, a noise that seemed to come from deep within the beast's core, as if it were calling upon some ancient, untamed force.
Its claws scraped against the stone floor in a frenzied attempt to steady itself. It opened its mouth, and Kael's eyes widened in horror as he saw what lay within. Inside the creature's throat glowed an intense heat, like the core of a volcano.
The beast sucked in a deep, shuddering breath, its chest swelling as it drew in air.
Flames erupted from its open mouth in an explosive burst, shooting out in a furious wave like molten serpents, their fiery tongues flickering and twisting through the air.
The heat was immediate and overwhelming, washing over Kael in a suffocating wave.
His skin burned, and he instinctively threw himself to the side, barely dodging the deadly spray of fire.
The flames crackled, hissing against the stone walls of the cavern, and the air became thick with the acrid scent of burning rock and ash.
Kael coughed, his throat stinging from the toxic air. He looked around, searching for survivors amongst the flames.
About twenty feet away, he spotted Elysia lying unconscious.
The other Soulless who had fought beside them remained inside the flames. Their charred bodies crumpling to dust.