The creature barreled forward again, its knuckles grinding against the granite as it moved, its wet breathing echoing through the chamber while saliva dripped from between its jagged teeth. Seris slid sideways to keep distance, her boots skidding slightly on the smooth stone as she loosed another arrow, then another, each one striking center mass and snapping apart as if they were nothing more than twigs.
"Alright," she muttered through clenched teeth, already drawing again, "so it doesn't care about arrows."
Ako darted past her in a blur of motion, her claws scraping against the floor as she dropped low and lunged upward, raking across the creature's side with a sharp snarl. Her strikes landed cleanly, claws tearing into grey flesh and sending strips of it flying, but the creature barely reacted beyond a low, irritated growl.
"Oh, come on! That should've at least stung!" Ako shouted, springing back before one of its long arms could swat her out of the air.
The creature swung anyway, its reach longer than expected, forcing Ako to twist midair and crash shoulder-first into Seris. The two stumbled, nearly going down as the creature's claws slammed into the stone where they had just been standing, cracking the granite.
"Watch it!" Seris snapped as she regained her footing.
"Then stop standing where I'm landing!" Ako shot back, already moving again.
Atlas remained seated against the pillar, one leg bent, arms resting loosely, his eyes tracking every movement without urgency. He didn't look impressed, but he didn't look surprised either.
Lorian's copy flickered into existence near the creature's legs, blades flashing as it struck again and again at the tendons, sparks flying as metal met hardened flesh. The creature barely noticed, its attention fixed on the real targets moving in front of it.
"Yeah, take that!" Lorian shouted from somewhere near Atlas, though his voice lacked confidence. "That's— that's gotta do something!"
"It's not," Atlas said flatly, not even looking at him.
Seris snapped her fingers and opened another Veil portal, arrows vanishing into black sludge before reappearing behind the creature's head in a tight spread. They struck almost simultaneously, snapping on impact and falling uselessly to the floor.
She exhaled sharply. "This thing's hide is reinforced. Physical force alone isn't enough."
Ako snarled in frustration and charged again, muscles swelling as Wild Resonance surged through her legs, propelling her upward toward the creature's chest. She slammed both claws into it with a feral shout, carving deep grooves as she clung for a moment before being shaken violently and flung aside.
She hit the ground hard, rolled, and skidded to a stop near Garruk, who hadn't moved from his spot. He sat cross-legged, holding a half-chewed rat in one hand, watching it with vague interest as if the fight were happening somewhere far away.
"Hey!" Ako groaned, pushing herself up. "Big guy! Maybe now would be a good time!"
Garruk blinked slowly and took another bite.
The creature roared, its distorted voice shaking dust from the ceiling as it lunged again, forcing Seris and Ako apart. Seris barely ducked under a sweeping arm, the wind of it tugging at her hair as she rolled and came up on one knee.
Lorian's copy dissolved as the creature's foot slammed down, and Lorian yelped, scrambling backward closer to Atlas. "Okay, okay, I think we've established that my contribution is limited!"
"You think?" Atlas muttered.
The creature advanced, relentless, its wounds already knitting back together, grey flesh pulling itself closed with a wet sound that made Seris grimace.
"This isn't working," she said sharply. "We need more force."
She glanced toward Garruk again, then shouted, "Garruk! Can you help?! Please?"
The giantblood looked up at last, chewing slowly, then swallowed. He rose to his feet with a quiet sigh and set the remains of the rat aside.
"Alright," he rumbled, walking toward the creature with unhurried steps. "You're loud."
The creature turned toward him and roared, charging with surprising speed for its size. Garruk stopped a few feet away, looked it over from head to toe, then casually drew back his fist.
He punched straight through its chest.
The impact echoed like thunder, Garruk's arm buried to the elbow as the creature screamed and thrashed, its body convulsing violently. Instead of collapsing, the flesh around Garruk's arm began to tighten and pull inward, sealing around him as if trying to trap him inside.
Garruk raised an eyebrow.
"Huh," he said quietly.
He flattened and raised his free hand, twisted his torso, and swung once, clean and level.
The creature's head left its shoulders in a single motion, tumbling across the granite floor before coming to rest against a pillar. The body stood for half a second longer, then collapsed forward, lifeless.
Silence filled the chamber.
Atlas finally stood up.
"Well that's one way to kill it…"
Ako blinked as she stared up at the giantblood, her mouth hanging open as her eyes traced the length of him. "Holy…"
Seris let out a slow breath, rubbing at her temple as she looked between Garruk and the corpse. "You could've done that the whole time?"
Garruk was far too focused on the problem at hand to hear any of them. His arm was still buried deep in the creature's chest, flesh and muscle clinging to him as if it refused to let go. He tugged once, then again, his brow furrowing as he pulled harder and failed to free it. A quiet pout formed on his face as frustration set in.
Ako wandered over to Atlas, craning her neck to look up at him with hopeful eyes. "So… how'd I do?"
Atlas glanced down at her, his expression flat and unimpressed. "Hm. Complete shit."
He walked past her toward Garruk without another word. Ako slowly looked down at her hands, flexing her claws as her ears drooped slightly. "Well… at least it wasn't total shit…" she muttered under her breath.
Seris slung her bow over her shoulder and brushed gravel and dust from her sleeves as she stepped closer to Atlas. "You said you knew its weakness. It was the head, right? That seemed pretty obvious."
"Nope," Atlas replied flatly as he stopped beside the corpse. "Wasn't the head. That just happened to work."
He crouched and grabbed the creature's arm, lifting it with some effort and exposing the underside. "This was."
Seris leaned in, her eyes narrowing as she took in the pale patch of flesh beneath the arm, stark white compared to the rest of the creature's grey hide. Unlike the rest of its body, the skin there looked soft and wet, almost gelatinous.
"The armpit," Atlas continued. "No natural armor. You could've bled it out. Instead, none of you analyzed."
He looked up at them, one by one, as the realization settled across their faces. The Deathforged stared at the exposed weakness as if it had suddenly become painfully obvious.
"Oh?" Atlas scoffed. "Now it's obvious. Next time, think before you attack—"
"WOO!! Owned you! You're nothing!"
Atlas turned just in time to see Lorian repeatedly stomping on what remained of the creature's head, laughing wildly as he did. "You're nothing to Lorian Volkas and his Deathforged, bitch! You're just a little head—"
With a wet, tearing sound, Garruk finally yanked his arm free from the creature's chest, sending a spray of blood and gore arcing through the air.
It came down directly on Lorian.
Lorian froze, inhaled sharply, and stood there as thick blood dripped from his hair and ran down his face, some of it pooling in his mouth before slowly spilling out. He swallowed once.
"Well…" he said through the mess, his voice thick and muffled, "that's just fun."
Every member of the Deathforged grimaced, except for Garruk.
"I'm sorry, Dorian," Garruk rumbled sincerely.
"It's Lorian," Lorian muttered weakly. "But… close enough…"
Ako cringed, her nose wrinkling. "Your Deathforged?"
Seris winced. "You okay, buddy?"
Lorian nodded slowly, his shoulders sagging as the adrenaline wore off. "Yeah… yeah. Just got caught in the moment. I'm cool. I'm—"
He suddenly bolted to the side, retching violently before sprinting toward the shallow water pooled along the granite floor. Without hesitation, he threw himself into it, splashing wildly as he tried to wash the blood off like a madman.
"I feel bad…" Seris murmured as she watched him thrash around.
Ako patted her arm, smiling wide as she nodded. "It's okay. He deserved it."
Meanwhile, Atlas looked up at Garruk, letting out a long sigh as he stepped over the gore-soaked stone.
"Thank the gods you're here," he muttered.
He hopped across the bloodied ground and turned back to the group. "Everyone, let's go. We're late."
The Deathforged followed after him, disappearing deeper into the tunnels, unaware of what they had just done—or what it might cost them.
Lorian should have read that briefing.