THE BEAST WITHIN
Written By Pride Chronicles
CHAPTER 100
BEAST TIDE
...
The rumbling grew louder.
Roman and the others advanced cautiously through the flooded passage, their boots disturbing the dark water. Ahead, the tunnel opened into a cavern so enormous that its ceiling disappeared into darkness. Water poured down the distant rock walls, feeding a river that cut through the center of the cavern before disappearing into another tunnel.
But that wasn't what caught their attention.
Movement stirred along the far side of the river.
Hundreds of small, dark shapes crawled over the rocks.
Some clung to the walls. Others emerged from cracks in the ground, their bodies squeezing through openings barely large enough to contain them. More gathered near the water, their eyes reflecting the faint light of the crystals scattered throughout the cavern.
Fury froze.
His perception swept across the cavern.
Then farther.
And farther still.
His little body stiffened.
The creatures weren't confined to the cavern. They were coming through the passages beyond it, gathering in numbers that continued to grow with every passing second.
Fury turned toward Roman and squeaked sharply.
Roman understood.
"I don't get, why are they so many beasts underground"
He said.
"I have two options. Either there's a pathway to the forest through the tunnels..or a nest crystals is hidden here"
Anya explained.
A shrill cry pierced the cavern.
Every creature turned toward them.
For one brief moment, the cavern fell silent.
Then the beasts charged.
Hundreds of them poured across the rocks, spilling down the walls and splashing through the river. Their cries merged into a deafening roar that shook loose dust from the ceiling.
Roman's eyes narrowed beneath his hood.
"Here they come."
He stepped out of the water.
Red lightning flickered around his boots.
"Don't let them surround us."
Lunar moved to his left, purple lightning crawling along his arms. Sylver took the right, her silver aura expanding as she raised her shield. Anya positioned herself behind them, her long silver sword drawn and her pink aura spreading through the darkness.
Fury retreated onto a raised rock formation, his perception covering the battlefield.
The first wave reached them.
Roman vanished.
BOOM!
His fist struck the leading beast in the chest, launching it backward into the creatures behind it. He landed, pivoted, and swept his leg through another group, sending several tumbling into the river.
Luckily, they were all low level danger beasts.
Red lightning flashed again.
He moved through the advancing horde with explosive speed, striking one beast after another. Every impact sent bodies crashing across the stone, breaking the charge before the creatures could reach his companions.
But the tide kept coming.
The beasts crawled over their fallen companions, leapt from the walls, and surged through the shallow water. Their numbers threatened to swallow the entire cavern.
Roman glanced toward Lunar.
The purple-haired boy was already moving.
Lunar's speed was unmatched. He crossed the battlefield in a blur of purple lightning, slipping between lunging claws and snapping jaws. His short swords flashed in his hands, delivering precise strikes that dropped beasts before they could touch him.
He never wasted a movement.
One beast leapt from above.
Lunar ducked.
The creature sailed over his head, only to be met by a sharp upward kick that sent it crashing into two others.
He spun, crossed his blades, and struck another pair before springing onto a boulder.
Purple lightning exploded beneath his feet.
He launched himself back into the horde.
The beasts tried to follow his movements, but they were too slow. Lunar was already behind them, leaving fallen bodies scattered across the stone.
Still, more came.
From the left passage.
From the river.
From openings high above.
The cavern was becoming a battlefield.
---
Sylver planted her feet.
Her silver aura surged outward.
A massive wall of water rose from the river, curling behind her before crashing down upon the advancing beasts. The force swept dozens off their feet and hurled them against the cavern walls.
Before the water could settle, she thrust her palm forward.
The current reversed.
A spiralling column of water tore through the next wave, lifting the creatures into the air before throwing them back across the cavern.
Sylver remained calm.
She had no intention of allowing the horde to reach Roman.
A cluster of beasts broke through the water and rushed toward her.
She raised her shield.
Their claws struck its silver surface.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The shield absorbed the impacts without yielding.
Sylver rotated her wrist.
A pulse of silver energy burst from the weapon, throwing the creatures backward.
She stepped forward, sweeping her shield across the nearest beast and striking it hard enough to send it skidding across the ground. Then she turned, caught another with the edge of the shield, and drove it into the stone.
A beast lunged toward her exposed side.
Water coiled around its body.
Sylver clenched her hand.
The water compressed.
The creature was flung away before its claws could reach her.
She immediately turned toward the next wave.
There was no hesitation in her movements.
No panic.
Only precise control.
---
Behind them, Anya's pink aura intensified.
Her long silver sword reflected the faint blue light of the cavern as she faced the advancing horde.
The first beast lunged.
Anya shifted one foot.
To an ordinary observer, she had barely moved.
Yet the creature's claws passed through empty air.
Anya's spatial ability distorted the distance between them. What should have been a single step became an impossible stretch of space, allowing her to slip beyond the creature's reach.
Her sword flashed.
The beast fell.
Another came from the side.
She turned and slashed across its path before it could complete its leap.
Three more charged together.
Anya extended her free hand.
Their weight multiplied.
The creatures slammed against the ground, their limbs buckling beneath the sudden force. The stone cracked under their bodies.
Anya walked past them.
A fourth beast dropped from the ceiling.
She tilted her head.
Her spatial ability shifted its trajectory, sending it crashing into the ground several feet away.
Without breaking stride, she drove her sword into the next creature's path, forcing it back into the cluster behind it.
Then she raised her hand again.
The space around the group of beasts compressed.
Their bodies collided.
A sharp burst of pink light filled the cavern.
When it faded, none of them remained standing.
Anya withdrew her sword and turned toward the others.
The tide was still advancing.
Her expression hardened.
There were simply too many.
---
Roman landed on a broad stone platform near the centre of the cavern.
He had been fighting continuously, but the beasts showed no sign of stopping. Every time he cleared a section of the battlefield, another wave poured through the passages.
A low-level danger beast was hardly a challenge individually.
Hundreds of them were a different matter.
Not because they could overpower him.
Because the sheer number of targets made bare-handed combat increasingly inefficient.
Roman glanced down at his thigh.
A dagger was strapped securely against his leg.
Battle technique flashed.
Roman reached down and pulled the dagger free.
Its short blade gleamed beneath the cavern's blue light.
Red lightning gathered around his hand.
The dagger began to vibrate.
Its blade lengthened.
Metal extended from the hilt, growing several times beyond its original size. The handle expanded to accommodate a proper two-handed grip, while the short guard unfolded into a curved design.
The red lightning intensified.
KRRRRAAAAK!
The transformation completed in a violent burst of scarlet energy.
Roman now held a long red katana, its blade glowing like molten metal. Red lightning crawled along its edge, illuminating the surrounding water and casting crimson reflections across the stone.
He rolled the soul weapon once in his hand.
The balance was perfect.
A faint smile touched his lips beneath his hood.
"Now let's go to round two"
The next wave surged toward him.
Roman lowered his stance.
Red lightning gathered beneath his boots.
Then he moved.
SHRAAAAAK!
A sweeping slash tore through the front ranks.
The red blade carved a brilliant arc across the cavern, releasing a crescent of concentrated energy that ripped through the advancing beasts.
The creatures were thrown apart.
Those behind them stumbled over the fallen, only to be caught by the next wave of red energy.
Roman pivoted.
His katana flashed from right to left.
Then from left to right.
Each movement sent a blade of scarlet energy across the battlefield.
The cavern lit up with successive bursts of red.
Stone pillars cracked under the force of the impacts. Water erupted into towering sprays as the energy tore through the riverbank. Beasts were hurled against the walls, their charge shattered again and again.
Roman advanced.
He no longer needed to chase individual targets.
He cut through entire formations.
A cluster of beasts rushed him from the front.
He brought the katana down.
BOOOOM!
The stone beneath them split.
A shockwave swept across the ground, throwing the entire group backward.
Roman stepped through the dust and continued forward, his blade trailing red lightning.
A beast leapt toward his head.
He turned the katana and struck it aside.
Another lunged for his legs.
He swept the blade low.
Three more charged from his right.
He rotated, releasing a circular burst of scarlet energy that cleared the space around him.
The red katana moved like an extension of his arm.
There was no wasted effort.
No hesitation.
Only a continuous sequence of strikes that dismantled the advancing horde.
From his position on the rocks, Fury watched the battlefield through his extraordinary perception.
The number of beasts was finally decreasing.
But something had changed.
The creatures still pouring from the distant passages were beginning to retreat.
Not because Roman and the others had frightened them.
They were moving away from something behind them.
Fury's ears flattened.
His perception stretched toward the deepest section of the cavern.
For the first time since entering the tunnels, he detected something that made him go completely still.
A presence.
Vast.
Dense.
And fundamentally different from the creatures surrounding them.
Fury turned sharply toward Roman.
He squeaked.
Roman heard him but was still cutting through the last advancing group.
"Lunar! Sylver! Anya!"
His voice carried across the cavern.
"Finish them!"
Lunar responded immediately.
Purple lightning burst around his body as he accelerated through the remaining beasts, striking them down in rapid succession.
Sylver raised both hands.
The river surged upward, forming a towering wave that swept the creatures away from the centre of the cavern.
Anya extended her palm.
The remaining beasts became impossibly heavy, their bodies crashing to the ground as the wave struck them.
Roman brought his katana across his body.
Red lightning gathered along the blade.
He released one final slash.
A massive crescent of scarlet energy tore across the cavern, swallowing the last cluster of beasts in a brilliant flash.
The shockwave rolled through the underground hollow.
Then silence fell.
Water dripped from the ceiling.
Dust settled over the shattered stone.
The battlefield was littered with fallen creatures, broken rocks, and deep grooves carved into the cavern floor.
Roman stood in the centre of it all, his red katana resting at his side.
The blade continued to glow.
He exhaled slowly and glanced around.
"Everyone alright?"
Sylver nodded.
Anya wiped her blade before sheathing it.
Lunar stood atop a boulder, his purple aura fading as he surveyed the cleared battlefield.
No one had been seriously injured.
The horde had simply been too large to ignore, forcing them to use more power than they had intended.
Roman looked toward Fury.
The squirrel hadn't moved from his elevated position.
His attention remained fixed on the far end of the cavern.
Roman's expression changed.
"What is it?"
Fury slowly turned his head toward the darkness beyond the river.
A heavy footstep echoed through the cavern.
BOOM.
The water rippled.
Another footstep followed.
BOOM.
A distant stone pillar trembled, shedding fragments of rock.
Lunar stepped down from the boulder.
Sylver moved closer to Roman.
Anya's fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword.
The beasts had not been fleeing from the group.
They had been fleeing from whatever was coming.
A low growl rolled through the darkness.
It was deeper than anything they had heard from the horde, resonating through the cavern until the very stones beneath their feet seemed to vibrate.
Then two enormous eyes opened in the darkness.
A cold, unnatural light spilled across the far wall.
The creature emerged slowly.
Its body was enormous, towering above the low-level beasts scattered across the cavern. Thick armour-like scales covered its limbs, and curved horns rose from its skull. Strange markings glowed beneath its hide, pulsing with an energy that did not resemble ordinary aura.
Every step it took left cracks in the stone.
Roman's grip tightened around his katana.
For the first time that night, he felt the difference immediately.
This wasn't another ordinary danger beast.
This creature possessed an ability that the others had not.
A magical-ranked beast.
It lowered its enormous head, its glowing eyes fixing on the four intruders.
The creature opened its jaws.
A surge of strange energy distorted the air around its mouth.
Fury retreated behind Roman's shoulder.
Lunar drew both short swords.
Anya unsheathed her silver blade.
Sylver raised her circular shield, silver light gathering around its rim.
Roman stepped forward, placing himself at the front of the group.
His red katana crackled with lightning.
The beast stared directly at him.
Then it roared.
GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
The cavern shook violently.
Water exploded upward from the river. Dust poured from the ceiling, and the last surviving low-level beasts scattered into the surrounding tunnels.
Roman planted his boots against the stone.
His red aura flared.
The beast lowered its body, preparing to attack.
Roman raised his katana.
A fierce grin spread across his face beneath the shadow of his hood.
"Alright," he muttered. "Let's see what you've got."
The magical-ranked beast lunged.
And the cavern erupted.
....
A/N: We have reached the 100th chapter. But the story is just beginning....
TBC