Hase's machine gun roared, each burst flashing in the thick fog as a Yatzul charged in, spines rattling and jaws wide. The rounds punched into its chest and shoulder, scales splintering, blood spraying in thick, hot streams onto the water below.
The creature shrieked, a high, metallic scream that echoed off into the empty air, before it turned, stumbling back into the mist, dragging its mangled limb behind it.
The squad held their breath, weapons aimed, waiting for it to come again.
But it didn't.
Instead, the fog swallowed the creature, and for a heartbeat there was nothing but the frantic breathing of the soldiers.
Then, a deep, low roar rolled through the fog, vibrating in their bones like the growl of a breaking mountain.
It was different. Not like the shrieks of the other Yatzuls.
The wounded creature's panicked, rasping screeches followed, high and sharp, cutting through the fog in rapid, terrified bursts.
Another roar answered, closer, so deep it rattled the rocks around them.
The Yatzul's shrieks rose in pitch, sharper, more frantic.
Then came the wet, heavy crunch of bone snapping, sudden and final, followed by a sound like meat being torn apart, splashes echoing as something big moved.
Silence fell, broken only by the drip of water and the distant hum of the vents.
Then, slow, heavy footsteps moved in the shallows beyond the fog, too heavy, too deliberate, each step sending ripples across the water.
The soldiers froze, rifles aimed at the fog, the quiet dripping into their ears like the ticking of a countdown.
Hase's finger trembled on the trigger. Horuichi's jaw tightened as he held up a hand, signaling the men to hold fire.
The footsteps stopped, just beyond the edge of their vision.
Water dripped, steam curled, and the fog seemed to breathe around them.
Something was out there, standing in the mist, waiting, watching.
A raspy, rattling screech tore through the fog, metallic and scraping, the sound vibrating in their chests.
Then came the slow, deliberate steps. A scraping hiss with each claw as it moved, stone shrieking under the razor tips, followed by the sound of heavy limbs shifting weight.
Horuichi's hand tightened on his rifle, sweat sliding down his cheek as he held the squad back. They watched, half-hidden behind the rocks, eyes straining in the gloom.
The mist parted, just enough for them to see it.
It was huge.
Built almost identically to the other Yatzuls - but much larger, almost the size of a whole house, maybe bigger.
It loomed it's eyeless head over another of its brethren's corpses, making low growls as it examined the body.
Then it bit down.
The wet, cracking crunch of bones snapping filled the fog, followed by the sound of flesh tearing as the alpha Yatzul's serrated maw sheared the carcass in half. It lifted its head, strands of sinew and chunks of meat hanging from its jaws, steam hissing off the blood as it swallowed.
The squad held still, breath shallow, eyes wide.
Then it turned toward them.
It took a step, claws sinking into the stone floor, and sniffed the air with a soft, metallic rattle.
Another step.
The younger soldier's boot slipped, splashing water.
The creature's head snapped toward them, tail twitching with a crack like a whip.
Then, in a blur of glowing red and raw muscle, it lunged.
'FIRE!' Horuichi screamed.
Gunfire erupted in the fog, muzzle flashes strobing as bullets hammered into the charging mass of red glow and slick flesh. Each impact sent ripples of light through its body, like striking liquid embers beneath skin, but it didn't stop, claws tearing gouges in the floor as it closed the distance.
Its tail lashed, slicing through a soldier's arm, sending the limb spinning into the water, the man's scream choking off as he fell backward.
The alpha roared, a low, booming thunder that rattled teeth, and kept coming.
Bullets punched into its shoulders and chest, tearing away chunks of glowing tissue, but it powered forward, the steam around it turning pink with the mist of its blood.
'Move! MOVE!' Horuichi roared, shoving a man aside as the creature lunged, jaws snapping down onto another soldier's torso, the crunch loud, the screams louder.
The squad scattered, water splashing, bullets still slamming into the monster as it thrashed, shaking the corpse like a ragdoll before throwing it aside with a wet smack against the rocks.
Hase flipped the machine gun around, unloading a line of heavy rounds into its flank, glowing red blood spraying as the creature staggered, its shriek rising in pitch, claws digging into the metal to brace itself.
The alpha's head twisted toward the sound of the gun, jaws opening wide, steam pouring from within as it hissed, preparing to lunge again.
The air was alive with gunfire, screams, and the hiss of the creature's glowing wounds as the squad fought desperately to stop it from tearing them all apart.
'Hase, FALL BACK!' Horuichi screamed, shoving one of the younger soldiers forward as the Alpha's raspy screech split the fog, its glowing silhouette pushing through the hail of bullets like a living storm.
Hase's jaw clenched, eyes wild as he racked the belt on his machine gun, slamming it back into place.
'GO! I'LL HOLD IT!' he bellowed.
The squad hesitated, torn between orders and the looming beast now stalking sideways, following the vibrations of their boots as they scrambled over wet rocks.
Hase fired.
The machine gun roared, muzzle flashes strobed through the steam as he walked backward into the fog, boots splashing in the thin layer of water, the heavy rounds tearing glowing chunks from the Alpha's shoulders and chest, bursts of red mist hissing and sizzling in the damp air.
The Alpha turned, eyeless head cocking toward the thundering gun, tail twitching like a serpent ready to strike.
'Hase, NO!' one of the younger soldiers yelled, but Horuichi grabbed him, pulling him back.
'He's buying us time, MOVE!' Horuichi barked, dragging the kid as the rest of the squad broke from the rock formation, sprinting across the shallow water, breaths ragged, adrenaline spiking.
Behind them, the fog swallowed Hase's figure as he advanced, weapon still firing, the sound echoing across the ruined cavern.
'C'MON, YOU UGLY FUCK!' Hase screamed, voice cracking as he fired another burst, brass casings raining around him, clinking off the rocks and splashing into the water.
The Alpha prowled forward, slow at first, then with a sudden surge, lunging low to the ground, claws scraping deep gouges as it closed the distance.
Hase's gun clicked empty.
He dropped the empty belt, yanking the trigger as it clicked repeatedly.
Steam parted for a moment as the Alpha's jaws opened, the glow from its body lighting up its serrated maw.
Hase's last breath was a defiant snarl as he raised the machine gun like a club, swinging aggressively.
The Alpha bit down.
There was a wet, explosive crunch as the creature's jaws crushed through Hase's torso, ripping the top half of his body clean off in a spray of steam, blood, and glowing mist. The lower half collapsed into the water, twitching as the Alpha chewed once, twice, before swallowing, flesh and bone sinking into its glowing maw.
The rest of the squad heard it - the crunch, the single, muffled scream - and kept running, boots splashing, tears mixing with sweat on their faces as they cleared the last rocks, pushing back into the mist.
Behind them, the fog rippled with the sound of heavy, deliberate footsteps, water shifting under the weight of the Alpha as it turned, sniffing the air, confused by the lack of vibrations in the direction of the squad's retreat.
Hase had bought them precious seconds.
Horuchi didn't look back.
'Keep moving,' he growled, voice shaking but steady, as the squad disappeared into the steam, the echo of the Alpha's metallic breath fading into the distance.
Chapter 45 - end