The air was heavy with tension and damp with the earthy scent of moss and decay as Alex stood at the entrance of the cave. Beside him, Trisha—the ever-lethal Assassin-class prodigy—and Callum, the sharp-eyed Ranger who'd long since adapted to their rhythm. This was the final lair. The last pocket of evil festering in the mountain's belly.
The jungle around them was thick and damp, with vines twisting from tree to tree like nature's own spiderwebs. Birds had long stopped singing here, and the air held a kind of nervous silence that made the skin prickle.
For the past three nights, they had combed the jungle like phantom predators, ridding it of every night creature they could find. Each skirmish had sharpened their coordination to a blade's edge. Alex acted as the tank who lured enemies into range. Trisha dealt death from the shadows. And Callum, the sniper, picked off threats from afar. Their battles had become an elegant, deadly dance—synchronized, calculated, and devastating.
Tonight, they weren't just facing another skirmish. The sentient map pulsing in their mind warned of a dense concentration of dark energy within the cavern ahead. They all felt it—like a thick pressure on their skin. This wasn't just a nest. It was a throne room—it was the final one. The apex.
"Guys, this is it," Alex said, his voice steady. "I can sense massive dark energy coming from this cave. That means, not only in terms of number, there are powerful creatures inside."
Trisha's eyes gleamed. "Are you saying we're going to fight with a boss-level monster in there?"
"Yes," Alex nodded. "I encountered their kind in the mountains of Quezon. They're ancient creatures, survivors from the old world. They're the ones responsible for all the evil monsters roaming the mountains. They spread their seeds all around the world."
Trisha made a face. "Ew. Gross imagery."
"They use their offspring like soldiers," Alex continued. "Or more like servants. Born inside the Dome, they're weaker—but still dangerous. The parents, though... they stay hidden inside these deep caves, afraid of something or someone."
Callum frowned, resting his bow on his shoulder. "But what are they afraid of? I thought they were powerful."
"They're not as powerful as they used to be," Alex replied. "Spending thousands of years in hiding does that. Time dulls even the sharpest blades."
The three stood in silence for a moment, each trying to picture what sort of ancient force could make monsters tremble.
"Well," Trisha said finally, flipping her ponytail like a pre-battle ritual, "whatever the reason for their self-exile, it turned out for the better. Imagine if they were the ones terrorizing the mountains. There'd be trails of dead bodies everywhere."
"Maybe you're right," Alex agreed. "But as long as they're alive, they'll keep spreading their corruption for their gain."
Callum spat into the dirt. "Good point. That's why we're here. Let's put an end to all those ugly creatures loitering around these forests."
Trisha pumped her fist. "Alrighty then—let's kill Boss Ugly!"
They descended slowly, according to plan.
The walls of the cave flickered in orange hues, revealing ancient carvings that looked almost… intelligent. Not just scribbles, but symbols—writings from another era. The air smelled like old stone and the remnants of something rotten, something left to fester.
They ventured deeper, footsteps echoing with the crunch of grit under their boots. The narrow tunnel eventually widened into a large chamber with high ceilings dripping with roots and stalactites. A sound echoed faintly through the air—a strange humming, like the growl of a beast hiding its breath.
"This place is way too quiet," Callum muttered, arrow nocked and ready.
"Not for long," Trisha whispered. "They're watching us."
Alex stopped suddenly and raised his hand. "There," he pointed to the upper ledge. "Movement."
From the shadows emerged two goblin-like creatures, their skin a sickly green, eyes glowing red with hatred. They hissed and leapt forward—but were met with swift violence. Callum's arrow pierced one between the eyes before it hit the ground. Kael lunged at the other, knocking it back and slashing across its belly with a snarl.
"Nice shot," Alex said as he formed two fireballs and hurled them deeper into the chamber. The walls lit up, revealing a dozen more creatures crawling from holes in the rock.
"Well, so much for a warm-up," Trisha said, drawing her dual daggers. She dashed forward in a blur, slicing through the next wave of enemies like a shadow dancing in firelight.
Alex focused, summoning sharp stone spikes from the floor to impale advancing monsters. "Stay close! They're trying to separate us!"
Callum covered the flank, shooting arrows so quickly it was like watching a sewing machine with a grudge. "These things just keep coming!"
"Hold your ground!" Alex shouted. "This isn't the main fight yet—these are just guards!"
From every crevice, eyes opened—glowing red with fury. Two nightcrawlers pounced, their claws aimed at Alex's chest. He hurled the fireball at them mid-leap, the blast illuminating the cave in a violent burst as the creatures were engulfed in flame.
More followed, creeping forward with slow, menacing movements. Others charged, only to be met by Trisha's blades. She seemed to materialize behind them like a whisper of death—slashing, spinning, vanishing into the shadows.
Those that tried to flank were promptly shot down by Callum's arrows, each one deadly and precise. The few that made it close to Alex were torn apart by wind blades or smashed by his stone-infused fists. Some were slashed with his dagger, swift and final.
Their advance into the cave felt more like a performance than a battle—Alex drawing fire, Trisha dancing through the dark with silent kills, and Callum covering the blind spots like a ghost with perfect aim.
The deeper they went, the fiercer the resistance. But the trio had become a machine—flawless in execution.
The battle lasted several minutes, but they were seasoned now—coordinated and efficient. When the last goblin hit the floor with a thud, Alex wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Now that," Callum said, catching his breath, "was the kind of cardio I didn't sign up for."
"You know," Trisha added, kicking a goblin corpse out of her path, "for ancient monsters, they sure like to hide behind a bunch of cannon fodder."
"They're protecting something," Alex said. "Their nest, or maybe their leader."
They pushed on, Kael always at the front. The next tunnel sloped downward steeply, winding like a serpent's belly. At the bottom, the temperature dropped noticeably.
Then, at last, they reached the sanctum.
A vast cavern opened up before them, shaped like a cathedral sculpted by nature's slow, cruel hand, with a pulsating mound of organic material at the center—an egg sac the size of a truck. It glowed faintly blue and black, as if alive with cursed energy.
Stalactites hung like the fangs of gods from the ceiling, and in the clearing, dozens of night creatures stood in eerie silence—watching.
They waited.
And then it came.
A hand broke through the ground, massive and grotesque. Then a head emerged, unnaturally large—bigger than the wheel of a ten-wheeler truck. Its basketball-sized eyes bulged with slimy rage. Its face, a mess of disproportioned features, connected to a body lean and towering, ending in legs like a monstrous cow. Six-fingered claws flexed with anticipation.
The creatures around it howled in a frenzy, as if worshipping their king.
"You've come far, Terrans," the creature said, its voice low and ancient. "But you've trespassed into a sacred nursery."
Alex stepped forward. "Your children have murdered innocent and helpless people. That ends now."
The monster chuckled darkly. "And yet your kind did the same when your empires rose. We are not so different."
"We're nothing alike," Trisha snapped, already circling to flank. "You crawl in caves and breed evil."
"I am Gar'mavak," the creature announced, beating its chest. "Born in the time before domes, I walked the old earth before your ancestors climbed down from the trees."
The monster's enormous head slowly turned, eyes locking on Alex. For a heartbeat, it simply studied him—then, without warning, unleashed a shriek so shrill and violent it rang through the cave like a bomb. Any normal human would have collapsed, bleeding from the ears.
Alex only winced.
The boss creature blinked, startled. It screamed again, doubling the volume, but Alex remained still, unfazed. A faint smirk curled at the corner of his mouth, mocking.
"Was that your best shot?"
Furious, the beast leapt up to the ceiling, tore down a stalactite the size of a tree trunk, and hurled it with terrifying speed toward Alex.
"Earth Wall!" Alex shouted, slamming his palm into the stone.
A wall of rock surged up just in time to catch the projectile, shattering into rubble on impact. Alex had already dashed to the side, dodging the debris. The creature let out a booming laugh, believing its target buried—only to be caught off guard by three flaming orbs, each the size of a watermelon, roaring toward it.
The first two missed, but the third struck its shoulder, searing flesh and drawing a scream so loud it made the minions quake.
The boss battle had begun.