When they finally reached the summit, they found a hidden temple courtyard concealed behind thick trees and tangled undergrowth. Before their eyes lay a hexagonal stone terrace, though many of its slabs had crumbled with age. At its center stood a temple structure, almost intact despite the cracks and wild plants clinging to every surface.
"I didn't expect a place like this to be here," Arya murmured, sweeping his flashlight around.
Before anyone could reply, the sharp scent of incense and seven kinds of flowers drifted from within the temple. The smell was so strong it forced them to cover their noses.
"Someone's been here recently," Dio said quietly, his eyes scanning every shadow of the courtyard.
Nagini stood still, her gaze locked on the temple with icy sharpness. This place… it was supposed to stay sealed. Who opened it?
Arya stepped forward onto the terrace, Rika following hesitantly at his side. Dio kept watch at the rear, while Nagini moved with calm but wary precision.
As the four of them entered the courtyard together, strange things began to happen. A faint purple light seeped from the cracks between the stones beneath their feet. The glow pulsed slowly, like the breath of a living thing, growing brighter with every beat.
"What is this?" Arya whispered, his voice trembling.
Before anyone could answer, a deafening boom split the air, shaking the ground beneath them. The stones of the courtyard trembled, some splitting wider with sharp cracks.
Rika shrieked and clutched Arya's arm, while Dio instinctively gripped the hilt of his keris. Nagini stood tall, her eyes narrowing as she read the unseen currents around them.
Then came laughter—loud, thunderous, and monstrous. The sound was deep and terrible, as if it belonged to something far larger than a man. The vibration of that laughter pressed on the air, heavy enough to force them to stillness.
"That laugh..." Nagini muttered under her breath. "This isn't just any creature. This is one of the Buto."
Rika clung tighter to Arya, trembling. "Buto? What do you mean? That's… that's real?" she asked, panic in her voice.
Arya tried to calm her, though his own face betrayed fear. Dio stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Nagini. His eyes were steady, though his grip on the keris tightened.
"If it's a Buto, why was it sealed here?" Dio asked in a low, firm tone.
Nagini turned her head slightly toward him. "Not sealed," she replied, voice sharp. "Freed."
Her eyes returned to the temple, where the purple glow was now spilling from within, growing more intense.
"We must prepare ourselves," Nagini said at last, her voice like iron. "Whatever slumbered here... is awake now."
Another boom shook the ground, followed by that monstrous laughter, closer this time—closer and hungrier.
"Buto or not, I think we're in big trouble," Arya said, trying to mask his fear with humor. No one laughed.
The purple light from the cracks blazed brighter, casting their tense faces in an otherworldly glow. From inside the temple came the sound of heavy footsteps, as if something vast was making its way out.
Nagini moved to the front, her eyes cold and resolute. Rika clutched Arya's arm desperately. "We can still get out of here, right?" she whispered, voice trembling.
Arya forced a smile, though it was fragile. "As long as we're together, we'll make it."
But in their hearts, each of them knew: whatever waited inside that temple was not something they could face without a fight. The laughter echoed again, promising a night unlike anything they had ever known.
BOOM!A thunderous crash erupted outside the temple, jolting them all. Their eyes snapped toward the source—and what emerged from the darkness was worse than anything they had imagined.
From the shadows came a giant. Its body was grotesquely muscular, like an ogre, with the head of a massive wild boar. Its skin was covered in scars and gashes, but most horrifying of all was the necklace of human skulls dangling around its neck. The skulls clattered with every step, as though mocking the lives it had claimed.
"What do you want?" Dio demanded, voice firm as he placed himself before the group, hiding his unease.
The creature gave no answer. Instead, it raised a massive cleaver—far too heavy for a man, yet wielded in its grip as if it were light as wood. Its burning red eyes glared with pure hatred. Without warning, the monster swung down.
"MOVE!" Dio shouted.
Arya and Rika scattered, running for cover as the cleaver slammed into the ground, shaking the courtyard to its core. Dio drew his keris in a single motion, and the blade flared with a blinding white light—brighter than ever before.
"Not the talkative type, huh?" Dio muttered, bracing himself.
The Buto boar swung again, but Dio met the strike head-on. Sparks of energy erupted each time keris and cleaver collided, as though two opposing forces of nature were clashing. Dio tried to recite the annihilation mantra, but the beast gave him no chance.
Meanwhile, Arya and Rika circled the courtyard, searching for a way out. But their steps came to a halt when they collided with an invisible barrier.
"What the hell? We can't get out!" Arya shouted, panic rising in his chest.
"It's a trap!" Rika screamed, her voice echoing.
Dio heard them, but his focus never wavered. "Damn it. But this isn't the presence I felt before..." he muttered between gritted teeth as he fended off another swing.
Nagini, however, did not join the fight. She stood motionless, her gaze fixed on the temple. Her eyes burned with focus, as if waiting for something far worse than the beast before them. Slowly, she raised her hand—and in a flash, released a surge of energy at the temple.
"Face me... or return to your prison!" her voice thundered, resonant like a divine command.
Dio spared her a glance, frustration flashing in his eyes. "What the hell is that old serpent doing?" he growled. He was tiring fast; the Buto's relentless swings were growing wilder, nearly overwhelming him.
The air grew heavy, suffocating. A crushing aura blanketed them, making every breath a struggle. Arya collapsed, falling hard onto the stones.
"ARYA!" Rika cried, rushing to his side. She knelt beside him, her hands trembling as she shook his shoulders.
"I… I can't breathe…" Arya choked, froth spilling at the corners of his mouth as if invisible hands were strangling him.
"This is just like before," Rika whispered, panic coursing through her. "Stay with me, Arya! You can make it, right?"
But Arya's eyes began to glaze, his focus slipping away.
Dio saw the boy faltering and clenched his teeth. With a furious strike, he parried the Buto's blow and shouted toward Nagini. "NAGINI! I NEED YOU NOW!"
But she didn't move. She stood transfixed, energy pouring from her body into the temple itself.
From deep within, the rumble grew louder—louder and darker than before. The purple light blazed so brightly it nearly blinded them.
"He's… rising," Nagini whispered, her voice trembling.
"WHO?!" Dio roared, fury spilling into his words as he struggled to hold the line.
The answer came in the form of laughter again—this time deeper, darker, more terrifying than the Buto's. It rolled through the night like thunder from the abyss, shaking every stone and every bone.
Nagini opened her eyes at last. For the first time, her face bore not indifference, but rage.
"The Guardian of Darkness."