The sunlight poured into the safehouse windows far too early for comfort.
Inigo groaned as he rubbed his eyes and sat up from the bedroll he barely rembered collapsing into. His muscles ached from the temple fight two days ago. His head throbbed slightly from last night’s tavern revelry. But even so—there was sothing refreshing about waking up with a title like S-Rank Adventurer behind his na.
Lyra entered the room carrying a wrapped breakfast roll and a mug of steaming tea.
"Morning, Captain," she teased, setting both beside him. "Thought I’d see you sleeping till noon."
"Didn’t want to give Thorne the satisfaction of dragging out of bed," Inigo muttered, accepting the mug gratefully. "Thanks."
She sat across from him, bow resting against her shoulder. "He left a ssage this morning. There’s another assignnt. Official request."
Inigo arched an eyebrow. "Already?"
"Apparently there’s trouble in Blackwater Pass. Missing convoys, livestock vanishing, rchant wagons overturned with no survivors. The usual signs."
He sipped the tea. "Bandits?"
"That’s what the locals assud. But they sent a recon team last week. Only found a crater full of lted iron."
Inigo froze mid-sip. "Co again?"
"Not scorched. lted. Like it had been hit with liquid fire. The road was gone. Half the forest too."
He set the mug down and stood, suddenly wide awake.
"Get the squad. We’re leaving by noon."
—
The Blackwater Pass lay nestled between two towering ridgelines west of Kaldris, a trade artery that linked the city to the remote mountain villages and ore-rich mining towns. For years, the route had been stable. Guard patrols, guild outposts, and regular rchant traffic made it one of the safer corridors.
Until last week.
Sark leaned out the JLTV’s passenger-side window as they approached the first checkpoint, chewing on a strip of dried at.
"Place looks abandoned," he muttered.
Feron nodded from the rear. "No mage wards active. The glyph posts are dark."
"Eyes up," Inigo ordered, one hand on the wheel. "This isn’t just another highway patrol."
The second JLTV, driven by Hal, trailed close behind. Lyra stood in the top hatch, scanning the treeline through her scope.
Thirty minutes later, they found the crater.
It was exactly as described.
The road ended abruptly in a twisted ss of lted stone and slag. A deep depression in the earth spread outward like a massive impact site. Whatever happened here had left no clear signs—no scorch marks from magic, no mana residue. Just... heat. Pure, unnatural heat.
ryl crouched and examined the edge with her gloved fingers. "This isn’t fire magic. Not even a dragon’s breath would liquefy the stone like this."
Brenna circled around to a shattered wagon axle buried half-lted in the dirt. "Sothing hit here. From above."
"Or tunneled up," Feron offered grimly.
Inigo walked toward the center and kicked at a blackened shield, its steel warped like wax. "Set up a periter. I want seismic readers placed around the ridge. Sark—heat sensors on every outpost post we can spare. Lyra, you’re on overwatch."
As the squad moved, Inigo activated his shortwave transmitter. The antenna extended with a soft click, and he tuned to Guild frequency.
"Command, this is S-Rank squad Viper-One. We’ve reached the anomaly site. Crater confird. Proceeding with recon sweep of the lower basin. Standing by for support."
A few seconds later, Thorne’s voice crackled back.
"Understood, Viper-One. No other squads will be deployed until your report. Exercise extre caution. We’ve marked the area A-Rank Unidentified Entity Threat. Good luck."
Inigo clipped the mic back onto his vest and turned to the team. "We move in staggered formation. Weapons hot. If you see sothing you can’t identify—do not engage alone."
Lyra slung her bow over her shoulder and dropped into a crouch beside him. "Want scouting the southern trail?"
"Go. Shadow pattern. Check back every five minutes."
She vanished into the trees like smoke.
Feron activated a tracking spell as the group descended into the lower basin, but again, the readings were erratic. Mana drifted here in strange, broken pulses—as if the leylines themselves had been scarred.
Then they heard it.
A sound like tal groaning. Not from above—but beneath.
"Seismic ping!" Sark called out, pointing to a handheld screen. "Sothing’s moving underground. Big. East quadrant, two hundred ters."
"In position!" Lyra’s voice ca over the comm. "I see shifting earth near the creek bed. It’s—wait—sothing’s surfacing!"
The ground exploded.
From the dirt erupted a massive chitin-covered creature—like an insect, but with a molten orange glow leaking from its plates. Its mandibles clicked, and steam hissed from its back.
It let out a tallic screech and lunged.
"Incoming!" Inigo shouted.
He raised his assault rifle and opened fire, aiming for the glowing joints. The bullets sparked off its hardened shell, but the heat-sensitive spots hissed and flared on impact.
"Focus fire on the vents!" he barked.
ryl dropped into a kneeling stance and launched a high-velocity grenade into the creature’s torso. The blast staggered it, causing a plu of steam to erupt from its back.
Hal flanked right and fired a shotgun slug into one of its legs, forcing it to stumble.
Lyra, now on high ground, loosed an arrow tipped with a freezing compound—impacting just beneath the creature’s eye ridge and cracking the plating.
Sark charged forward with his warhamr, smashing the sa spot with a crunch.
The beast shrieked.
Inigo quickly slung his rifle and pulled the RPG from his back.
"Clear back!"
The team ducked. Inigo fired.
The rocket struck center mass, triggering a chain reaction. The creature screeched one last ti before erupting into steam and molten fragnts, collapsing into the dirt.
For a mont, no one spoke.
Then Brenna muttered, "That wasn’t a bandit."
Feron stepped forward and examined the remains, taking a small sample. "It’s not native. No known species. Mana readings are... corrupted. Not necrotic like the temple. This is sothing else."
Lyra rejoined them, panting. "I saw at least two more tunnels forming in the distance. Whatever that was—it’s not alone."
Inigo stared at the hole the creature ca from. "We just found the tip of the spear."
—
Back at the mobile camp, Inigo sent the first wave of findings to the Guild via encrypted relay. Guildmaster Thorne responded imdiately.
"Preliminary analysis suggests these are thermal burrowers—previously undocunted. Possible mutation or off-world entity. I’m marking the zone as A-Rank Containnt Protocol. Expect reinforcents in 48 hours. Hold position. Prevent further spread."
Inigo looked at his team.
Dirty. Bloodied. Still recovering from the last mission.
And already in another war.
"You heard the man," he said. "This is now a containnt op. We hold the pass. Set up sensors, reinforce the JLTV periter, and prep for nightfall."
Lyra stretched her arms with a wince. "So no ale tonight?"
"No ale," Inigo replied.
"Just monsters," Sark muttered, hauling ammo crates toward the encampnt edge.
As the sun dipped below the ridgeline and the stars ca out, the Blackwater Pass fell silent.
But beneath their feet... sothing moved.
And it was only a matter of ti before it rose again.
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