The carriage rumbled to a stop.
Outside the reinforced walls of Elandra, the forest lood—dark, silent, and heavy with anticipation. Valegrove wasn’t known for being quiet, not even at sunrise. But now, not even the birds dared chirp.
Strike Team Alpha disembarked one by one. Kael was the first to step down, eyes scanning the terrain with the precision of a seasoned commander. Darius followed without a word, dragging his massive shield behind him. Shade was already gone the mont the door cracked open—no one even saw him leave. Marianne helped Reina down next, while Inigo and Lyra took up the rear.
A few ters ahead, nestled between the roots of a jagged cliff face, was the rift.
It shimred like a vertical pool of dark liquid glass, humming with quiet nace. Occasional pulses of blue and violet light danced across its surface like veins.
"That’s it," Kael said, drawing his blade. "Weapons out. No telling what’s on the other side."
Inigo activated his active combat uniform but no weapons yet and Lyra notched an arrow into her longbow.
"Ohh...so that’s your ability huh? To change clothes?" Shade comnted.
"Yeah, kind of like it," Inigo replied nonchalantly.
One by one, they passed through the rift.
Inigo braced for madness. For swirling skies, floating platforms, or so distorted dinsion like the descriptions Elise had once given of unstable gates.
But instead, he stepped into darkness.
A cave. Massive. Echoing. Cold.
The ground beneath his boots was solid stone. The air slled of iron and rot. Dripping water echoed from unseen corners. The rift shimred silently behind them.
He blinked, eyes adjusting to the dim blue glow of bioluminescent crystals jutting from the cave walls.
"So much for floating islands," Inigo said.
"Rifts are unpredictable," Marianne said softly. "This one seems to mimic an underground system."
Kael was already moving ahead, sword held in front. "Stay sharp. Formation: Darius up front, Reina and Marianne in center, Shade flanking left. Inigo, Lyra—rear."
No argunts. The team shifted into motion.
The cave was long and winding. Cracks in the wall occasionally let in shafts of pale blue light from above. But the deeper they went, the fewer of those openings remained.
It was only ten minutes in when the first attack ca.
A faint whistling sound—then a sharp cry from Reina. "Above!"
Kael didn’t hesitate. He raised his sword and with a single sweeping arc of steel, deflected two arrows mid-flight. The clanging sound of tal-on-tal echoed through the cavern.
The team looked up.
Shapes crouched along the ledges.
Lizard-like. Scaly. Hunched.
Draconutes.
Their limbs were thin, but their torsos thick and armored with jagged bone-like plates. Their faces were long, mouths filled with curved teeth, and most held crude but deadly bows carved from horn.
One of them snarled—a dry, rasping sound—and let loose another volley.
Kael stepped forward. "Darius, shield!"
Darius lifted the massive slab of iron on his arm just in ti, catching a rain of arrows ant for Reina and Marianne.
Shade blurred into motion, leaping up toward the ledge like a shadow set loose.
Kael turned to Inigo and Lyra. "Stand back. Let us handle this."
Lyra’s brow twitched. Inigo gave a subtle shrug.
They watched.
Kael moved like a tempest—parrying and lunging, cutting down a Draconute that dropped from above. Darius took up the front, absorbing arrows with his shield while knocking one enemy clean across the cavern with a bash. Reina chanted under her breath, launching bolts of searing mana that exploded on contact. Shade danced from shadow to shadow, slitting throats and vanishing before the next enemy could turn.
It was clean.
Efficient.
Deadly.
Inigo watched, quietly noting how each of them moved. They weren’t just strong—they were practiced. Sharpened. A team.
Still, a part of him burned.
He didn’t like standing still.
As the last archer dropped, Reina lowered her staff and grinned. "Whew! Not bad for a warm-up."
Darius grunted. "Too many for scouts."
"ans we’re close," Kael said. "Or soone’s guarding sothing."
They pressed on.
The cave narrowed and then widened again, revealing what looked like an open chasm. Bioluminescent moss clung to the far walls, casting ghostly patterns on the jagged stone. Stalactites hung like blades from the ceiling.
Then ca the next wave.
Not archers.
These were larger.
Draconutes again—but this ti, their bodies were bulkier, more muscular. No bows. Just clenched fists the size of hamrs, and crude iron bracers around their forearms.
They charged.
Kael imdiately raised a hand. "Inigo. Lyra. Stay back."
Inigo opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
He nodded once.
Lyra looked like she wanted to argue—but after a second, she turned away and leaned against the wall, arrow still nocked but lowered.
The battle began.
Darius t the charge head-on. His shield clanged as the first Draconute struck him with a punch that cracked the stone beneath his feet. Kael dashed around him, aiming for pressure points—knees, necks, spines. Reina summoned barriers of fla to slow their movent, while Shade slipped past them to land critical strikes to their kidneys and hearts.
Marianne stood still, murmuring blessings that lit her hands. Darius glowed faintly, his movents quicker now—less sluggish.
The monsters hit harder. They were faster. But Strike Team Alpha was faster still.
Inigo watched, his eyes sharp.
They were good. Damn good.
But so was he.
And yet, here he stood. Sidelined. Watching.
He swallowed the bitterness rising in his throat.
Let them have their show.
For now.
Lyra crossed her arms, whispering, "How long are we supposed to watch?"
"Until they say otherwise," Inigo replied.
She narrowed her eyes. "They’re testing us."
"Let them."
The last of the brute Draconutes fell with a thunderous crash.
Kael exhaled and raised his sword again. "Forward. There will be more."
No praise. No acknowledgnt.
Just orders.
And the march deeper into the unknown.
Inigo followed, silent.
But in his mind, a promise was already forming.
If they found themselves in danger, they would have to beg him for his help. Yes, sure they are strong but surely they are stronger forces inside this cave.
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