The break didn’t last long. They only rested long enough to take some potions and plan their next step.

“Am I right to assume that the last monster awaits us behind that door?” Walter asked.

“That’s how it was last time,” Astrid answered.

“And you say it’s a level three bear monster?”

“It looked like a bear, but I can’t be sure of the level. All I know is that it’s above two, as I couldn’t appraise it back then.”

“You mean we could face a monster that is stronger than that?” Villads said.

“Statistically, it's most likely to be a level three monster, but theoretically it could be higher,” Astrid said.

“I still don’t trust a word you are saying.”

“She is right. Most likely it’s a level three monster, but it is not guaranteed.” Walter said.

“What do we do if it's stronger? We’re hardly equipped to slay a level three monster as it is. If it’s something stronger, we don’t stand a chance at all.”

“We just have to prepare as well as we can and hope for the best,” Walter said. “Since Ina and I are both at level three in our fighting skill, we might have a chance. If the battle is more than we can handle, we’ll leave the room on the other side. That was an option, right?”

“Yes,” Astrid answered. “Last I was here, the bear was asleep, so I snuck past it and out the exit.”

“But then we won’t have cleared the dungeon, and all this will have been for nothing.” Ina said.

“Even a partial clear should have a positive impact. All the other monsters in the dungeon have been dealt with, so it will be a while before new monsters will escape the dungeon.”

“But if we don’t clear it completely, we’ll have to return.” Villads said.

“We would have to do that no matter what,” Walter said. “One clear is not enough to destroy a dungeon, but it will give us a break from the monsters terrorizing the countryside. Today, our primary objective is to get out of this dungeon alive.” He turned towards the door. “We have waited long enough. Everyone, get into formation. We’re going in.”

The others hurried to get to their assigned spots with Ina and Walter in the front and the rest in the back.

Walter pushed the door open. Carefully they made their way into the room, and the door closed behind them and disappeared. The room was like a cave with rocky walls and ground. High above, the stalactites hang from the ceiling. In the middle of the room, the enormous bear lay, eyes wide open, staring right at them. It moved, baring its teeth, and got up on its paws. Even on all fours it towered over them.

“I thought it was supposed to be asleep.” Kelan said.

“She properly lied about that too,” Villads said.

“Quiet. We need to focus on the fight in front of us,” Walter said.

The bear rushed towards them.

“Attack!” Walter ordered, sending a powerful magic blast towards the approaching monster. The other combat magicians did the same, and afterwards Ina went in slashing it with her sword.

The monster didn’t seem bothered by the barrage of attacks it had just suffered. It just sped up, closing the distance between them so fast they barely had time to react.

“Duck,” Walter ordered. Astrid and the others scrambled in all directions to get away from the charging bear. All thought of a cohesive fighting strategy was lost in the chaos as everyone ran, dodged, and attacked at random, trying to avoid getting mauled by the bear. Astrid was so busy trying to keep herself alive that she didn’t notice how the others were faring before it was too late.

The bear swiped its paw, and its dagger-like claws slashed through Filips’s torso. The force of the impact sent him flying across the room. He hit the wall with a sickening crack before falling to the ground. He didn’t move. Kelan rushed to Filip’s side without hesitation and began casting spells.

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“Spread out,” Walter ordered. “Attack the monster from every direction. And make sure to protect Kelan while he works.”

Astrid quickly did as she was ordered, and so did Ina, Brigitta, and Villads. For a while the new battle strategy seemed to work. Every time the monster went after one of them, all the others would grab its attention by attacking. Then after a few minutes the monster seemed to grow enraged and let out a powerful roar that shook the room.

Astrid covered her ears to protect them from the noise while fighting to stay on her feet as the ground under her feet quaked. It was a losing battle, and soon she had to sit down to not fall. She looked around. All the others were on the ground too.

Eventually the shaking stopped, probably along with the roar, but she couldn’t tell. All she could hear was a high-pitched ringing in her ears. She watched as the bear walked towards Kelan and Filip, who still hadn’t shown any sign of waking up.

Astrid struggled to her feet, finding it difficult to balance properly, but she knew she had to stop the monster from attacking. She cast the strongest fire blast she could manage, and it worked. She got the monster's attention. Now it was coming towards her instead, but that wasn’t a worry. The others had managed to get up as well, and soon they would attack the monster, making it change direction just like they had done before.

She waited in place while the monster rapidly got closer, but no one attacked it, and it kept coming closer. It raised itself to its hind legs just a few feet from her and swiped its massive paw right towards her head, and still, no one helped her.

At the last moment, she dodged under the paw, barely managing to avoid the claws, and used her staff to hit the bear right on the snout. It reared back its shout, bleeding profusely, and she took the opportunity to create more distance between them.

“Why didn’t anyone attack?” She shouted angrily.

“That plan is not going to work.” Walter shouted back.

“Well, you haven’t given any new orders, so how does everyone but me know that the plan has changed?”

No one answered. The realization hit her that none of the people in the room wanted to come to her aid when she needed it. Her whole body shook with anger, but before she could process her emotions, the bear unleashed its next attack. It opened its maw and let out another roar, this one louder than the last. The cave shook again, this time more violently. Astrid immediately lost her balance as the ground shifted beneath her. A loud crash reverberated through the room, followed by another. Large, sharp rocks smashed against the ground all around her as stalactites rained from the cave ceiling.

“Watch out!” Astrid shouted as she rolled out of the way of the sharp rock piece that crashed to the ground where her head had just been.

An ear-piercing scream drowned out the roar, and Astrid looked up at a horrifying sight. Ina lay on the ground, her lower body crushed under a massive piece of rock.

“No!” Walter shouted and rushed to her side. “Kelan, get over here. Hurry.” Kelan stopped attending to Filip and rushed over to the woman. As soon as the room stopped shaking, Astrid ran over there as well and kneeled by Ina’s side. Villads and Brigitta joined seconds later.

Ina’s breath was labored and raspy, her skin pale and sweaty. How could anyone survive getting crushed like that? Astrid couldn’t bear to look at Ina, so instead focused on the bear so it wouldn’t attack them again. Right now, it just stood across the room staring at them.

“I’m sorry.” Kelan said after a minute. “This wound is beyond my abilities to heal.”

“You have to help me,” Ina spurted out through choughs of blood.

“Don’t talk,” Walter said. “You must rest. We’ll get you to Largon, where there are more healers.”

“We can’t move her.” Kelan said. “The only thing keeping her from bleeding out is the rock pinning her to the ground. If we move it, she’ll die.”

“The monster's attacking again.” Astrid warned, as the bear slowly walked towards them, baring its large teeth.

“What do we do?” Brigitta said, looking between the monster and Walter.

“I don’t know.” Walter said, squeezing Ina’s hand. She wasn’t moving anymore, and Astrid was sure that she was gone. She looked over at Filip. He wasn’t moving either, so he was gone too. She couldn’t allow any more of her friends to die in this room. The bear was moving closer, and without Walter’s orders, they wouldn’t be able to fight coherently. She would take the lead in battle herself, but she doubted anyone would trust her with command. There was only one option left she could think of.

“We have to retreat,” she said. “I’ll hold the monster off while you get out of here.”

“What about Ina?” Walter asked. “We can’t just leave her here.”

“She’s dead,” Kelan said. “And we’ll be too in a moment if we don’t get out of here.”

The monster must have realized they were planning something as it began charging right at them. Astrid sprang into action without hesitation and cast a spell at the bear, grabbing its attention and luring it away from the others.

“Go now!” She shouted. “Hurry, I don’t know how long I can hold it off for.”

The others got up and moved towards the door. Kelan had to drag Walter away from Ina. There was no time to free her body. Villads and Brigitta went to retrieve Filip.

Focusing all her attention on the fight, Astrid swung her staff at the bear, aiming for the eyes and the snout while dodging under the sharp claws. It had her trapped in the corner farthest from the door, which was good for her fleeing teammates. She just had to hold on for a few more seconds, and they would be out. Then she would… she had no idea how she would get out of this one. The monster was too strong for her to fight on her own. She would hold out for a few minutes, and then she would die. The realization made her eyes burn, and it made it hard to concentrate on the fight. At least the rest of her friends would get out alive. Well, her former friends. She doubted they considered her such anymore after learning the truth about her.

She dodged another swipe from the monster but wasn’t quite fast enough, and the claws graced her shoulder with such force that it knocked her off her feet. This was the end. She looked at the door as it slammed shut, leaving Astrid alone with the monster.