“Corona! Healing Light!” Kiyoka roared over the battlefield, sending Corona out to help Omen.

The Utah raptor turned as Corona flew closer.

A pulse of light flickered around Omen, causing him to flinch in response, but soon he was back on his feet, diving into the Utah-raptor’s shadow.

“Thanks, Kiyoka,” Julian called.

“No problem. Let’s take it out.”

Oryx charged through the crowd of Eidos, sending out waves of rock to smash into those who wouldn’t move and using his horns to take out the rest. He was mowing through them.

A howl let loose across the battlefield as Omen released a Freezing Howl underneath the Utah raptor.

[Ambush Bonus Achieved: x2 Damage]

Even with that, the Utah raptor was still standing. It sent a bolt of electricity towards Corona, who barely dodged.

In retaliation, Corona sent a beam of light directly from his beak at the dinosaur. As the light connected, the raptor slumped, glowing a soft mist of yellow particles.

“We have it down!” Julian roared.

“Awesome!” Maria yelled, charging at the thing.

“What the hell is she doing?!” Andre asked.

She pointed her bracer at the raptor, the yellow particles flowing into it.

The Utah raptor roared and charged at Maria.

Before it could get closer, Matilda had the raptor off its feet and floating overhead, using her mental abilities to keep it at bay. Then, she slammed the raptor down to the ground with a sickening crunch, causing the raptor to finish dissipating.

Maria finished capturing the dinosaur and returned to the group.

“Thanks, guys!” She said, popping the yellow glowing crystal out of her bracer.

Julian shook his head and looked to the others. “Let’s go!”

Oryx led the charge, with Omen jumping into his shadow.

Corona flew overhead, and Matilda stayed with the humans, giving them cover.

They charged into another wave of Eidos that poured from the buildings. They were still a block away from the parking lot of the tower.

“This is insane!” Kiyoka yelled over the fighting.

Corona was bursting with light, stunning the wild Eidos as the others continued charging forward.

“We can do it! Come on!” Andre cheered them on.

A roar echoed over the battlefield. Up ahead, a large bear was charging towards them.

“Oryx, time to man up,” Andre said, sending the armored antelope to take him head-on.

As Oryx charged, the bear suddenly released a deluge of water spouting from his mouth, forcing Oryx back.

The bear then started growing in size, slowing down with the increased mass.

“What the hell is up with that thing?!” Julian called. “Shadow Claw!”

As the bear charged, Omen burst forth from underneath Oryx, his claws rippling a deep shade of purple.

The large bear swatted Omen out of the way like a fly, sending him rolling across the battlefield before slamming into Oryx.

Julian’s bracer vibrated.

[Warning: 2x damage received]

[Condition: Critical]

[Eidos Identified.]

[Ursus: Level 3]

[Affinity: Water / Physical]

“Omen’s down!” Julian yelled, rushing to his wolf’s side.

“I’m on it!” Kiyoka responded, taking off after him with Corona providing cover.

“Maria, we need backup!” Andre called out!

Maria looked at her new capsule, loading it into her bracer. “Here goes nothing,” she whispered, pressing [Summon].

The Utah-raptor materialized, taking off after Julian and Kiyoka.

As Julian slid in beside his wolf, Corona released a healing wave. Omen opened his eyes, springing to his feet as the raptor slid around them, absorbing some of the healing. It let out a roar into their faces before taking off towards the bear and Oryx.

Julian looked back at Maria, who was giving them a thumbs up, her attention on the raptor as it drove its talons into the bear.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“That thing is scary,” Julian whispered to Kiyoka, his heart still in his throat.

“More scary than Matilda?” Kiyoka smirked as they watched Matilda using a broken-down car as a battering ram. Her purple eyes glowed across the battlefield from Maria’s shoulder.

“It’s like she has a gift for these things,” Julian said, returning his attention to Omen. “You good, pal?”

Omen stared into Julian’s eyes for a moment. Then he blinked softly, licking Julian’s face.

Through their bond, Julian felt a wave of gratitude.

“No problem, buddy. Let’s get on it. Maybe we can find you some backup as well.”

Omen charged back into the fray, jumping in and out of shadows.

As Julian stood, taking in the surrounding fighting, a sense of dread filled him to his core. “This is getting us nowhere.”

Kiyoka looked at her bracer. “Well, it’s getting them levels. Corona has already hit level 3.”

Julian checked Omen’s stats.

[EIDOS INFORMATION:]

[Eidos: Omen]

[Type: Canis]

[Size: Medium]

[Affinity: Darkness]

[Level: 2]

[Elemental Affinity:]

[Primary: Darkness]

[Secondary: N/A]

“Omen’s level 2,” Julian replied.

A loud crack of lightning ripped through the battlefield, the raptor hitting the bear as Matilda slammed it down onto the ground, sending a shower of blue and red particles into the air.

Everyone watched as they swirled together, flowing towards Andre’s bracer as he tamed the Ursus for himself.

“See, it’s not a waste at least. Plus, look at Maria’s raptor. That thing is a beast, and that bear will make a good addition for Andre, too.” Kiyoka said.

Maria cheered nearby. “Woo! Way to go, Matilda! Good job, Penelope!”

“Penelope?” Kiyoka asked, turning to Julian.

He simply shrugged. “Don’t ask.”

The raptor charged back over to Maria. She bent her head down, letting Maria pet her scaly head.

Oryx clopped over to them, with Andre on his back. “Thanks for the help, Maria. That bear was tough.”

“Nothing my girls couldn’t handle,” Maria cheered, reaching into her pocket and pulling out an oval-shaped blue capsule. She crushed it, letting the armor form over her raptor with reins and a saddle. She climbed up onto its back.

“Hey, guess we can ride Oryx now.” Kiyoka jumped up onto Oryx’s back, taking a seat. She offered Julian a hand, pulling him up onto Oryx as well.

“Charge?” Andre asked, looking over at the others.

“Charge!” Maria yelled, with a squealing Matilda on her shoulder.

Penelope took off with Oryx right after her.

Corona took flight, and Omen bounced between shadows.

Matilda’s suppression helped them gain some distance, but across the way, a few streets over, they could hear more gunfire.

“They’re getting closer. We gotta move!” Julian yelled.

Up ahead, the Artino Research Tower parking lot awaited them.

Everyone’s bracer vibrated as they approached.

[Party Entering Den Raid Area]

{Beginning Preliminary Raiding Instance.]

As they stepped off the sidewalk and onto the street before the parking lot annex, they ran into an invisible bubble that seemed to pop as they entered. All gunfire and roaring behind them ceased, and they entered the parking lot to eerie quiet.

Just as they entered the parking lot, something snatched their mounts from underneath them, sending everyone to the ground, rolling across the pavement.

Julian shook his head, blood running down his cheek as he looked to see Oryx and Penelope being wrapped up by vines.

“Not this again,” Maria whimpered, holding her shoulder as she got to her feet. She stepped over to check on Matilda, who was lying nearby, unmoving.

With a snap, both Oryx and Penelope turned back into particles and flowed back to their capsules.

[Eidos detected.]

[Running Identification protocol.]

Julian reached out to Omen across their bond.

Omen was fine and was circling the area, trying to find the culprit.

Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound filled the air. From neighboring trees, large groups of insects took off, flying towards Julian and the others.

“That’s a lot of bugs,” Andre said, swapping Oryx’s capsule out for his newly caught bear. “Corona still got a healing wave in him?”

“Uh huh,” Kiyoka mumbled, staring at the mass of insects that were gathering.

[Eidos Identified.]

[Popillia: Level 1]

[Affinity: Nature]

[Warning: Mental Type Den Leader Detected]

“What does that mean?” Maria called out, looking at her bracer as she cradled Matilda in her arms.

Andre summoned his new bear, letting it take form. “Alright Dorffi, let’s see what you can do.”

Corona unleashed a healing wave over Dorffi and Matilda, helping them recover.

Soon, hundreds of scarab beetles were flying around them, forcing plants to burst through the pavement of the parking lot.

Dorffi slammed his paws down, cracking the ground as he swiped angrily at the insects.

Matilda was back in the fray, using her mental attacks to stop them, but another mental type hidden in the mass of insects outmaneuvered her. In frustration, she started ripping chunks of pavement up, trying to smash the swarm. But the Den Leader just sent them back out towards Dorffi.

“Maria, can Matilda track down the Den Leader?” Julian asked.

“She can’t get a lock on it,” Maria warned them.

“Omen, sniff the leader out,” Julian said, sending the command through their bond.

At once, he felt something reverberate through his bond with Omen, a union of emotions on the same wavelength. They were hunting together, and the Den Leader was their prey.

Julian watched over the swarm, suddenly noticing a mass of them thicker than the others. It was only a subtle difference, but then Julian noticed a flash of purple.

“There!” Julian roared.

Omen launched from behind the swarm, releasing his Freezing Howl over the mass of beetles.

[Eidos Identified.]

[Popillia: Level 3]

[Affinity: Nature/ Mental]

Julian watched as the mass around the Den Leader froze, leaving it defenseless from the swarm. It was bigger than the others, about the size of Julian’s fist.

All he knew was that he wanted it.

“Get it,” Julian ordered, sending Omen after it. “Shade Trap.”

As a mental wave burst forth, Omen dodged it by diving into the shadows. Suddenly, dark tendrils launched themselves at the beetle from within Omen’s hiding spot, wrapping the beetle up in shadowy ropes.

[Elemental Weakness: Darkness x2 Damage]

Green and purple particles were dissipating into the air.

Julian checked to make sure his empty capsule was loaded and stepped forward.

He found a button that Omen must have pressed for him back when they first met.

[Capture]

Julian pressed the button, letting the green and purple particles flow into his bracer. The scarab beetle leader was his.

[Synchronization Complete.]

[Eidos successfully tamed and paired to Julian Koste.]

The capsule chamber opened up, revealing a beautiful green and purple capsule. As he pulled it out, the rest of the beetle swarm dispersed, leaving their leader in Julian’s hands.

“Does this mean this was the Den the map warned us about?” Andre asked.

“God I hope not,” Julian said.

Silence fell over them as everyone just stared at him in disbelief.

“What? All this for a bug? People died today.”

“That wasn't it,” Maria said, checking her bracer out.

“Got any clues?” Julian asked, stepping over to her.

“The map still shows the Den Raid in the tower, but it says Den Raid, stage 1, complete.”

“Well, sweet. How many more stages does it have?”

Maria looked up at the tower, a sense of dread lingering in the air. “Three.”

Julian looked up at the tower. Nothing was coming out of the tower but the erupting energy. The wave of endless Eidos had ceased.

Julian looked back at his party as they got to their feet. “You guys ready for this?”

Maria nodded. “Ready as we’ll ever be.”

“Let’s do this,” Andre said, scrubbing his bear’s neck as he looked at the tower.

Julian looked over at Kiyoka. “You ready?”

Kiyoka looked the tower over, watching the energy pouring from the top. “I’m ready.”

Together, they walked towards the tower, crossing the parking lot and into whatever awaited them inside the source of this nightmare.