Corpses littered the ground in several bloody heaps. Some were the various monsters they had fought. Gorillas torn nearly in half. Vulture-like creatures with their wings torn from their torso. Large alligators who have been flattened by some strange force.

But the ones that made Matthew freeze were the scattered corpses of several hunters. Some of them had missing limbs. One hunter, a fighter once donned in shining armor, was torn completely in half; their face still contorted in a plea for help.

Another corpse slouched against a wall wearing mage's robes, was without a head. A broken channeling staff lay only a few feet from their hands.

In the center of the open cavern within the cliffside sat a massive gorilla. The beast was battered in dried blood, even while sitting it was still nearly 12 feet tall. Its body was covered in pitch-black fur that covered its immensely muscular figure. Atop the beast's head rested a white crown. At first, Matthew thought it was a crude collection of sticks and leaves. But he quickly noticed what they were.

The crown was made of a variety of bones, all stuck together by a mix of sinew, leather, and hide.

Suddenly, Matthew felt a tight grip on his shoulder. He nearly screamed when he noticed Luke standing next to him, staring up at the beast. His face was a mix of confusion and amazement. "What is something like that doing here?" He muttered to himself.

Feeling Matthew's eyes on him, Luke looked at his friend. "Ape King; that's a B-Rank boss. No wonder the squad got demolished."

Suddenly, the beast raised its head. Both hunters froze at the sight of the massive ape's face. It was horridly scary with a mix of wounds and what once might have been tribal tattoos. The boss's eyes glowed a deeper red than Matthew had ever seen; a red that seemed to look straight through him.

The beast quickly rose to its feet and roared, the thunderous sound echoing off of the stone walls.

Matthew was abruptly shoved back by Luke, who stepped in front of him. "Stay back, I'll handle the boss." He ordered as he fired three shots at the beast.

Three large explosions occurred as each bullet impacted the Ape King's chest. "Stay put," Luke repeated as he dashed forward, spinning the chambers of his gun as he did.

Matthew simply watched as he the smoke or the explosions cleared to reveal the Ape King still standing. The boss roared and charged forward. As its feet slammed into the ground as it went, the entire cavern rumbled as if it were in an earthquake.

The Ape King raised its arm and slammed a fist down at Luke, however, he quickly dashed to the side and fired a shot at the beast's eyes.

The Ape King roared and stumbled back as the smoke clouded its vision, only for two more explosive bullets to fire into its leg. Another roar echoed through the cavern as the ape began to flail its arms wildly on the ground. One large fist nearly crushed Luke as he jumped from side to side avoiding the massive grey fists.

But then, as he aimed his revolver up to fire at the monster's head, the beast reared back its leg and sent Luke flying across the room, crashing into one of the stone walls.

Matthew's eyes widened, he was about to rise to his feet when a burst of fire erupted from the debris where Luke had landed.

The streak of flame slammed into the Ape King's shoulder, searing away its fur and digging into its flesh.

The boss grasped at its shoulder as it began to cry out and stumbled back. In its rage, however, it slammed a hand into the ground and heaved upward. The stone erupted upward as the boss gouged out a large boulder in its fist.

Matthew quickly shot a glance to Luke, who was still half buried in the debris of stone.

For a brief moment, Matthew froze once again. He'd seen people die before. It was simply part of being a hunter. Anyone who took up the mantle of one knew what they were getting into when they decided to risk their lives going into dungeons. Everyone knew the risks, and everyone had to face death.

But not yet.

As the boss reared back its hand to slam the massive boulder onto Luke, a thin streak of red sped through the air, piercing into the Ape King's eye.

The monster dropped the boulder to the ground as it wailed once again, grasping at its punctured eye, only to find a metal spear lodged, handle-deep, into its socket.

Matthew's face flushed as he saw the monster face him with nothing but anger and pain on its face.

However, the boss took no more the a single step forward when four explosions erupted from the boss's face.

The boss stumbled, but before it could even regain its balance, two more bursts from his chest.

The Ape King fell to slouch against the wall. With a shaking arm, it began to lift once more, but six more explosions followed. Torrents of flame and concussive force fell upon the Ape King's body.

When the smoke cleared, the king finally lay unmoving. Its crown of bone toppled off of its head to fall with an echoing thud onto the ground.

Matthew turned to see Luke, his revolver still steaming, stepping from the debris.

He turned to his friend and smiled before giving a thumbs up.

That was the first time Matthew had ever truly seen an A-Rank hunter in action.

"I can't believe you just did that." Matthew exasperated, threw an arm around Luke. Despite having just killed a boss in a room full of corpses, both hunters couldn't contain their glee.

"I? We did that. I might've been in a pinch if you hadn't thrown that spear." Luke retorted with equal enthusiasm, grabbing his friend in a one-armed hug.

Both of the friends laughed for a moment, as their adrenaline slowly began to fade.

"So... do we just head back from the gate?" Matthew said, glancing at the giant corpse of the Ape King, then at the mutilated hunters scattered on the floor.

Luke just nodded. "We didn't come here for the mana crystals. That's not our job. Feel free to take the hunter gear though," he waved his hands to the corpses. "Not like they'll be needing them. Also, may wanna grab your spear."

Matthew just nodded. "Probably smart." He said offhandedly, before walking towards the giant gorilla's corpse.

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

Luke looked down towards his revolver. The barrel of the gun was still steaming from the skill he'd used to tear apart the boss's arm.

He spun the chambers of the gun, specs of faint blue light flowing into the chamber.

He glanced towards the door to the boss room, he looked back towards his gun, knit his brow, and then looked back to the door.

The door was still there. However, it wasn't the crude gate or sticks, logs, and string. Instead, it was a large thick wooden gate reinforced with metal. It looked old, but well cared for.

Luke approached the door and set a hand to it, running his hand along the front of the large gate.

Luke turned to look back at Matthew as he tore his spear from the Ape King's eye. "Matthew, the gate changed." He shouted.

Matthew immediately looked up, starting towards the gate. "What happened?" He looked around. "Is it the right gate?"

"Yes, it's the right gate," Luke responded, slightly annoyed at the assumption.

Matthew finally met with Luke to stand next to him. He looked up at the thick set of double doors. "It's the door to the cathedral." He muttered.

Luke glanced at his friend and then back to the door. "That's why it looked familiar." He mumbled.

A few seconds of stunned silence passed. Both hunters looked at the door; examining it for any hint that it wasn't what it appeared to be.

"Should we open it? It looks like it's the only way out." Matthew suggested.

"I don't think we have a choice." He looked to Matthew, an unfamiliar look of unease rested upon his face. "Are you sure?"

Matthew just nodded, looking to the gate and setting a hand on it.

Luke took a breath. "Christ, since when did I become the nervous one?" He muttered as they both pushed the gate open and walked through.

***

The room they entered was exactly what Matthew expected, but exactly what Luke feared.

The room they stepped into was a replica of the cathedral the gate had originally appeared in. But the large room was empty. Through the windows was nothing but a black void, however, the chandeliers on the ceiling still shined with light. The pews were still facing forward to the pedestal.

Luke glanced to the front of the room. "Well, that's new." He said, gesturing his revolver to the front of the room.

Matthew looked to the front of the room where a large bronze cross stood. Hung on the cross, bound at their ankles and wrists, was a bronze statue of a toned man adorned with nothing more than a cloth and a crown of briars. His head was hung down, facing the floor.

Above the statue was a mural of an Angel and a demon entranced in something of a mix between a duel and a dance.

"Jesus Christ," Luke mumbled.

"Clearly."

"Not the time."

Matthew then looked to his side to a large wooden door that had made up a side entrance to the cathedral.

As Luke began to walk forward down the aisle between the pews, Matthew wandered to the door and grabbed its handle.

He pulled on the door once, twice, then violently with both hands. Every pull made a low rattle echo through the room.

He just sighed and glanced at Luke.

Luke nervously spun the chambers of his gun as he approached the giant statue. Being a Ranger he always fought from a distance. Any time a monster got close to him his instincts shouted at him to make distance. The same Instinct that told him to back away from the statue. However, his mind told him otherwise. It was just a statue. A form of art made from bronze. His instinct steadily faded. It was as if he finally felt calm, for the first time in his life. He could almost hear the faintest hint of a choir singing in his ears.

It was just a statue.

The singing grew louder

Just a statue.

He felt his senses begin to dull.

Just.

A.

Statue.

Suddenly, Luke was tackled to the side. He felt a loud rumble where he had been standing.

By the time he had noticed what happened. He was already sprawled on the ground. Matthew stood over him shouting something at him he couldn't properly hear. The sound of choir bells still rang in his ears, drowning out all other sounds.

Luke's body felt numb, as if his mind were half sunken in a dream. He looked passed Matthew to see that the statue had moved. Its limbs were now unbound. Its fist was planted into the wooden floor where Luke had been standing just a few seconds prior.

Gradually, the heavenly choir in his mind began to fade, and sound rushed in.

"--standing there? Get up, Luke! Hurry!" Matthew shouted as he began to hoist Luke up.

With his friend's help, Luke quickly got to his feet. With one hand Luke grabbed Matthew by his coat and jumped away from the giant statue. With his other hand, he raised his gun and fired several shots directly into the statue's face.

Matthew stumbled and nearly fell as they landed in the middle of the aisle of pews. He quickly brandished his spear and turned towards the bronze figure.

Both hunters watched as the smoke began to clear, only to reveal the figure unharmed. The explosive munitions didn't even slow it down.

The bronze statue turned its head to Matthew and Luke. In place of the sorrowful look it had once had, a horrific glare was donned upon its face. One not of anger or hatred, but of simple disappointment.

"Matthew," Luke said, beginning to spin the chambers of his revolver. "Do you think you can keep that thing's attention for 10 seconds?"

Matthew kept his eyes on the large figure. "Maybe."

Luke took a few steps back and planted a knee to the ground. "You're gonna' have to. I have a skill that causes a massive explosion. One can can engulf that thing's entire body. But it takes time. Do you think you can get that thing's attention for 10 seconds?" He asked again.

Matthew nodded.

"Good, when I give you the signal, make as much distance between you and that thing as you can."

With one final nod, Matthew dashed forward just as the statue began to stomp forward.

The statue reared back its foot before swinging it forward, however, Matthew quickly dashed to the side. The force of the kick caused many of the pews to get flung into the air and crash into splinters onto each other.

Matthew was tossed aside from the force of one of the pews, but quickly righted himself.

The statue began to turn towards Luke when its attention was drawn to Matthew once more.

"Hey, you poor excuse for an art piece. Over here!" He shouted as his spear began to pulse with a red light. He reared back his arm and hurled the spear forward. However, the spear harmlessly bounced off of the statue.

Nonetheless, the statue began to stomp forward toward Matthew, crushing a pew beneath its feet as it walked.

Suddenly, Luke shouted from across the room. "Matthew now!"

Immediately, Matthew bolted across the room as fast as he could. All he heard was the deafening sound of an explosion and a shockwave that threw him across the room.

Matthew closed his eyes and curled up, bracing for any impact that might occur when he slammed into the window of the cathedral. With a force that should have broken any glass, the window held firm. The impact felt as if he had just clashed with an iron wall.

Matthew heard a low crack in his chest as he could feel one of his ribs give way.

Slowly, grasping his chest, Matthew rose and looked to the other half of the room.

The church pews on the front half of the room had been blown into splinters. The chandeliers on the ceiling had shattered and now flickered with dim light, however, the statue still stood.

As the smoke cleared, the statue revealed its face. Half of the statue's head had been shattered inward and most of its torso had begun to crack. But still, it walked forward.

Luke let the gun fall to his side. He could hear nothing but ringing in his ears from the explosion. He felt a warm liquid run down the sides of his head; blood leaking from his ruptured eardrums. His vision was blurred and the only thing he could make out was the statue of Jesus walking towards him.

He mumbled a few words, although he couldn't hear them. He hardly even knew what he was trying to say. His mind was left unfocused as if it was constantly trying to catch up to something that was just out of reach.

The statue stepped up to him and raised its hand. Then it swiped down at him.

However, at the last second, he felt arms wrap around him, someone taking the mightily blow for him. Nonetheless, both were flung, crashing into the indomitable wall of the cathedral.

Once again Luke was left glancing up at his savior. His friend. He felt a sharp, yet distant pain in his back. He suddenly noticed he couldn't move his legs, they were locked in place.

He looked up to Matthew who was shouting at him once again.

Tears streamed down Matthew's face as he tried to shake him from his stupor. "Luke, please. Get up! You need to get up! I can't face this thing on my own!" He shouted, grabbing his friend by his shoulders and shaking him.

He could feel the rumble of footsteps getting close.

"Luke! Please!" He begged, the tears in his eyes began to cloud his vision as they endlessly fell down his face. With every sob, the immense pain in his chest grew greater and greater, until it was unbearable to even make a sound.

"I'm weak, Luke! I can't-" His voice faulted as he collapsed into his friend's chest, sobbing into it. He saw the shadow of the statue engulf him and Luke. "I'm..... I'm sorry for being so weak... all these years. I'm sorry for not appreciating what you've done. I'm sorry for being weak!" He cried.

Then, he felt an arm fall around him. Matthew glanced up to see Luke. Tears flowed from his eyes as he pulled Matthew close to him.

"I'm sorry... for leaving you behind."

That was the final thing Matthew heard before the hand of God came crashing upon them.