𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘱! 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘱! 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘱!

With Yakeru's katana, Aoi relentlessly hacked away at a tree root. It hadn't even been ten minutes and sweat dripped down her face and her breathing became heavier. Eventually, her body had had enough, demanding rest as she plopped down on a nearby stone.

"Woah, careful! Don't overexert yourself," Yakeru worriedly said.

"I'm sorry. As you can probably gather, I don't excel in swordsmanship." She panted, wiping away the accumulating sweat.

"It's okay. Rest for now. When you're ready I'll tell you how to swing the sword."

She nodded in appreciation. Minutes passed and her breathing became steady enough to regain her composure. She stood to her feet and approached the root, ready to resume chopping away at it.

"Place your hands toward the top of the hilt and keep your dominant foot in front of the other."

She did as he instructed.

"Now, raise the sword so it's almost parallel to the ground and breathe," he said as she raised the sword, taking deep breaths. "Now strike!"

In one fluid motion, she swung the blade down. Although it still didn't cut all the way through, the blade had buried itself much deeper than before. Placing her foot on the root, she pried the sword out and repeated the steps once more, this time slicing straight through like a hot knife through butter.

"I did it!" She exclaimed proudly.

"Nice work, Aoi. You did great for your first time."

"It was all thanks to you," she said retrieving the root.

Having no prior experience with swordsmanship, she chalked it up to swinging a blade until you hit your target, so long as you didn't hit yourself. She failed to take into account the intricacies of the practice. Adjusting her technique made a huge improvement but she knew she still couldn't compare to regular practitioners.

Footwork, technique, timing, distance, and many more skills would have to be refined to mold an exceptional swordsman, separating the experts from the amateurs. Knowing this, she now had more respect for those who spent years honing their skills with a blade.

As she approached her injured comrade, Yakeru tore some of the fabric from his sleeve. She placed the root parallel to his broken leg and wrapped the fabric around them both. He winced as she tightened the fabric, securing the crude splint in place.

"How's that? Is it too tight?"

"It's fine," he rubbed his leg to soothe the pain. "Thanks. I guess we should start heading out now."

He searched his satchel for a moment before fishing out his talisman.

"I do hope everyone's alright..."

Aoi returned his sword to its scabbard and swung his arm over her shoulder, carefully lifting him to his feet. He winced again as he tried to regain his balance though a broken leg didn't make it easy. Fortunately, Aoi's support made the task somewhat doable.

He limped forward, Aoi supporting him from his side. If only the health elixirs they'd brought with them could heal broken bones, he wouldn't be in this mess. Aoi was already mustering the last of her strength to keep him steady.

They traversed the uneven terrain, ducking under roots and climbing slight inclines, the talisman gradually glowing brighter with every step.

"We must be getting closer to whoever's down here with us."

As they continued forward, the talisman as their guide, the moist air drifting throughout the cavern suddenly assaulted them with a rotten stench the moment they stepped into the next chamber. Their faces scrunched as they pinched their noses.

"Ugh! What is that?!" Yakeru fought the urge to vomit.

"I-I don't know!" Aoi gagged.

A deep sense of dread slithered up their bodies as they reluctantly inched their way into the chamber. Upon entering, they froze in place and their eyes widened in horror. Dozens of kobold corpses lay scattered along the ground.

If Yakeru's memory served him right, Kenji and Kateshi were the first rangers to escape the philorium sack section of the dungeon which only left Kazeki and Fuyumi. Surely a C or B-rank could kill measly D-tier kobolds. However, the foul smell disproved that theory as it indicated that they'd been dead for a while now.

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Upon taking a closer look, they stumbled back as they recognized a detail that confirmed what attacked them. Every last one of their shriveled bodies had bite marks. If there was any truth to Fuyumi's words then...

"W-We need to get out of here." Yakeru stuttered, a cold shiver running down his spine as he realized the gravity of the situation.

"S-should we turn back?"

Yakeru looked down at the talisman that was glowing more prominently than before. Whoever they were tracking, be it Fuyumi or Kenji, was trapped down here as well. Wouldn't their chances of escape be greater if there were more of them?

Understanding the possibility of a lurking A-tier monster, he was about to respond until...

Krieegh...

The faint sound of a kobold came from their side but it sounded non-threatening. Instead, it sounded in pain, crying out for its brethren to rush to its aid. The duo snapped their attention in the direction of the cry as Yakeru instinctively raised a protective arm in front of Aoi.

Krieeeg-!

Its high-pitched squeal filled the dimly lit cavern followed by a powerful crunch of what they assumed were its bones. Crimson eyes pierced through the darkness accompanied by a guttural growl. Aoi took a trembling step back, no longer helping to support Yakeru but instead clutching onto his torn attire.

"T-That must b-be..." she stuttered, shaking uncontrollably.

The wide-eyed Yakeru stood frozen as a bipedal wolf-like creature emerged from the shadows. Without realizing it, he'd lost all strength in his fingers, allowing the glowing talisman to slip from his hand.

It stood at around 8 feet tall with patches of blood splotched onto its unruly grey fur coating its bulky frame. The beast opened its mouth, allowing the mangled kobold, once trapped in its jaws, to flop lifelessly to the ground.

Its beady red eyes held a piercing intensity, locking the rangers in place as a surge of primal fear overwhelmed them. Strands of saliva dangled from its blood-stained mouth as the corners of its mouth peeled back into a nightmarish grin, exposing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Its chest heaved with each labored breath as if fueled by an insatiable hunger.

Their terror only worsened, anchoring them in place as the beast slowly placed one foot after the other toward them. Each of its steps only strengthened the grip their fear had on them. Not even the Ripper exuded this much pressure.

Though his body screamed for him to run, his injured leg didn't give him that luxury. Even if he could, could he even outrun an animal-type monster?

'T-This is nothing like before...'

The first time he was forced to fight while injured, though victorious, he nearly lost his life. Replicating that same outcome would be impossible given the current circumstances. Even with a fully recovered body and a healer whose radiance was replenished, this was still an A-tier monster.

Yakeru bit his lower lip, the metallic taste of blood freeing him from his fear-induced paralysis. He made a quick scan around the room. Neither of them could possibly outrun this bloodhound together. His lip quivered as he came to the haunting realization that one of them would need to be sacrificed.

"...Aoi..." he uttered before placing a hand on his sword's handle. "W-When I give you the s-signal...run..."

Her eyes widened even further. Was he honestly suggesting that she abandon him?

"Y-Yakeru, no...you can't fight that thing!"

"I know...b-but I can't run with this leg either. I can at least buy you time."

Blood began seeping from the creature's body before morphing into tendrils. The talisman's glow had amplified by this point but Yakeru nor Aoi seemed to notice, their trembling gazes locked onto the approaching creature. Yakeru tightened his grip on his handle before relaying his plan.

"Aoi, if there are kobolds down here then there must be a way out from here...just go."

"Yakeru..."

Saliva launched from its dagger-like teeth as it erupted into a roar. As it continued with its battle cry, Yakeru took that opportunity to imbue his katana.

"Go!"

She hesitantly released him as, in one swift motion, he unsheathed his blade while firing a crescent blast of radiance toward the beast. The force of the blast parted dirt and debris as it soared across the ground.

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮!

Most of his weight was on his healthy leg. However, unleashing an attack like this made his balance rather difficult to control. He attempted to keep himself steady but the strength in his leg wasn't enough to support his weight anymore. He stumbled back onto the floor as the cloud of dust cleared, revealing a crimson shield-like construct. However, to his horror, Aoi had stayed put.

"Please, just go!" he barked.

Although she knew his argument was sound, her conscience prevented her from using her injured ally as bait for her own escape. She grabbed onto him, prepared to drag him if she had to.

"...I'm so sorry..."

His efforts were ultimately in vain as the construct bubbled and warped itself into several tendrils that protruded from the bloodhound's forearm. The only opportunity for escape had just now evaporated. By now the talisman was glowing even brighter than it had before yet both rangers were too fixated on the monster before them. Without hesitation, the bloodhound launched the tendrils toward the terrified duo.

Images of Akari flashed before his trembling eyes as Aoi buried her face in his shoulder to brace herself. As the sharpened tendrils were mere inches away from impaling them, a blur dashed across Yakeru's field of view, leaving trails of amber behind it.

The tendrils were immediately dismembered and splashed onto the stone floor as they reverted back into their liquid state. Yakeru and even the bloodhound's gaze tracked the figure skidding across the ground to a halt.

Yakeru's shoulders relaxed as he realized who it was, softly patting Aoi's trembling figure.

"It's okay, Aoi. We're in good hands now." Yakeru reassured as relief washed over him, dissipating the worries he had.

Aoi gathered the courage to peek at what had happened, her eyes landing on a familiar figure.

"F-Fuyumi?" Aoi said in disbelief.

Fuyumi turned to face the bloodhound with dual daggers in her hands. A deep growl seeped through the creature's clenched jaws as it glared at Fuyumi. She returned the gesture, her eyes narrowing into slits as her gaze locked onto the beast.

Aoi watched, mixed between admiring her ally's bravery and concern for her safety. Just a moment ago, this monster's presence alone was enough to immobilize her. Yet here Fuyumi was with a fierce glare that screamed 'I challenge you'. Although, if what Fuyumi had said about bloodhounds earlier was true, this wouldn't be an easy fight.

"If you two can move, stay out of the crossfire. I'll be the one to end this thing's existence." She hissed, her words fuming with anger as she and the bloodhound readied themselves for battle.