The brutal feeding scene made everyone instinctively recoil.
Several people drew sharp breaths before quickly covering their mouths, terrified that even the slightest sound might turn them into the Crawlers’ next meal.
One of the creatures stopped tearing flesh from the corpse and lifted its pale head.
A low hiss escaped its throat as it listened toward the entrance, clearly having detected the group’s brief reaction.
The other Crawlers gradually stopped feeding as well and began turning their blind faces toward the same direction.
Before anyone could decide what to do, movement appeared near the opening on the opposite side of the cavern.
An unusually large Crawler dragged the carcass of a dead buck inside before releasing a harsh cry that echoed through the chamber.
More pale figures emerged from the darkness.
Lucifer silently counted them.
One, two…
eleven, twelve.
Including the larger creature, twelve Crawlers now occupied the cavern.
Of course.
They were almost outside, yet the cave had decided to throw one last nightmare in their path.
Greg and Cath were visibly trembling, while Dan and Deputy Rios looked equally disturbed by the number of creatures ahead.
Sarah and Juno reacted differently.
Both women tightened their grips around their climbing axes and stared toward the Crawlers with the hardened expressions of people who had already fought these creatures before.
Lucifer quickly evaluated his options.
Holy Seal of Justice was extremely effective against genuinely evil supernatural entities, but the Crawlers were still flesh-and-blood creatures with only traces of the dark nature the System recognized.
His enhanced strength could kill them, but against twelve attacking together, relying entirely on the oak club would be dangerous.
His Glock would make the fight much easier.
Unfortunately, using it inside the cavern might bring the ceiling down before everyone reached the exit.
Lucifer glanced toward the opposite opening.
Faint daylight was visible beyond it.
If he could get everyone outside first, gunfire would no longer matter.
When Lucifer looked back, he found the entire group staring at him.
After everything they had experienced underground, nobody was questioning who should make the decision anymore.
He lowered his voice until the sounds of the feeding Crawlers nearly covered it.
“I’ll pull them away from the exit.
Once they come after me, all of you run.”
Juno’s expression immediately changed.
Lucifer raised a hand before she could object.
“Don’t waste time arguing.
More of them could show up at any moment.”
He looked around the group to make sure everyone understood.
“Once you start moving, don’t stop and don’t look back.
Stay together when you get outside.”
Sarah nodded first.
The others reluctantly followed.
Lucifer moved away from the group, circling toward the opposite side of the cavern until he had enough distance between himself and the exit.
Then he activated his abilities.
[Holy Seal of Justice — Level 2 activated.]
[Blessing of Might activated.]
Golden patterns spread across Lucifer’s body and the oak club in his hand.
His permanent Strength of nine rose to twelve under Blessing of Might, then to an effective thirteen while Holy Seal of Justice remained active.
He wasn’t finished.
Lucifer retrieved a Savory Pork Liver Pie from System Space and quickly ate it.
[Savory Pork Liver Pie consumed.]
[Stamina +1 for 30 minutes.]
Energy immediately spread through his body.
Lucifer tightened his grip on the oak club and looked toward the feeding creatures.
Then he shouted.
“Hey!
Dinner’s over!”
Every Crawler snapped its head toward him.
Lucifer grinned.
“Come get something that fights back.”
The cavern erupted with shrieks.
The Crawlers abandoned the corpse and charged toward him on all fours, their pale bodies racing over the bones covering the floor.
The first one reached Lucifer within seconds.
He planted his feet and swung.
CRACK!
The Holy Light-coated oak club crushed its skull.
Lucifer immediately moved before the remaining creatures could surround him, forcing them to change direction as he circled around the cavern.
He wasn’t trying to kill all twelve.
His only job was keeping their attention long enough for everyone else to escape.
“Go!”
Sarah immediately ran.
Juno hesitated for only a second before following her, and the others rushed toward the exit.
Nobody wasted the opening Lucifer had created.
The cavern floor made their escape difficult.
Bones and partially eaten carcasses covered the path, forcing everyone to watch every step while Crawlers shrieked only yards away.
Greg’s foot caught between two large bones.
He fell hard.
Pain shot through his scraped palm, but he clenched his teeth rather than cry out.
After scrambling upright, he continued toward the daylight without looking back.
Dan reached the opening first.
He shoved aside the branches concealing it and crawled into the forest.
Fresh air filled his lungs.
For several seconds, he simply stood there breathing, overwhelmed by the realization that he had finally escaped the underground nightmare.
Then a shovel struck the back of his head.
THUD!
Dan collapsed instantly.
A young man stood behind him gripping the shovel, his expression cold and hostile.
He had clearly been waiting near the hidden entrance and hadn’t expected anyone from the rescue party to emerge alive.
Greg crawled outside next and froze when he saw Dan on the ground.
“What the hell are you doing?”
The young man looked equally shocked.
His eyes flicked between Greg and the cave.
“How did you people get out?”
Before he could recover, Juno emerged behind Greg, followed by Cath and Sarah.
Deputy Rios wasn’t far behind them.
The stranger’s confidence disappeared as the number of survivors continued growing.
He slowly moved the shovel behind his back.
“Maybe there’s been a misunderstanding.”
Nobody looked convinced.
Inside the cavern, Lucifer was still keeping the Crawlers occupied.
He had killed a second creature during the initial rush, but after that he focused entirely on staying mobile.
Fighting eleven Crawlers head-on would have been reckless, especially when several could attack from the walls and ceiling while others rushed from the front.
His protective coat covered much of his upper body, but his head, neck, and lower body remained vulnerable.
One bad grab could still kill him.
Lucifer dodged another lunge and glanced toward the entrance.
The others were gone.
“Finally.”
He stopped playing defense and sprinted toward the exit.
The Crawlers immediately followed.
Lucifer returned the oak club to System Space and summoned the Glock 21 while running.
By the time he reached the slope covered in bones, the largest Crawler was already closing the distance behind him.
Lucifer glanced back once.
“Persistent bastard.”
Then he raised the Glock.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Gunshots thundered through the cavern.
Lucifer fired repeatedly while continuing toward the opening, caring less about accuracy than the effect the noise would have on the unstable cave.
The stone around him began trembling.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Cracks spread through the rock.
The Crawlers continued chasing him.
Lucifer kept firing.
The vibrations grew stronger with every shot until a deep rumble rolled through the cavern.
Lucifer saw daylight directly ahead.
He ran harder.
Then the cave collapsed.
BOOM!
A violent blast of dust and displaced air struck Lucifer from behind and threw him straight through the entrance.
He hit the forest floor and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.
For a moment, everything spun.
Lucifer shook his head and pushed himself up.
Then he heard a growl beside him.
The massive Crawler had somehow escaped the collapse too.
It landed only a few feet away and immediately crouched to attack.
Lucifer stared at it.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The creature lunged.
Lucifer raised the Glock and emptied what remained of the magazine directly into its head.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Bullets tore through the Crawler’s fragile skull.
It managed one final roar before collapsing forward.
The heavy corpse landed directly on Lucifer.
Blood splashed across his face.
Lucifer lay beneath it for a moment in complete silence.
Then the Holy Power System chimed.
[E-rank Cave Crawler Leader eliminated.]
[Reward: 4 Holiness Points.]
[Reward: 30 EXP.]
Lucifer stared at the dead creature lying across his chest.
“Could you at least die somewhere else?”
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