After surviving several life-or-death situations, Rebecca and the others were no longer as helpless as when they first entered the cave.
They had personally fought and killed Crawlers, and fear became easier to control once something terrifying could actually bleed and die.
Unfortunately, that confidence only worked when the enemy was somewhere near their own level.
The cave entrance ahead was nearly ten feet high, yet the creature standing inside almost filled it.
Its body was much larger than the ordinary Crawlers, and the blood covering its pale skin made it look even more unnatural.
Everything about the Evil-Spirit Incarnation told Sarah, Beth, and Rebecca that this monster was different.
The three initially planned to exploit the same weakness as the ordinary Crawlers and move without making noise.
Sarah carefully shifted several steps sideways, only to freeze when the creature’s blood-red eyes moved with her.
Rebecca tried the opposite direction and received the same response.
It could see.
That discovery instantly brought their fear rushing back.
Beth tightened both hands around the pistol Alaric had given her and slowly raised it.
Rebecca quickly whispered, “Don’t shoot yet.
We need to know whether it’s actually coming after us.” She was still thinking clearly enough to realize that if something this large charged them, a handgun might not stop it before all three were killed.
Rebecca’s idea was sensible.
Reality didn’t give them the chance to test it.
The Evil-Spirit Incarnation suddenly dropped onto all fours and charged across the cavern.
Beth panicked and pulled the trigger several times, every shot striking the creature’s body at close range.
An ordinary living creature would have collapsed, but this one merely grunted before becoming even more violent.
It reached Beth almost instantly and swung one enormous arm.
The blow sent her flying across the cavern with her backpack still attached, and she crashed into the blood-filled pool nearby.
Beth disappeared beneath the dark liquid before anyone could tell whether she was still conscious.
Rebecca turned and ran.
Sarah backed away two steps before her legs gave out beneath her.
She landed on the stone and stared helplessly at the monster looming in front of her, unable to make her body move.
For one terrible moment, she became certain that she was about to die.
“Sarah!” Juno’s voice echoed from the tunnel.
The Evil-Spirit Incarnation slowly turned toward the sound.
A blood-soaked severed head hung from one of its hands, and when Juno saw the familiar face of Sam, whatever remained of her emotional control nearly shattered.
Her hands trembled before rage overwhelmed everything else.
“No!” Juno raised the pistol and emptied it.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The bullets struck the Evil-Spirit Incarnation repeatedly, forcing angry roars from its throat without bringing it down.
When the pistol clicked empty, Juno threw it aside and pulled out her climbing axe.
She screamed and charged directly at the creature.
Juno’s grief gave her a frightening burst of courage.
Sam and Holly were both dead, and she blamed herself for bringing everyone into this cave in the first place.
Unfortunately, anger couldn’t erase the enormous difference between her and the creature.
Even pistol rounds struggled to penetrate its body.
A climbing axe had even less effect.
Juno swung hard, but the Evil-Spirit Incarnation knocked the weapon from her hand with one swipe.
Before she could retreat, it slammed her onto the ground and pinned her beneath its weight.
Its mouth opened above her face, sharp teeth descending without the slightest hesitation.
Alaric Thomas had been watching from the darkness behind them.
He couldn’t allow Juno to die yet.
Whether because she could fight or simply because another living person meant another target for the monsters, keeping her alive was still useful.
More importantly, the Evil-Spirit Incarnation had completely exposed its mouth while preparing to kill her.
Alaric raised his rifle.
He pulled the trigger.
A burst of rifle fire poured directly into the creature’s open mouth.
The Evil-Spirit Incarnation jerked backward and released Juno, stumbling several steps while clutching its throat.
Its outer body might have been unnaturally durable, but its mouth and internal organs were still far softer than its skin.
Blood spilled from between its teeth before it dropped low and coughed a dark pool onto the ground.
Alaric didn’t let it recover.
Short controlled bursts hammered into the creature as he moved closer.
At the same time, a Ghost Card appeared in his free hand.
[Target Detected] [Status: Unable to Contain] Alaric frowned.
That wasn’t right.
Both Saw-Tooth and One-Eye had become containable after being badly wounded and restrained, and the ordinary Crawlers followed the same pattern.
The Evil-Spirit Incarnation was clearly injured, yet the Ghost Card still rejected it.
Unless something had changed.
Alaric stared at the monster and felt an uncomfortable premonition.
Juno had already recovered her climbing axe and started moving forward again.
“Don’t!” Alaric shouted.
“Something’s wrong!” She didn’t listen.
Rage had completely taken control of her.
Juno rushed toward the wounded creature, but before she could reach it, a violent movement sent her flying backward.
The Evil-Spirit Incarnation threw its head back and roared while black smoke began pouring from its body.
Its skin swelled and shifted as though something underneath was trying to break free.
Then bones tore through its flesh.
Sharp bone spurs erupted across its arms, shoulders, back, and torso, making the creature appear even larger than before.
Blood ran between the protrusions while its red eyes became brighter in the darkness.
Whatever had been hiding inside the Crawler was no longer remaining dormant.
This no longer looked like an ordinary biological creature.
Alaric’s expression stiffened.
Even standing still, its transformed appearance was enough to terrify anyone trapped in this claustrophobic cave.
The blood-red eyes locked onto Alaric as though the creature finally understood exactly who had caused its injuries.
He forced an awkward smile.
“If I said that wasn’t personal, would you believe me?” The Evil-Spirit Incarnation opened its mouth.
Several deformed bullets worked their way out of its flesh and dropped onto the stone one after another.
The metallic sounds echoed clearly through the cavern.
Its wounds were already beginning to close.
Alaric’s smile disappeared.
Apparently, it didn’t believe him.
The Ghost Card finally reacted again.
[Warning: Containment Target has entered complete Evil-Spirit Possession] Alaric seriously considered running.
Unfortunately, the creature’s attention was completely fixed on him now.
Even if he turned and fled through the tunnels, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t ignore everyone else and chase him.
At this point, retreat might simply mean dying while exhausted.
Then faint scraping sounds came from above.
Six Crawlers quietly crawled down the surrounding walls.
Under Alaric’s command, his contained subordinates behaved as though they were still members of the wild pack.
They gathered around the Evil-Spirit Incarnation without attacking, lowering themselves submissively as though recognizing the larger creature as their leader.
For the moment, the Incarnation accepted them.
Juno struggled back onto her feet.
Seeing the transformation had destroyed much of her remaining confidence.
If repeated handgun rounds and Alaric’s rifle couldn’t kill this thing, then it clearly wasn’t a normal underground predator anymore.
For the first time, Juno truly believed she might die in the cave she had chosen.
If she hadn’t secretly changed their destination, none of this would have happened.
Holly might still be alive.
Sam might still be alive.
Beth suddenly climbed out of the blood pool on the other side of the chamber, covered almost completely in dark red liquid but somehow still conscious.
Rebecca had also circled back after realizing there was nowhere safe to run.
Despite everything, Beth still had enough concern left to look toward Alaric and urge him to escape with them.
Juno retrieved her climbing axe.
“Rebecca, take Beth and Sarah and get out of here.
I’ll hold it off.” “We can’t run,” Alaric said.
“It’s already locked onto us.” He lowered the rifle for a moment and pulled two pistols from his gear along with a heavy combat spike.
Beth took one pistol and Rebecca accepted the other despite her injured hands.
Alaric handed the close-combat weapon to Juno.
At this point, anything usable was better than nothing.
Alaric checked the rifle and looked around at them.
“Ready?” Juno tightened her grip around the weapon and nodded.
Beth and Rebecca moved toward opposite sides of the cavern and raised their pistols, trying to create overlapping angles.
Juno would keep the creature occupied up close while Alaric and the others attacked whenever an opening appeared.
The Evil-Spirit Incarnation watched them.
Something disturbingly human appeared in its red eyes.
Cruel amusement.
It looked at them the way a predator might look at wounded prey that had finally stopped running.
Their decision to fight didn’t frighten it.
If anything, the creature seemed almost pleased.
Alaric raised the rifle.
“Now.” Gunfire exploded through the cavern.
The six Crawlers surrounding the Evil-Spirit Incarnation moved at the same instant.
Their false submission vanished as they leaped onto its back, arms, and legs, biting and tearing at the larger creature with everything they had.
The Evil-Spirit Incarnation roared.
Juno didn’t understand why the Crawlers had suddenly turned against their own kind again, but she had already seen it happen once.
She didn’t waste time asking questions and charged forward while the creature was distracted.
Beth and Rebecca began firing from the sides.
Alaric stayed farther back and used the rifle whenever he found a clear opening.
There was still an enormous difference between monsters.
The Evil-Spirit Incarnation quickly became enraged by the smaller Crawlers swarming over it.
Whether it understood their betrayal didn’t matter anymore.
Its right arm swung backward, and one of the long bone spurs punched completely through the chest of a contained Crawler.
The creature’s body went limp.
Its eyes quickly lost focus.
The Evil-Spirit Incarnation ripped the dead Crawler from its arm and threw it across the chamber like garbage.
Alaric watched one of his newly acquired subordinates die and felt genuine irritation.
He had gone through the trouble of containing that thing only minutes ago.
“Damn it.” Enough holding back.
Two more Ghost Cards appeared.
Alaric released One-Eye and Saw-Tooth.
The two massive cannibals materialized behind him.
One-Eye carried a heavy machete while Saw-Tooth held his bow, both waiting for Alaric’s order without hesitation.
Combined with the five surviving Crawlers, almost every subordinate Alaric possessed was now on the battlefield.
“Attack.” Alaric rushed forward with the rifle.
One-Eye charged immediately behind him with the machete raised.
Saw-Tooth remained farther back with his bow while the five surviving Crawlers continued swarming across the walls and attacking whenever the Evil-Spirit Incarnation exposed itself.
Juno attacked from the front while Beth and Rebecca maintained fire from the sides.
For the first time, the Evil-Spirit Incarnation was being attacked from every direction.
Human and monster closed in together.
The siege had begun.