Chapter 5 - Expect the Unexpected

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The sound of footsteps echoed out nearby as a figure slowly appeared from within the inner sanctum. He had a dull expression as he saw Devlin sitting from far away in a badass outfit that seemed to perfectly fit his physique.

He could already tell Devlin must have found some priceless treasures within the underground section and he couldn't help but feel a little cheated. All he could find were some decent-looking dark leather padded clothing with a few scratches, some worn-out pair of gauntlets that seemed old fashioned, and a bag filled with a few silver and bronze coins.

Devlin noticed his expression and couldn't help but laugh inwardly at the thought of what his brother would think if he knew this ring on his hand was the most valuable.

Suddenly a low roar could be heard from behind a huge rock a distance away. Instantly Devlin and Leo were on high alert because this place was unknown to them. For all, they know this place could very well be the den of some atrocious monster.

A huge pair of eyes could be seen peeking out of the corner. Devlin and Leo's back began to sweat. As the creature slowly reached around the rock and stumbled out into the open, both of their minds went blank.

Not from the fear that could even shock the soul, but from the comical sight that caused both of them to nearly wet their selves earlier. A tiny and fat blob sat there with black and white fur. It's eyes had black fur around it and seemed adorable and pure from no matter what angle you looked at it. It was a baby panda. The only difference was it had a few hieroglyphics on its fur.

Devlin and Leo both looked at the panda, who gave out a little roar, and then back at each other. They both busted out laughing knowing they've been bamboozled.

Devlin chuckled as he glanced in the direction of the panda. Leo also glanced and said, "For real, I may have to check my pants before we set off."

The baby panda, who believed that they were laughing at him, began to feel a little irritated and began to roar louder and louder. Eventually, his roars grew to the point of a full-grown bear roaring down at them.

Devlin and Leo were amazed by how the panda could get so ferocious. They feared the baby panda would get more aggressive and maybe send an alert to its parents nearby so they began to quietly leave this place.

The baby panda saw this and thought they were treating him as a pile of trash that they didn't feel the time to even take out. This caused it to be outraged and let out a roar so magnificent that even the rocks in the ruins trembled. It's body suddenly grew and the hieroglyphics around it stretched it's body until the panda was about 7ft tall.

Devlin and Leo panicked from this sudden change of strength and discovered that this place had many dangerous encounters that they were truly unaware of. They soon recovered from the surprise the panda had given them.

Devlin quickly rushed over to where he threw the sharp stone and got into a fighting stance. At the same time, Leo reached out and grabbed the worn-out gauntlets, hoping that they could come in handy.

The large panda charged towards both of them and swiped down with both of his hands. Devlin dodged to the right and swung down with sharp stone only to leave a little wound. Leo, on the other hand, was in far worse condition. When he dodged to the left a piece of the dark granite that was crushed by the panda was sent flying and struck his gut causing him to spew blood out of his mouth.

This one strike made Devlin and Leo realize the disparity between them and the Panda. The Panda knew that it had injured Leo so it decided to get rid of him first to make things easier.

When Devlin saw this, he tried to make it look like he was sneaking away so he could make a sneak attack. Leo saw this and felt like he was betrayed.

He begins to try to chase after him, however, the panda was in his way and he couldn't get past it. His eyes teared up and he began to wonder why he even trusted Devlin so much. He felt hopeless as the Panda marched its way in front of him in a mocking expression as if it was saying "How dare you little humans think that I can't tear you into little pieces whenever I want".

Right when the panda began to raise his left arm up, Leo could see an arm sticking out behind a rock with a signal that he knew from the military meaning "sneak attack".

His eyes which were dim instantly brightened and he felt he had wronged his brother. He wanted to apologize but the situation right now wasn't the best time to do it. As the claw slashed down, Leo dove between the two panda's legs and sprinted to the rock that Devlin was hiding behind.

At this point, Devlin had already prepared for the worst. It took him a little while to find a good clean sharp rock and tie it to a rope tied together with old clothes he found from some of the corpses around the ruins. As he got on top of a rock that looked about as big as huge boulder about 10 ft tall, he gradually balanced himself on the edge and pulled out another sharp stone and gripped it with his right hand while the other stone tied to the rope was in his left.

A loud booming noise could be heard as he peeked around the corner to see Leo desperately running his way with a huge panda behind him pulverizing everything in its path. If this was anybody else from Earth, they would've passed out already, however, Devlin went through many hardsh.i.p.s in the military that either had him making tough choices or risking his life to save his brothers.

Currently, his best friend needed him the most and he could only swallow his fear and charge into the tiger's den, or well, in this case, the panda's den.

Once Leo passed the marked boulder, Devlin jumped out from the behind about 10 ft in the air and began swinging the rock connected the rope as fast he could. Suddenly he let it go, and it flew down rapidly. The Panda was instantly caught off guard and could only stare helplessly as the sharp rock jabbed into its right eye.

The panda let out an anguished roar as its anger rose to the extreme; however, it still didn't know that the human who was in the air was falling down swiftly with another attack. Once it regained its conscious, its only eye caught Devlin holding another sharp stone stabbing down into it. The panda was startled as its vision suddenly went pitch black. The eyes which had black fur surrounding them have now been dyed a dark red with a rock protruding out of both of them.