Digging into the gut of the beast? No gem.
The chest? Still, no gem.
Axel and Loki exchanged a silent glance, their breath visible in the cold air as they continued their gruesome task. The ground beneath them was slick with dark, sticky blood, and the metallic scent hung thick in the air, almost suffocating.
Both of them had been searching the Panther beast's body with methodical precision, cutting through its flesh and bone as Commander Asher's watches had instructed. The watches indicated three possible locations for the elusive beast gem: the gut, the chest, or the skull.
So far, they'd found nothing but the beast's lifeless organs, and their patience was running thin.
Loki grunted in frustration as he tossed aside another blood-soaked organ, its rubbery texture slipping from his fingers. "This is pointless," he muttered, shaking his head.
Axel, however, wasn't one to give up so easily. His eyes narrowed as he observed the grotesque remains of the beast. The skull—it had to be the skull. That was the only place left.
"We haven't tried the skull yet," Axel said, his voice calm but with a hint of urgency. His grip tightened around the hilt of his blade, eyes locked on the beast's massive head.
Loki, standing a few feet away, wiped the sweat from his brow, his dark hair matted against his forehead. He sighed, then raised his dagger, bracing himself. With all the strength he could muster, he brought the hilt down on the beast's titanium-like skull.
A sickening crack echoed in the stillness, but the result was underwhelming. A tiny fracture appeared in the skull, but nothing more. It was as if the beast's skull was mocking their efforts.
"Damn it!" Loki spat, stepping back in frustration. "This thing's harder than I thought."
Josh joined them, his face and armor smeared with the dark, sticky blood of the Panther beast he had been scavenging. He looked exhausted, his shoulders slumped as he approached. "Axel, man, how do you do it? Fighting with low Mana is such a pain."
Axel chuckled, though he could feel the strain in his own muscles. "It's not easy, trust me. My strength might seem limitless, but I rely on Mana just as much as you do. Without it, I'm just swinging a sword."
Josh let out a low groan, shaking his head. "I hear you. We're all running low. What's the plan now?"
Loki stood, dusting off his armor. "We have to move forward. Level 2 energy next. It'll take everything we have, but we don't have a choice."
There was a grim silence between them. They all knew what was coming. To release that much energy was risky—it drained their Mana reserves to dangerous levels. But they didn't have any other options. The beasts would keep coming, and they had to be ready.
One by one, they began to gather their remaining energy, their auras flaring to life. Each of them released just enough to maintain a level two state, their combined power surging into the air. The oppressive weight of their energy filled the clearing, making the air crackle with tension.
And then, they waited.
For a few moments, nothing happened. The forest around them was eerily quiet, the silence pressing in on all sides. But there was something else—a presence that none of them could quite place. It was faint at first, barely a whisper, but as the seconds ticked by, it grew heavier, more oppressive. The hairs on the back of Axel's neck stood on end.
A chill ran down his spine, and he instinctively tightened his grip on his weapon.
The silence was shattered by the sharp beeping of their watches, three short bursts of sound that echoed through the clearing. Axel glanced down, his heart pounding as the watch's screen flickered, numbers flashing across it before settling into chilling words:
**{You have encountered 4 Grade 3 Beasts... Unknown beasts have entered the area.}**
***Author's note***
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