Some time earlier—right when Derick and his group were swarmed by crabs—Oskara and his team had already slipped past the chaos and dove into the pit. They moved with purpose, heading toward a specific cave as though they had prior knowledge of its layout, because they did.
Armed with intel about the cavern system and its inhabitants, they advanced swiftly. Stray beasts crossed their path, forcing them into several brief but violent skirmishes. They attempted to erase signs of their passage, but the battles left faint traces—scorch marks, blood splatters, cracked shells.
Deeper inside, the tunnel widened into a sprawling cavern corridor. Jagged walls pulsed with faint blue luminescence, casting long shadows across the water pooling on the stone floor. Ripples shimmered with each step they took.
At the chamber's center, a massive black-carapaced crab reared up, pincers snapping with bone-shattering force as it lunged toward them.
Tasha moved first.
Activating her class, she summoned a Spirit Panda.
[Class Activated — Summon:
A white, medium-sized, muscular panda manifested with a deep rumbling growl. The moment its paws touched the cavern floor, it lunged forward—charging headfirst into the giant crab like a living battering ram.
BOOM!
Water erupted in a ring around the impact point as the Spirit Panda crashed into the crab's armored face.
At the same moment, Oskara advanced.
With a sharp exhale, he triggered his own class.
[Class Activated — Phoenix Carapace]
Red armor materialized around him—ultra-dense, interlocking feather plates locking into place across his entire frame. Clawed gauntlets snapped shut over his hands, and a beak-shaped visor formed over his face, crowned by a phoenix-plume crest. Rigid fin-wings unfolded at his back, sharp and sleek.
He didn't hesitate.
A gleaming sword—the beast-soul weapon—materialized in his grip.
Oskara dashed across the cavern, feet splashing through shallow water, reaching the crab's exposed flank at the exact moment the Spirit Panda slammed it from the front.
The dual impact forced the crab to reel backward, its massive legs scraping furrows into the stone as it struggled to regain balance. But the beast recovered fast.
With a shrill, metallic screech, it snapped both pincers outward in a violent arc.
Bang! Craack!
The shockwave of its strike sent water spraying like knives. Tasha leapt back, narrowly avoiding a pincer that slammed into the ground where she'd stood a heartbeat earlier.
The Spirit Panda planted its hind legs on the ground, muscles bulging beneath its snowy fur. It growled deeply, the sound vibrating through the cavern. The beast lunged again, biting down on one of the crab's legs with ferocious strength.
The crab raised its legs and stomped on the panda, planting it face-first onto the ground.
And Oskara moved.
He became a crimson blur beneath the faint blue light—armor gleaming, fins slicing the air as he dashed forward with explosive speed. His sword carved a red arc as he slashed at the crab's exposed flank.
Clang!
Sparks burst out as the blade met the creature's hardened shell.
"Harder than the reports said…" Oskara muttered, shifting his stance.
The crab's pincer shot toward him. He ducked. The pincer sliced over his head, carving a massive crack into the cavern wall behind him. A single misstep would have cut him in half.
Oskara retaliated instantly. His sword flashed, stabbing toward the soft joint beneath the crab's limb—
TUNK!
The blade pierced, but only barely. The crab screeched and swung its other pincer down to bisect him—
—but Nolan intercepted it like a charging beast.
From the side tunnel, he burst into the chamber, body swelling as his transformation activated.
[Transformation: Bruth Titan]
Muscles ballooned, veins pulsing like coiled steel. In three thunderous strides he reached the crab and slammed his enlarged fist into the descending pincer.
BOOOOM!
The impact shook the cavern. The massive claw buckled backward, buying Oskara a precious heartbeat to slip out of danger.
Rusk followed, his movements sharp as falling steel.
[Summon — Blade Manifest]
A plain sword appeared in his hand—then lengthened, reshaping into a thin, deadly saber. He dropped low, sliding under the crab's towering frame. His blade flashed in rapid arcs, carving glowing lines across its jointed legs, each strike aimed with surgical precision.
"We need to push harder!" Oskara barked.
He shot a glance toward Tasha. She understood instantly. Drawing a deep breath, she triggered her skill.
[Active Skill: Enhance Panda Bond]
A pale, roaring aura exploded around the Spirit Panda. Its muscles thickened, its eyes blazed with primal fury, and power rippled off its fur like heat waves.
With a thunderous roar, the panda heaved itself upward, forcing the crab back a step. Then it lunged—its fist smashing into the limb that had been pinning it down, sending the giant crab skidding backward, carapace scraping the stone wall.
At that moment, Oskara and his team's subordinates—Drek, Dem, the twin brothers Usman and Usmano, Jenifer, Hanji, and the twins Nino and Nano—rushed deeper into the cave, following their assigned route without hesitation.
The crab clacked its mandibles furiously and spat a jet of sizzling green fluid toward the panda's face.
The panda raised its arm to block—but the second spit caught it off guard, splashing directly onto its eyes.
Tasha yelled, rage flaring. She charged in, summoning two identical blades in her hands, their edges gleaming with killing intent. Dragging the weapons low, she slashed across the crab's legs, forcing it to recoil.
Rusk didn't waste the opening. He activated his next skill.
[Active Skill: Extra Hand]
[Extra Hand — Activated]
A second sword materialized in his grip—this one broader, meant for defense. With dual blades gleaming, Rusk dove toward the crab, moving like a whirlwind of steel and footwork.
He lunged. Steel flashed. But the colossal crab was far from finished.
KRAK-KRAK-KRAK!
Its mandibles clattered violently, the sound echoing through the cavern like war drums. The beast's remaining pincer slammed into the ground with terrifying force, sending a shockwave across the chamber. Water and shattered stone exploded outward, knocking several loose boulders from the ceiling.
Rusk's foot slid back—just a fraction. It was all the opening the crab needed.
FWOOOSH!
Its abdomen pulsed—and a sickly green spray shot outward in a wide arc, far larger than before. The corrosive liquid hissed as it hit the ground, melting stone and leaving bubbling pits of acid.
"MOVE!" Oskara barked.
Nolan leapt aside, but the green mist grazed his side. Sssss—! He roared in pain, gritting his teeth.
The crab didn't slow. It surged forward, its massive body scraping stone, chitin plates grinding like steel. One pincer swept horizontally—a sweeping, scythe-like attack aimed to take all three fighters at once.
Nolan stepped up.
And the crab slammed into him.
BOOOOOM!!!
The impact shook the cavern. Nolan's enlarged Titan form skidded backward several meters, boots carving trenches in the wet stone. His arms trembled under the pincer's weight—he was strong, immensely so, but the beast was a full absolute-grade monster.
"Ghh—! This thing is tougher than the intel suggested!" Nolan growled.
The crab slammed its massive pincer down. Nolan crossed his arms—but the claw shredded his hands, keeping them mangled and bleeding. Yet his passive skill kicked in:
—Passive Skill:
· Damage received converts into power.
· Strength, speed, and brutality rise with injuries.
The more he was hurt, the stronger he became, muscles swelling, veins tightening. The strike had only made him deadlier.
Pain screamed through his mangled hands, but Nolan roared, muscles surging with Bruth Instinct. With a single explosive step, he slammed his shoulder into the crab's leg, sending shockwaves through its carapace. The beast staggered, momentarily off balance, giving Oskara and the others a perfect opening to press their assault.
Yet before they could capitalize, something entirely unforeseen shattered their advantage.
Drek burst from the cave's shadowed recess, Nino, Nano, and Hanji hot on his heels. In his hands, a transparent sack rattled—three milky-white eggs glinting in the faint blue light.
"Run!" he shouted, hurling it toward Oskara.
Behind them, the ground trembled. Three giant crabs lunged from the darkness. One shimmered white, the others a deep, earthy brown, slightly smaller than the monstrous black brute they'd faced before. Pincers clicked and scraped against stone, each step sending sprays of water across the cavern floor.
The air was thick with tension. Every second counted. Every heartbeat could be their last.
What? If one crab had been this deadly, how much worse would three more be? Oskara and his team didn't dare dwell on the thought.
Without hesitation, they bolted, Oskara leading the way toward the exit.
But as he stepped forward, a fist glowing crimson and green slammed into his face. Pain exploded across his skull, knocking him cold and sending him flying backward. The same hand snatched the rattling sack from his grasp.