"H–Hey… this is starting to feel really scary."
In an environment that was unnaturally silent, fear spread easily. Even a small disturbance could magnify unease, and a subtle sense of dread had already begun to take hold among the girls.
Masata didn't feel anything unusual himself, but his alertness was already pushed to its limit.
Drip.
A sudden sound echoed through the cave, piercing the silence.
"Ah!"
Chacha cried out instinctively.
"What happened?!"
Sensing something wrong, everyone rushed to Chacha's side. Despite trying to suppress their fear, a chill crept up their spines as they scanned their surroundings warily.
"N–No, it's nothing."
Chacha herself was startled. Just now, she had felt a sudden cold sensation on her shoulder, as if some kind of liquid had dripped onto her.
"There seems to be water seeping from the ceiling," she said after calming down, waving her hands.
"Just a drop fell."
That explanation made sense. In a damp environment like this, water often seeps through cracks in the cave roof. This is how stalactites form, after all.
Hearing that, everyone relaxed slightly, and the tense atmosphere seemed to ease.
"Wait."
Masata suddenly spoke, stopping everyone in their tracks.
Slowly, he raised his head. The beam from his helmet-mounted searchlight followed his gaze upward—until it froze directly above Chacha.
"Move—NOW!!!"
The instant he clearly saw what was overhead, Masata didn't bother explaining and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Huh?"
The girls hadn't grasped the situation yet and instinctively looked up.
"A monster—!"
Clinging to the ceiling was a grotesque creature nearly three meters long. It had the body of a lizard, but eight powerful legs jutted from its sides. A swollen, tumor-like hump bulged from its back, and its gaping mouth constantly leaked viscous liquid.
The "water" that had dripped onto Chacha earlier was its saliva.
It was the first time any of them had seen such a hideous creature. In the darkness of the cave, even students from U.A. were shaken to their core.
After all, this wasn't a training exercise. Battles at school, no matter how dangerous, were still against humans.
The unknown was far more terrifying.
Someone instinctively turned around, trying to retreat the way they had come—but the ground suddenly shook.
The monster dropped from the ceiling, landing heavily in front of them and blocking their escape.
"…Looks like we'll have to kill it."
Masata spoke calmly, but his tone was serious.
Whether it was the exposed fangs, the low, intermittent growl rumbling from its throat, or the blood-red eyes gleaming in the darkness—everything about this creature screamed hostility.
"You all step back," Masata said firmly.
"I'll take it down."
Among everyone present, Masata's combat ability was unquestionably the strongest. His Quirk was the most destructive, and in moments like this, he naturally became the pillar everyone relied on.
No one argued. They immediately retreated behind him.
Crimson lava surged from Masata's arms and dripped onto the cave floor. The darkness was instantly swallowed by red light, revealing the cave's true structure.
Everyone's earlier suspicions were confirmed.
This cave was clearly man-made.
Not only that, steel pipes were embedded within the stone walls, partially hidden beneath layers of rock. It looked as if the stone exterior had been applied later.
Even more unsettling—what appeared to be lighting fixtures were mounted along the ceiling. They had all been so focused on the ground that none of them had noticed before.
"There's something over there—it looks like a switch!"
Mina's sharp eyes spotted a small protrusion on the cave wall. It was the same color as the surrounding rock, almost impossible to see unless you were looking closely.
"Don't touch it!"
Yaoyorozu shouted the moment she saw Mina's hand reaching toward it.
But she was too late.
The ground suddenly trembled, and Mina lost her balance. Her palm slammed straight onto the switch.
A shrill siren blared throughout the cave.
Immediately after, the ceiling lights flickered on one by one, flooding the cave with harsh white light.
"Huh? What's this? Is this… a light switch?"
Mina stared blankly at the now-illuminated cave, completely unaware of what she had just triggered.
Yaoyorozu and the others exchanged uneasy glances. Logically, a siren going off was never a good sign—but aside from the lights turning on, nothing else seemed to happen.
That assumption didn't last long.
Crash!
From deep within the cave came the unmistakable sound of glass shattering, followed by the splash of liquid pouring down from above.
After a brief silence, strange roars echoed through the cave one after another, overlapping into a horrifying chorus.
It was the kind of sound that made your scalp tingle.
"M–Mina, you messed up big time!" Kurosawa Yoru cried, her voice trembling.
"What are all these things in this cave?!"
Still shaken from the sudden turn of events, Kurosawa Yoru clutched Mina's arm tightly, her hands shaking as tears welled in her eyes.
Surprisingly, Chacha—the one who had been the most frightened earlier—was now much calmer. After spending so much time with Masata and Yaoyorozu, and having faced multiple dangerous situations, her mental resilience had grown stronger than she realized.
"From now on, don't touch anything strange!" Yaoyorozu said firmly.
"I suspect there are many monsters like that one in this cave. They'll be coming soon. Everyone, prepare yourselves. Masata can't protect all of us alone!"
Her clear, decisive words snapped Mina out of her panic. She swallowed hard, staring nervously into the depths of the cave.
Meanwhile, Masata stood face-to-face with the monster.
"The body of a lizard… eight legs… and that tumor-like back…"
His eyes narrowed.
"What the hell are you?"
The creature seemed wary of Masata's presence. It let out low, threatening roars but didn't immediately attack, as if instinctively sensing the danger he posed.
...
Hey everyone! Want to read ahead and unlock up to 100 early-access chapters? Plus, enjoy even more exclusive novels! Join my Patreon now and dive into the adventure!
patreon.com/Rawink00