They searched the bodies, gathering what meager supplies remained. Finn took a longsword from Rask’s corpse, while Nyx pulled twin daggers from another of the fallen and tucked them into her dress.

"Right." Finn’s voice came out rough. "Keep moving. And stay sharp—we’re not ending up like them."

They picked their way across the chamber, giving the corpses a wide berth.

What manner of monster could inflict such cruelty? And was it still hunting?

The uneven passage forced them to proceed single-file, Finn in the lead with Nyx a step behind. Her presence at his back steadied him.

Time lost meaning in the oppressive gloom. Minutes or hours could have passed as they wound their way ever deeper, guided only by the eerie green veins pulsing in the walls.

Then, from the darkness ahead, came a sound.

A wet, tearing noise, underlaid by a low, satisfied growl. Finn froze, hand tightening on the hilt of his Rask’s sword. Beside him, Nyx had gone utterly still.

Finn sent a thought through their bond. ’What is that?’

’Trouble.’ Her reply was clipped. ’Dim your light. Tread softly. We are not alone.’

Heart pounding, Finn crept forward, placing each foot with exacting caution. The passage opened into another chamber, larger than the last. And there, crouched in the center —

The creature gorging itself on the carcass of some unfortunate beast was unlike anything Finn had encountered. It was a hulking mass of mottled flesh and chitin, its form an unsettling fusion of insect and reptile. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Blood dripped from serrated mandibles as it tore into its meal with single-minded purpose.

Finn swallowed hard. This had to be the killer of Rask and his party, the monster stalking the third floor.

[Dungeon Glutton - lvl 25 Elite]

The red cursor hanging over the thing pulsed balefully. Level twenty-five. Even with their levels combined, a head-on fight would be suicide. Finn shot Nyx a loaded glance.

Her hand had strayed to her daggers, but she made no move to draw... yet.

He scanned the chamber, searching for another route, a way to slip past undetected. There, on the far wall was a fissure, just wide enough to squeeze through.

If they could reach it without drawing the Glutton’s notice...

Finn nudged Nyx and jerked his chin toward the fissure. Her eyes followed his gesture, then flicked back to him. She nodded once, sharply.

Step by painstaking step, they skirted the edge of the chamber, hugging the shadows. The Glutton remained absorbed in its grisly feast, the wet smack and crunch of rending flesh echoing obscenely.

Finn’s nerves felt stretched to breaking as they crossed the final distance to the fissure.

’Just a little further...’

His foot came down on a loose stone. It shifted beneath his weight and clattered across the floor.

The sound cut through the chamber like shattering glass.

The Glutton’s head snapped up, gore dripping from its maw. Baleful eyes swiveled to lock onto them, burning with hunger. It uncoiled from its crouch, a snarl building in its throat.

"Go," Finn breathed.

Then they were sprinting, diving for the fissure as the labyrinth Glutton let out a bone-shaking roar. It lunged after them, the trample of its charge deafening in the enclosed space.

Finn hit the fissure a half-step ahead of Nyx, forcing himself into the narrow gap. The rock tore at his clothes, his skin, but there was no time to feel the pain. He twisted sideways and stretched out a desperate hand.

Nyx’s fingers locked around his, her grip fierce. He hauled her through just as the Glutton slammed into the fissure entrance behind her.

The stone shuddered under the impact, cracks spidering outward.

For a horrifying instant, Finn was sure it would give way.

But the rock held. The Glutton snarled in thwarted fury, its maw snapping inches from Nyx’s legs, but its bulk was too great to force into the narrow passage.

"Keep going," Finn panted. "It can’t follow."

They half-ran, half-crawled, scraping themselves raw on the jagged stone. The Glutton’s enraged howls pursued them until the twists of the passage swallowed them, leaving only the frantic drum of their own heartbeats.

At last, the fissure widened, bringing them into a small antechamber. They stumbled to a halt, chests heaving.

"That," Nyx said, still catching her breath, "was closer than I should like, Bearer."

"Yeah." Finn slumped against the wall, his legs threatening to give. "Rask. The others. They never had a chance."

"And we very nearly joined them." Nyx straightened, wincing as her wounds pulled. "That thing will not lose us a second time."

Finn nodded grimly. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. The Glutton had marked them now, it would hunt them relentlessly until it had its prey... or until they put it down.

"So what now?" She asked.

Finn took a slow breath, trying to calm his racing heart. His mind churned, pulling up everything he could remember, guides, clips, half-read forum threads, running it all at breakneck speed.

Beside him, Nyx watched with those eerie crimson eyes, awaiting his decision.

"Okay," he said at last. "I’ve read this one guide on the forum. Dungeon Glutton. It has a weak point, a cluster of eyes on the back of its skull. Problem is, they’re only exposed when it rears up for a breath attack."

Nyx’s brow furrowed. "And this breath, I take it, is not the kind one survives."

"Corrosive. Eats through armor in seconds." Finn’s mouth set in a grim line. "But that’s our window. When it rears, the underbelly opens up. Stagger it, get behind it, hit the eyes."

"A desperate plan."

"Got a better one?"

A flicker of something, amusement, perhaps, crossed her face. "None. Tell me how it goes."

They spent the next minutes in hurried preparation, checking gear, running through the plan again and again until it was carved into their minds.

It wasn’t long before they heard it — the heavy tread of the Glutton, its claws gouging the stone as it prowled the tunnels in search of its lost prey. Hunting them.

Finn and Nyx exchanged a final look, a wordless understanding passing between them. Then, together, they slipped from the antechamber to meet the beast.

They found it in a large cavern, its bulk filling the space like a small mountain of mottled flesh and armored hide. It swung its head towards them as they entered, mandibles clicking in anticipation.

Nyx stepped forward, crimson eyes flashing.

"Still hungry?" Her voice carried across the chamber, soft and almost pitying. "A shame to leave a meal half-finished."

The Glutton snarled, its attention fixing on her lithe form. Finn swallowed past a sudden lump in his throat.

The plan revolved around her acting as bait. The sight of her facing down the massive predator, so small against its bulk, set his teeth on edge.

’I’m not fragile, Bearer.’ her voice murmured in his mind, edged with dark amusement. ’Steady yourself. Here it comes.