The cavern trembles as the regenerated monsters surge toward Elodie from both directions.
"Divine Chain!" Abel shouts.
Silver light erupts from his hands.
Chains of radiant energy shoot across the cavern like living serpents.
They streak past Elodie and wrap around the hind legs of the double-headed rat charging from the side.
At the same moment, Elie raises her hands.
"Divine Shield!"
A translucent shield of holy light appears beside Elodie just as the two-headed rat lunges.
The creature crashes into the shield.
The barrier groans and fractures under the impact.
But it holds long enough.
The chains reach the monster and coil around its legs.
Abel plants his staff into the ground and pulls.
The rat is yanked backwards.
Clive moves instantly.
He charges forward, sword already swinging.
The rat's two heads twist around in fury.
Its jaws snap at the chains binding it.
The small rat heads beneath its belly shriek wildly.
One of the main heads bites the silver chain.
Divine energy sparks.
With a violent jerk, the monster tears itself free.
But Clive is already there.
His sword arcs through the air.
The blade slices across the creature's side.
A deep gash opens.
Black blood splashes across the icy floor.
The rat howls.
Clive presses the attack.
But the monster moves faster than expected.
Its claws slam toward him.
Clive blocks with his sword.
The impact nearly breaks his arms.
Even with all his skill, the creature's raw strength overwhelms him.
He retreats two steps.
The rat lunges again.
Rosalyn shouts from behind.
"Clive, right!"
A spell erupts from her hand.
Wind pushes the monster slightly off balance.
Abel casts again.
"Divine Bind!"
Silver light strikes the rat's body.
For a moment, its movements slow.
Clive darts forward and cuts across its shoulder.
But the creature retaliates instantly.
Its claws crash toward him again.
Clive rolls away just before the blow lands.
Stone shatters where he had stood.
Even with spells supporting him, the monster's speed and strength are too great.
Then, three armoured guards rush forward.
"We'll hold it!"
They spread out, surrounding the creature with Clive.
One guard thrusts his spear into its flank.
Another swings his sword toward the neck.
Clive joins them, striking repeatedly whenever an opening appears.
Abel and Elie continue casting support spells.
Holy chains restrain the monster.
Shields block its lunges.
Rosalyn sends bursts of elemental force to disrupt its balance.
The battle becomes chaotic.
Steel flashes.
Claws slam.
Divine light and corpse energy explode through the cavern.
Finally, Clive sees an opening.
The rat rears back to strike one of the guards.
Clive steps in.
With all his strength, he swings his sword diagonally across the monster's body.
The blade cleaves deep.
The body tears apart.
The two heads separate as the creature splits into two uneven halves.
The larger half crashes to the ground.
The smaller piece tumbles several meters away.
Clive and the guards step back, breathing hard.
For a moment, relief spreads across their faces.
Then—
A scream.
One of the guards jerks forward.
A rat corpse monster has leapt from behind.
Its teeth sink into the man's back.
The guard collapses instantly.
The monster tears into his flesh.
Clive turns sharply.
More rats pour from the tunnels.
But something worse catches his eye.
Elodie is no longer fighting the six-legged rat.
Instead, a new monster stands before her.
A grotesque two-headed rat.
One head on each end of its body.
Its torso stretches between them like a twisted spine.
No hind legs.
Instead, each head possesses a pair of powerful front limbs.
The creature moves as if two rats fused together.
The remaining two guards rush to help their fallen companion.
They strike the rat that killed him.
Their swords bite deep.
But the monster tears the guard's body apart before they can save him.
Clive looks back at the corpse he split earlier.
His stomach sinks.
The pieces are regenerating.
The larger half grows another head.
The smaller half expands rapidly.
Six tiny rat heads sprout along its back.
Each is squealing with rage.
Within seconds, two new monsters stand where one had died.
Clive grips his sword tighter.
"This isn't normal regeneration…"
The battle erupts again.
Rats swarm from every tunnel.
Each time one is killed, pieces crawl across the floor and reform into new creatures.
Even severed limbs twitch and grow.
Clive cuts through one rat.
Two more grow from its corpse.
Elodie slashes through another monster with ice energy.
Fragments scatter.
Moments later, those fragments twitch and begin forming new bodies.
The cavern becomes a nightmare.
Everywhere, rats are reforming.
Bodies multiply faster than they can kill them.
Stone cracks.
Then a thunderous crash echoes through the cavern.
A tunnel collapses.
Rock seals the passage.
Dust fills the air.
Another tunnel caves in moments later.
The exits disappear one by one.
Soon, the cavern becomes a sealed chamber.
More rats swarm from the darkness.
Clive's arms begin aching from constant fighting.
The guards bleed from multiple wounds.
Abel's divine magic grows weaker.
Rosalyn struggles to remain standing.
They retreat step by step until their backs press against the cavern wall.
Rosalyn, Abel, and Elie stand behind them.
Clive, Elodie, and the two remaining guards form a defensive line.
Rats swarm toward them endlessly.
Clive swings his sword again.
A rat splits open.
As its body falls apart, something flashes within it.
A dark green crystal shoots out from the corpse.
Clive instinctively snatches it from the air.
The moment it leaves the corpse, the body stops regenerating.
Clive stares at the crystal.
Then he looks up.
High above the cavern wall, he sees something.
A narrow opening near the ceiling.
"Up there!" he shouts.
"There's an exit!"
Everyone glances upward.
The opening is barely visible in the shadows.
Elodie steps forward.
Her breathing grows heavy.
"I'll freeze them," she says.
"Only for a moment."
"Be ready to run."
Everyone nods.
The rats surge again.
Elodie raises her sword.
Cold energy gathers around her body.
A phantom figure appears behind her.
The image of a veiled woman made of frost.
The temperature drops instantly.
The cavern air turns white with cold.
"Ice Field."
Elodie slams her sword into the ground.
Frozen energy explodes outward.
Ice spreads across the cavern floor like a tidal wave.
The rats freeze mid-motion.
Hundreds of them lock in place.
The spell spreads across the entire cavern.
Then Elodie collapses.
Rosalyn catches her from behind.
Clive quickly lifts Elodie onto his back.
"Move!"
They sprint toward the wall.
One guard runs first.
He dashes up the uneven stone and leaps toward the opening.
His fingers catch the ledge.
He drags himself inside and collapses from exhaustion, but stays conscious.
Below, Abel casts again.
"Divine Chain!"
A glowing chain shoots upward.
The guard grabs it and anchors himself.
"Elie first!" Abel shouts.
Elie climbs quickly.
Rosalyn follows next.
Then Clive climbs with Elodie on his back.
The frozen rats begin cracking free.
Ice shatters.
Screeching fills the cavern again.
Clive pulls himself into the opening just as the swarm reaches the wall.
Below them, Abel remains with the last guard.
Rats surge toward them.
"Sir, go!" the guard shouts.
"I'll hold them!"
Abel hesitates.
"No—"
But the guard pushes him toward the chain.
Above, the first guard pulls hard.
The chain tightens and drags Abel upward.
Below them, the last guard charges forward.
He lets out a war cry and slams into the swarm.
Clive lays Elodie gently on the ground and grabs the chain.
Together with the others, they pull Abel upward.
Moments later, he reaches the ledge.
Everyone collapses in exhaustion.
Below them, the last guard disappears beneath the rats.
His screams echo briefly.
Then stop.
The rats swarm beneath the wall.
They leap repeatedly, trying to reach the opening.
But the height is too great.
Unable to climb, they screech in frustration and gather below.
Clive stares down at the swarm silently.
The cavern beneath them writhes with rats.
Dozens of the corpse creatures swarm across the stone floor, leaping and shrieking as they try to reach the ledge above, their claws scraping uselessly against the wall.
Clive lowers his gaze and scans the battlefield below.
Then he notices something.
One of the rats lies motionless.
Its body is torn apart, pieces scattered across the ground—but unlike the others, it is not regenerating.
Clive pulls the dark green crystal from his pocket and studies it.
Abel, who had seen Clive catch the crystal during the battle, follows his line of sight.
His eyes settle on the dead rat below.
"We need to remove the crystals to kill them," Abel says firmly.
The others turn and follow the direction of Clive and Abel's gaze.
Realisation spreads across their faces.
Rosalyn, however, turns quickly toward Elodie.
She kneels beside her and checks her breathing.
"Does anyone have an energy potion?" she asks urgently.
Elie reaches into her pouch.
"I have."
She hands it over.
Rosalyn carefully lifts Elodie's head and pours the potion between her lips.
Moments later, colour slowly returns to Elodie's pale face.
Meanwhile, Abel turns toward Clive.
"Let me examine that crystal."
Clive tosses it to him.
Elie then distributes energy potions to the rest of the group.
Clive drinks it down quickly, closes his eyes, and begins meditating to regain his strength.