Three Stonebacks emerged from the tunnel ahead.
They didn't charge right away.
The passage was too narrow for that, stone pressing in on both sides, forcing their bulk into an awkward line. The lead lizard lowered its head, thick neck muscles bunching, yellow eyes flicking between Victor and the undead Stoneback beside him. The two behind it shifted restlessly, claws scraping against the floor as they tried to find space that didn't exist.
For a moment, everything held.
Victor didn't move. His shield stayed planted, weight settled through his legs. He could feel the pressure already, the promise of impact waiting just a step away. Behind him, Arin's presence was steady, quiet, like a hand on his back, even though there was distance between them.
Mina swallowed.
She raised her hand slightly, fingers trembling, not from fear exactly, but from the drain still lingering in her veins. The undead Stoneback stood obediently at her side, head low, ribs rising and falling in a mockery of breath.
Arin knew Mina's Mana was too low to raise another one, so he commanded," No holding back, kill them as fast as you can, any method works."
Mina nodded, "Go," she said, voice sharper than she felt. "Roar."
The undead obeyed.
Its throat worked, pulling in air, and then it released a sound that scraped through the tunnel like stone on iron. It wasn't just loud, it was hollow, broken in places. A roar that carried none of the hesitation of pain or exhaustion.
The reaction was immediate.
The front Stoneback snapped, answering with its own roar, and surged forward. The ones behind it followed, momentum shoving them together into a clumsy, violent mass.
Victor stepped into it.
Shield met scale with a crack that echoed down the tunnel. The Stoneback slammed against him, jaws snapping inches from the shield's rim.
Victor didn't wait.
He twisted his shoulders and brought Midnight Thunder down in a tight arc. The hammer struck the side of the lizard's skull, not hard enough to kill, but hard enough to stagger. Bone rang beneath the blow. The Stoneback reeled, head snapping sideways.
Raul moved.
He was already gone before the sound of the hammer faded.
His foot touched the wall, then the other, running along the rough stone as if gravity had briefly lost interest in him. He angled in, daggers flashing, and slashed across the lizard's face. One blade bit deep into the soft tissue around its eye.
The Stoneback screamed.
It thrashed, blind on one side now, tail smashing against the tunnel wall. Victor braced again, shield up, absorbing the chaos.
Raul didn't stay.
He pushed off the wall and vanished down the tunnel's edge, slipping past the chaos toward the third Stoneback, which had been forced back by the jam of bodies. That one hissed as Raul landed in front of it, claws scraping as it tried to square up in the cramped space.
Behind Victor, Mina raised her hand again.
"Don't hold back," she said, voice low. "Kill it."
The undead Stoneback lunged.
It didn't care about openings or defense. It didn't hesitate when the living Stoneback slashed at it, claws tearing into dead flesh. It bit down hard on the other's neck, jaws locking, and drove forward with brute force. Bones cracked, and scales split.
The living Stoneback tried to pull away, panic flickering in its eyes as it realized something was wrong. It roared again, but there was fear in it now, and fear kills faster than enemies.
The undead pressed on.
Victor felt the shift beside him and took advantage of it. He stepped sideways, shoulder brushing the undead's flank, and slammed his shield into the wounded Stoneback again. The hammer followed immediately after, this time aimed cleanly.
The blow crushed into the side of its skull.
The lizard dropped, legs folding beneath it, body twitching once before going still.
Victor exhaled sharply through his teeth. No time to rest.
Further down the tunnel, Raul was dancing with the third Stoneback.
The space there was even tighter, forcing the lizard into awkward movements. Raul stayed close, too close, slipping past snapping jaws and heavy claws with inches to spare. He cut shallow, fast, drawing blood and forcing the Stoneback to turn, to react, to waste strength, as if toying with him.
The lizard lunged.
Raul ducked under it, rolled, and came up behind. His daggers struck in quick succession, one burying itself into the joint behind the creature's foreleg, the other sliding between scales near the spine.
The Stoneback reared, shrieking, tail smashing wildly.
Raul grimaced as the tail clipped his side, too late to dorge and the narrow space didn't help either; it knocked the air from his lungs. He staggered, barely keeping his footing. The lizard turned, sensing weakness, jaws opening wide.
It didn't get the chance.
A spear punched through its chest from the side.
Mina stood there, feet planted badly, shield hanging awkwardly at her arm, spear trembling in her hands. She'd moved forward without realizing it, driven by instinct more than planning.
The spear point had gone in too shallow to kill outright.
The Stoneback twisted, roaring, trying to reach her.
"Hold it!" Victor shouted.
The undead Stoneback barreled into it from behind, slamming the creature into the wall. Stone cracked. Mina yanked her spear free with a gasp and thrust again, this time aiming lower, where she remembered Arin had told her the heart sat.
The spear went in.
The Stoneback shuddered once, then sagged, weight sliding down the wall until it collapsed in a heap.
Silence crept back into the tunnel.
Not complete silence, just breathing, metal settling, the scrape of the undead shifting its stance.
Arin hadn't moved from his place behind them. He lowered his sword slightly, eyes sweeping over each of them in turn.
Victor straightened, rolling his shoulder. Raul leaned against the wall, one hand pressed to his side as he caught his breath. Nothing was broken, and it would heal in a few hours, but for now, it hurt, even with his armor having taken most of the hit. Mina stood frozen for a second longer, then slowly lowered her spear.
A familiar pulse flickered through Arin's vision.
Three confirmations. Three kills.
He let the tension drain from his posture.
"Good work," he said quietly. "Enemy is neutralized."
Raul laughed weakly. "You say that like we're in a war or something."
"Raul, be serious, you're toying with that thing, which nearly cost you your life."
Raul knew it was his fault; he became too overconfident," It won't happen again."
"Good," then Arin looked at Mina.
Mina looked down at her hands, then at the bodies. Her voice came out soft. "I… didn't freeze this time."
"No," Arin said. "You didn't, good save."
The undead Stoneback shifted, its body marked with deep gashes, chunks of dead flesh hanging loose. One of its legs dragged slightly when it moved.
Mina noticed and frowned. "It took a lot of damage."
Arin nodded. "Send it back. Let it recover."
She closed her eyes and reached inward, feeling for that strange, hollow connection. The undead dissolved into violet light and vanished.
The tunnel felt emptier without it.
Victor rested his hammer against the ground. "Let's catch our breath before we push deeper."
Arin nodded once. "Recover your stamina and mana. Then we move."