Brute 272

Atasha’s POV 

The cave swallowed us whole the moment we crossed the threshold. 

What surprised me first was not the darkness, but the lack of it. 

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The deeper we went, the warmer the air became, the cold night utside replaced by a damp heat that clung to skin and 

armor. 

The stone walls narrowed in places, then widened again into uneven chambers carved by collapse rather than design. The ground under our boots was packed earth and fractured rock, solid enough to hold weight but unstable enough that every step felt like it could shift if pressed too hard. 

The beasts inside were smaller. 

They skittered out of cracks and low tunnels, malformed things with too many legs or jaws set too wide, but they fell easily. Cassian cut them down without breaking stride, and the King dispatched two more with quick, efficient movements that left no wasted effort behind. Grace and Rio handled the flanks, weapons rising and falling in clean arcs, while Nicho stayed just behind the King, alert and tense but uninjured. 

It was… easy. 

Too easy. 

As we moved deeper, faint light began to creep along the cave walls. At first, I thought it was reflection from steel, but then realized it was coming from the stone itself. Insect–like creatures clung to the walls in clusters, their bodies translucent and glowing softly, pale green and dull blue, pulsing faintly as if breathing. They scattered when we passed too close, wings buzzing low, but they did not attack. 

Their presence turned the cave into a dimly lit corridor, not bright enough to be comforting, but clear enough that shadows had shape. We could see the curve of the walls, the uneven ceiling, the way the tunnel dipped and sloped further inward. 

The King led from the front. So far, none of us had been injured. That was what made my skin prickle. 

Things did not go this smoothly without a reason. 

Then the King raised his hand. 

We stopped immediately. 

My fingers tightened around the hilt of my sword, my gaze swept the space ahead, searching for movement I could not yet hear. The cave widened into a chamber large enough to house a collapsed building, the floor uneven and scarred, the walls rising high enough that the glowing insects clustered like constellations along the stone. 

“Prepare,” the King whispered. 

The word had barely left his mouth when the cave exploded with sound. 

A loud bang echoed through the chamber, sharp enough to rattle my teeth. The ground shuddered violently beneath us, stones tumbling loose from the ceiling as something massive crashed through a wall to our left. 

A beast burst into view. 

It looked like a bear, but only in the most distant sense. It was far larger, its body swollen and misshapen, shoulders humped. unnaturally high, claws long enough to scrape sparks off the stone as it charged. Its mouth opened wide, revealing rows of teeth built for tearing through bone rather than flesh. 

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18:05 Fri, Jan 30 ec 

Chapter 972 

The king moved first. 

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He met it head on, blade flashing as he ducked under a swipe that would have crushed a man flat. His sword drove up into the beast’s chest with brutal precision, and the creature roared, stumbling forward before collapsing hard enough to crack the stone beneath it. 

It hit the ground. 

Then the growl came. 

Deeper. Louder. Close enough that the air vibrated with it. 

The ground shook again. 

Another bear–like beast crashed through the opposite side of the chamber, followed immediately by a second, both larger than the first, both moving faster than something their size should have been able to. Their eyes gleamed as they locked onto us, bodies lowering as they prepared to charge. 

“Fight!” the King shouted. 

The chamber erupted into chaos. 

Cassian was already at my side, his blade cutting down a smaller creature that leapt from the shadows before it could reach me. Grace intercepted one of the bears from the right, her strike glancing off thick hide before she rolled aside just in time to avoid being crushed. 

Rio slammed into another from the flank, weapon driving into its shoulder, but the beast barely slowed. It reared up and swiped, sending him skidding across the stone with a grunt that told me he had taken a hit. 

More movement surged from the walls. 

Four more of the massive beasts charged in, filling the chamber with thunderous footfalls and snarls that echoed off stone. Their bodies crowded the space, forcing us to split, forcing us to react instead of control. 

Nicho went down first. 

One of the bears caught him with its shoulder and threw him into the wall like a rag doll. He hit hard, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs, and he slid down the stone before collapsing onto his knees. 

I moved toward him instinctively, power already gathering in my chest. 

Then Rio was thrown as well. 

Another beast slammed into him from behind, lifting him off his feet and sending him crashing into the ground not far from where I stood. Pain flared across his back as he rolled, struggling to get up. 

The bears were too strong. 

One mistake, one poorly timed strike, and they sent bodies flying. 

I turned toward Rio, already stepping forward, my hand lifting to heal- 

And then it happened. 

A beast lunged past Cassian and grabbed Nicho’s leg. 

There was a sound I would never forget. 

The creature tore through armor and flesh in one violent motion, ripping his leg apart as if it weighed nothing. Blood 

18:05 Fri, Jan 30 GGG. 

Chapter 272 

sprayed across the stone, hot and thick, the smell filling the chamber so fast it made my stomach turn. 

Nicho screamed. 

The sound cut through everything. My eyes snapped to him as he collapsed fully, hands clawing at the ground, blood pooling beneath him. 

“Nicho!” the King shouted. 

The beasts roared again, drawn by the blood, pressing closer. 

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Nicho gasped, his face pale, teeth clenched as he forced the words out. “Leave… now,” he choked, “Your Majesty. I will use the stone.” 

My heart slammed into my ribs. 

“No!” the King shouted, fury and panic breaking through his control. “No!” 

Cassian did not hesitate. 

He grabbed me and the King at the same time, one arm locking around my waist, the other hauling the King back with sheer force. His strength surged as he leapt, boots pounding against stone as he dragged us away from the center of the chamber. 

Grace reacted instantly, pulling Rio up as they followed, retreating as Cassian forced distance between us and Nicho. 

Then… the ground shook again. 

The bears surged forward, their roars drowning out everything else as Cassian drove us down the tunnel, away from the chamber, away from the blood, away from Nicho’s broken form as he prepared to do something that made my chest ache with dread. 

The last thing I heard before the stone swallowed us was the King’s voice, shouting Nicho’s name as the cave shook around 

1. us. 

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