Chapter 41: Chapter 41: The Burrower Queen The earth trembled again, stronger now. Cracks split the ground, tossing dirt and broken stone into the air.
The group scrambled back as the center ruptured, and something massive erupted from beneath, long, armored, and terrifying.
It was a Spine Crawler, but nothing like the ones they’d just fought. This one was easily the size of a transport bus.
The same bone-colored legs clawed against the ground, twitching with high-speed jerks, but now in dozens more sets. The stone-like plates on its back were thicker, darker, and jagged at the edges like they had grown into natural blades.
Its jaw was longer, wider, and slimy green mist hissed from deep within its mouth. This was the queen.
It let out a scream, high-pitched and unnatural, and dove back into the ground.
Then it breached again, rearing its full length above the trees.
"Now!" Nia yelled.
They sprang into action. Aras raised his hand, and a heavy force slammed down on the queen, slowing its movements.
The gravity field didn’t stop it completely. The monster’s weight was too immense, but it gave the team precious seconds.
Ash burst forward, shifting mid-run. His limbs thickened, his bones cracked, and within seconds, he was something else entirely.
A bulky creature with long claws and heavy skin. He leaped, landed on the Spine Crawler’s side, and began smashing down.
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The queen shrieked and writhed. Mucus splattered. She tried to shake him off, but he dug in.
Rhian took his chance.
He sprinted, jumped, and grabbed one of the jagged plates. His blades wedged between the cracks as he climbed higher.
Each step he took left a smear of blood and slime. The body jerked underneath him, but he moved fast.
He wasn’t as strong as Nia... or weirdly Ash. Not as fast as Iris. But he was up here.
"Move to the head!" Iris called out from below. "More openings there!"
He nodded and kept climbing, ducking as a twitching leg nearly took his head off. Nia held the line beneath him, sword in hand, slicing clean through any stray legs that reached toward the others. She kept glancing up at him.
The queen moved again.
A hard, sudden jolt. Rhian’s footing vanished.
He slipped, slamming into the carapace. His fingers caught a ridge. Just barely.
"Rhian!" Nia shouted.
He grunted, legs flailing midair. One blade slipped free. He caught the edge of the monster’s long lower jaw. His chest slammed into it.
The queen screamed again and reared back, lifting on her many legs. Rhian didn’t wait.
He slid forward, tucked his body low, and drove both blades into the soft, glowing green flesh under the monster’s jaw. The skin gave way. He dragged himself down the throat, carving deep lines across it.
Green blood erupted. It poured down like a wave.
Below, the rest of the group stepped back. Ash had already leaped away. Aras dropped the gravity field.
The monster spasmed.
Then it fell. Slamming into the dirt. A cloud of green mist billowed from its open jaw.
Rhian hit the ground, landing on his back, coughing hard. Covered in blood and slime.
Nia rushed to his side, kneeling. "Idiot," she muttered. Her voice was calm, but her hands were quick, checking him.
"I’m good," he coughed. "That sucked, though."
She sat back with a grin. "Yeah. But it was badass."
Iris was already checking the monster’s body, eyes scanning for signs of life. Aras stood in silence, eyes narrowed. He looked at Rhian for a moment, then nodded once.
Rhian opened his system.
[1.07%]
’H–how?’
But he smiled.
Rhian sighed, his chest still burning from the impact. His back ached, and every breath felt like it scraped against something raw inside.
He tried to push himself up, but Nia was already crouched beside him. Before he could protest, her arms slipped under him and hoisted him up with ease.
His eyes widened. "Wh–what are you doing? I can stand up."
"Yeah, but you’re hurt," she said flatly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Rhian glanced around quickly, hoping no one had noticed, but the moment Nia stood with him in her arms, the others turned.
The image of their frontliner being carried bridal-style by the team’s tank was too much.
Ash was the first to explode, laughing so hard he staggered back, wiping tears from his eyes.
Iris snorted, quickly covering her mouth, but her shoulders were shaking.
Even Aras, usually composed and unreadable, let out a sharp laugh and turned his head, trying to calm himself down.
Rhian glared at them, especially at Ash, whose cackling had only gotten louder.
"You’re doing too much," Rhian muttered, his face burning hotter than the scratches on his chest.
Nia didn’t even react to the laughter. She just kept walking with him like nothing was strange, her expression calm, though he caught the faintest hint of a smile tugging at her lips.
With that settled, the group got back to work, finishing up the clean sweep of the smaller Spine Crawlers.
Each of them crouched low, blades slick with green, cutting through flesh to dig out the faintly glowing F-grade cores.
It wasn’t glamorous work, but the steady clinking of cores into their bags was a sound Rhian found oddly satisfying.
Eventually, their attention turned back to the queen’s enormous corpse.
Rhian stood now, fully on his feet, his body still sore but healing steadily thanks to his Reptilian Regeneration.
The bruises and cuts across his body were fading little by little, though his back still felt like he’d been slammed by a boulder.
Nia had finally put him down, though it took longer than Rhian thought necessary. And for a brief moment, he seriously questioned if she left him up there longer just to mess with him.
’When I’m stronger than her... I’m picking her up the exact same way. Let’s see how she likes it,’ Rhian thought darkly.
Ash stood near the massive corpse of the queen, casually inspecting it, from a very safe, very clean distance. He then turned, locking eyes with Rhian.
"You got the kill," Ash said with a lazy grin, thumbing towards the monster. "So how about you do the honors and get the core, champ?"
Rhian just stared at him.
This bastard.
He could see it clear as day, Ash didn’t want to get covered in whatever green toxic soup was inside that thing.
Hell, even Iris was looking away like she was busy adjusting her wrist guards. Aras did not even offer a glance. The guy wasn’t moving unless someone told him to.
Rhian could push Ash to go, sure.
But honestly?
This was his first real portal adventure. First real monster this size. First, kill like this. If he didn’t do this himself, he’d probably regret it later.
He felt like it was the best day ever. Even if some monster shat on his mouth, he would still give a.. sm–
’Okay, not that far’ he said inwardly as he backtracked his words.
Rhian sighed hard, dragging his short blade from its sheath. "Fine. But if this thing explodes on me... I’m taking your bed tonight."
Ash laughed without shame. "Deal."