Dust and rubble chased them down the tunnel as the earth groaned beneath their feet.
"Inigo, fall back now!" Feron yelled over comms, his staff glowing as he held the collapsing entrance open with a shimmering barrier.
Sark hurled a fragmentation grenade behind them to cover their retreat, the blast echoing through the dark like a thunderclap. The walls trembled.
Meryl skidded on the loose gravel and fired a high-explosive round from her launcher into a pursuing crawler that had slipped through the barricade. The explosion turned the monster into mist.
"Clear!" she called out, panting.
They sprinted forward.
"The core's close!" Brenna shouted, pulling ahead with her shotgun raised.
Every step toward the deeper chamber was hotter. The walls sweated steam. The air shimmered with mana distortion. They were entering the nest.
"Thermal readings peaking," Hal said, glancing at his wrist module. "We're at the heart."
They rounded a final bend—and there it was.
