He saw it moving within the darkness as it slowly came closer.
Xavier didn't react right away. Instead, he grabbed the bald man and threw him forward.
The man's body hit the stone floor with a weak cry while Xavier casually stepped to the side.
He leaned his back against the cave wall, using it for support, his posture almost relaxed as if he were watching something mildly entertaining.
He had used the him as bait earlier.
So why not return the favor?
If this truly was the dungeon boss's territory, the smell of blood and fear should be more than enough to draw it out.
And it did.
Something stepped out of the shadows.
A monstrous wolf revealed itself under the faint golden glow of the minerals embedded in the cave walls. It was far larger than the wolves they had encountered earlier, its massive frame towering over the trembling man on the ground. A single horn rose from its forehead, curved like that of a unicorn, though nothing about the creature looked graceful.
Its eyes burned with malice.
The wolf took a few steps forward, approaching Xavier slowly. When it was only a short distance away, its gaze shifted, moving away from Xavier and settling on the man lying helplessly on the floor.
"Stay away! Stay away!" the man screamed desperately.
The monster didn't care.
Perhaps the constant scream of the man irritated it, or maybe the scent of fresh blood simply made the decision easy.
Its attention moved to the weaker prey.
With a sudden motion, the wolf bit down on the man's collar and began dragging him deeper into the cave.
The bald man screamed as his body scraped against the stone floor, his fingers clawing uselessly at the ground as he was pulled away.
Xavier simply watched.
He didn't move to stop it.
In fact, there was a faint look of interest in his eyes as he pushed himself off the wall and began following them deeper into the cavern.
He might not admit it, but part of him enjoyed watching the scene unfold.
Maybe he had always been a little crazy.
Or maybe the madness had been there from the very beginning, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.
Tyrant of Blazing Flame:
"This is what humans call a psycho."
[Sovereign of Wind opened a dictionary and flipped through the pages.]
Sovereign of Wind:
"Nah. I think deranged or unhinged is the correct term."
He joked lightly.
Seeker of Fortune:
"Oh shut up. You're ruining the moment."
The cave grew wider the deeper they went.
Bones covered the ground everywhere now, so many that they had formed a massive pile in the center of the cavern. Animal skeletons mixed with human remains, skulls stacked against one another while broken armor and torn fabrics lay scattered between them.
At the very top of the pile rested something unexpected.
A chest.
"AghhhHHHH! Help! Help!" the man screamed again.
Xavier watched silently.
The wolf had finally stopped dragging him. Its jaws closed around the man's neck and blood burst out instantly, pouring down his body while he thrashed helplessly beneath the creature.
His screams echoed through the cave as the monster began tearing him apart.
Flesh ripped.
Bones cracked.
The wolf devoured him piece by piece, ripping off limbs and chewing through them as if it had found a long-awaited meal.
The screams slowly weakened.
Then they stopped.
The man's breathing disappeared not long after.
He was dead.
Xavier let out a quiet sigh, almost disappointed by how quickly it ended.
That was… boring.
The monster finished its meal and slowly lifted its head, blood dripping from its jaws as its gaze turned toward Xavier.
It seemed confused.
Most humans would have run.
Most would have panicked.
But this one hadn't even flinched.
Still, this kind of monsters were territorial creatures.
The wolf growled at him, a deep rumble vibrating through its chest.
Xavier didn't move.
He simply stood there watching.
The monster was already full, yet instinct pushed it forward anyway. With a sudden snarl, it lunged.
Its massive body shot through the air as it pounced toward him—
And in that same instant, something flashed.
A single movement too fast to follow.
By the time the motion ended, the wolf had already landed on the ground.
Except now…
Its body had been cleanly split into two pieces.
A series of notifications suddenly appeared before Xavier's eyes.
[Congratulations on clearing "Calopus, the Horned Wolf Dungeon" (Class C).]
[Rewards are currently being analyzed.]
Xavier stared at the floating messages, his expression calm though his eyes narrowed slightly.
A faint chime echoed through the silent cave, followed by another notification.
[The Constellation of Gates is smiling at you.]
Xavier went still.
Of course, he couldn't actually see the constellation, yet the message alone carried a strange weight. It felt as if something far beyond the dungeon walls was watching him with quiet amusement.
Xavier slowly exhaled through his nose and lowered his gaze to the corpse of the massive wolf lying at his feet, its body still split cleanly in two.
"So…"
he murmured quietly to himself.
"I guess that was the right choice."