The Blade-Keeper came in low, its twin chitin sabers flashing in the dim light.
Kael had just enough time to let Stonehide flare before the first strike landed. The blow rang through his forearm like a hammer on a shield, the edge biting into the plating but not breaking it.
The second strike came immediately, an upward cut aimed for his throat. Kael twisted, sparks of heat from Ember Lunge propelling him just far enough aside.
Hive Blade-Keeper — B-Rank (Low), GP ~1,100.
Its movements were unlike the hive drones. This wasn't mindless aggression — it was trained, disciplined. Every swing came with footwork meant to corner him.
"You're not a Thrall," Kael said, circling.
"I was a hunter once," the Blade-Keeper replied, voice calm. "The hive offered more than the clans ever did."
It lunged again, blades crossing in a scissoring cut. Kael caught the first with Iron Fang in his knife, the edge holding against the chitin with a faint metallic screech. The second blade glanced off his shoulder plating, sending a jolt down his spine.
He shoved forward, letting Ember Lunge explode under his ribs. The sudden burst closed the gap — his knife punched into the Keeper's side, cutting through root-fused muscle.
Sap hissed where the blade burned it.
[C-Rank (High) | GP: 943 + 15 = 958]
The Keeper staggered, but didn't fall. Instead, it spun with unnerving speed, one blade carving a shallow line along Kael's jaw. Warm blood ran down his neck.
"Better," it said. "But not enough."
Ryn's crossbow twanged from the side. A bolt clanged against the Keeper's arm guard — the shot was good, but the hive plating was thicker there. The Keeper turned just enough to register her, and Kael used the distraction.
Iron Fang flared, his blade slicing through the Keeper's wrist. One saber fell, clattering on the root-laced floor.
Sap and blood sprayed, but the Keeper didn't cry out. It simply switched to a one-handed stance and came at him harder.
The remaining blade blurred in the dim light, the Keeper's speed somehow increasing. Kael blocked twice, but the third strike slid past, cutting deep into his thigh. Stonehide stopped it from severing muscle, but the force still drove him to one knee.
Too fast.
The thumping of the heart grew louder, almost matching his pulse. He could feel the roots feeding energy into the Keeper — every second here gave it more strength.
Kael feinted left, then let Ember Lunge carry him hard to the right. The heat in his veins roared, his knife slamming up under the Keeper's arm. The burn spread instantly, blackening root and tendon.
The Keeper hissed, stepping back — but instead of retreating, it kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling.
"Kael!" Ryn's voice was sharp. Another bolt flew, embedding in the Keeper's thigh.
This time it slowed.
Kael surged up, Stonehide braced for the inevitable counter. The Keeper's blade glanced off his forearm; Kael took the hit, stepped in, and drove Iron Fang deep into the Keeper's chest.
The hiss of burning sap filled the room.
[C-Rank (High) | GP: 958 + 25 = 983 ]
The Keeper's mask cracked. For a heartbeat, Kael saw a human eye staring back at him — furious, but almost grateful.
Then the Keeper slumped forward, dead.
The roots holding the door slackened. The chamber felt suddenly smaller, the heart's pulse overwhelming everything else. It hung in the vat, the size of a wagon wheel, each beat sending tremors through the sap.
Ryn stepped up beside him. "We kill it now."
Kael didn't answer immediately. Mara's face flashed in his mind — the way her hive eye had pulsed in time with the walls. If she was tied to this heart, killing it might kill her.
Or worse — it might leave her alive, but broken.
He stepped to the vat's edge. The sap below was almost black, thick with root fragments and dead insects. The heart's surface glistened, veins bulging with every beat.
Hive Heart — B-Rank (Mid), GP ~1,200.
The knife in his hand felt heavier than it had in any fight tonight.
"You hesitate," Ryn said.
Kael didn't look at her. "Maybe I do."
The heart beat once, hard enough to make the vat's rim tremble. The roots along the ceiling shifted — something was waking deeper in the tannery.
A ripple passed through the sap, and a massive shape began to rise from it. Chitin, bark, and root fused together into a hulking form with four burning eyes.
The smell hit Kael first — the same mix of sap and scorched bark that had clung to Mara.
Hive Guardian — B-Rank (Mid), GP ~1,150.
It wasn't going to let them touch the heart without going through it first.
Kael tightened his grip on the knife. Stonehide rolled over his skin, Iron Fang shimmered along the blade's edge, and Ember Lunge coiled heat under his ribs.
No more hesitation.