CHAPTER 28 — The Predator That Watches
Zodac stopped before the fourth cave.
The air around it felt wrong.
It wasn't the heavy hostility he'd grown accustomed to—no pressure, no immediate sense of death crawling up his spine. Instead, it felt… quiet. Too quiet. Like the cavern itself was holding its breath.
That unsettled him more than open danger ever could.
"…This one's different," he muttered.
Still, hesitation wouldn't get him out alive.
He lifted his right hand.
"Enemy Hate Reaction."
The familiar red wave surged from his body, washing into the darkness of the cave like spilled blood. Zodac drew Kogetsu immediately, his stance low, muscles coiled tight.
He waited.
GROWL.
Low. Deep. Controlled.
Not frantic. Not mindless.
His heart dropped.
That wasn't the sound of a creature reacting blindly to provocation—it was the sound of something aware.
Zodac leapt backward on instinct, boots scraping stone as he created distance. The growl deepened, closer now. Singular.
Not a pack.
"One presence…" he breathed.
Then—
The world blinked out.
Complete darkness swallowed him whole.
"…What?"
Zodac froze.
His vision—the Illumium glow, the cave walls, the pools of crystal light—gone. Yet he could still see his hands. His feet. His weapon.
But nothing else existed.
No floor.
No walls.
No cave.
Just black.
"It was bright a second ago," he whispered, voice barely steady. "Did the crystals… turn off?"
That made no sense.
They were embedded into the stone itself.
A cold realization crept in.
"…This isn't darkness."
It hit him then.
"This is an illusion."
Pain exploded across his chest.
"—AHHH!"
Something slashed him.
Zodac reeled back with a gasp, hand flying to his chest as heat and pain ripped through his nerves. Blood soaked into his armor almost instantly.
"I didn't hear it," he panted. "Didn't feel it move—"
Another realization struck harder than the wound.
"…It blocked my senses."
Sight. Sound. Spatial awareness—muted.
"This thing isn't hiding in darkness," Zodac said through clenched teeth. "It's cutting me off from reality itself."
His mind raced.
If panic took hold, he'd be dead in seconds.
He sucked in a breath.
"Spatial Awareness."
White ripples pulsed outward from his body—not vision, not sound—presence. Vibration. Intention.
Zodac closed his eyes completely.
The darkness no longer mattered.
For three heartbeats, nothing happened.
Then—
Movement.
Left.
Fast.
"—There."
He pivoted, guiding Kogetsu on instinct—
CLANG!
Impact thundered through his arms as something massive struck his blade. The force sent him sliding backward, boots screaming against stone until he barely steadied himself.
Whatever it was—it was strong.
Zodac didn't hesitate.
Eyes still closed, heart unnervingly calm.
He ran toward it.
"Kogetsu—Whirlwind."
The slash wave tore forward into the unseen.
Then—
ROOOOOOAAAAARRRRRR—!!
The roar shattered the illusion.
Light slammed back into existence as the Illumium crystals flared to life. The cavern returned all at once, overwhelming his senses.
Zodac's eyes snapped open.
And he finally saw it.
A beast stood before him—lionlike in form, but far larger, muscles rippling beneath pale, scarred fur. From its spine slithered a massive serpent tail, scales wet and black, hissing nonstop as if tasting the air.
One eye was ruptured, blood pouring freely.
"…What the hell?" Zodac exhaled.
The system reacted.
NAME: Sentico
CLASS: Rare Mythical Beast
TRAIT: Creates illusion fields to disorient prey before dismemberment
"A mythical beast…" Zodac muttered.
His gaze snapped back to the creature's injured eye.
"…I got you."
The Sentico roared and lunged.
Too fast.
Zodac barely managed to deflect the blow with Kogetsu—but the sheer force behind the strike sent him crashing backward into the cavern wall.
The impact exploded behind his skull.
He staggered, vision warping.
He touched the back of his head.
Blood.
"…Dammit."
The Sentico was already airborne again.
Zodac raised his arm to guard—
CRACK.
A paw slammed it down. Fangs followed instantly.
"AAGH—!"
Teeth sank into his arm.
Pain detonated.
The beast lifted him effortlessly and hurled him across the cavern like broken furniture.
He skidded to a stop, gasping, clutching his arm as blood soaked the stone beneath him.
Before he could rise—
The Sentico pounced.
Its jaws opened inches from his face, breath hot, eyes wild.
Zodac strained, muscles screaming, utterly outmatched.
Then—
Light.
A shard of Illumium crystal lay beside his hand.
Instinct took over.
He grabbed it.
And drove it upward.
Straight into the creature's remaining eye.
ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRR—!!!
The Sentico screamed—a sound of pure rage and agony—as it flung him away again, sending him crashing near a crystal vein.
Zodac coughed violently but stayed conscious.
Barely.
The beast staggered now, roaring, thrashing wildly—blind.
Or so it seemed.
Zodac forced himself upright as the Sentico suddenly turned—its serpent tail swiveling independently.
The tail struck.
"Hectogon!"
A shield formed just in time, the serpent's fangs slamming against it inches from his foot.
Zodac jumped backward, heart pounding.
"…So that's it."
Even blind.
"It can still track me."
He watched it carefully.
It moved—but cautiously now.
Not charging.
Listening.
Sensing.
"…Sound," Zodac whispered.
"Vibrations."
He glanced down.
A stone lay near his boot.
Slowly, deliberately, he picked it up.
Then threw it far to the left.
The stone struck the ground.
ROAR!
The Sentico reacted instantly—launching toward the noise, serpent tail hissing aggressively.
Zodac's lips curved upward.
"…Thought so."
His heartbeat steadied.
"This isn't about power," he murmured. "It's about control."
The Sentico prowled blindly now.
Listening.
Hunting.
And Zodac smiled.
A slow, dangerous smile.
"I see it now."
But he didn't move.
Not yet.