As the bear finished devouring Nagumo's arm, it slowly lifted its massive head and turned its bloodshot eyes toward what remained of his body.
The flesh it had just consumed lingered on its tongue.
Sweet. Unnaturally so.
Far richer than the monsters it usually crushed and swallowed whole in the depths of the labyrinth. It was intoxicating, addictive almost.
The bear's lips peeled back, saliva dripping from its fangs as a low, eager growl rumbled from its chest.
It wanted more.
"Graaaawww…!"
The sound echoed through the stone corridors like thunder.
Nagumo barely had time to process the pain—his mind was already breaking under it. Blood soaked into the cold stone beneath him as panic drowned out everything else. Death was right there. One more second, one more swipe, and it would be over.
No.
Faced with the certainty of being torn apart, Nagumo forced his trembling hands into the ground and screamed the only thing he could think of.
"Transmute—transmute—transmute—transmute—transmute—!"
Stone warped and shifted beneath him, liquefying at his command. He dropped into the earth as if swallowed whole, the rock closing above him just as the bear's claws slammed down where his body had been.
He didn't stop.
He couldn't.
Nagumo frantically transmuted the rock behind him and forced it forward, piling layer after layer of stone between himself and the monster. Each use of magic tore through what little mana he had left, his vision blurring, his chest burning.
"I don't want to die!" he screamed, his voice cracking as he pushed himself deeper and deeper into the earth.
In front of him, the Abyss Bear roared in fury.
It smashed its claws against the newly formed wall, stone exploding outward under the sheer force. The beast began tearing into the rock with relentless persistence, its strength monstrous even by labyrinth standards.
Then—
It paused.
The bear's nose twitched.
Another scent drifted through the air.
This one was different. It was stronger. Even more delicious.
"I thought I heard something coming from this direction," a calm voice said, echoing faintly through the cavern. "Turns out I wasn't imagining it."
Sylas stepped into view, hands in his pockets as if he were taking a casual stroll rather than standing in front of a calamity-class monster.
His eyes flicked first to the warped, freshly transmuted stone wall the bear was tearing apart.
Then to the small, torn strip of black cloth dangling from the corner of the beast's mouth.
His expression hardened.
…So it really was him.
Sylas exhaled slowly, already piecing together what had happened. There was only one person unlucky—enough to be chased this deep while missing an arm.
The Abyss Bear turned fully toward him, abandoning the tunnel entirely. Its massive body shifted, muscles coiling beneath thick dark grey fur as it fixed Sylas with a predator's stare.
Sylas felt a chill crawl up his spine as the beast stared at him, letting out a forced smile.
"You wouldn't happen to let me pass, would you?" he asked, half-joking.
The bear didn't understand his words.
And even if it did, it wouldn't care.
All it saw was a delicious meal.
'…Yeah, figures,' Sylas thought.
He rolled his shoulders, letting out a breath as his stance shifted, aura beginning to stir around him.
"Alright then," he muttered. "Let's do this, you big son of a bitch."
"GRAAAAAWWWW—!"
The Abyss Bear roared, its killing intent crashing down like a wave as it charged.
The moment its massive body surged forward, Sylas felt the air compress around him. Stone cracked under its weight, claws tearing gouges into the labyrinth floor as it closed the distance far faster than something that large had any right to.
Sylas's fake smile vanished.
"Ren."
Aura erupted from his body in a raw, unrefined surge. It clung to him, wrapping around his skin like an invisible armor.
The bear swung.
Sylas barely managed to bring his arms up in time.
The impact was catastrophic.
His feet left the ground as if he'd been hit by a speeding truck. He slammed into the cavern wall, stone exploding outward behind him. Pain detonated through his ribs despite the protective layer of Ren coating his body.
"Guh—!"
He dropped to one knee, coughing up blood.
'That thing hits harder than I thought.'
The Abyss Bear didn't give him time to breathe. It lunged again, jaws wide, fangs gleaming with saliva and blood.
Sylas forced himself to roll out of the way.
The bear's teeth snapped shut where his head had been, the shockwave alone rattling his skull. He scrambled to his feet, Ren flaring brighter as adrenaline flooded his system.
"Alright," he muttered through clenched teeth. "No more testing."
He darted forward instead of retreating, slipping under another wild swing.
His fist shot out. The punch landed square against the bear's foreleg.
Crack.
The impact echoed—but the bear barely reacted.
Its hide absorbed most of the force, thick muscle and unnatural durability dulling the blow. Sylas felt his arm recoil painfully, his bones screaming in protest.
The bear backhanded him.
Sylas tried to block—
Too slow.
Claws tore across his chest, ripping through cloth and skin. Blood sprayed as he was thrown aside again, skidding across the stone floor.
"Shit—!"
He rolled onto his back, vision swimming. His Ren flickered for a split second.
It reared up, towering over him, shadow swallowing his body as it raised both forelimbs to crush him outright.
'If that lands, I'm done.'
Sylas's breathing slowed.
'Zetsu.'
His aura vanished instantly.
The sudden absence of presence confused the bear, its instincts faltering for a fraction of a second—just long enough for an opening.
Sylas rolled and surged back to his feet, Ren exploding outward again as he dashed beneath the descending claws. The bear slammed the ground instead of him, the impact splitting the floor and sending debris flying.
Sylas wasn't unscathed.
One leg buckled as he landed wrong, pain flaring sharply up his calf. Something warm trickled down his side—another cut, a deep one.
'I can't trade blows with this thing.'
The Abyss Bear turned, enraged now, eyes burning as it charged again.
Sylas planted his feet.
"Come on," he whispered. "Just a little closer."
As the bear lunged, Sylas focused every shred of aura he had left into his right arm. Not refined. Not elegant. Just raw, condensed Nen pushed to its limit.
"Gyo!"
He waited until the last possible second.
Then he stepped inside the bear's reach and drove his fist upward.
The punch connected beneath the monster's jaw.
Detonating on impact.
Nen surged directly into the bear's skull, bypassing its hide and ripping through its bone and brain. The Abyss Bear let out a strangled, broken roar as its massive body convulsed.
Cracks spiderwebbed across its skull.
Its enormous frame crashed to the ground, shaking a section of the cavern as dust flew up in the air. After a few final twitches, it went still.
…
Sylas stood there, arm trembling violently, blood dripping from multiple wounds. His Ren sputtered out, leaving him relying on Ten just to stay upright.
He staggered back a step… then another.
"…That," he panted, "sucked."
His legs finally gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, sliding down beside the corpse of the monster.
His gaze drifted back to the half-destroyed tunnel the bear had abandoned midway.
To be Continued…