[Chapter 289. The Gatura King]

`What? Why are they here? I was in there for just a few minutes. `

He thought as he fought them. Their uncoordinated attacks posed no challenge. The Gatura Warriors were small and wiry, their matted fur bristling with aggression as they lunged with their weapons, but their movements were clumsy and predictable. He dispatched them with brutal efficiency, his weapons moving in a deadly rhythm that was almost hypnotic. The Gatura Guards were slightly more formidable, their mismatched armor providing some protection as they swung their shields in wide arcs, but even they fell quickly beneath his onslaught. Their blood stained the stone floor in dark, spreading pools. The fight was over in seconds; the only sounds left were the wet thud of his final blows and the gurgling cries of the dying Gatura as they collapsed one by one.

After the fight, he checked the timer for the next stage. There was a gap of more than three hours, which he could only explain by the fact that he had knocked himself out when he collided with the wall trying to tear the stone free from the spire's strange pull. That much unaccounted time meant he had been unconscious for hours, sprawled on the cold stone floor like a discarded ragdoll. The realization sent a fresh wave of nausea through him. He had lost control in a dungeon—a cardinal sin that could have cost him everything. His head throbbed where it had struck the stone, and he could still taste stale blood in his mouth.

"No one has to know... It's all good, just a dungeon that took longer than expected," he said softly while walking down the corridor, his words barely audible above the sound of his own footsteps.

Each movement sent sharp pains radiating through his skull. He ran a hand along the rough stone wall, his fingers tracing the ancient patterns as if seeking some form of stability in a place where physics itself seemed to bend. The turquoise stone in his other hand pulsed steadily, its light casting eerie shadows that danced like ghosts in the corridor. His heart hammered against his ribs with each step, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins despite the skirmish being over. He felt exposed, vulnerable in a way he hadn't since the early days of the Integration, back when he was still learning the rules of this brutal world.

He reached the first fog barrier he had encountered again, his gaze alternating between the impenetrable mist and the distant portal that shimmered like a mirage at the end of the corridor. "This has to be a joke," he muttered, his voice rough with disbelief and frustration.

He held the stone out and the fog parted, the turquoise glow creating a perfect, silent tunnel through the mist. Once on the other side, he could see the exact same sight his drone had shown him hours ago.

"All of that just to walk through here," he sighed, the words catching in his throat as his eyes drifted over to the matching turquoise stone affixed to the wall.

Further down the corridor, he ran into another Elite and half a dozen lesser Gatura, their guttural snarls echoing off the stone walls as they caught sight of him. The lesser Warriors charged first, their desperate rage was a stark contrast to the calculated movements of their Elite counterpart. Searanox met them head-on, their bodies crumpling beneath his onslaught. The Elite, recognizing the threat too late, attempted to rally the scattered survivors, but Searanox was already upon it. His enhanced speed left the beast no time to react before its head snapped back with a sickening crunch.

After clearing them out and leaving their bodies strewn across the corridor like discarded dolls, he made his way even deeper inside—or so he thought. Just past the next bend, he found himself standing in a massive hall, its sheer scale stealing his breath. Thick pillars, each one wider than a man's outstretched arms, held up a ceiling that was lost in the shadows above. On each pillar, four of the turquoise rocks were fixed at ground level, their eerie glow casting long shadows that danced like restless spirits. A few meters up sat another four, and then another set right below the ceiling, bathing the entire chamber in their otherworldly light.

A ruined carpet, which had caught his eye the moment he entered, stretched through the hall up to a raised dais where a throne stood, its ornate design a mockery of the decay that surrounded it. Next to the throne stood two Elites, one on each side. Their postures were rigid and threatening, their dark armor absorbing the turquoise light in ways that made them seem almost void-like. Between them sat a beast of a Gatura, twice the size of the Elites next to him, its dark fur visible through heavy armor plates that barely contained its massive frame. On its head rested a crown made not of gold and gems, but of broken, jagged iron.

There was a guttural snarl as Searanox brought up the System window, its blue light momentarily competing with the turquoise glow of the chamber.

The two Gatura Elites at the King's side exploded into motion, their movements so swift they seemed to blur as they charged toward him with weapons raised.

The two Elites made it halfway through the once-opulent hall before they came under the constant fire of crimson and violet beams. However, they did not stop in their tracks. They pushed forward, deflecting each shot with their weapons, their halberds moving with practiced precision. It took them only a few seconds to cross the distance from the throne to where Searanox stood near the entrance, their long strides eating up the ground despite their heavy armor, their guttural war cries echoing through the vast chamber.

By now, Searanox had enough practice dealing with their kind. He dashed forward, the barrier of his Defensive Drone moving with him, the translucent wall of energy shimmering as it slid across the floor. It absorbed a heavy swing from one of the Elites. Instead of just reflecting beams, the Elites now began to dodge, their movements becoming more erratic as they tried to anticipate the unpredictable firing patterns. Meanwhile, his Assault and Offensive Drones rose higher, ascending tens of meters into the air to rain fire down upon them.

As a halberd made contact with the barrier, there was a thunderous boom followed by the sound of shattering glass, the shockwave of the impact sending dust and debris flying in all directions. But Searanox had already anticipated the shield's failure. He slid along the ground, bringing his rifle up close. The metal of the barrel scraped against the stone floor as he dropped to one knee, right beneath the Elite's guard, and blasted a shot straight through its lower body and out through its upper torso. The Gatura collapsed without another sound, its massive frame hitting the marble floor with a sickening thud that reverberated through the hall. It was dead on the spot, dark blood pooling around its body like a spreading shadow in the turquoise light.

The second Elite dodged the descending beams with a nimbleness that belied its heavy armor. Its movements were fluid and predatory as it prepared a heavy attack, its halberd glowing yellow-green with an ominous energy that made the air crackle. Suddenly, a concentrated energy beam tore through its skull. There was a wet, sickening sound of bone and flesh being vaporized, the Gatura's eyes widening in surprise before it crumpled to the ground, its devastating attack unfinished. The fatal shot hadn't come from above, but from behind one of the massive pillars. Searanox had predicted that in the chaos, the Elites wouldn't notice one of his drones missing from the aerial formation. The drone had repositioned itself flawlessly while the Elite was entirely focused on its charge.

With the second Elite dead, a tense silence descended upon the vast chamber, broken only by the sizzling sound of cauterized flesh and the soft hum of Searanox's drones. Then, the Gatura King slammed his foot down with such force that the stone floor cracked beneath him, creating a thunderous boom that echoed through the entire hall.

The massive beast rose to its full height, a terrifying silhouette against the turquoise glow, and reached out with one clawed hand toward the side of the throne. Its thick fingers wrapped around the hilt of a large battle axe, its double sided blade was thick and crudely crafted. Held together by what appeared to be nothing more then bones.

The King snarled while slashing the air in front of it, as he brought it up just to slam it down in front of him again. He simply stood there, unmoving fixing his eye on Searanox waiting for something.

Searanox brought his drones back towards him, while he locked eyes with the massive Gatura. Then out of nowhere the King sprung into action with explosive movement.