Not long after the mysterious green-haired man vanished into the shadows, suddenly! Terrifying roars echoed around them. It wasn't just a single sound, but the voices of multiple monsters creeping closer!
"Everyone stay alert!" Raven shouted orders, his eyes rapidly scanning the area. His "Gear" gauntlets still glowed with faint blue light, ready for any situation.
Leon quickly drew the katana Xiao Yan had given him, alertness clear in his eyes. Shion was no less prepared - her massive sword was unsheathed from her back, the sound of metal ringing out. Traffie, standing nearby, looked especially excited. His eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Come on! Bring it! All of you!" he shouted fearlessly, swinging his beloved axe menacingly.
Mina, who seemed to be the most composed and level-headed of the group, spoke up in a flat but urgent voice. "Everyone! We need to get out of here now! This place isn't safe anymore!"
"What do you mean, Mina?" Raven frowned and asked.
"Do you all hear that sound?" Mina asked back.
Leon perked up his ears and listened intently. His excellent hearing caught the strange sound immediately... tick... tick... tick... That sound was... a bomb's countdown timer!
"Shit! Let's get out of here!" Raven cursed before ordering everyone to run toward the exit they'd just entered through.
Leon, Shion, and Mina immediately ran after Raven, but Traffie remained standing in place. His face was full of excitement and disappointment. "What the hell! We didn't even get to fight! I want to fight! I'm dying to fight! Hehe!" he muttered to himself regretfully.
But before Traffie's recklessness could lead to disaster, Mina turned back, grabbed his collar, and dragged him up to rejoin the others!
The moment all five special ops members escaped from the DryZone entrance...
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion thundered from within, shaking the ground violently! Compressed air and debris shot out from the tunnel mouth like a volcanic eruption! Thick black smoke billowed up into the sky, blocking out the sunlight and casting everything in momentary darkness.
"What the hell was that! We didn't find a single missing kid!" Shion shouted in frustration, brushing dust off her clothes.
"And we got tricked into walking into a trap!" Leon added with an annoyed tone. He felt like he'd been played.
But before they could complain or analyze the situation any further...
The ground in front of them suddenly shook! Cracks appeared in the hard earth before a massive hand with razor-sharp claws like tiger blades burst through from underground!
THUD!
The body of a monstrous creature shot up from beneath the earth. It was a Vine-born... but a Vine-born unlike anything they'd ever seen before! Its form was a fusion of tiger and elephant - a powerfully built body, terrifyingly sharp claws, and a long trunk protruding from its face, swaying menacingly back and forth. Its blood-red eyes stared at them with bloodthirsty hunger!
"What the hell is that thing!" Raven exclaimed in shock. Even with all his experience, he'd never encountered such a bizarre-looking Vine-born before.
"Everyone fall back!" Raven shouted, trying to control the situation, but it seemed the other members had different ideas!
Leon, Shion, and Traffie all took fighting stances immediately! Their eyes blazed with determination and defiance. Mina quickly ran to hide behind a large boulder, following her instincts, but her hands were already busy assembling some equipment from her large travel bag again.
Traffie, who seemed the most eager, made a move to charge at the monster first!
"ROOOOOAR!!!" The tiger-elephant creature roared, its long trunk whipping toward Raven at high speed!
"Gear One!" Raven roared back. He dodged while throwing a steel punch at the side of its trunk! The attack barely missed its target.
What! Its trunk can extend and retract! The thought flashed through Raven's mind, but before he could steady himself, the monster rushed in close again! This time it tried to wrap its trunk around him to crush his body! Raven raised both arms defensively just in time, but the tremendous impact sent him staggering back several steps!
Leon saw an opening! Now's my chance! He gathered all his focus, raised his katana above his head, then slashed down at the monster's back with all his strength!
But in the blink of an eye! The tiger-elephant's form suddenly vanished from its original position! Before Leon could realize what happened, it appeared behind him and kicked him hard in the middle of his back with its powerful hind leg!
"Ugh!" Leon cried out in pain. His body flew forward several meters. It had kicked him right in the spot where his old wound from yesterday's stabbing was still fresh! Pain shot through his entire body until he could barely stand!
The atmosphere suddenly heated up! Shion roared loudly. She unleashed the hidden power in her massive sword! Flame-red patterns appeared on the blade as fire blazed forth! She swung her flaming sword at the monster violently! The creature used its trunk to clash with Shion's fire blade! The sound of metal rang out! Sparks scattered everywhere! Its trunk was burned black, but Shion's destructive power still couldn't cut it off completely! The monster whipped its trunk away forcefully, making Shion lose her balance momentarily! It used that opening to rush and attack Shion quickly!
But then! Suddenly one of the tiger-elephant's arms was severed clean off! Black blood gushed out in streams!
"Hehe! How's that! Thought you could mess with me, you freak!" Traffie's cheerful voice rang out. He appeared at the monster's side, his beloved axe dripping with black blood!
The creature turned to look at Traffie with eyes full of hatred and vengeance! It roared before charging at Traffie in a frenzy! Its sharp claws and long trunk lashed out at Traffie like a storm! But Traffie showed amazing agility and nimbleness! He could dodge every single one of its fierce attacks!
"Pathetic! You're way too weak!" Traffie shouted mockingly before finding an opening to strike back with his twin axes! But it still managed to dodge by a hair! Then it used its trunk to slam into Traffie's body hard! Sending Traffie flying far away!
Raven, who had steadied himself, wasn't about to be outdone! He saw the monster's weak point! His body shot toward it again! "Gear Three!!!" Intense blue energy exploded from his steel gauntlets! His right fist slammed into the middle of the tiger-elephant's back with full force!
BANG!!!
Its massive body flew through the air and crashed into a large tree in the area! The sound of the tree snapping and falling thundered out!
On Mina's side, it looked like she was almost finished assembling some device from her travel bag. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Excellent! All done! Time to test the new toy!" she muttered to herself before shouting loudly to everyone, "Someone! Keep it still for me! Just need two seconds!"
Leon, who was struggling to get up, heard Mina's voice. He glanced over and saw Shion preparing to attack again, and Raven was about to engage once more! This was the chance!
"Shion! Raven! Hold it down!" Leon shouted. He gathered all his remaining strength, his katana gleaming with flashing light!
Shion and Raven understood Leon's meaning immediately! Both of them rushed to attack the tiger-elephant from two directions simultaneously! Shion's fire blade and Raven's steel fists continuously assaulted the monster! Even though the creature tried to defend and counter-attack, the coordination between the two kept it from being able to move away!
"Now! Mina!" Leon shouted.
Mina didn't hesitate! She pressed a button on the device she'd just finished assembling! Suddenly! A bright blue electric energy net shot out from the device at high speed! It spread open in mid-air and quickly enveloped the tiger-elephant creature!
"ARRGGHHHHHHHHH!!!" The monster screamed in agony! High-voltage electricity coursed through its entire body! Making it freeze up momentarily!
Two seconds! Just as requested!
"Leon!! Finish it!!!" Shion screamed at the top of her lungs!
This was the final chance! Leon didn't hesitate! He exploded with all the power he had! His body shot toward the creature trapped by the electric net! The katana in his hand gleamed with silver light! He aimed for one spot... its vital point!
"YAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
The katana's tip pierced straight through the middle of the tiger-elephant's chest with perfect accuracy! Penetrating right through its heart!
The monster's eyes went wide. Its body convulsed violently one last time... before the red light in its eyes slowly faded away... and its massive form collapsed to the ground... finally still...
Silence fell over the entire area, with only the heavy breathing of the four special ops members still echoing around them.
Traffie, who had just managed to stand up, clapped for Leon appreciatively. "That was awesome, Leon! Thought we were goners for sure!"
Leon slumped down to sit on the ground, completely exhausted. He smiled faintly.
Shion walked over and patted Leon's shoulder lightly. "Well... not bad." Though her words seemed casual, her eyes clearly showed acceptance.
Mina walked over to collect her equipment while saying, "High-voltage electric net, experimental model... worked even better than expected."
Raven joined the group last. He looked at the monster's corpse with a thoughtful expression before sighing softly. It was much stronger than we expected... If I'd come here alone today... or if we hadn't worked together... maybe... some of us might have died here... His words ended with cold realization of the danger they'd just faced...