The ground shifted. Just a little. A slow, dull tremor like something deep below had twitched.
"Guys…" Mira said, her voice tighter now. "What should we do now?"
They turned.
Sure enough, the Crawler was moving—slow, dragging itself out of the rubble with one leg bent the wrong way and the rest bracing hard against the ground.
It didn't look strong anymore. It looked angry.
Another sound came out of it—not the high-pitched scream from earlier, but something rougher. Lower. It rattled like something was coming loose inside its chest.
It was hurt, bad.
But it was still ready to kill.
"Why is it still okay?" Kev muttered, voice weak. "We just—I mean, Mira—you blasted it into a wall."
"F-grade doesn't mean it is weak," Raith said, already forcing himself to his feet.
"What do you mean?" Kev asked.
"It's just the bottom of the chain. But... still on the chain."
Mira stepped up beside him, eyes locked on the Crawler's twitching legs. "Then… how do we survive?"
She already knew the answer. They all did.
But knowing it didn't make it easier. Nobody moved.
They stood in a loose line—Raith, Dane, Mira, Kev, and the Kid—but it didn't feel solid. It didn't feel like a team.
The Marks on their hands still glowed faintly, but that didn't mean the fear had gone anywhere.
It hadn't.
The urge to run was still there. Buried in their bones.
They'd spent their whole lives being told they were less. That they'd never awaken. That they weren't meant for anything more than labor, mining, or dying quietly without making trouble.
And now they were supposed to believe they were strong?
That shift didn't happen in a minute.
Raith could see it—plain as day.
Kev kept glancing toward the shimmer of the portal like it might vanish if he didn't watch it.
Mira's fingers twitched every time she raised her hand.
Dane's limp was worse now. The pain was catching up to him.
And the Kid stood just behind them, silent, eyes wide. She looked strong. She'd already saved them once. But she was still just a kid—shoulders stiff, jaw clenched.
They weren't ready for this.
But the monster didn't care.
The Crawler started moving again. Slow at first—then faster.
It dragged itself forward, five legs scraping against cracked stone. Its broken frame jerked and shifted with each step, head tilted just slightly wrong.
Then its eyes glowed brighter, locking on them again before charging mindlessly toward them.
"Split up!" Raith barked. "Use the terrain—don't let it focus on one target!"
They scattered even though they were still clueless about what to do after that.
Kev darted behind a crumbled structure—what looked like a storefront, half-sunk into the ground.
He activated his power, finding it surprisingly easy to do. With just a thought, he could transform parts of his body into stone.
His footing was off, still unsteady in his hardened form.
Mira moved wide to the left, maintaining her distance. She believed that she could use her Sonic Blast effectively from afar. Now, she was just waiting—watching for the right opening to make her move.
On the other side, Dane circled wide, keeping to the shadows near the bent remains of an old pedestrian bridge. Rusted beams creaked above him as he moved.
His mind raced as he searched for ways to activate his Fire. He too believed that he could launch a ranged attack with it.
Raith held his position at the center. Without discussing it with the others, he had decided to be the bait. He was fortunate that his injuries had surprisingly healed completely by the Kid.
Still, his Flux was running low. He wondered how many more times he could unleash the same attacks. It is either to shatter the Crawler's legs or deliver the final blow to its head.
The Kid hesitated. She wanted to move away, but no one knew what was on her mind. Perhaps she thought Raith's plan was too risky, or maybe she wanted to stay close to him to heal him.
But, everyone agreed on one thing. Raith was the one with the highest chance of defeating the Crawler.
Raith met the Kid's gaze for a brief moment and gave a single nod.
As if they shared a mutual understanding, the Kid nodded back and took action. With that, Raith felt more at ease as he prepared to confront the monster.
The Crawler shrieked and lunged, zeroing in on Raith. Standing in the center was like taunting the monster.
Raith barely dodged the attack. He rolled beneath a twisted guardrail, rising up hard on one knee, and then pushed off with all the strength he had left.
His legs screamed in protest, and he cursed under his breath. He was almost out of Flux; he could feel it—but he refused to stop.
"Flank it!" Raith shouted.
Dane emerged from the rubble and raised his hand. He was lucky because this time around, fire sputtered—weak, unfocused—but enough to catch the monster's eye.
It turned slightly, exposing its side.
Sensing the opportunity, Mira inhaled sharply. Her voice trembled on her tongue, the same raw vibration that had burst out earlier. She didn't scream—she shouted.
A tight, forceful command.
"Take this!"
The Sonic Blast rippled again—less precise than before, but the shockwave blasted through a nearby bus stop, sending shattered glass and a metal beam flying toward the Crawler.
The debris slammed into its upper back, cracking more of its spine. It screeched in fury, turning rapidly—then halted. A chunk of its leg caught the edge of an overturned delivery truck, and the beast stumbled.
"Now!" Raith yelled.
Kev was closest. He didn't think—he just moved. His body slammed into the monster's exposed leg like a boulder loosed from a cliff.
The hit didn't pierce—but the impact sent tremors through the beast's footing. It lost its balance.
Kev bounced off and rolled. "Ow—ow—shit! Okay, maybe I shouldn't do that twice."
"Don't! Move now!" Mira shouted, barely catching her breath.
Dane tried to push more fire—nothing but a spurt. "Damn it—how do you even shoot a fireball?!"
"I don't know! Yell louder? Swing harder?" Kev shouted back.
"Move your ass, Kev!" Mira shouted once again.
Kev was closest to the Crawler. If the monster regained its balance, no one knew what might happen to Kev in the next attack.
The Kid, who remained behind a partially collapsed awning sensed the danger. She lifted one hand—aimed, carefully—and the broken wall next to the Crawler floated slightly, then slammed on it.
It roared and thrashed, disoriented by the angles, noise, and light surrounding it. Kev seized the opportunity to flee as quickly as possible.
Despite the impact, the Crawler remained standing. The Kid seemed a bit disappointed with the outcome as she stared at the Marks on the back of her right palm.
Her frustration was interrupted by Raith's voice.
"Get cover, everyone!"
Raith steadied his breath and crouched behind a half-collapsed vending machine, his body aching and his hands shaking.
His thoughts raced, jumbled, and sharp.
'How can an F-grade monster be this strong?'
He believed that since this Force Field was classified as F-grade, the creatures within it should also be of the same grade.
However, the appearance of the Crawler, with crystals covering parts of its body, suggested that it was not normal. He strongly believed that it was a mutated monster.
Still, he held on to his belief that the Crawler's weakness was on its head.
'One more strike. That's all I need.'
Raith looked up and saw the path ahead. The Crawler was turning again, backing toward a fissured wall where exposed beams jutted out from the concrete. It presented a perfect line.
He forced his legs to move as fast as he could. He dodged a falling panel. Leaped a broken barrier. Every step screamed. His lungs burned.
The power trembled in his body—then surged. The Mark on his hand flared again.
He launched himself into the air.
The Crawler turned, too slow this time.
Raith came down, fist raised—not to injure or buy time anymore. He wanted to kill.
The blow hit the center of the monster's head. Right between the beast's eyes. And the impact was so powerful that the world shattered.
The pavement buckled. A crater bloomed outward like a ripple in the glass. Dust exploded into the air, forming a storm around the impact.
Shards of crystal and broken limbs of the monster spiraled away in every direction. One leg flew fifty feet and was embedded in the wall.
The crawler collapsed, and Raith believed that the liquid was the blood pouring out. After a few more struggles, it stopped completely.
Silence stretched.
Kev muttered, "Holy... did he just—?"
Raith knelt in the center of the crater, shoulders heaving, head bowed. His hand—burned and bruised—as his Mark still glowed faintly.
Just a little before completely faded off.
Dane was the first to approach Raith, dragging his leg slightly more now.
"I can't believe he actually did it…" he said quietly. Then, a smile formed on his face.
"That was insane," Mira murmured. She was following Dane toward Raith.
Kev hung back, staring at the mess that used to be the Crawler. "There's no way that's legal."
Both Mira and Dane stared at him.
Kev quickly explained, "I mean—look. How the hell he did not explode after delivering such a blow?"
Mira gave him a sharp look. "Kev. Not now."
Dane was already kneeling beside him. "You alright?" he asked, his voice low but rough around the edges. "Can you move?"
Raith didn't answer. He couldn't. His body was done. The Force and Flux had faded away, leaving him slumped over, barely able to hold himself upright.
The Kid stepped up beside them, quiet as ever. She placed her hand gently on Raith's shoulder.
A soft white light bloomed from her palm—warm, steady, like sunlight after a storm.
Raith felt it right away. The tightness in his chest finally let go. His muscles still ached, but it was softer now—more like bruises than wounds. And the way it all faded so fast… it stunned him.
He glanced at the Kid, still not saying a word, just standing quietly with her hand down.
"Thank you..." he said slowly.
The Kid nodded.
Raith then let out a slow breath. "We did it," he said, voice hoarse but certain. "All of us."
For the first time, they weren't just bodies being thrown into the fire. They weren't labor. They weren't disposable.
They were Tuners.
And for now, that was enough.