The roar of Crismon echoed through the cavern like thunder, and the sound of dozens of weapons being cocked answered it. Red and blue laser lines cut through the darkness, all converging on the platform where Ling stood exposed.
"Now!" Ling shouted.
To his right, a wall of flames erupted from the shadows. Victor leapt into the light, hands engulfed in fire, a wild grin on his face. "You thought he was alone? The party's just getting started!" He extended his hands, and the flames shaped themselves into two whips of pure energy, cracking through the air and melting nearby stone edges.
To Ling's left, the cavern floor trembled. Melissa emerged from the shadows, not with fire, but with deadly calm. She slammed her foot onto the stone floor, and in response, the ground beneath several thugs became unstable, like quicksand. Others were caught off guard as stalactites broke free from the ceiling, forcing them to retreat. She didn't create matter, but the entire environment around her became her weapon.
Crismon, seated on his throne, burst into laughter. "Ah, so there are more of you! Excellent! The boredom is over!" He leaned back, crossing his enormous arms, ready to enjoy the spectacle. "Mila! Skitter! Silas! Forget the cells. Kill the swordsman. The rest is yours!" he roared to his men.
As a wave of mercenaries rushed Victor and Melissa, the three elite assassins turned toward Ling. The battle split into two fronts.
Victor and melissavs. the thugs
Victor excelled at offense. He jumped off the platform, landing in the middle of the crowd with a fire explosion that forced everyone back. "Want some heat? I've got plenty!" A Kherian thug tried to strike him from behind, but Victor, without even looking, shaped a wall of fire that forced him to retreat, his horns slightly singed. He was fast, his movements fluid, turning fire into shields, projectiles, and blazing blades.
Melissa, on the other hand, was defense and control. She barely moved, but the ground around her constantly shifted. When a group of shooters tried to take position, she raised a solid stone wall from the floor, blocking their shots. The lasers ricocheted harmlessly. She then shattered the wall into hundreds of sharp stone fragments and launched them at the enemies, forcing them to take cover. A large reptilian mercenary charged her, but Melissa simply opened the ground beneath him, creating a pit that swallowed him up to his waist, immobilizing him.
"Hey, Melissa!" Victor shouted, dodging a plasma shot. "If you can't handle it, leave some for me!"
"As if that would happen, matchstick!" she shot back, raising two stone pillars and smashing them together, crushing a combat droid that approached. They fought in completely different ways, but the combination of full offense and area control was surprisingly effective.
Front Two: Ling vs. the bosses
On the upper platform, Ling's fight was entirely different.
Skitter, the arachnid, struck first. He ran across walls and ceiling using his mechanical legs, searching for blind angles. He was incredibly fast—a blur of metal and flesh. But Ling was faster. Without taking his eyes off the other two, he moved his sword in short, precise arcs, blocking Skitter's attacks coming from above and the sides. His blade seemed to be everywhere at once.
Meanwhile, Mila, the gunner, kept her distance, a sadistic smile on her face. "Stay still so I can fill you with holes, pretty boy!" She unleashed a barrage of shots from her pistols. Ling couldn't block them all. Instead, he moved. With astonishing speed, he ran across the platform, deflecting what he could and twisting his body to avoid the rest. One shot grazed his shoulder, making him grunt in pain, but he didn't stop.
That was the opening Silas, the poison master, had been waiting for. He emerged from Ling's shadow, his poisoned daggers glowing with a sickly green light. He was silent, deadly. But Ling, even focused on two opponents, sensed him. He twisted at the last second, his blade meeting Silas' daggers with a sharp clang.
"You're fast," Silas hissed, his eyes gleaming with twisted admiration. "It will be a pleasure watching my poison work on someone like you, boy."
Now Ling stood in the center of a storm. Skitter attacked from impossible angles, Mila provided constant suppressive fire, and Silas pressured him in close combat, each blade contact a potential death sentence. It was a fight for survival.
Realizing he couldn't win defensively, Ling changed tactics. He blocked Silas' strike, used the momentum to kick Skitter away mid-air, and then focused on Mila. With a shout, he released a cutting wave of energy from his blade. The pure energy arc shot toward the gunner.
Mila, surprised by the sudden aggression, jumped aside, but the blast hit her arsenal, causing a small explosion that knocked her off balance and forced her to reposition. That was the opening Ling needed.
He turned his focus fully to Silas. The exchange of blows became furious—steel against steel. Ling was technically superior, but Silas was cunning, constantly aiming for shallow cuts, scratches, anything to land his poison. Ling knew one mistake would be fatal.
Down below, in the dark underground tunnels, Zugiy moved silently. He used his power to sense vibrations in the air and stone, searching for anything unusual. He was focused, unaware of what was happening above.
Then a low, distant sound reached him. A tremor. Then another, stronger.
He stopped, placing his hand on the stone wall. The rock was shaking. Explosions. Many of them.
His calm expression turned serious. This wasn't the plan. It seemed everything above had already descended into full-scale combat.