The centipede let out a wet, rattling hiss.
Its body jerked as the sound climbed into a sharp screech, mandibles chittering in uneven bursts.
It lunged.
The movement snapped forward, sudden and heavy, cutting through the air with a high whistle.
Ari's voice came out sharp.
"Move. Now."
In the same instant, they both leapt aside.
The creature's jaws slammed into the ground where they had stood moments before.
Rock broke apart on impact, shards scattering across the cavern floor.
The force rolled through the ground and climbed into the walls, the entire space ringing with a deep, shaking echo.
Ari landed on one knee.
His hand pressed briefly against the ground for balance, then he pushed himself upright.
No pause.
He rushed forward.
His blade came up in a fast arc.
Metal struck chitin.
A sharp clang rang out as sparks flashed between the segments.
The impact pushed him back.
His feet slid across the stone before he caught himself.
He pivoted immediately.
The second blade followed in a horizontal sweep, cutting through the air with a clean hiss.
Another strike landed.
Then another.
Ari's movement slowed for a fraction of a second.
He clicked his tongue softly.
Just as I thought… I can't even put a scratch on it.
The centipede reacted instantly.
Its massive tail whipped through the air and crashed toward Ari.
Ari's eyes widened.
He threw his mandibles up just in time.
CLANG!
The impact exploded through the cavern.
Sparks burst from the collision.
A violent shock ran through Ari's arms, and before he could regain his footing, the force launched him backward.
"UAAAH!"
His body tore through the air.
A heartbeat later, he slammed into the cavern wall.
The rock cracked behind him.
Dust and loose stone rained down as he dropped to one knee.
"Khk!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth and splattered across the ground.
Warm blood trickled down his exoskeleton.
His mandibles trembled in his grip.
"Ari!" Nova shouted as she rushed toward him.
Ari raised a hand.
Nova slowed.
A few steps later, she came to a stop.
"Don't worry."
Ari winced and pushed himself upright.
"I'm fine."
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth as he wiped it away with the back of his hand.
"I just let my guard down."
Nova's arm remained half raised.
Her eyes stayed fixed on him.
Ari rolled his fingers around the hilts of his blades and turned his gaze toward the centipede.
"Keep your focus on the centipede."
Nova tightened her grip on her mandibles.
"...Right."
The centipede's massive body shifted.
Its countless legs scraped against the cavern floor as it turned toward them.
Ari kept his eyes on the creature.
"Listen up, Nova."
She turned toward him.
"What is it?"
"It looks like our attacks aren't getting through that armor."
The centipede let out a low hiss.
Dust scattered beneath its legs as it advanced another step.
"We need a different approach," he continued. "I'll create an opening."
Nova nodded.
"You go for its legs. If we can slow it down, we might have a chance to figure out how to kill it."
Ari reached out and lightly touched her arm.
Nova blinked several times.
Her grip steadied.
A moment later, she straightened and raised her weapon.
Ari gave a small nod.
"I'm counting on you."
Nova's fingers tightened around the handle of her mandibles.
"...You can leave it to me."
"Let's go."
Ari and Nova burst in opposite directions.
The centipede's tail crashed down between them.
Stone shattered across the cavern floor.
Fragments of rock bounced past them as they jumped clear.
Ari and Nova landed hard on opposite sides of the creature.
The centipede twisted toward Ari.
The instant his feet touched the ground, he launched himself forward.
The distance vanished in a heartbeat.
His mandibles flashed through the air.
A rapid series of strikes slammed into the centipede's body.
Sparks burst from its armored shell.
The centipede hissed and reared back.
Ari shifted his footing and swung again.
Four of the creature's legs separated from its body.
They hit the ground with dull thuds.
The severed limbs twitched violently as dark blood spread across the stone.
They're tough... but I was right.
Ari watched the severed limbs twitch across the cavern floor.
The legs are the only weak point.
The centipede shrieked.
Its massive body thrashed against the dirt, gouging trenches into the ground as loose stone scattered in every direction.
Across from him, Nova planted her feet.
"HAAAAAH!"
She lunged forward and slashed at one of the creature's remaining legs.
Her first strike bounced away.
CLANG!
The impact rattled her arms.
Nova gritted her teeth and swung again.
This time, the blade bit deep.
The leg separated from the joint and crashed onto the cavern floor.
Nova's eyes widened.
She stared at the severed limb.
I... I cut it off?
The weapon in her hands trembled.
I actually cut it off.
The centipede let out another shriek.
Nova tightened her grip.
Her antennae angled forward.
Then we can do this.
We can kill this thing.
The centipede suddenly twisted.
Its massive tail swept through the air in a wide arc.
The sound tore through the area.
Dust burst from the ground beneath its path.
Nova looked up.
Her breath caught.
The tail was already on top of her.
For a split second, she didn't move.
Ari moved without hesitation.
He stepped in front of Nova just as the tail came crashing down.
His mandibles snapped up.
He lowered his stance and crossed the blades in front of him.
The impact slammed into him.
A violent jolt shot through his arms and shoulders.
His feet dug into the dirt for an instant.
Then his stance broke.
The mandibles tore free from his grip and spun through the air.
They struck the cavern floor and skidded across the stone.
The force launched both Ari and Nova backward.
Ari reached out.
His fingers closed around Nova's arm.
A moment later, they hit the ground.
The impact drove the air from Ari's lungs.
The two of them tumbled across jagged stone.
They finally slid to a stop several meters away.
Ari's arm was still wrapped around Nova.
For a few seconds, neither of them moved.
Ari's chest heaved.
His fingers twitched against the dirt.
A dull tingling spread through his palms where the hilts had been ripped away.
Beside him, Nova blinked repeatedly.
A high pitched ringing filled her ears.
Her heart pounded against her chest.
A short distance away, one of Ari's mandibles lay half buried in the dust.
The other rested farther down the cavern floor, its edge catching the light.
Ari planted a hand against the ground.
He pushed.
Pain shot through his arm.
"Ahh!"
His body stiffened.
The strength left his arm, and he nearly collapsed.
Ari let out a slow breath.
Then he turned his head just enough to look at Nova beside him.
"Nova... you okay?"
Nova nodded shakily.
Strands of hair clung to her face.
"Y-Yeah..."
Her voice came out weak.
Ari looked past her.
His gaze settled on the fallen mandibles scattered across the cavern floor.
Then it shifted to the centipede.
The creature's massive body was already beginning to coil.
Ari tried to move.
His jaw tightened.
Damn it... I can't move.
Nova followed his gaze.
The moment she saw the centipede drawing itself back, the color drained from her face.
The creature let out a low hiss.
It's no use.
Ari watched it rise.
We can't kill this thing on our own.
The centipede's tail lifted from the ground.
Ari's grip tightened against the dirt.
There has to be something.
Anything.
Before he could move, the centipede's body snapped forward.
Ari closed his eyes.
This is the end...
CLANG!
Ari's eyes snapped open.
The centipede had stopped.
Its head hung a meter away.
Two figures stood in front of him, their weapons pressed against the creature's jaws.
"Looks like we got here just in time," a voice called out.
Ari stared at them.
"Corporal Beatrice..."
Beatrice glanced over her shoulder.
"So I'm just invisible then?" Quinn asked.
Ari's gaze shifted toward her.
A brief silence passed.
The centipede suddenly shoved forward.
Both soldiers slid across the dirt.
Quinn tightened her grip.
"This thing's strong," she muttered.
Both soldiers dug their feet into the ground.
The centipede's head shuddered as they forced it back a step.
"Good work holding the line, you two," Beatrice said.
She glanced toward Ari and Nova.
"We'll take it from here."
The centipede reared back with a shriek.
Its mandibles snapped together.
Beatrice rolled her shoulders and adjusted her grip.
"Quinn, prepare to engage."
She slid one foot behind her and lowered her stance.
"Got it."
Quinn moved a few meters to Beatrice's left.
The centipede lunged.
Beatrice exploded forward.
A bladed leg swept toward her.
She ducked beneath it.
The limb sliced through the space above her head.
A burst of air brushed across her antennae.
Her right hand mandible flashed.
One leg dropped to the ground.
SHINK!
Her second blade followed immediately.
Another limb separated from the body.
Dark fluid splashed across the stone.
The centipede's shriek echoed through the cavern.
Before it could recover, Quinn moved.
She surged forward with both mandibles held in a reverse grip.
Her foot slammed into the ground.
The stone cracked beneath it.
She drove her blades downward.
The impact struck the creature's midsection.
Fragments of black armor burst outward.
Ari's eyes locked onto the shattered plating.
They broke through it...
The centipede head jerked violently.
Its tail swept towards Quinn.
Quinn planted her feet.
Before the tail could reach her, Beatrice appeared beside her.
She crossed her blades and caught the strike.
The impact shoved her backward.
Then she stopped.
Beatrice glanced at Quinn.
"Now."
Quinn nodded.
Both of them moved.
Beatrice sprinted along the creature's flank.
One leg fell.
Then another.
A third crashed onto the stone.
The centipede's body dipped.
At the same moment, Quinn charged from the opposite side.
She leapt.
Both mandibles rose above her head.
Beatrice drove upward.
Quinn brought her blades down.
The attacks met at the base of the centipede's neck.
SHIIIIINK!
The cavern shook.
The blades tore through armor.
Then flesh.
Then bone.
For a heartbeat, nothing moved.
The centipede remained frozen.
A thin line appeared beneath its head.
The massive head slid free.
It hit the ground with a heavy crash.
The body staggered.
A shriek burst from its throat.
Then the rest of it collapsed.
Silence followed.
Beatrice landed beside Quinn.
Both lowered their weapons.
Their breathing remained steady.
Several meters away, Ari stared at the creature's motionless body.
The faint glow in its eyes flickered once.
Then disappeared.