Chapter 21 - 20: Predator in the Gloom
"Flank it. Wait for my shot."
Leon’s whisper barely disturbs the oppressive silence of the chamber. His Elite Grave Mage drifts left while the reconstructed assassin melts into the shadows on the right. Blue energy swirls around spectral fingertips as his undead take position.
The mantis boss looms in the doorway like a living nightmare. Its triangular head tilts with predatory curiosity, and its compound eyes reflect phosphorescent light in fractal patterns. The creature’s carapace absorbs shadows, making its outline difficult to discern.
Leon’s muscles coil with tension. Every instinct screams danger as he studies the monster’s stance. This is no mindless beast, intelligence gleams behind those alien eyes.
Then the mantis moves, speed that defies physics carries eight feet of bladed death across twenty feet of stone. Leon’s gun barks, the manna round striking center mass. Chitin cracks but holds; the shot merely scores the creature’s natural armor.
The assassin strikes from the side, twin knives seeking gaps between armored plates. Steel scrapes harmlessly across the hardened carapace as the mantis twists with impossible flexibility.
Freezing energy erupts from the Grave Mage’s position. Spectral ice wraps around one of the creature’s rear legs, anchoring it momentarily. The mantis shrieks, a sound like breaking glass mixed with animal fury.
Leon rolls behind a fallen pillar as razor-sharp forearms sweep through the space where his head had just been. Stone chips explode where the creature’s weapons strike, each impact powerful enough to shatter bone.
The chamber reeks of disturbed earth and a metallic scent that makes Leon’s teeth ache. Ancient dust swirls, kicked up by the mantis’s violent movements.