Emil

"Follow me!"

Emil broke into a sprint towards the direction of the sound. Anna and Aoife immediately followed after him.

"What's happening? Are there other people in the Canticle?"

"There are Belle and Lionheart Exalted down here as well to investigate the monster outbreaks. I heard combat up ahead. We're going over to help."

Shockwaves continued to ripple along the floor of the Canticle. The clank of metals and the mumbled noises of conflict echoed across the resonant walls. The ambient mana also began to stir as if perturbed by the evocation of Gifts and phenomenon. The cavernous nature of the Canticle made it difficult to judge proximity of sounds, but Emil could tell based on the disturbances in the ambient mana. They were getting close.

Suddenly, the shaking stopped.

All sounds of combat ceased.

Shit.

He had a terrible premonition. The abrupt silence implied that the battle up ahead was over. But he had a feeling that it didn't end in the Exalted's favor. Frankly speaking, he and Anna had a relatively easy time during their prior expedition into the Canticle. Their Gifts, Blaze and Volt, were highly compatible for exterminating monsters due to their compatibility against living beings. Not everyone possessed Gifts with the same destructive potential, however. The monsters in the Canticle had already displayed many physiological changes that gave them powerful physical protection. If the Exalted down here had no means to get past those defenses…

Emil narrowed his eyes. Large incisions and deep marks suddenly appeared along the walls and the ground of labyrinth. The first signs of combat were starting to show up. A few seconds later, the outcome of the battle became clear.

A group of three Exalted were scattered against the ground. One was leaning against the wall in a puddle of blood—their face twisted with agony. The other two were sprawled on the floor, facedown, seemingly unmoving. Their enemy, presumably a monster, was nowhere to be found. Before Emil could say anything, Aoife lunged to the front. A pair of angelic wings had already sprouted from her back, the mana construct glistening with divinity as she rushed to the fallen Exalted.

"Tan lei or."

Azure colors swelled, enveloping them in radiant lights. Emil could feel a soothing sensation permeate into his skin even though he was at a distance away. A healing aura. The unconscious expression from the Exalted against the wall grew gentler. Aoife carefully flipped over the other two to assess their conditions.

"Stay vigilant," Emil warned Anna. The two formed a perimeter around the injured and Aoife.

It hadn't been that long since the sounds stopped.

There was probably only a minute difference between their arrival and when the fighting ended. Given how the ground of the Canticle was shaking, the monster must have been massive. And yet, Emil found no traces of the creature leaving the area.

He kept his senses peeled. His head turned on a swivel, taking in the minute details of the battlefield. The surroundings were marred in deep incisions. Claw marks. Charred surfaces. It was hard to determine if they were the results of a Gift or byproducts of the monster.

"Trace," he intoned, cautiously lowering his palms against the ground to activate Seismic Sense. Mana pulsated outwards in a ripple, outlining the devastation that downed three Exalted in detail. Blaze burned brighter as well to extend its luminance.

I don't see anything.

He frowned. His senses told him one thing, but his instincts continued to echo warnings. What was he missing? What was the incongruity between his perceptions and his instincts? What was the oppressive feeling pressing down against his chest? Was the density of the ambient mana playing tricks on his mind?

Then he felt it.

A sprinkle of rocks grazed the top of his head. He looked up. The ceiling was dark and Blaze's illumination revealed nothing out of the norm. But once he narrowed his eyes, he saw a strange distortion in the ambient mana. The foggy wisps seemed to avoid a particular section of the ceiling. The tendrils appeared to wrap around it. As if there was something there, occupying the space.

"Above us!"

The ceiling suddenly stirred. The monster materialized into existence—its invisible camouflage must have dissipated. The creature was a giant chameleon, roughly double the size of a merchant's caravan. Large claws extended from its arms and legs. Its scaly body glinted under Blaze's light with a metallic shine. Sharp horns protruded from its head, below were its eyes, large and bulbous. It stared at them with an uncanny intensity as its head twitched back and forth with the cadence of a frenzied wasp.

Without warning, it descended from the ceiling.

The ground trembled under the chameleon's weight. It landed about twenty meters away from them. Its mouth suddenly opened and its tongue shot out like a whip. Emil instinctively formed his armor—right as the fleshly muscle slammed into his chest.

He immediately reeled, gasping for air. Agony erupted near his lungs. It felt like he just got trampled by a horse even through Bulwark's protection. Before he could respond, the tongue suddenly coiled around his body. Viscous slime latched onto the stone armor, preventing his escape. The monster suddenly retracted its tongue and pulled him up close. Emil could see the innumerable serrated teeth lined along the mouth of the chameleon. Its jaws were trembling with glee.

It's trying to devour me!

Blaze flared, enveloping the tongue in a bath of flames. Burnt flesh filled the air in an instant. Emil also altered his stone armor, sharpening the stony surface into a protrusion of spikes. Blood sprayed from his retaliation. The monster roared in pain. It swerved its head to the left. Its tongue, still coiled around Emil, followed as it smashed him straight into the opposite wall.

"Emil!"

Anna and Aoife's voice blared in his pounding head. Something hot trinkled down the side of his face. He grimaced, trying to pull himself up, but it was to no avail. Everything hurt. His eyes blurred. Unable to form another thought, everything went dark.

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Anna

The chameleon's tongue retracted. The long pulsating lump of flesh was littered with bleeding gaps and charred with black crisps from Blaze's residual flames. Emil was left embedded in the walls of the Canticle.

Anna's heart leaped to her throat as she realized Emil wasn't moving. But there was no time to wallow in despair. Despite Emil's retaliation, the chameleon was as alive as ever. It let out a deafening bellow. There was a tangible fury in its movements as it thrashed about mindlessly, apparently enraged by the damage dealt to its tongue. Its bulbous eyes soon landed on her and Aoife.

"Aoife, move the injured out of the way and get to Emil!" she yelled. The princess immediately went to work, carrying the injured Exalted to the fringes of the cavern.

Anna shot a blast of electricity at the chameleon to draw its attention. The lightning crashed into its body; electricity raced along the surface of its scaly skin before being repelled uselessly. The monster barely flinched, but the crackling noise and the violent flashes of electricity had gotten its focus.

She clicked her tongue and began channeling mana into her limbs in preparation for the next attack.

Another abomination with tough skin. I'm really getting sick of all these bugs and lizards!

The chameleon roared. The thunderous cry resonated across the cavernous chamber. Anna suddenly found it difficult to breathe. The deep pervasive overtones felt oppressive, hinting at the sheer power dwelling within the monstrous beast. The pressure pressed down on her chest like she was being crushed beneath fallen rubble. The monster barreled forward. Its arms and legs stomped into the ground in a rhythmic cadence, at a speed that shouldn't have been possible with its mass and size.

Anna circulated Volt to enhance her speed and physique. The monster swiped down with its front arms. Gnawed claws and scaly skin marred by tear and wear filled her vision. She stepped to the side and dashed forward as the chameleon's hand slammed into the earth.

Boom!

She kicked the air as she was knocked airborne from the ensuing force. No matter. Electricity pulsed from the length of her arm up to the tip of her palms, crackling with anticipation. She found herself at the side of the chameleon.

"Release!"

The charges that accumulated on her palms suddenly extended outwards. Before the charges could unleash all of its energy, Anna forcefully contained the release with her will. Mana acted as a container to bottle the discharge into a localized area. A shrill sound erupted. Bright white light surged. The end result was a spear of lightning vibrating in Anna's hands.

She had long sought for a signature move. On its own, Volt was an extremely powerful Gift against Exalted and other organic beings that had no protection against electricity. Lightning was fast and destructive. It inflicted paralysis indiscriminately, giving her an innate advantage if her foes dared to let her close. But what about against opponents that could defend against her attacks? What about opponents that were resistant against lightning's paralyzing effects? What about those that her shocks couldn't pierce?

Ionize was a formidable weapon that she created to solve her limited Interference Range. It had above average penetrative power that depended on the speed and force that she could imbue her metal coins with. However, there was an upper limit—there was only so much electromagnetic force that she could generate before the coin began to break. Furthermore, she was always limited by how many coins she carried.

Realizing her current limits, Anna searched for another solution.

The spear of lightning, Thunderfang, was the culmination of her relentless effort.

Thunderfang trembled in her hands. The electrostatic energy snapped against her skin, buzzing frenetically. The nerves on her hands screamed from the concentrated charges. It's not perfect, but it'll do! She gritted her teeth and drove the spear straight into the chameleon's side.

She felt resistance as the monster's scaly skin tried to repel the attack, but the penetrative force of bottled lightning was too much for it to bear.

Squelch!

The chameleon shrieked. Blood erupted from the open wound at the side of its body. Anna pried the spear out and thrusted again. With her strength enhanced by Volt, she was able to dig deep into the monster's torso. The chameleon suddenly turned its body. Its tail flew at Anna like a whip.

She dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding a direct hit as air cut across the space above her head. The drastic move caused her to lose focus, and Thunderfang spluttered out from her grasp.

Shit!

The chameleon thrashed in agony. Anna crawled to her feet, trying to get out of the monster's vicinity. The two hits she landed had been effective, but it was nowhere close to downing the beast. I should have aimed for the head! She reprimanded herself for the lack of foresight. It would be difficult to find another opportunity now that the monster was aware of the danger she posed up close. Thunderfang wasn't an attack she can use indiscriminately—it required focus and time to prepare and Anna knew she couldn't risk taking a direct hit from the monster. Even Emil, fortified by Bulwark, had been downed in a single strike.

Still, she prepared to form the spear again once she retreated to a reasonable distance.

The monster, however, was no longer fixated on her.

Blood loss from its injuries must have triggered its appetite as it suddenly turned towards Aoife and the pile of injured Exalted at the fringes of the cavern. Spittle leaked from the side of its mouth as it readied to open its jaws once more.

"Aoife, watch out!" Anna warned while reaching into her pockets for a coin.

Ionize activated right after the chameleon's tongue lashed out. The fleshy muscle sprung out at a speed faster than her eyes could follow. The blurry afterimage raced towards Aoife and the injured. The princess turned around—her body encased in divine light.

Clank!

Metal resounded as Aoife was flung backwards by the elastic lash of the chameleon's tongue. Anna's Ionize landed shortly after, punching a hole through the monster's snout as it bellowed again in pain. The Canticle's wall shook. A cloud of dust fumed from the spot where Aoife had crashed.

Anna's mind blanked. The world seemed to go mad. Her sanity veered on the edge of collapse. Her insides stormed with a visceral despair that clawed against her bones. Mana raged along her body as she was about to lose it. She had not taken this expedition lightly—she knew the risks of traversing down the Canticle to exterminate against monsters that even seasoned Exalted had problems with. And yet, never once did she think that Emil, Aoife, and her could possibly fall. Had she grown cocky? Did their success earlier in the day gave her sense of invulnerability?

Before she could unleash mayhem on the chameleon beast, Aoife suddenly emerged from the cloud of dust. The wings on her back flapped with force, carrying her armor-clad body towards the raging monster. She brandished her sword and cleaved. The monster met her attack head-on with one of its front arms.

Anna winced at the clash of divine metal and mana enhanced claws. The power of both strikes appeared to be equal at a glance, but Aoife was soon repelled by recoil. She crashed into the ground hard. The sound made her teeth clatter and the impact appeared rough enough to incapacitate most Exalted, but Aoife bounced back onto her feet in an instant. Anna stood there, jaws dropped in disbelief at the princess's resilience as she rushed at the monster again.

"Stop charging in like an idiot!" she finally yelled after witnessing another exchange, "Buy me time!"

Electric charges gathered at the palms of her hands as she prepared Thunderfang. Her words seemed to have snapped Aoife out of her daze. The princess skidded to a halt and ascended to the skies to dodge the chameleon's attempt at a counterattack.

There was clarity to her movements now. Instead of charging in blindly, she probed the air, encircling the creature slowly while drawing its attention.

"Tan lei lehavot!" she intoned with authority.

Azure flames suddenly materialized around the chameleon's foot. The monster was startled—its instinctual fear of fire caused it to panic. Aoife raised her hands, making the conflagration climb the length of the monster's body. Her flames lacked the violence and voracity of Emil's Blaze, but it did the job. Distracted by the threat of being burned, the monster was oblivious as Anna closed the gap.

"Release."

Thunderfang formed. The lightning spear whistled with an electrostatic whine. With two hands, Anna plunged the spear deep into the chameleon's neck.

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