The Firstborns were leaving through the path where Riven had once stood guard. He was barely able to walk, being held up by a utility Firstborn, his legs dragging weakly beneath him.
Eros came to a sudden stop, frozen by what Varik had just said.
"Blow the tunnels up? Varik, has this place gotten to you?"
Varik took a few steps forward and briefly gripped Eros by the shoulder, his voice steady and calm.
"I assure you, I'm not going insane. We can't win against that thing. If we cave the tunnel in, it won't be able to regenerate fast enough. That will give us the opportunity we need to get out."
Nira leaned forward, resting her hands lightly on her twin blades.
"I don't think a soul attack is needed."
Eros hesitated, his brow furrowed with curiosity.
"Why?"
Nira let out a heavy sigh.
"It's simple really. A monster this weak shouldn't be able to manifest its soul in a physical state."
She took a poignant pause, eyes narrowing as memories of the fight flashed behind her gaze.
"During my attack on it, I noticed something odd. Even though Varik sliced it in half, I couldn't find its core. And there were these strange, pulsing veins around the opening in its chest."
She turned her gaze to the other Veileds, her tone sharpening slightly.
"It's just a hunch on my part, but I think its core is protected by a layer of corrupted marrow. That layer might be absorbing the impact. Or maybe... the core just isn't there at all. Either way, to kill it, we need to strike at specific pulse points. Places that disrupt its regeneration instead of trying to overpower it."
Eros stared at her, disbelief and confusion painted across his face.
"How the hell did you pick all that up in such a short time? I don't think we've even fought that thing for five minutes."
She looked at him quietly for a few moments.
"Like I said, it's nothing but a hunch. It might not even work. And even then, finding the correct vein that contains the pulse point is nearly impossible in those rotten piles of flesh."
Varik turned his head toward where Nira stood and gave a faint nod of agreement.
"I think it's worth a shot."
He pointed toward the abomination that loomed behind him, its flesh twitching and already beginning to knit itself back together.
"It's starting to regenerate. Eros and I will try to slow it down. You find the pulse vein or whatever you called it. I would prefer to kill this bastard here and now."
After speaking, Varik rested the greatsword on his shoulder, standing tall in front of the monstrosity like a sentinel, as if daring it to finish regenerating.
Eros sighed heavily.
"I'm supposed to attack from the shadows and do cool assassin stuff, not be seen out in the open fighting like this."
He let out another exasperated sigh and glanced at Nira. He made a peace sign with his fingers, but before he could finish the gesture, he became a blur, vanishing in an instant and reappearing at the creature's left flank.
The abomination had already fully regenerated, at least in body. It let out a distorted screech, a disgusting sound that tore from its throat. From the swollen mass of flesh on its head, something shot out—a twisting, spinning whip of sharp, fleshy sinew.
Varik, with his massive sword, stood his ground. He swung with all his might, the blade crashing down hard, forcing the monster back with pure strength. The impact shook the tunnel.
Beside him, Eros moved like a ghost. His twin daggers flickered through the air, too fast to follow. He darted in and out, slashing at the creature, again and again, never pausing for breath.
The monster raised its left hand in a desperate attempt to strike him, but Eros was already gone—behind it, blades flashing. Varik's greatsword kept the abomination off balance, while Eros's relentless flurry of cuts gave it no time to recover. The rhythm of their attack was brutal, fast, and unrelenting.
But no matter how many times they sliced it apart, the rotten flesh returned. Tendrils of meat reknit, blackened tissue reformed, and the thing refused to fall.
From a short distance away, Nira stood silently, watching it all unfold, her hands still resting on her blades. Her eyes scanned the creature carefully,
The abomination let out another screech, louder this time. The sound reverberated through the walls around them. Bits of bone jutted from its back, twitching like antennae. With its chest still reforming, it lunged.
Varik stepped forward to meet it, his sword arcing in a wide sweep. The blade crashed into the monster's side with a heavy thud, tearing through rotted muscle and spraying a black, steaming fluid. But again, the wound began to seal, tendrils wriggling and tightening like maggots stitching it back together.
Eros was already moving. His feet barely touched the ground as he zipped past the creature's flailing limbs, his daggers dancing. He carved open one arm, then ducked under a spinning whip of flesh that shot from its shoulder. His expression was calm, focused, like this was just another job.
The monster moved with impossible speed, aiming a jagged elbow spike at Varik's neck.
Varik ducked, spun, and drove the greatsword upward, cleaving the arm off entirely. The limb crashed to the ground, writhing like a living thing—but even that began to reform. The creature's regeneration was relentless.
"Damn thing's worse than a leech!" Eros shouted, flipping over the beast and landing on its back. He stabbed down, both blades sinking deep into the flesh. The abomination howled, bucking wildly. But the damage healed before he could even rip the daggers free.
Varik slammed the flat side of his blade into its knee joint, cracking bone and forcing the monster to stumble. Black ichor sprayed out, burning the ground where it landed.
In the background, Nira narrowed her eyes.
There—again. A flicker beneath the skin.
She focused on the creature's torso. As it turned under Eros's flurry of cuts, something pulsed beneath its chest—a strange, steady rhythm, like a heartbeat but not quite. The veins she had noticed before were pulsing, thick and dark, branching like roots around the hollow space in its torso. She took a slow breath, eyes tracking the pattern.
Then she saw it.
A section of vein near the collarbone throbbed irregularly—just a hair out of sync with the rest. As Eros sliced near it, the pulse faltered for a moment. The flesh reknit slower than before.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"There," she muttered. "One of the pulse points..."
She sprinted closer, dodging a falling slab of rotten meat and bone that the monster had shed during the battle. Her boots skidded across the ichor-slick floor. She shouted above the chaos.
"Eros! Above the left collarbone—there's a vein. Hit that spot again. It should delays the regeneration."
Eros didn't respond, but he moved. A blur of motion, he twisted and struck with both blades right where she'd said. The monster screeched and convulsed. This time, the flesh didn't heal immediately. It sagged and collapsed slightly around the wound.
"I think she's right!" Eros called. "It's not fixing itself as fast!"
Varik grunted, lifted his sword, and slammed the flat edge into the weakened spot. The impact shattered bone beneath. The monster reeled back, its whip-like limb lashing out wildly, clipping Eros across the side. He grunted and rolled with the blow, blood splattering across the stone.
Nira drew one blade and rushed closer, eyes scanning for more.
"There's another one!" she shouted. "Lower spine. Just above the hip. Looks like a swollen artery—red and twitching."
Varik didn't hesitate. He roared and charged, swinging the sword in a brutal arc aimed low. The blade smashed through the creature's hip. The vein burst like a bulb of spoiled fruit, and the monster shrieked, flailing uncontrollably. The regeneration slowed again, even more this time. Its entire right leg buckled under the weight of the damage.
Nira skidded to a halt beside Eros, who wiped blood from his cheek and grinned.
"Well, guess your hunch was right after all."
She nodded, breathing hard.
"We can't kill it through brute force alone. We need to rupture all the pulse points at once or close together. Otherwise, it'll just keep healing."
Varik stepped back, panting, his sword dripping black rot.
"Then we find them all. Fast."
The monster groaned, its body lurching as more tendrils sprouted from its back—dozens of them. It wasn't done yet.
But neither were they.