Frank's eyes locked onto the Queen's movements, not tracking where she was, but anticipating where she would go next. It wasn't random; it was hunting. Waves of heat radiated from her, but beneath the chaos, her rhythm emerged. Three steps, pivot, then flame. Two strikes, then reposition. The sacs along her abdomen pulsed brighter before each major attack—she needed a cooling cycle.
He tightened his grip on the Mercurial Cut, feeling sweat slick between his fingers.
"The vents!" he called out, his voice rougher than he intended. "She cools after big bursts!"
Mik glanced his way, daggers glinting as he circled. The Queen pivoted, her attention divided among the threats. Tace caught Frank's eye, offering a sharp nod in acknowledgment.
Garna staggered forward, her armor half-melted across her chest, blood seeping down one arm. She leaned on her greatsword for support, teeth gritted, eyes fixed on the Queen.
The Queen screeched again.
This time, Frank was ready. He turned his focus inward, shutting out the sound's harsh edges. His boots slid back an inch, but his mind remained sharp.
She reared up, her flame sacs pulsing faster.
An attack was coming.
"Bait the burst!" Frank shouted. "Hard left—"
The Queen's thorax expanded, heat building from within. Tace and Garna shifted in tandem, drawing the Queen's attention toward the chamber's eastern edge. Mik vanished from sight. Auri released her third-to-last arrow, aiming not for the Queen's body but for one of her flame sacs.
The sac ruptured with a wet pop.
Liquid fire cascaded down the wall, momentarily diverting the Queen's attention. Her head turned, mandibles flexing.
That's when Frank saw it.
The cooling vents opened along her underside, glowing bright blue amid the red.
"Now!" He didn't wait for confirmation.
He pushed hard against the stone, his legs burning with effort. The heat intensified as he closed the distance, but he didn't slow. One step. Another. His path curved inward, tightening like a noose. The Queen turned back just as he reached his position.
Too late.
『Twin Fang Draw Activated』
The first cut sliced across the exposed vent, the blade catching the edge where the chitin thinned. The second cut came in reverse, deeper this time. Steam erupted from the wound as liquid sprayed across the floor.
The Queen screamed—higher, sharper, with genuine pain beneath it. She tried to pivot, but Garna was there, her blade slamming into the Queen's front leg to hold her in place.
Frank didn't hesitate.
『Piercing Fang Activated』
He dropped low, angling his blade upward, and drove it straight into the weakened vent. The steel found purchase, sliding between plates into something softer beneath. Hot liquid sprayed across his arm, burning through cloth to skin, but he didn't pull back.
『Critical Strike: Combo Chain Activated』
The Queen buckled, her abdomen convulsing. One leg collapsed beneath her weight, chitin cracking along the joint.
Tace shouted something Frank couldn't hear over the roar of flames and his own thundering pulse. He twisted his blade once, pushed deeper, then rolled clear as the Queen's tail lashed wildly.
Mik reappeared from nowhere, leaping onto the Queen's back. Both daggers plunged into the seam Frank had opened—once, twice, three times—before he pushed off, narrowly avoiding a burst of flame.
The chamber temperature spiked.
Flame sacs along the walls ruptured in a cascading succession, throwing liquid fire across the floor in wide pools. Auri's perch crumbled beneath her as a section of the upper wall collapsed. She jumped, rolled, and came up with her last arrow nocked.
Frank wiped blood from his eyes—he didn't remember when he had been cut. His lungs burned with each breath, the air too hot to do more than sustain him.
The Queen went berserk.
She slammed both front claws into the ground, the impact sending a tremor through the chamber. Cracks split open beneath them—straight lines racing toward each wall. Steam erupted from the fissures, visibility dropping to nothing in seconds.
"Regroup!" Tace's voice called from somewhere ahead.
Frank moved through the fog, keeping low, sword at the ready. He collided with something solid—Garna, one knee on the ground, breathing raggedly through clenched teeth.
"I'm out," she hissed.
Without a word, Frank dropped his last vial into her palm.
"Save it," she began.
"Drink."
She didn't argue further. The vial emptied, glass discarded with a quiet clink against the stone. Her breathing steadied, but the wounds across her chest hadn't closed completely.
They were running out of time.
Through the swirling steam, Frank saw only glimpses—Mik's outline darting between cover, Auri's silhouette seeking higher ground, Tace's spear raised against a shadow they couldn't fully track.
The Queen moved through her own fog as if it weren't there. Her claws flashed, striking with sudden precision. Mik barely rolled clear, his left arm hanging awkwardly at his side—burned, maybe broken.
Frank's mind raced. No more potions. Visibility gone. The Queen was still mobile.
Pattern. There had to be a pattern.
His eyes tracked the dim glow of the flame sacs—orange pulses in the white mist. She wasn't aiming blindly; she was herding them, cutting off escape routes.
His fingers tightened around his sword as a new plan formed.
"Tace!" Frank called, his voice carrying just far enough. "One more burst—we need her to vent hard!"
Tace emerged from the steam, eyes locked on Frank's. He nodded once, understanding.
"On my mark!" Tace shouted. "Circle formation!"
The team moved instinctively. Garna pushed herself upright, sword braced. Mik reappeared, favoring his right arm but still ready with his daggers. Auri dropped to the ground, her last arrow drawn.
They converged at a single point—directly opposite the chamber entrance. The Queen turned, sensing the shift.
"Hold..." Tace's voice remained steady despite the chaos. "Hold..."
The Queen's flame sacs pulsed brighter and faster. Her mouth opened wide, mandibles stretching.
"NOW!"
The team scattered in perfect unison.
The Queen unleashed her most devastating attack yet—flame erupting not in a focused stream but in a wide cone that engulfed the entire area they had just vacated. Heat washed over Frank as he rolled clear, his coat smoldering at the edges.
In that moment, her flame sacs dimmed. The cooling vents along her abdomen opened wide, desperate to regulate her core temperature.
Frank saw his opening.
"Cover me!" He didn't wait for acknowledgment.