The Scaleknuckle crouched across from Rei, its slit-pupiled eyes glimmering with a cold, animal sharpness. The ridged tail swayed behind it, scraping against the vine pillar like a blade being sharpened. Rei’s fingers tightened around his sword hilt, his other hand gripping the Phantom Twin pistol. His breaths slowed, his chest rising and falling as he forced his focus into place.

  One wrong move and he was done. Again.

  He drew in a steadying breath and shifted his stance.

  This time, no hesitation.

  With a squeeze of the trigger, his pistol barked in burst fire. Sharp, cracking sounds echoing through the hollowed cavern of vines. Mana bullets ripped through the air in a glowing arc.

  The Scaleknuckle twisted its wiry frame effortlessly, leaping from one vine to another. The bullets shredded bark and leaves but never once touched its hide. A dry crack cut through the air, like stone snapping under pressure.

  Rei’s eyes narrowed.

  The creature’s arm convulsed before a jagged spike of bone burst through its flesh, jutting forward like a natural spear. The Scaleknuckle hissed, lips peeling back to reveal teeth lined like shards of glass.

  So it’s been hiding that the whole time…

  The beast launched. The bone spike whistled through the air, aimed square at his chest. Rei’s foresight flared to life. His right eye igniting gold, the faint ticking of a clock echoing in his ears. His left eye flickered with a faint glow of its own, and a shimmering golden mark appeared off to the side. Instinct moved him before thought did.

  He dashed toward the mark. The spike slashed past, missing him by inches. The air shuddered from the force of it.

  “Not bad…” Rei muttered, raising his pistol.

  He squeezed off another burst, this time at point-blank range. The Scaleknuckle snarled, swiping with its other claw, but Rei didn’t give it room. He shot again and again, forcing the creature back with the roar of gunfire.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Then, sheathing his blade quickly, Rei yanked out his second pistol. The twins glimmering faintly with the golden pale aura. He switched it to burst and opened fire with both hands, the hail of bullets rattling the cavern.

  The Scaleknuckle crossed its bone spike in front of its torso. Another sickening crack rang out as more bones erupted across its hide, layering into jagged plates. The projectiles pinged against its improvised armor, sparking uselessly.

  Rei’s eyes widened. The monster looked… different.

  Smaller.

  Each new bone it grew into armor seemed to shrink its body, condensing it. The wiry monkey frame thickened into something bulkier, heavier, its movements losing the whip-like agility it had before.

  So that’s the tradeoff… tougher, but slower.

  Rei smirked faintly despite the sweat streaking his temple.

  Good. That’s something I can work with.

  He darted to the side, firing as he moved, weaving through the forest of vine pillars. The Scaleknuckle hissed and clambered after him, more bones cracking out across its shoulders and torso as it blocked shot after shot.

  Every crack of bone meant less reach. Less speed.

  If he could make it overcommit, he could trap it.

  Rei’s eyes flicked upward to the towering vines. His heart pounded.

  Yeah. That could work.

  Switching his pistols between semi-auto, burst, and phantom shot, Rei kept the pressure up, circling the beast like a wolf. Every trigger pull forced it to shield itself, more plates jutting from its frame, until its wiry speed was gone and it lumbered like a boulder covered in jagged spikes.

  “C’mon…” Rei whispered under his breath.

  At last, the monster was nearly encased, its own weight slowing it. Rei lunged toward one of the massive vine trunks, blade flashing as he hacked into it. The thick cord groaned, split, and toppled.

  The towering vine collapsed straight toward the Scaleknuckle.

  The beast roared, raising its arms to block. The crash thundered, dust and leaves exploding everywhere. Rei used the moment, sprinting along the length of the falling vine, twin pistols vanishing back into their holsters. He drew his sword in one smooth motion, aura shimmering along its edge.

  “Got you!”

  He leapt high, blade arcing downward in a lethal strike.

  But the Scaleknuckle wasn’t finished.

  A rapid crack-crack-crack sounded as the bones in its legs snapped back into place, retracting into its body. Its frame slimmed, wiry and agile once more. With a sudden spring, it launched upward, bone spike poised.

  Rei’s golden foresight shimmered, warning him a second too late.

  The bone spike met his blade in midair.

  CLANG!

  The force was titanic, blasting air outward. Rei’s arms shuddered violently. His grip broke. The shockwave hurled him backwards.

  “Gah!”

  He spiraled, nearly missing his footing entirely as the world blurred. For a heart-stopping second, he was plummeting toward the cavern floor far below. His hand shot out, seizing a protruding vine at the last moment. The jolt rattled his arm to the bone, but he clung on.

  Panting hard, Rei hauled himself back up, boots scraping the vines. His sword felt heavier in his grip, his chest burning.

  Across the pillars, the Scaleknuckle crouched, tail lashing with a predator’s delight. Its bone spike glistened with blood, his blood from the shallow cut along his shoulder.

  Rei swiped the sweat trickling down his brow, eyes narrowing.

  “So that’s how it is, huh?” he muttered under his breath. He raised his sword again, pointing it toward the beast.

  “Come on then, ugly! You’ll have to do better than that to put me down!”

  His voice carried through the cavern, sharp and defiant, a spark of reckless provocation against the monster’s hiss.

  The Scaleknuckle tilted its head, bone claws flexing, before letting out a guttural screech that shook the vines themselves.

  The fight was far from over.

  [End of Chapter]