The cavern shook with each impact.

Stone splinters scattered, water dripped from the rocks above them in sharp patters, and the roar of the creature echoed like a storm trapped underground.

It was no ordinary dungeon beast. The thing was like a massive wolf twisted in half, its body hunched and warped as if two skeletons had fused together in agony. Its hide was scaled in parts, furred in others, with jagged bone spikes jutting from its spine. Every swing of its deformed claws sent hunters of Valkyria Fang scattering.

The expedition had begun with thirty hunters, but only twenty remained. Ten had already fallen, claimed by the claws of the monstrous beast that stalked them.

And in the middle of that storm—

"RAAAHHHHHHH!"

Nina Raj swung her greatsword while blasting off the rockets on her hands.

The blade, wider than a man's torso, cleaved through the cavern's air like a falling guillotine. Sparks flew as steel met claw. The monster staggered back a step, its screech vibrating against the walls.

Nina's teeth were bared, eyes wide, sweat and blood staining her armor. She looked feral. Alive. The scar on her chest seemed to burn through her clothes as she pressed forward with her jacket already tore open revealling her breasts.

"Push it back!" she roared.

Selene darted in, twin axes flashing. She moved like a blur, weaving between the monster's legs, hacking at its joints. Bone splinters snapped free. Blood sprayed. Her laugh rang out sharp and wild.

"Ha! Come on, you ugly bastard! Try to keep up!" Selene shouted, her mind locked in a battle trance.

From the flank, Tachibana Kyouka stood with her dagger and her revolver drawn, breath even. She wasn't laughing. Her eyes narrowed in focus.

A ripple of energy surged around her blade, coating it in a faint shimmer. She slashed upward, cutting into the beast's side with precision. No wasted motion. No bravado. There were several gunshots on her end showing that dagger wasn' the only weapon she was using.

Kyouka was a dual-wielder—one hand gripping her dagger, the other her custom-made pistol, a specially crafted revolver provided through Valkyria Fang's sponsorship.

The monster howled, twisting toward her with fangs bared.

"—Move!" Selene yelled.

Kyouka was already gone, her boots kicking off the stone wall, leaping backward. The claw slammed where she had stood, breaking stone into gravel.

Nina surged forward again, raising her greatsword overhead.

The others could only watch as their leader brought it down with the weight of a landslide.

BOOOOM!

The ground cracked. The beast shrieked, half its body crushed under the force.

The hunters cheered.

Selene's grin was sharp. "That's it! Break it down!"

"Finish it!" one shouted.

They pressed harder. Bullets struck its eyes. Axes bit deeper. Kyouka slashed across its throat in clean strokes.

The beast thrashed desperately, but its end was certain.

Or so they thought.

Because suddenly—

The monster froze.

Literally froze.

Its limbs stiffened. Its howl died in its throat. A sheen of ice spread over its body, fast, unnatural.

Crack.

Crack.

The hunters stopped mid-attack, their weapons poised in confusion.

Then—

Shhhhhhrrrrk.

The monster shattered. Its body broke apart into hundreds of glittering shards, scattering across the stone floor like broken glass.

Silence fell.

The hunters looked at one another, stunned.

Nina's grip tightened on her sword. Her jaw clenched.

"…That ice," she muttered. Her voice dropped low, dangerous. "No mistake. It's her."

Selene frowned. "Her…? Leader, you mean—"

Nina's head whipped back.

And there she was.

Lan Xinyue.

She stood at the edge of the cavern, calm as moonlight. Her long silver hair spilled down her back like a river of silk. A chinese pale robe, untainted by dirt, draped over her slim yet mature frame. In her hand, a folding fan of white steel gleamed faintly with frost.

Her expression was serene. Unmoved.

"…Lan Xinyue," Nina spat.

The guild members tensed instantly.

Xinyue's eyes passed over them without hostility. She gave a small nod, as though acknowledging their existence, then spoke in a voice soft and clear.

"You've done well. That creature would have taken hours without you softening it. I'll claim the core. The rest of the remains… you may keep."

The silence broke into outrage.

Selene barked, "The hell you say? You swoop in at the last second and think you can just—"

Nina raised a hand, silencing her.

Her eyes locked on Xinyue's calm ones.

"You froze my prey," Nina growled. "You think Valkyria Fang is just going to nod and hand it over?You ruined perfectly fine material of this monster and now you want us to have them? Are you fucking out of your mind you little bitch?"

Xinyue's lips curved faintly, almost a smile. "Prey? Or corpse? I only ended what you started. I killed the beast so I deserve the core."

The words dripped with quiet arrogance.

Nina's blood boiled.

"You smug little—" She stepped forward, slamming her greatsword against the ground. Sparks leapt. "I should've known. Wherever there's glory, the Ice bitch slithers in to steal it."

Xinyue's fan flicked open with a soft snap. Frost danced along its edge.

"I don't steal," she said calmly. "I simply take what others can't get. You took too much time finishing that beast."

Gasps rose among the Valkyria Fang members.

Selene hissed. "Leader, she's asking for it—"

"All of you stay out of this. None of you can ever think of fighting with her.."

Nina's roar echoed as she lunged.

Her greatsword swung down in a brutal arc.

But—

The blade met nothing but mist.

Xinyue had already moved, her body a blur of fluid grace. She slid aside, her fan sweeping once.

A crescent of ice surged from the ground, catching Nina's strike and halting it cold.

The berserker snarled, muscles straining, shattering the ice with raw strength.

"Don't you DARE disappear on me!"

She charged again, swinging faster, harder, each blow heavy enough to split boulders.

Xinyue deflected each one with effortless precision, her fan redirecting the force, her movements minimal. Calm. Serene. Almost bored.

"Your strength is impressive," Xinyue murmured. "But it is wasted on rage."

"SHUT UP!" Nina's veins bulged. She slammed her sword down with both hands, a strike that shook the cavern itself.

Stone exploded.

Dust filled the air.

And yet—

When it cleared, Nina's blade was buried in the ground.

And Xinyue stood on top of it.

Literally on the blade, her sandal pressing lightly against the steel, balanced as if it were solid earth. Her fan rested at her side.

The guild gasped.

Selene's eyes widened. "No way…"

Kyouka gripped her dagger tighter, silent, her gaze flicking between them.

Nina's teeth ground together. Her body trembled with fury.

"You… bitch…"

Xinyue tilted her head. "You mistake fury for power. You mistake scars for wisdom. But you'll learn, Nina Raj. Learn from your superior, Astrid. She almost killed me other time."

Her fan flicked again.

Cold exploded outward.

Frost crawled up Nina's blade, freezing the steel. The berserker ripped it free with brute force, but the moment she swung, the edge shattered, breaking in chunks.

Nina froze.

Her weapon—the sword she'd carried for years—was ruined.

Xinyue stepped down lightly, her movements as calm as a falling feather.

"Walk away," she said simply. "You're strong, Nina. But not enough. I'll be taking both core and material since only I can unfreeze these materials and use them."

The guild held its breath.

Nina's chest heaved. Her fists bled from gripping the ruined hilt. Her pride screamed to attack again.

But deep down—she knew.

She'd lost.

Her voice broke into a snarl. "…This isn't over."

Xinyue's gaze didn't waver.

"It never is. Not for us! Until our death. That's the price we pay for our powers."

With that, she turned, walking into the cavern's shadows, her figure fading into the frost and mist.

Only when she was gone did Valkyria Fang breathe again.

The silence was heavy, broken only by Nina's ragged breathing.

Selene finally muttered, "…Leader…"

Nina slammed the broken hilt to the ground.

"Shut up," she snapped. Her eyes still burned, but beneath the fire lay something else.

Humiliation.

And the cold realization that Lan Xinyue is still an obstacle that she needs to surpass.