“We need to get out of here,” Mel cried. “We can’t fight that thing and a swarm of minions.”

  “We’re dead if we do.” Tessa shook her head. “I’ve been analyzing its mana signature, and I’m certain that monster can see in the fog after all.”

  “Fuck me.” Byron hefted his lance and deepened his stance. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”

  Lilly laughed at the quip, although her eyes were wide with fear. While the sound of her voice was still echoing in the air, Edge heard a primate scream in the distance, followed by a second, then a half dozen more. “They’re almost here,” Tessa warned, “and they’re coming from all sides. We’re already surrounded.”

  Edge thought that the situation couldn’t get any worse, but apparently it could.

  Over the next adrenaline-soaked minute, six monstrous cries became thirty, then fifty. The hunters fell into formation, but he could tell from their expressions that none of them expected to survive what was coming. He wanted to use Overdrive, but Skill-Eater was right. There was no way that he could take out an army of monsters in the 30 seconds it lasted. If he activated it now, all he would do was waste his ultimate, then die the moment that the crippling exhaustion kicked in.

  He wracked his brain, trying to come up with a plan that would let his team live through the day. But nothing Edge could think of would work, and he was already out of time. Dozens of apes were streaking out of the fog and into the open air, obeying the command of the elite monster.

  The smaller monkeys were peak stage one, and the big ones were early stage two. They were gibbering and howling all the while—madness shining in their eyes. It seemed that being dominated hadn’t just overridden their wills but shattered their sanity too.

  The crew wouldn’t have had a problem dealing with three or four at once, but over ten times that number were closing in from all sides. Not to mention the stage-three ape standing near the boundary of the fog, grinning like it had front row tickets to the show. But it wasn’t holding back because it wanted to—Edge had the sense that it was using multiple skills that required its undivided attention.

  “It can’t attack while it’s controlling the horde,” Lilly mirrored his train of thought. “Maybe we can bring it down before the rest arrive.”

  She fired another Vortex Shot, but before the attack landed, a little monkey leapt out from the trees and threw itself in front of the bolt. Its body was covered in a layer of ghostly silver armor. The magical protection stopped the bolt from sinking into its body, although the rotational force flung ape back into the mist, leaving the elite monster uninjured.

  A group of stage-two primates lined up in front of the general as the others began their assault. Edge braced himself and lowered the point of his naginata. He caught the first leaping ape on the end of the blade, impaling it and stealing the life from its eyes.

  Jumo and Mel engaged the next monkeys to arrive, while Tessa guarded the rear. Meanwhile, Byron and Lilly let loose with everything they had. She fired a continual barrage of Scattershots to keep the apes off balance. Snake killed two with his lance, then expelled a poison cloud that left two more screaming while clawing at their faces.

  Whenever the crew created an opening, the shadowkillers tried to attack the elite, but nothing worked. By now, the general was guarded by a full squadron of monsters—each covered in a set of shining silver armor. It didn’t block every blow, but their suicide tactics stopped the hunters’ shots from reaching the general.

  When the second wave of monsters arrived, Edge learned that the situation was even more perilous than he’d thought, which was surprising, considering how much shit Team Arrow was already in. Because that was when the elite activated two skills back-to-back. A twin surge of mana erupted from its core—so thick that it erased the shadows as the energy settled around every monkey in the area.

  Half the howling horde’s movements abruptly sped up. Bands of neon ruby mana were flowing along their limbs, reinforcing the moments of their muscles. Meanwhile, the second skill encased the rest in a layer of silvery magic—the same power that was shielding the elite’s guards. The Speed-enhanced apes circled around to hit the hunters from behind, while the armored group charged straight down the middle.

  Snake tossed a pair of poisoned knives at the closest creature. Instead of plunging into its torso, the blades slowed down when they touched the silver field—only penetrating an inch when they hit the monster’s chest instead of disappearing up to the hilt. Fortunately, that was sufficient to transfer the poison. The ape fell to the ground, frothing at the mouth as it wailed.

  “We need to get out of here or we’re going to be overwhelmed,” Snake yelled. “We can’t hold out against this. Our only chance to move out of range before the elite’s minions catch us. Run as fast as you can and don’t look back! Even if you get separated, or wind up heading deeper into the dungeon, don’t stop until you can’t run anymore.”

  The hunters took one last look at each other and then fled for their lives, forms fuzzing before disappearing into the mist. In that moment, Skill-Eater clawed its way to full alertness and opened its eyes, speaking directly to him for the first time since he had evolved to stage one.

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  “Those auras are limited by the monster’s mana pool, not by range. You are all going to die if you proceed with this course of action.”

  Edge had been afraid that this was the case, but having the ancient being dwelling inside him confirm that truth helped him make up his mind. He wasn’t going to let the six-limbed gorilla and its army of monsters kill his friends, even if he had to risk it all in order to save them.

  But even with his Unique core, he didn’t have a chance of killing fifty aura-enhanced monsters and their stage-three general. What he could do was provide one hell of a distraction and pray that it was sufficient to let the others get away.

  Any way that he sliced it, this situation was a bad matchup for his skillset. Overdrive was out of play. Even if by some miracle Edge managed to defeat the elite, he was fucked if the exhaustion hit him while surrounded by enemies who could see in the fog.

  Given the density of the mist, he couldn’t use his spellshot either. If he fell back, he would be firing blind. If he remained in the bubble of clear air to line up the shot, Warren’s trump card was sure to catch him in the blast. There wasn’t any point in playing his ace if it wound up killing him too.

  That being said, Edge had no intention of dying this day. I need to threaten the elite. Force it call back its minions and keep them here long enough for the others to escape. Then I’ll turn around and run like hell.

  He steeled his nerves and ran back toward the clearing, heading for the elite monster looming in the distance. He charged the gorilla and its army of apes while screaming a war cry—nervous system cracking with an electric tsunami of adrenaline.

  The moment that he emerged into the pocket of open air, half the monkeys turned to attack him. Taking on over twenty monsters at once was terrifying, but it wasn’t good enough. I need to threaten the big one and convince it order the others back.

  As the aura-buffed army converged on his location like a clenched fist, Edge Shadow Stepped and flowed between their ranks, circling the clearing as he ran. As the world turned to smoke and haze, he grabbed his chakram and took aim. The instant that he changed back, he infused the weapon with the icy energy of Elemental Blade, then flung it at the elite monster’s blind spot before its guards could react.

  Fortunately, the gorilla general was having a hard time tracking his shadow form while controlling its army. Its reactions weren’t nearly as crisp while its attention was divided. The frost-rimed ring struck the ape square in the ass, freezing patch of flesh before Edge raised his glove and stepped into the open like he didn’t have a care in the world.

  As the weapon sailed back into his hand, he offered the elite a one-finger salute. Judging by its expression, the monster was shocked that he had decided to attack instead of running away. He hit it with a few Entangles to create some pressure and came charging straight for it. The silver-clad defenders started tearing up the vines, but the general didn’t move.

  As he’d been hoping, the elite couldn’t defend itself while directing fifty monsters at once. Edge kept on casting while flinging his chakram as quickly as he could. If I keep this up, it will have to let some go so it can move or call them back to defend. Either way, I win. As it happened, the monster chose the second option, changing its objective from eliminating the crew to obliterating the creature that was insane enough to challenge it alone.

  The six-limbed gorilla roared, beating its chest while venting its rage. Every ape in its army, including the ones that were chasing after his friends, came swarming for him as one, emerging from the fog in a gibbering tide.

  He waited as long as he dared, then Shadow Stepped between them and then kept right on running. When they reached the spot where he had been standing less than two seconds prior, the monsters discovered that Edge had left them a little something to remember him by—the industrial-strength flashbang that Gram had given him was sitting on the ground, primed and ready to blow.

  Even with the distance he’d managed to open, the detonation was intense. The blast nearly blew out his eardrums and the flash was blinding, even though he was looking the other way. He couldn’t see how it had affected the monsters, but for an all-too-fleeting moment, the sound of pursuit stopped. Then a scream of pure primate rage resounded across the mistscape, followed by the rumble of fifty powerful monsters rushing his way.

  The twisted army of apes followed hot on his heels when he plunged into the mist. I need to get far enough away, then use Conceal. If they see me activate it, the skill won’t stop them from finding me. It will be night soon—hopefully they can’t see in the dark too.

  In short, if he wanted to live, he needed to open more distance. What he was planning was insanely dangerous, but it was better than the alternative. Edge was running blind at full speed, plunging headlong into the murky gloom that was growing darker by the heartbeat. Trees appeared without warning, giving him a fraction of a second to swerve out of the way.

  So far, it seemed to be working. The clamor of pursuit was coming from a bit further back than before. If he stumbled and fell—tripped on a protruding root or slipped in a patch of mud—the monsters would catch him for sure. On the other hand, if he slowed down, he was dead. It was as simple as that. Since he didn’t have a choice, he continued his mad dash through the mist, praying that his luck would hold.

  He widened his lead with Shadow Step, although Leap was out of the question given the prolific vegetation. He couldn’t remain in shadow form for long stretches at a time, or it would drain his reservoir dry. In that moment, he wasn’t sure what would happen. Although he was pulling ahead, the monkeys were spreading out as the chase wore on. If Edge lost his bearings and got turned around, he was going to run straight into them.

  Just a little further and I’ll risk using Conceal. He called upon every point of Reflex, Speed, and Control that he had, racing the howling horde as silver haze deepened to charcoal gray. Not long after, the monsters’ howls began to wane. They must not be able to see in the dark after all.

  Edge was about to stop and find some cover to duck behind when he stepped over the rim of a precipice. For a terrifying moment, he was falling, before he hit the ground hard, smacking his head on a stone.

  The last thing he felt was the shocking chill of his body rolling into the river before unconsciousness rose to claim him.