Time passed since we arrived in the area where the ruins were located, and during that time, we didn’t sit around doing nothing.
Now, fragments of the shattered moon floated beneath the star-filled sky while I felt the cold gnawing at my fingertips and beneath my clothes, strands of my hair freezing from the temperature.
Of course, in the end, the night was far colder than the day.
But I ignored that while standing high enough above the ice to see a great distance ahead.
The world was drowned in the light of the shattered moon, making visibility extremely clear even during the night... and of course because we were superhuman.
Far in the distance, many places were shattered and stained with blood, leaving dark marks across the pure ice.
Each point was separated from the others, forming a circle around a certain place... the same place where the Rank 5 monster was.
Over the past hours, we conducted a few experiments to see how far the monster would move away from the nest containing its young while chasing prey.
And of course, we didn’t use ourselves as bait. Instead, we lured several Rank 3 monsters before escaping the moment I sensed the monster approaching.
So in the end, it turned out the monster would smell us or sense us and classify us as a threat if we approached within around one kilometer of it, after which it would come charging toward us.
If we failed to retreat in time, it would chase us for a distance ranging between one and a half to two kilometers... and that was exactly what happened to the monsters we unknowingly lured to their deaths.
And naturally, none of them managed to escape before being dragged underground.
In fact, after several attempts, it seemed the monster understood what we were doing... it even ignored some attempts and settled for releasing a threatening roar.
I looked toward the person standing near the edge. "So, any other ideas?"
He stared calmly into the distance for a while before answering in his usual calm tone. "Nothing... it’s intelligent, but not too intelligent... or at least its maternal instinct overrides everything else."
Kyle sighed as he turned his head toward me. "And as expected, it’s extremely strong and fast... but the biggest problem lies in that ability."
I stared into the distance while nodding. "Yeah."
The problem was that we didn’t know its principle or what it actually did... at least we weren’t certain about the theories we had.
Yeah, it used that ability several more times on the monsters we lured toward it whenever they tried to escape.
"At least now we’re sure it works within a limited range." My voice sounded louder within the silence of this place.
From what we observed earlier, we weren’t affected while escaping from it, whereas the monsters lagging behind us suddenly froze in place.
"It’s around a hundred meters surrounding it." Kyle’s words echoed through the silence of the night.
He was the one observing everything from far away while noticing every detail, so I didn’t argue whenever he said something.
I sighed. "Good... that’s decent information at least."
I would’ve preferred more and more detailed information, but that wasn’t possible unless we directly engaged it... and that wasn’t something we could afford to do more than once.
"Come on, let’s head inside."
With that, I turned around and walked back toward the tunnel descending underground through icy stairs.
I entered while sensing Kyle following behind me after a few moments.
Soon enough, we descended to the bottom where our temporary shelter was located, along with the others who were also resting after spending hours running around and luring monsters behind them.
As usual, there was an open space with a table in the middle.
When I arrived there, I saw Leona carrying a pot releasing steam before placing it onto the table.
She smiled the moment she noticed me. "Good, you came at the perfect time... I just finished preparing the food."
She really loved cooking...
At least the place here was warmer... perhaps the ceiling should’ve started melting from the heat, but it didn’t.
I walked toward the temporary table while the scent of soup slipped into my nose, and at the same moment Kyle descended while the other two emerged from inside, followed by Elliot shortly afterward.
In the end, the six of us sat together like we had done dozens of times before, eating dinner.
But who knew whether this would be the last dinner here... or in life itself... or perhaps neither of those.
Soon enough, the bowls were emptied and silence spread through the place.
I leaned back against the chair, enjoying the feeling of fullness while staring at the icy ceiling.
"So, what’s the plan?" Elliot’s voice echoed through the icy walls.
"The first thing we need to do is restrict its ability, otherwise we’ll be finished before we can do anything." Kyle replied calmly.
"From what I saw, I think its ability works through a faint sound or through a certain frequency that doesn’t spread across a large area... otherwise there would be no need for it to open its mouth every time."
Ellen nodded at his words. "Yeah, that’s what it looked like to me too. So the first thing we need is to shut its mouth before we get close to it."
"But even that isn’t completely certain... and how are we supposed to get a chance to shut its mouth in the first place without getting close?" Izel added.
Kyle stared at her calmly. "We’ll make a trap, and everything will happen automatically before we attack it."
"So do you actually have a plan?" Leona asked.
Kyle paused briefly before replying. "Yeah."
I already knew the plan Kyle wanted because we had discussed several things earlier.
Meanwhile, I stared at the ceiling while trying to imagine this battle... and how we could kill that thing quickly with the least possible risk.
"So what exactly do we need to do?" Elliot asked, demanding details. At that point, I lowered my head and gave Kyle a glance before smiling at everyone.
"It’s somewhat simple."
...
Far away from the shelter, Elliot and Kyle walked toward a certain direction far enough from the monster’s location to avoid drawing it toward them.
Elliot glanced at the person beside him before asking, "So, what are the chances this works?"
The latter shrugged. "Probabilities are meaningless... things can turn upside down in a single moment, then end in success the next."
Elliot raised an eyebrow while Kyle continued,
"The only thing we can do is adapt to the variables."
Elliot sighed. "Haaaa... what a gloomy atmosphere."
Kyle ignored the comment while staring toward the place they had reached.
Ahead of them was a massive crack stretching through the frozen ground all the way into the tunnels below.
The two stared at it for a few moments before jumping.
Their fall accelerated rapidly while freezing wind struck them from below.
Then before they reached the bottom, their descent slowed until they landed gently.
The two stared into the darkness surrounding them, with only a little moonlight managing to reach this place through the crack above.
Soon enough, Elliot created a white light in his hand, driving the darkness away.
There before them and behind them, the long tunnel stretching ahead before curving away was revealed.
It was nearly ten meters wide and around fifteen meters tall... obviously, whatever crawled through this place was huge.
And obviously, they already knew what crawled through here anyway.
The two stared at the place for a while before Kyle stepped forward. "Let’s begin preparing this."
Elliot nodded while stepping into the tunnel.
He placed his hand against the solid ice wall, touching it for a few moments before essence surged through his body and he began working.
"This is going to be exhausting."
...
Elsewhere, the others were gathered outside.
With a quick glance at her ring, Ellen pulled out every weapon she had... broken or intact, causing numerous swords and sharp steel weapons to float before her.
Even though she possessed a Relic, she still carried many weapons with her in case of emergencies... which was why she had all of this, even though most of them weren’t even fit to hold or use anymore since she never needed them in the first place.
And those weapons weren’t special or beautiful, merely pieces of strong and sturdy metal.
Caius looked at them. "I don’t think that’ll be enough."
With that, he pulled several shattered swords from his own ring and let them fall toward the ground, but before they struck it, they stopped and floated alongside the others.
"I think this should be enough now." Ellen spoke while controlling them.
Then all the weapons and fragments floated closer together, sticking to one another and forming a massive chunk of solid steel.
At that point, Caius turned his head toward Izel.
"You can start now."