Chapter 23: The Beast and the Monkey

When we heard the scream, everything around us froze.

It wasn’t just a scream.

It was a death cry, raw, guttural, and echoing like a jagged ripple across stone. It made our skin crawl and instincts flare. Everyone turned, eyes wide. I instantly checked my minimap, and just like I feared—

Jill’s icon vanished.

In its place pulsed a new symbol.

A purple skull with devil horns.

I stared at it, breath caught in my throat.

What the hell?

Two boss-level monsters? That shouldn’t be possible, unless we’d just triggered something far worse than a simple dungeon challenge.

That’s when it moved.

The icon wasn’t static, it was coming straight for us.

And then, it stepped into view.

Dragging something.

Something that made everyone recoil in horror.

A monstrous figure emerged from the shadows, towering over us, and in its grotesque, bloodied hand, it held a severed head.

Even though my vision censored the details—blurring the face like corrupted data, I didn’t need clarity to recognize what I was looking at.

Jill.

His lifeless head dangled from the creature’s fingers like a ruined trophy.

The monster slowly stepped forward, and as it entered fully into our field of view, a health bar appeared.

Its name burned itself across the screen:
BABA KONG.

Barnaby and Serana weren’t exaggerating.

It really was a massive, grotesque monkey monster.

Its body was thick with coarse, black fur matted with dried blood, and its armor, ancient and battered, resembled the ceremonial battle garb of a twisted, demonic Sun Wukong. Its eyes, small and unnervingly wide, stared at us unblinking. The expression wasn’t angry.

It was hungry.

Its face was frozen in a nightmarish grin, lips stretched back to reveal jagged, razor-sharp teeth, far too many for any normal creature. The kind of mouth that ripped, not chewed.

It opened that awful maw and screamed.

The sound ripped through the air like a sonic blast.
I dropped to my knees, clutching my ears. Everyone around me did the same.
It wasn’t just loud, it was vibrating our bones, like it wanted to shake us apart from the inside out.

Then, without warning, the door behind us swung open.

But before I could react, vines whipped out like snakes.

Dozens of us were pulled backward, players, me, Katarina, Weiss Shi, and Terrence’s gang.

The Goryguari had returned.

Only this time, its body writhed with hundreds of vines, each one pulsing like veins, alive and seeking prey. It was no longer waiting. It dragged us into its lair, separating us from the others.

The warriors remained outside, facing off against Baba Kong.

Exactly what the Queen warned us about.

We were now split, forced to fight separately.

The room we were pulled into was a dungeon chamber, dark, damp, and full of rusted chains. Cages lined the walls, packed with terrified villagers. No players. Just frightened NPCs who stared at us like we were their last hope.

But worse—

My eyes locked on three figures chained to iron crosses at the back of the room.

Even before they lifted their heads, I recognized them.

Princess Alina.
Neryssa.
And Galtor.

The two missing champions and the daughter of the king and queen of Mondunion. Now prisoners of this horror.

Behind us, the door slammed shut.

Barnaby and Benson tried to force it open. Nothing. It was sealed tight.

"We’ll have to kill it first," Weiss Shi said grimly, unsheathing her blade.

But I hesitated.

Could we take it down in time? What if Baba Kong slaughtered the others while we were stuck in here?

I didn’t have long to think.

Terrence and his gang snapped into action, their synchronization immediate despite the chaos.

Terrence let out a battle cry and slammed his massive hammer into the ground. Flames licked up the handle as his Roaring Rage spell activated. He charged forward like a human earthquake, screaming, "GET OVER HERE, YOU SLIMY FREAK!"

Dennis stood beside him, spitting on the floor. "Right then, ya leafy bast, let’s [BEEP]’ dance."

He drove his rake into the ground, activating Gold Throw. Chunks of the stone floor cracked apart and transformed into blocks of shimmering gold. With a grunt, he launched them at the Goryguari like miniature meteors.

Not sure if it was effective, but at least he hit something.

Michael took a deep breath and pulled out his bow. He nocked a single arrow and muttered his magic:

Ricochet Bolt.

The arrow shot forward, bouncing chaotically off the stone pillars and walls. It zipped wildly, gaining power with each bounce—but the final shot narrowly missed the Goryguari and almost hit Dennis.

"Oi, ya [BEEP]’ numpty!" Dennis yelled. "Aim somewhere not my arse!"

"Sorry!" Michael yelped. "Still practicing!"

Benson stepped forward with iron gauntlets, slipping one onto each hand. His body shimmered and his skin hardened into stone. Activating Human Shield, he braced himself in front of Katarina and Weiss Shi, arms wide, prepared to take every hit if he had to.

It was risky, he wasn’t experienced enough to know how much damage he could actually withstand.

And finally, Barnaby.

He wheeled out what looked like a literal cannon mounted onto a modified shopping cart.

"What the hell is that?" I asked.

"My baby," Barnaby grinned. "Don’t question the brilliance."

He activated his illusion spell:
Can You See Me?

Multiple copies of himself split off, each one hauling an identical cannon. The Goryguari hesitated, momentarily confused by the sudden clones.

Barnaby aimed.
"Say cheese, you ballon dragon-plant hybrid bastard."

He fired.

The blast echoed across the dungeon.

The battle had begun and there was no turning back.

We were locked in.

One team against the Goryguari.
The others, fighting to survive Baba Kong.

This… was the Queen’s nightmare.
And now, it was ours.
The room shook with every twitch of the monster’s massive body.

The Goryguari loomed before us, an abomination of unnatural biology and pure nightmare. A giant furball of death, its round, matted body covered in twitching vines and emitting sickly purple fumes. Three long necks rose from its body like serpents, each ending in snarling dragon-like heads, hissing and snapping.

And in the very center of its spherical mass, a mouth—

No. Not a mouth. A maw. A vertical slit of serrated flesh, wide enough to swallow an ox whole, its razor teeth rotating like a saw.

"[BEEP]—he’s huge!" Terrence roared, gripping his warhammer. "How are we supposed to kill this thing?!"

"No choice," I said, summoning my Dangatana with a flicker of glitching particles. The blade slid from the air like it was breaking reality, half sword, half gun, humming with violent potential.

The Goryguari shrieked, the dragon heads lunging forward.

"SCATTER!" Weiss Shi yelled, already darting in a blur.

She spun into a leap, twin katanas flashing, her gunblades hidden in the soles of her boots letting out bang-bang bursts midair. Her slashes cut into the thick fur, but it was like slicing reinforced hay. The Goryguari barely flinched.

Meanwhile, Katarina stood at the back, her hands raised high. She planted her staff into the ground and channeled her magic.

"Formless breath… become wind! Deflect the tainted air, AEROS WARD!"

The air swirled violently. A cyclone danced in front of us, pushing back the purple gas the monster spewed from its central mouth. The miasma hissed as it was pushed aside, but even with the wind barrier, the poison was getting thicker.

"Keep it up, Kat!" I shouted, but my voice came out rough, my throat already burning.

Dennis was on the move. He plunged his rake into the dirt. With a snap, the floor cracked apart beneath the vines.

"GOLD THROW!"

Chunks of glittering gold shot into the Goryguari’s side like cannonballs, punching into its vines—but they regrew instantly.

Barnaby’s illusions danced across the battlefield. His cannon-cart rolled past me, firing again and again, smoke and flashes blinding the enemy. Dozens of clones of himself appeared around the Goryguari, creating chaos.

Michael loosed arrows with trembling hands. "Ricochet Bolt!"

The arrow bounced, one, two, three times—then vanished into the monster’s maw.

Suddenly, the Goryguari reeled back and shrieked louder than ever before. Its body spasmed, the vines pulling inward defensively. The monster’s three dragon necks thrashed violently.

"What the hell—?" I narrowed my eyes.

That’s when I saw it.

Inside the gaping mouth, beyond the sea of fangs and putrid breath, a pulsing organ.

Not a uvula. A heart. A gigantic red organ dangling at the top of its gullet, glowing with each beat. It has a strange design, it looked like there’s two hearts.

"That’s it!" I shouted. "The uvula—it’s its heart! We kill that, we end this!"

"Easier said than done!" Benson yelled. He’d activated Human Shield, standing in front of Katarina and catching a flurry of vine lashes with his now stone-hardened arms. Blood trickled down his jaw, but he stood firm.

Terrence let out a rage-fueled howl.

"THEN AIM FOR THE [BEEP]’ THROAT!"

Everything went silent.

My body flickered in and out of existence, like a hologram fighting for control. My fingers bent through the air unnaturally as my form lost its shape, but I ran forward. The vines passed through me. Claws missed. The dragon heads lunged, and their teeth phased through my torso.

But I had only a minute.

I moved across the battlefield, closing the distance fast. My blade sparked as I charged my most unstable magic.

Nova Bloom.

A ball of unstable light and explosive energy crackled into my palm, hovering, held together only by psychic force. Electricity danced from my fingers. It buzzed angrily. I could feel the heat, burning my skin already.

"Tch—too soon," I hissed. The timer was ticking, but I had no way of knowing when it would explode. That was the danger.

I sprinted toward the mouth as it opened wide, preparing another gas blast.

Weiss Shi dived in, slicing at the lips of the maw, cutting a way through.

"NOW, JACK!" she screamed.

"MOVE!"

I dashed between the teeth. The vines whipped in, but passed harmlessly through my flickering body.

And then I saw it again.

The beating heart.

I’m not gonna make it in time—

I hurled the Nova Bloom, but it hovered in front of me, not thrown, just dragged. Without solid momentum, it wobbled in the air like a bubble.

"Come on—!" I yelled.

But it burst too soon.

The explosion erupted in my face, launching me backward. My phasing broke, and the pain hit me instantly, searing through my left arm and ribs. My ears rang, but I’d seen it—

The heart cracked.

"We’re close!" I gasped.

Once again, Michael fired another arrow, Ricochet Bolt! The arrow ricocheted twice, pinged off a wall, then bounced into the beast’s yawning mouth and vanished down its gullet.

The reaction was instant. The Goryguari convulsed. Its entire mass quivered, and it let out a deafening, wet, inhuman scream. Something had struck a nerve.

"The heart… it’s wide open," I muttered.

We aren’t going to waste another chance.

It was our time. Now we are fully determined.

Terrence and Barnaby charged first. Barnaby’s illusions swarmed the beast in a blinding swirl of light and motion while Terrence smashed through vines with raw fury, fists blazing. They rushed it down, both men landing a powerful synchronized strike to its legs.

CRACK!

The Goryguari buckled. Its massive body crashed into the wall, mouth wide open, exposed and vulnerable.

Weiss Shi didn’t wait.

She dashed across the battlefield, spinning through the air, twin katanas gleaming like fangs. Her boots fired bursts midair, bang-bang, giving her perfect lift.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

With three impossible slices, she severed all three necks in mid-motion. The dragon heads crashed lifelessly to the floor, writhing for only a second before falling still.

Katarina immediately broke formation and sprinted toward the far side of the chamber, toward three unconscious figures bound by the cross.

"No… please," she whispered. Her voice cracked. "Sister… please be alive."

…Sister? Princess Alina? What was she talking about?

I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

The monster was collapsing. Its defenses were down. Now was the time.

I stepped forward.

Both my hands extended in front of me, sparks crawling over my skin. My fingertips trembled from the pressure. The air distorted around my palms.

"Nova Bloom…"

I conjured the sphere of unstable light, an explosive cluster of chaotic magic, straining at the edge of reality. It wasn’t just a spell, it was a threat to my own life. But if it meant stopping this monster, then it was worth it.I have to concentrate.
The bloom grew larger, brighter. My arms ached. Electric strands arced from my wrists to the orb like tiny chains. The heat burned into my palms. I cannot make the same mistake twice.

This time I can guarantee a victory no doubt.

And then—

"AGH—!"