As the shinobi and his compatriots edged ever farther in the blanketing darkness ahead he felt himself slip into a state of near panic as the hairs on his neck began to stand on end. In the faint distance he could see a dim light casting an ominous glow fifty feet or so away. The faint torch light reflected off every surface like mirrors cascading its light into a big opening in the wall. Hayate and the others in his party took every precaution as they inched their way closer to the room that was now clearly visible in the right. There was a distinct stench tinging his nose hairs as Hayate proceeded forward.

Without a word Hayate put his hand in the air issuing a silent order for the others to stand back and take cover as the shinobi took up position at the threshold of the new passageway. With his back to the wall he cautiously leaned his head around the corner and peered inside. And to his dismay instantly got sick over his discover, holding back his vomit as he tried to process what he saw. Inside was a large vast cavern painted in red and filled with the bodies of the former platoon.

"What could have done this?" he found himself thinking as he waved the others to approach.

“Looks like we’ve found who were looking for.” Hayate said under his breath as the others got a firsthand look at the gruesome remains of half a dozen or so slaughters and mangled corpses.

“By the Thaynes…” Alesia, the wood elf in his party, said as she collapsed to her knees and began weeping. There was a long pause as Hayate tried to assess the situation. But suddenly and almost without warning the rocks beneath his feet began to quake and rumble. Something large was underneath him, something very large indeed.

“On your feet!” he yelled ordering Alesia to compose herself.

“Somethings coming!” the third member of the trio yelled as he drew his short sword from his hip and taking a defensive posture. The others quickly followed suit and formed a triangle with their back to one another.

“Whatever’s coming must be responsible for this, be on your guard. Flee if you must but do not fall victim to the same fate as the others.”

“I didn’t come all the way out here to this hell hole to be slaughtered immediately!”

“Dying wasn’t on my list of things to do today either, don’t worry as long as your with me you’ll be safe.” Hayate said trying one final time to boost his companion’s moral as the floor of the cavern though faintly visible began to splinter and crack on the other side of the vast room.

Suddenly the rumbling came to a total stop and the trio released a collective sigh, until the fractured floor exploded upward and a gigantic beast emerged. Hayate immediately leapt into action launching his grappling hook up towards the ceiling and taking the high ground while the others tried to come to terms with what they were seeing. A massive lizard of sorts covered in plates of what looks like the same black material that this entire place was made of. It had jagged protrusions of razor sharp rock covering its body and a mouth that could easily swallow a horse whole.

Though they must have been fifty or so feet from the others still trying to carve out a path through the soot of the ensuing storm outside Hayate was sure that they all felt this monster as it erupted from its home beneath the earth. He prayed that they don’t come, but knew that he would have to do everything in his power to protect them when they inevitable do. The beast passed for a moment before it noticed them on the far side of the room and began to charge.