CHAPTER 45: FACING THE MAULER AGAIN

The Mauler roared.

The sound was deafening and distorted as it echoed through the amphitheater, shaking loose rocks from the walls. Dust rained down from above.

Kael moved first.

He blinked out of existence (Phantom Step) and reappeared ten feet closer, already in motion. His chakrams spun through the air, twin blurs of blue light, striking the Mauler’s front leg joint.

Sparks flew as metal met chitin.

The Mauler swung one of its massive claws at Kael, but he was already gone, teleporting behind it in a flicker of light. He landed in a crouch and hurled another chakram at its exposed back leg.

Direct hit.

The creature’s leg buckled slightly, dark blood oozing from the wound.

The Mauler roared again, louder now, angrier, and spun with shocking speed for something its size. Its tail whipped around, nearly catching Kael, but he teleported again, appearing on the opposite side of the amphitheater.

Tatehan watched from the ridge, his heart pounding so hard he could feel it in his throat. He needed to help. But he couldn’t let Kael see him using his powers. Not gravity manipulation. Not yet.

He scanned the amphitheater floor. Boulders were scattered everywhere. Large ones. Heavy ones.

If he timed it right, he could make it look natural. Like the rocks were just falling from the unstable walls or rolling down from the ridge.

The Mauler lunged at Kael again, it jaws snapping. Kael teleported, barely avoiding the serrated teeth that would have torn him in half.

Now, Tatehan focused, reaching out with his mind. He felt the weight of the boulders, the invisible pull of gravity connecting him to them. He lifted one—heavy, the size of a small car, and with a mental push, sent it hurtling toward the Mauler’s exposed side.

The boulder struck hard, slamming into the creature’s midsection with a sickening crunch.

The Mauler stumbled, knocked off balance.

Kael glanced up at the ridge, probably assuming the rock had fallen naturally from the crumbling cave walls. His expression didn’t change. Good.

Tatehan kept his face neutral, gripping his sword tightly.

The Mauler recovered quickly, shaking off the impact like it was nothing. Its red eyes scanned the amphitheater slowly, and then they locked onto Tatehan.

Recognition flashed in those hollow, glowing eyes.

It remembered him.

The wounded prey. The one who had tried to kill it before. The one who had failed.

The Mauler charged.

Tatehan’s blood ran cold. He barely had time to react. He leapt off the ridge, hitting the ground hard and rolling to the side just as the Mauler’s claw slammed into the spot where he’d been standing a heartbeat ago.

Stone shattered. Rock exploded outward in jagged fragments.

Tatehan scrambled to his feet, his armor absorbing most of the impact from the fall. His kinetic absorption activated automatically, storing the energy from the near-miss.

The Mauler pivoted and came at him again, relentless.

Tatehan raised his sword, bracing himself. The claw struck downward, and he blocked—barely. The force of the blow sent him skidding backward across the dirt, his boots carving deep lines in the ground.

But the armor held. Seventy percent absorbed. Thirty percent still hit him like a freight train.

He gritted his teeth, feeling the stored kinetic energy building inside the armor, humming, waiting to be released.

Kael was already moving again, his chakrams flashing in the sunlight as he struck at the Mauler’s legs, trying desperately to draw its attention away from Tatehan.

It worked. The Mauler turned its head, swiping at Kael with one massive claw. Kael teleported out of range just in time.

Tatehan saw his opening.

He charged forward, sword raised high, and released all the stored kinetic energy into a single, devastating strike.

The blade cut deep into the Mauler’s leg joint, slicing clean through chitin and muscle like butter.

The Mauler SCREAMED, a high-pitched, ear-splitting sound that made Tatehan’s teeth ache and his vision blur for a moment.

Dark, thick blood sprayed from the wound, coating the ground.

First real damage.

"AGAIN!" Kael shouted from across the amphitheater, his voice sharp and commanding. "HIT IT AGAIN!"

Tatehan didn’t need to be told twice.

They worked in perfect cooperation now, moving like they’d fought together for years. Kael teleported around the Mauler in unpredictable patterns, striking joints, slashing tendons, drawing its attention, keeping it constantly off balance. Tatehan moved in whenever there was an opening, his sword cutting through weakened armor plates, targeting the joints Kael had already damaged.

They were actually doing it. They were winning.

But the Mauler wasn’t done. Not even close.

It roared again, louder this time, a sound filled with pure, animalistic rage. Then it charged recklessly toward Tatehan, ignoring Kael entirely, ignoring the pain, ignoring everything except the prey in front of it.

Tatehan’s eyes widened. No time to dodge. No time to think either.

He focused hard, reaching out desperately with his gravity manipulation. The cave entrance. The unstable rocks piled above it. The cracks in the stone he’d noticed earlier.

He pulled.

It was a hard pull.

The rocks shifted with a deep, grinding groan like sound. And then they collapsed.

A massive cascade of boulders fell, crashing down near the Mauler’s path like an avalanche. One particularly large boulder, easily a ton of solid roc, slammed directly into the creature’s back leg, pinning it hard against the ground.

The Mauler thrashed violently, its claws scraping against stone, trying desperately to break free. But the boulder was too heavy and too solid.

It was trapped.

Kael saw the opening immediately. He moved in fast, his chakrams spinning in deadly moves. He aimed for the underside of the Mauler’s carapace, where the armor was thinner, more vulnerable.

This was it. The killing blow.

But the Mauler wasn’t finished.

With a roar of pure, unfiltered rage, it thrashed harder than before, its muscles bulging and straining beneath its shell. The boulder holding its leg cracked. Hairline fractures spread across its surface.

Then it shattered completely.

The Mauler broke free.

And it was faster now. Fueled by pain and fury.

Kael was in the middle of a strike, chakram already leaving his hand, when the Mauler’s claw caught him across the side.

The blow was brutal.

It sent Kael flying through the air like a ragdoll. He hit the ground hard twenty feet away, tumbling and rolling. Blood sprayed from the deep gash torn across his ribs.

He tried to stand, pushing himself up on shaking arms. But his legs buckled beneath him.

He collapsed.

He was down.

The Mauler turned slowly toward him, its eyes on the fallen prey. Its jaws were opened wide, revealing rows of serrated teeth.

Tatehan’s heart stopped.

Everything slowed down.

He saw Kael on the ground, clutching his side, blood pooling beneath him.

He saw the Mauler moving toward him, deliberate, predatory.

He saw the claw rising, ready to crush Kael’s skull into the dirt.

"NO!"

The word tore from Tatehan’s throat.

The Mauler paused. Turned its head.

Looked directly at him.

Then it raised its claw higher.

Tatehan had seconds to act.

His mind raced. He couldn’t let Kael die. Not after everything. Not after the man had saved his life, sheltered him, trained him for a brief time.

Not like this.

He looked at the boulders scattered across the amphitheater. At the Mauler looming over Kael. At Kael lying helpless, blood spreading across the ground in a dark pool.

He made his choice.

Tatehan dropped his sword.

It clattered to the ground.

He thrust both hands forward, fingers opened wide.

He didn’t care anymore if Kael saw. He didn’t care what questions it would raise. He didn’t care about keeping secrets.

He only cared about one thing.

Tatehan reached out with his gravity manipulation, pulling at every loose rock, every boulder, every piece of debris scattered across the amphitheater floor.

It took him a tremendous effort to do so and they were barely off the ground so much. If raised them too high, he’d lose focus and they’ll fall.

But then, it was a wonder he was able to control the rocks, maybe it was because of the pressure of saving someone he valued. The pressure gave him more focus and inner power.

He hurled the rocks at the Mauler.

The rocks flew through the air like missiles launched from a cannon, slamming into the creature from every direction at once. The Mauler staggered backward, roaring in confusion and pain as stone after stone battered its body.

It was enough.

Kael rolled out of the way, clutching his bleeding side, dragging himself toward cover.

Tatehan ran forward, his boots pounding against stone. He grabbed Kael by the arm and hauled him upright, half-dragging, half-carrying him back toward the ridge.

The Mauler turned.

Its eyes, his eyes on them, but more onto Tatehan with terrible clarity.

Tatehan stared back. For some reason, he was less scared of the mauler than he was before. That was to be expected though, considering he had someone with him.

Kael’s injury wasn’t so severe as he had earlier thought.

They exchanged glances now, holding their swords tightly. They still had to kill this thing.