A Grave Misstep

After a long and tense battle, the bull-headed abomination was finally lured to Eastlake, an old, abandoned park on the outskirts of Port Haven. The once-pristine tourist destination had been reduced to a rusted, derelict area, its gates left to decay under the elements.

It was mid-afternoon, and the scorching sun beat down on the group. The members of the Wolfbane Squad were drenched in sweat, taking a brief moment to catch their breath as the creature lumbered towards them, still a few hundred meters away.

Logan, however, felt no discomfort from the heat. His thick coat of fur, instead of suffocating him, seemed to regulate his body temperature, keeping him cool—perhaps an advantage of his otherworldly form.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled. The bull-headed creature had arrived, its grotesque mass heaving forward.

"Prepare for battle!" Sienna commanded, her voice cutting through the fatigue of her squad. "First wave: pairs! Target the tentacles. The goal is to spread out and sever as many of them as possible. Second wave, we focus on its core—I'll lead the charge."

"Yes, Captain!" The squad snapped to attention, responding in unison. They may not have been the most experienced hunters, but in the context of their unit, they held their own.

The monster's tentacles lashed out, flinging putrid, corrosive liquid as it attacked. Following Sienna's orders, the squad split into pairs, scattering in different directions to draw the beast's limbs away from its center.

Logan found himself paired with Sienna, as expected. She kept a close eye on him, both to collaborate and to ensure he didn't try anything treacherous.

Eight tentacles snaked toward Logan, each one dripping with black, acidic liquid. He darted between them, evading each strike with ease. He gestured to Sienna, signaling her to strike.

She didn't hesitate. With fluid precision, Sienna's blade flashed through the air, cutting through the tentacles like they were made of paper.

Just as Logan prepared to engage another cluster of limbs, his instincts flared—a sense of danger, sudden and acute. But it was too late. A tentacle, hidden amongst the chaos, wrapped around his hind leg, yanking him high into the air.

Sienna sprinted forward, but the tentacle held Logan out of her reach, swinging him wildly through the air as it reeled him toward the monster's maw.

"Damn it!" Sienna cursed under her breath. She couldn't reach him, and Logan couldn't free himself.

"Slash!" A blade of dark energy cut through the air, severing the tentacle and sending Logan tumbling to the ground. Eric had come to the rescue, his massive sword glowing with residual power from the strike.

Logan wasted no time, scrambling to his feet and retreating. His hind leg, now exposed to the corrosive liquid, burned with pain as his flesh peeled back, exposing bone. But Logan's body, infused with the power of a monster, began regenerating almost immediately.

"Ahhh!" A blood-curdling scream echoed from another direction. One of the squad members had been impaled by a tentacle, blood gushing from a massive wound. Before anyone could intervene, the dying hunter was dragged toward the monster's gaping maw and swallowed whole.

"Quinn!" A fellow hunter's anguished cry pierced the air. The squad had just lost another member in the blink of an eye.

Sienna's heart sank. Her decision to split the group had been a grave mistake. The tactic of spreading out to sever the tentacles might have worked with more experienced fighters, but her squad simply wasn't strong enough to defend against the creature's relentless onslaught. Even working in pairs, they couldn't react fast enough to save their comrades.

She gritted her teeth, immediately giving a new order. "Regroup! Fall back and form a defensive line!"

But the creature wasn't going to give them the chance. Fueled by its recent kill, it lashed out even more aggressively, flinging its tentacles in every direction. The squad members struggled to rally together under the barrage of attacks.

Logan, now fully healed, saw the situation spiraling out of control. Relying on his superior speed, he darted through the battlefield, drawing the attention of the tentacles. He leaped and dodged, pulling them away from the other hunters.

At times, when a tentacle ignored him, he would physically grab it with his claws, forcing it to focus on him. Soon, the majority of the creature's attention was on him.

Tentacles whipped through the air, filling the sky with black, writhing limbs. The ground was littered with their remains, yet they continued to regenerate.

Sienna and her squad, finally managing to regroup, stood in awe of the scene unfolding before them. Logan was pulling all of the aggro onto himself, seemingly fearless as he danced between the lethal strikes.

"Cover him!" Sienna shouted. Though she still didn't fully trust him, she couldn't allow this unlikely ally to fall. A death like his would be a blow to their fight and her conscience.

Logan's every sense was heightened, his focus razor-sharp. He wouldn't let himself be caught off-guard again. Dodging through the tentacles with breathtaking precision, he was constantly aware of the danger.

The hunters, seeing him in action, began to charge their weapons, preparing for a synchronized attack.

But Logan sensed it. He spun, barking an order. "Don't attack yet! Wait for my signal!"

The hunters were baffled, their hands hovering over their triggers. Even Sienna was puzzled by his sudden command, but she made the call. She raised a hand, signaling them to hold.

Eric, always observant, studied the pattern of the tentacles. Then, his eyes lit up with understanding. He jumped to his feet, shouting across the battlefield.

"He's trying to get the tentacles to entangle themselves!"