Broodmother Beta

Kaden moved.

He ducked low, his body twisting as the razor-sharp talons swept over his head, carving deep gouges into the stone where he had stood just seconds before. The wind from the strike whipped against his skin, the sheer force of the attack enough to shatter bone if it had connected.

Kaden planted his foot and struck back.

His fist shot forward, slamming into the Alpha's exposed ribcage with brutal force. A sickening crack echoed through the chamber as bones caved in, the impact sending a shockwave through the monster's diseased flesh.

The Rotfang stumbled back, its grotesque frame shaking. But it didn't fall. It let out an even louder shriek. The horde was coming and Kaden had to finish off the damn bastard before that. Otherwise, the whole thing would become a whole lot messier.

Kaden didn't hesitate. He no longer needed to hold back. The moment the Rotfang Alpha stumbled, a lengthy whip covered with thorns lashed out from Kaden's palm, striking the Alpha across its bloated torso with a vicious crack. 

The barbs tore through its diseased flesh, embedding deep into the pulsing, swollen tumors lining its ribs. The Rotfang screeched, its body convulsing violently as the tumors ruptured, spilling putrid ichor that hissed upon contact with the ground.

Kaden gritted his teeth. He didn't have time to waste. If the horde arrived while the Alpha was still standing, he'd be overwhelmed. One decisive strike. That's all he needed.

He yanked the Thorn Whip, dragging the thrashing beast forward, its grotesque form lurching against its own will. Before it could retaliate, Kaden moved in. His body coiled like a compressed spring, raw power flooding his limbs. His fist glowed faintly, heat rising from his skin as his strength surged.

He drove his punch straight into the Rotfang Alpha's chest. The impact was instantaneous—a thunderous shockwave rippled outward, sending cracks splintering across the dungeon floor.

The Alpha froze, its bulging, glowing eyes widening in shock. A deep, guttural gurgle escaped from its maw as a crimson spray burst from its mouth. Its ribcage collapsed inward, bones shattered beyond repair.

Kaden didn't stop. He clenched his fingers, pushing deeper, his arm buried up to the elbow in the beast's chest cavity—grasping something pulsing. Beating. Weakening. The Rotfang Alpha convulsed, claws twitching.

Kaden ripped out its heart. A mass of blackened, rotting flesh, still quivering with unnatural vitality, pulsed in his grip for half a second—before it burst into dust, its corrupted mana dispersing into the air.

The Alpha collapsed, its body convulsing once before going still.

[Ding! You have killed the Rotfang Alpha.]

The next moment the dozens of sewer rats scurrying towards the chamber all came to a halt and stood frozen in confusion. They then scurried away in different directions without any purpose. The Rotfang's death broke their control.

Kaden observed the mindless scurrying of the rats, their once-coordinated movements devolving into chaos. Some clawed at the walls, others turned on each other in frantic aggression, and the rest simply fled into the darkness of the tunnels.

"Figures." He wiped his arm clean of the Alpha's decayed remains. Without a leader, the horde collapsed.

He would have fought through them all if necessary, but this was better. More efficient. He wasn't here to waste time on meaningless slaughter. He had bigger things to deal with. Time to go for the next mini boss.

He turned toward the far end of the chamber, where a gaping tunnel yawned. This was where the next mini-boss lurked. If the dungeon followed the same structure as before, he knew exactly what was coming.

The Broodmother Beta.

A shuddering mass of filth, flesh, and corruption. A living nest of horrors.

She would be bigger. Tougher. Smarter. And like the Rotfang Alpha, this one was also a summoner. The Broodmother controlled the dungeon's breeding cycle, spawning endless waves of vermin. If she wasn't dealt with swiftly, she would flood the tunnels with an army far larger than the one he had just faced.

And that wasn't even the worst part.

Her venom.

In his last life, her poison had been infamous—slow, insidious, eating away at flesh and mind alike. Even those who survived her bite were left permanently weakened, their bodies forever marked by her corruption.

A single bit was enough to mark the person with a curse that followed them for several days and even months, flaring up when least unexpected. He strode forward, his boots splashing through the filth, the sound of dripping water echoing through the tunnels.

The path sloped downward, the air growing heavier, and warmer, the walls slick with something far fouler than mere sewage. He could hear it now—the faint, wet squelching of countless bodies writhing in the dark. The chittering of newborn rats.

Kaden clenched his fists. "Let's see if I can break you too." He stepped into the darkness, heading straight for the next battle.