The Mid-Boss

Leaving the computer room, Akira and Kana descended the stairs toward the first-floor library. Akira gripped his rotary spear and flamethrower, while Kana clutched her hammer, trailing close behind. The school's air grew heavier, punctuated by distant skittering echoing through the halls.

As they reached the first-floor corridor, Akira's sensors blared. "Hostile detected. Single high-threat entity. Distance approximately ten meters. Approaching."

Kana raised her hammer, voice trembling. "Something else is coming…?"

"Affirmative. Combat preparations complete. Stay behind me."

Akira readied his spear, eyes locked on the corridor's shadowed depths.

From the darkness, a monstrous form emerged.

A pulsating mass of reddish-black flesh, its surface riddled with tiny, chattering mouths dripping slime. Four thick tentacles sprouted from its body, thudding heavily as they dragged across the floor. A single, clouded eye bulged from what might have been a face, glaring at them. A vertical maw split wide, jagged teeth glistening with trailing saliva.

It was a nightmare beyond human imagining.

"You… scurrying lambs…" it rasped, its voice a guttural slur, as if wrenched from a rotting throat.

Kana recoiled, ducking behind Akira. "It spoke!?"

"Sentient hostile confirmed. Attempting dialogue," Akira said, stepping forward, voice steady. "State your purpose. Explain your connection to this anomaly."

The creature's laughter sprayed slime across the floor. "Purpose? It's a game… In the master's garden, toying with lambs is my delight. You reek of metal, machine… but that girl smells delicious."

Its milky eye fixed on Kana, tentacles twitching hungrily.

"Kana, keep your distance. Engaging combat," Akira said, activating his spear and charging.

The drill tore into a tentacle, black ichor splattering. The creature roared, swinging its remaining limbs to smash him. Akira countered with the flamethrower, spraying fire from the rigged spray can. The creature's flesh scorched, its mouths shrieking in unison.

But it didn't falter.

A tentacle lashed out, coiling around Kana's ankle.

"Akira! Help!" she screamed, flailing her hammer, but the grip was unrelenting. In a heartbeat, it hoisted her into the air.

"Kana, I'm coming!" Akira shouted, aiming his spear at the tentacle.

The creature sneered. "Too slow, tin man! She's mine!"

It whipped another tentacle, slamming Akira against the wall. His body crashed into the concrete, sparks flying.

Seizing the moment, the creature fled deeper into the corridor, dragging Kana with it.

"Wait!" Akira scrambled to his feet, but the creature's speed was unnatural, vanishing into the dark.

Kana's screams faded, drowned by the creature's gleeful cackle: "Oh, she'll taste exquisite!"

"Kana has been abducted. Prioritizing pursuit. Analyzing hostile's path… Analysis complete. Redirecting target from underground facility to the dormitory."

Akira gripped his spear and flamethrower, sprinting down the corridor. His sensors locked onto Kana's location, tracing a route to the east side—the dormitory building.

"Minor damage sustained. Combat capacity at eighty percent. Her safety is my top priority."

Bursting outside, the cold night air enveloped him. The dormitory's silhouette loomed in the distance, and Kana's faint cries carried on the wind.