Chapter 53: Two heads can’t decide.

Spice slithered in front of Zyra, hissing threateningly. The young moles sniffed the air, releasing distressed sounds.

"I really cannot thank you enough for finding such fat, juicy stones for me, Hunt." a mocking voice sneered. "Toss them over. And the bottle too, drop it on the ground and walk away."

Out from the shadows stepped Cade. His face wore a cruel, greedy smile. In his hands, he held a rifle, and the mechanism clicked loudly as he cocked it, aiming it right at Hunter’s chest. Another of his goons pointed it at Zyra.

But worse than the guns was the beast slithering right beside Cade....the Twin Fang Viper. The massive, two-headed snake raised both of its terrifying heads into the air. Its twin mouths widened incredibly far, stretching their jaws as if they were literally practicing the exact angle, they would use to swallow Hunter and Zyra alive.

Spice was no match for it, and Zyra commanded the little snake to back off, with her thoughts.

Hunter’s blood ran cold. He could take Cade, the snake and everything else on his own. But, what about Zyra? One mistake and she would die. It was best to get her out of the tunnel first and then he could handle the rest.

"I will let you have the stones if you let her leave in one piece." He tossed the bag of stones they planned to show at the gate to him.

Zyra tossed the bottle on the ground, the one she had in her hand at the moment. Only Hunter noticed that the color had changed. The first bottle was dark green; this one was brown.

"Let her leave first." Hunter said. "And then, you and I can face off."

"Ah, ah, ah," Cade interrupted, waving the barrel of his gun. "That is not going to happen because I am leaving right now, but you are staying."

Cade raised his left hand, flashing three sharp, rapid hand signals. "Eat well, my pet," he sneered. "They’re all yours. Hurry." He darted into the tunnel, running like a man who was racing against the wind.

The Twin Fang Viper hissed loudly, its two forks of lightning-fast tongues flicking out in perfect rhythm. It honestly sounded like the giant monster was thanking its master for serving up a delicious, two-course dinner. ℴℴ𝘮

"Oh no, you don’t!" Zyra snapped. She raised her gun, aiming right next to the snake and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened. She pulled it again.

"Run, now!" Hunter bellowed at her, his eyes widening. "Forget the gun, you need to leave before the gates close."

[Host, you are out of bullets.]

"I am not leaving you here!" Zyra yelled, shaking the useless gun.

The left head of the viper snapped toward Hunter, while the right head locked onto Zyra, both jaws unhinging with a sickening stretch.

"Go left!" Hunter shouted, "I’ll go right!" He undid his belt as he leaped into the air.

They split up, sprinting in opposite directions like two scattering mice. The giant snake launched forward to give chase, but it ran into a very embarrassing problem. The left head wanted to swallow Hunter alive. The right head was absolutely determined to chew on Zyra. Neither head wanted to compromise.

The snake suddenly jerked to a violent halt right in the middle of the cave. Its two necks stretched out in opposite directions, taut as guitar strings. The left head glared at the right head, hissing furiously as if saying, Come this way, you idiot! The right head hissed back, pulling the other way. The entire body of the beast was completely stuck, paralyzed by its own internal argument.

Zyra knew the snake wouldn’t stay confused for long. She needed a distraction, fast.

"Beauty! The beast eggs! Buy one." Zyra shouted in her mind; they were a good distraction and cheaper than gravity bullets.

The beast egg materialized in her hands. The moment it appeared; the right head of the viper instantly froze. The desire to swallow a skinny human girl completely vanished from its brain. Its eyes locked onto the glowing egg, its heavy tongue dripping with sudden, intense greed.

While the snake head was busy drooling over the egg, Zyra didn’t waste a single heartbeat. She dropped the egg a little further from its reach, spun on her heel, and bolted down a dark, narrow corridor.

The cave was a maze of crumbling stone and confusing tunnels, but Zyra didn’t panic. "Beauty, where is that male beast?" she thought.

[Scanning....] Beauty’s calm voice echoed in her mind, [Target: Hunter Magnus, located 9 meters ahead. Tracking is highly stable and easy to follow.]

She followed the system’s directions, three minutes later, she burst through a thick curtain of roots and literally slammed into Hunter’s chest. He caught her by the shoulders, panting heavily, his clothes covered in dirt.

"Zyra!" Hunter gasped, his eyes full of genuine relief. She found him just before he sniffed her out.

[Host, I hate to break the embrace that has sent your blood pressure in a frenzy, but you are standing on Life sap roots. It can speed up beast growth, strengthens bones and overall immunity.]

Like a mad person, she started to pluck the dangling roots, some were halfway eaten but she did not care.

Hunter’s face tightened. "What the hell are you collecting those for? We are out of time! If we get locked in here, we are going to be battling all night."

Zyra shoved the last one that she picked in his mouth, not just to shut him up but because the system had called him a beast before. So, the roots could help him.

Hunter spat them out. He was astounded and disgusted, but not because of her strange behavior. The woman was insane! It was because she showed no fear at the idea of being locked in a dungeon all night.

"Let us go." Zyra said, snapping her fingers impatiently, as if he was the one that delayed them.

From the distant tunnels somewhere close to them, loud laughter echoed. It was Cade and his men.

"Look at this one! It’s huge!" Cade’s voice drifted through the stone. "Gather them all! Don’t leave a single stone behind!"

"Their greed has completely blinded them," Zyra said, shaking her head. "They have forgotten that they’re out of time."

"We need an exit, now," Hunter said, looking around keenly. He noticed a massive hole in the tunnel ceiling...a natural molehill chimney that led straight to the surface. They climbed out.

Hunter put two fingers to his mouth and let out a sharp, piercing whistle.

Tyrant skidded to a halt beside them, flesh blood on his wings.

"Good boy! Up we go!" Hunter yelled.

They scrambled onto Tyrant’s back. With a powerful roar, Tyrant packed his legs with explosive energy and flew off at terrifying speed.

They burst out of the gates of the dungeon just when they were grinding shut, sealing the entrance and those that had been left inside. The lucky ones would survive the night, and the unlucky ones.... their bones would become part of the dungeon forever.