The impact knocked Edge to his knees and set swirls of fog skittering across the barrier.

  He rose to his feet and tightened his grip on his naginata, bracing himself for an attack that didn’t come. He looked up, casting his gaze across the second elite monster residing within the Savage Garden.

  To his astonishment, instead of charging, the creature stopped to examine the hunters in turn. It seemed just as surprised that the crew was holding their ground with weapons at the ready, instead of fleeing in terror after its dramatic arrival.

  Knowing that this brittle moment of equilibrium would be his only chance to size up his opponent before the chaos of combat swept him away, Edge shut out his fear and the gallon of adrenaline sloshing in his veins while cataloging the features the biggest ape he’d ever seen—a six-limbed gorilla the size of an Earth elephant.

  This monster’s fur was jet black and contrasted against the mist billowing behind it. Four of its limbs featured the same spiked knuckle-plates that he’d seen on the lesser ape. However, these jagged ivory protrusions were long enough to punch all the way through his chest with room to spare.

  Unlike the red monkey, this creature’s joints were in all the right places. In fact, other than its prodigious size and an extra set of arms, it was the most animal-like monster that Edge had encountered yet. It lacked the distorted features and twisted limbs of the other inhabitants of the Savage Garden. If it wasn’t for the unquenchable fury blazing in its eyes, he would have thought that he was facing down a high-stage beast rather than a monstrous adversary.

  However, the sheer malice the gorilla exuded was something else altogether—a hatred for all uncorrupted life forms that made him shiver when its gaze landed on him. He knew that the rest of his team was getting ready to make their move, but in that moment, he couldn’t look away.

  Something in the creature’s eyes told Edge that if he underestimated its capabilities to the slightest degree or made a single mistake past this point, it was going to tear him limb from limb then grind his remains into paste.

  For another ten seconds, Team Arrow and the elite monster stood frozen in place, taking the measure of each other. Then the ape threw back its head, issued a piercing roar, and came charging at them without a trace of fear or anything remotely resembling hesitation.

  In an onyx flash, it went barreling toward the crew with the force of a battering ram, ready to bring the pain to the puny creatures who had dared to stand before it.

  Like they had planned, instead of meeting the monster’s assault head-on, the hunters split up and spread out. Fox and Snake pulled back and began attacking from range, probing the monkey’s defenses before burning through their mana-intensive skills.

  Most of their missiles bounced off the creature’s furry hide, but a few sank in deep. Nothing that would seriously injure the gorilla, but enough to gauge its Durability. With any luck, Snake got some poison into its system too.

  It turned toward the shadowkillers, ready to take them out of the fight. Although his instincts were screaming that he should run, Edge he had the best chance of withstanding the ape’s assault. Before it could make its move, he stepped into its path and grounded his polearm like he was planning to fight hand-to-hand. It let out a contemptuous grunt, then exploded into motion.

  Although the monster had taken the bait, it hadn’t telegraphed its attack at all. While he had anticipated the move, the monkey almost took him out then and there. He threw himself to one side, dodging a knuckle spike that would have skewered his skull like a shish kabob—so close that the tip scrapped his scalp before passing by.

  By this point, the next attack had already closed half the distance between them. The gorilla’s upper hands were clasped together like a wrecking ball, screaming toward his position with enough force to break every bone in his body.

  He turned into shadows just in time to slide out of the way, half a heartbeat before a roundhouse kick passed right through him. It cost him some mana but didn’t do any damage. However, dodging three lethal blows by the skin of his teeth set Edge’s heart pounding like a jackhammer.

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  He couldn’t afford to remain in shadow form if he wanted to keep the monster away from his crew, so he materialized while reaching into his belt pouch. The instant that the world resolidified, he flung an object at the monkey, who sidestepped so fast that its body blurred. The silver sphere burst when it hit the ground, splattering across the creature’s toes as the stench of rotting eggs rose to fill the air.

  When the monster realized that Edge had stink-bombed its feet, it let out a furious howl and pounced, unleashing a series of lightning-fast blows. Well, that part worked. Now I just need to survive my success.

  He began Leaping and Shadow Stepping like mad, weaving his way between its fists and feet. He would have some explaining to do after the fight, but he was dead certain that if he didn’t give this his all, none of them would be walking away.

  Meanwhile, Jumo and Mel darted toward opposite sides of the battlefield to guard the shadowkillers, waiting for an opening before making their next move. Tessa pulled back as far as she could, using her powers to probe their opponent for weakness while searching for threats emerging from the mist.

  Edge dodged a frenetic flurry of blows, shifting into shadows every time that an attack slipped past his guard. It kept him from being pummeled into oblivion, but was draining his energic reserves at a terrifying rate.

  This is bad. It Shadow Step didn’t make me immune to physical attacks, I would be dead already. The elite hasn’t even used a skill, and I’m already in trouble. Its attributes are off the chart, and I can’t keep this up for long. I hope the others figure something out before my tank runs dry.

  He’d been trying to keep the monster distracted, but it clearly understood what he was up to and had no intention of following his lead. After one last swipe, the giant ape grunted in annoyance and then bounded off in the other direction, planning to bring the pain to the hunters who were peppering its hide with bolts.

  The instant that the creature changed targets and went charging for Lilly, Edge reached down to his belt and flung an Elemental-Blade-infused chakram at its back, then swore as the missile went wide. He ran toward her while using his glove to call the weapon back, but he wasn’t going to make it in time.

  Jumo had been guarding Snake, but he activated Dash to reposition, attacking the monkey to draw its attention while Lilly and Mel scrambled out of the way. Before the gorilla could adjust its trajectory, Jumo arrived at its side. He scratched its torso with a Lunge from his spear, ducked beneath a set of fists that would have shattered his ribcage, then Dashed away before the monster could bring its full fury to bear.

  Jumo’s kept Dashing for all he was worth, using the blur it provided to obscure his position. Bands of mana were flowing around his legs, keeping him out of harm’s reach with inches to spare. He circled the clearing with the six-armed monster hot on his heels, while everyone else repositioned to maintain as much distance as they could.

  Edge ran toward the action, intending to intercept the oversized ape before Jumo got caught. It seemed laser focused on the retreating warrior, but once again, the monster’s intelligence surprised him. It had been tracking each hunter’s position the whole time, waiting for an opening to appear. It came to a skidding stop and changed targets, crossing through the center of the circle.

  The move caught him off guard, and by the time he recovered, it had already run past.

  The monster went streaking toward Mel—a living avalanche of muscle and ill will. She didn’t have any mobility skills or enough Speed to get out of the way without running into the mist. The problem was, she would be blind in there, while the monster seemed to have no problem navigating the magical vapor. Even if she dodged this attack by darting back, she would be dead the instant it caught her.

  Before it could close the final few feet, Edge sprang into action. He cast Entangle, then Shadow Stepped and Leapt, using both powers in combination to enable an explosive burst of speed.

  Meanwhile, a set of vines burst free from the soil in front of Mel, reaching out toward the ape before it could strike. As he’d hoped, the emerging tendrils caused it to slow down long enough to evaluate the threat the skill posed. It wasn’t sufficient for Melenia to escape, but the move bought enough time for Edge to arrive on scene.

  Just before he landed, he raised his polearm above his head and gripped it with both hands. Then he deactivated Shadow Step and Double Slashed, materializing a heartbeat before landing a direct hit with his polearm. The tip of the skill-bolstered naginata carved a dual gash down the monkey’s flank, drawing its attention while Mel darted to safety.

  His vines wrapped around its furry legs, although he knew they could only hold the creature for a second or two tops. Edge was planning to land a hit with Elemental Blade while the monster was distracted, which would hopefully slow it down.

  It didn’t even look at the vines. Instead, the gorilla gathered its strength and unleashed a wicked backhand with one of its middle fists.

  He didn’t see it coming in time to Step out of the way. The fist exploded into his chest, breaking half his ribs and throwing him across the clearing as electric agony blossomed along his sternum. The impact was strong enough to stop his heart, but his Heart-Guard kicked in with a pulse of aether, shielding his ticker from the brunt of the blow.

  Edge heard Lilly yelling but couldn’t make out the words. Then he hit the ground hard, and his world dissolved into a frantic blend of color and motion.