The cave entrance was drenched in blood. Who knew how many charges and escape attempts had been cut short by death? Bloodied corpses piled up, blocking the way.
General Mike looked around. The only ones still alive were himself, an aide, and six soldiers.
The Nen user bodyguards had either fallen in battle or disappeared. He had almost no one left to rely on.
Magic Beasts blocked several entrances to the cave, sealing off any chance of escape.
Rumble—
The Magic Beasts had smashed through the cave ceiling, too. Sharp, angular chunks of stone rained down, sending up a cloud of dust.
General Mike covered his mouth and nose, coughing several times as he and the others huddled in a relatively safe corner.
Then he looked up. The glaring sunlight stung his eyes at first. Once they had adjusted a little, he saw what had smashed through the ceiling.
It was a gigantic beast with thick petals. At the center of those petals bloomed a single vertical eye, gazing down without a hint of emotion.
The instant General Mike saw that eye, his breath caught. Fragments of muddled memories fell into place, and a sudden realization struck him.
I—I've seen it before!
It had once joined other Magic Beasts in a night raid on General Mike's camp. He had exchanged a distant glance with that eye, but nothing unusual had happened at the time.
General Mike had even wondered why this one-eyed giant was the only beast that hadn't joined the charge against the camp.
It had merely stared at him from afar.
After that, most of the Magic Beasts in the night raid had been driven back into the jungle by General Mike's overwhelming artillery fire, and disappeared without a trace.
The soldiers had dragged away the Magic Beasts