I leap into the air, sending beams of ice magic toward the monster. It dodges by retreating back into its shell.
I plummet toward the water. "COWARD!" I groan, frustrated. "I'll get you this time!" As it opens its mouth again to attack, I waste no time and send fire straight down its throat, making it roar.
Everyone starts to slow down a bit, fatigued by the battle and the ocean, and I am no exception. Dealing with a new type of creature means we don't know its weaknesses, and it doesn't help that it's an S-rank. S-ranks don't just destroy a few buildings. No, they level cities.
S–endingre-in–forcements
I don't have time to reply, as now I have the aggro of the giant beas.
—
ISN'T THIS CRAZY, RICK?? A NEW S-RANK MONSTER AND THE MAGIC SAINT IS TAKING IT ON BY HERSELF!
JUST WHAT IS HAPPENING?! I CAN'T BELIEVE MY EYES!
—
The air hums as I land a blow toward the beast's tongue. And I don't let up, releasing blow after blow, not letting it breathe.
[Mana has fallen below 50%!]
My mana, which is depleting at an alarming rate, is not helping in the situation.
No matter how many blows I land, it's still standing.
"EVERYONE, FOCUS ON ITS TONGUE!" I shout, trying to keep the team organized.
"ZEYRA! WATCH OUT!" A jet of water heads straight toward me.
"It can use magic too!?" I brace myself for impact. The barrier absorbs some of the shock, but still, my body suffers the most from the attack. I feel myself fully submerge in water again, but this time it's heavy. I try to swim toward the surface, only to find my limbs not listening to me.
I panic, yet my body remains still. I close my eyes, losing control over myself.
'Is this how I go?'
GASP—
I gasp for air, my senses numb. I feel somebody slapping my face, yet the pain barely registers.
My body still feels as if I'm underwater. It fights for air, but my lungs refuse.
"ZEYRA!"
After a minute, I start to regain my senses and notice two healers by my side, and an angry Riven slapping my face to try and get me to breathe. I cough and cower from the sudden bright light.
"Cau—I'm f—ine," my actions displaying the opposite of what I was saying.
"Haaaa… seriously, you!" he says angrily, shaking me. "Just what were you thinking? You should have run when you saw it move!"
"How could I!" I retort. "They would've died had I decided to run!"
He lets out a deep sigh. What's bothering him, I don't know—nor do I care. I get up quickly.
"You! What are you do—" I interrupt him. "Where's Jay?" I look around and notice he is still on the raft. "Get him." I order turning towards Riven. He raises a brow. "Wha—"
"Or I'll get him myself." He studies my face for a bit before mumbling something about stubbornness and fools, then jumps into the water.
"Miss, it's best if you sit. Your body is still weak," the healer says, leading me to a chair, but I push her away.
"I'm fine, I just drowned for a bit." She pauses, checking to see if I'm joking, clearly appalled by what I just said.
"I've been through worse," I confess and look away, feeling guilty for some reason.
Riven swims back toward the boat with Jay this time, and the healer gets to work.
"I'll cancel the spell now, okay?" I look at them trying to heal his battered body and nervously tap my foot.
Riven comes to my side. "Seriously and you say you don't care."
I shoot him a dirty look, knowing he has no right to talk.
"Just go join the fight," I mutter, looking to see the reinforcements struggling.
"I'll have to join if this keeps up."
"No way. You're staying right here."
Before I can talk back, he has already joined the fight, leaving me on the boat.
He pulls out his sword, sending slashes of aura toward the shell, causing chips in its exterior.
He keeps up the tempo and strikes its tongue, giving it a huge gash, making its attacks have less force. And then I notice it mana starts to gather near its mouth. Subtle, but definitely there. It launches an attack. Not a skill. An attack.
My breath hitches as I witness it in real life.
"That…"
Now I have no doubt. Whatever these sealed dungeons are, the monsters are getting smarter. They're starting to overcome certain limits that humanity hasn't even realized yet. I stare at the large shell in more detail. I start noticing how it slightly turns its body to avoid getting a critical hit. How it uses the ocean around it to affect the attack and minimize the force.
And worst of all, it's studying us—just as I am studying it.
It suddenly turns toward the boat. No, it turns to me, and even though it has no eyes, I know it's watching. It's noticed that I've realized its little tricks. It starts ignoring everything going on around it and only focuses on me.
I stand dazed as it launches its tongue once again but with more force. Time slows as I go in front of it, my body moving on its own.
Its tongue wraps around me, pulling me straight toward its mouth. I see the panic on the faces of my comrades as they watch, unable to stop it.
I shut my eyes, only hearing
Silence. Eerie silence.
A vast contrast to the once-loud battlefield. I feel the vibrations outside as they attack the shell, the monster refusing to open its mouth until it's fully digested me.
"Ugh…" I groan. "It stinks in here!"
"Slimy too!" I shake off a slimy substance from my arm. "Ew... I think I'm going to be sick."
I cast a light spell, illuminating the space. Feeling even more disgusted seeing the inside of it's mouth. I curl up into a ball just to spite the shell and make sure it has a hard time swallowing me.
As I slowly travel down its throat, I think I've arrived in it's stomach.
I look around taking in my surroundings.
"Seriously, it reeks of the ocean." I plug my nose.
I tap around the walls carefully, trying to figure out my situation.
"Haa… just what am I doing?" I sit down.
"Should I just blow my way out of here?"
"But then I won't be able to figure it out…"
A long silence follows as I think about my next move carefully. Until I notice something moving. I crawl toward it, only to see it's a worm.
"KYAAA!" I accidentally cast fire, causing the shell to move uncomfortably.
"EWEWEWEWEW!"
"I'M GETTING OUT OF HE—"
A shiny object catches my eye as it glows thanks to the fire. Curious, I touch it.
[Eternis's Key]
> Grade: A
> Description:
> A key for the Isle of the Wailing Deep. One-time use.
A pearl falls into my hand.
"Guess it was related to the dungeon."
An idea pops into my head on how I can get out of here, I feel around my belt and grab the hand gun I picked up.
"Let's load you up shall we?"
[ Corrupted Essence ]
A grey smoke surrounds the mana bullets inside the gun, I aim and I shoot.
I watch as the shell decays from the inside and relish in the fresh air "ZEYRA!" I hear someone calling me from behind but I don't turn, well more so that I can't.
[Mana has fallen below 5%]
> Due to mana depletion, your body is shutting down.
Great. All-powerful, yet out of mana. Again.