Azael kept swimming deeper into the endless, murky sea. The darkness around him was broken only by clusters of massive coral structures and drifting clouds of silt. Every so often, he'd pass by colorful anglerfish gnawing relentlessly at a human body sometimes alive, sometimes long gone. One of them screamed as Azael drifted past.
He winced.
"You know… maybe I should've saved him…"
"Kid, no." Satan's voice cut in sharply.
"But—"
"Monster aren't the only dangerous thing in hell," Satan said, his tone firm. "Humans are too. There's a reason they ended up here."
The last sentence came out slow. Heavy. Like he wanted it to sink into Azael's bones.
"On Floors 66 to 60, people are too busy trying not to die to cause someone trouble. But once you move past Floor 60… be careful. Humans will be worse than monsters."
The reassurance helped a bit, but something in Azael's chest still ached. He didn't know if it was guilt or stubborn hope… maybe both.
He swam for what felt like hours. His legs burned. His arms shook. Even breathing the water felt exhausting. Then something clicked in his mind.
"Oh crap—the duration!"
Azael stopped and called up the system window.
[breath of the ocean active]
[Duration: 00:00:10]
"Ten minutes left?! I almost forgot about it!"
He quickly reactivated the invocation, watching the timer reset.
"You can be reckless sometimes, kid…" Satan sighed. "You're lucky you haven't drowned yet."
Azael shrugged, bubbles drifting from his movement. "I've got a lot on my mind, okay? My life, my death, my mom calling me Azel, theres to many mystery to solve and it's giving me a headache"
"Kid i—"
Satan's voice was drowned out by a distant, muffled scream. Azael froze, the scream was so loud it shock him.
He swam toward the sound. Through the murky water in the seabed, he saw a huge starfish clinging to a man's torso. But unlike the rainbow coral earlier, this thing was beautiful in a surreal, alien way.
Its body glowed with a soft gradient petal-pink blending into rose-red, then into warm coral-orange. The hues shimmered like polished gemstones, gently pulsing like a heartbeat. Thin, iridescent tendrils flowed from its edges, waving serenely in the water.
It looked too pretty to belong in hell.
But its beauty ended there.
Underneath, a hidden mouth latched onto the man. Long, spiked tentacles wrapped around him tight, injecting something into his body.
"PLEASE—PLEASE HELP ME!" The man writhed, voice bubbling through the water. Azael instinctively swam forward.
"No." Satan's voice was sharp. Strict.
"I said no."
But Azael was already halfway there. "I'll be fine!" he yelled. "Probably!"
The man's skin had turned pale from whatever the starfish pumped into him. His body convulsed as half of him was pulled into the starfish's hidden maw.
Azael raised a hand… then switched to his index finger like a finger gun. "Alright, buddy," he muttered to himself. "Time to be cool."
"Kid what are you doing...."
Azael aimed.
He imagined a tiny bullet of flame.
And then—
"Bang."
0.1% wrath of fire.
The water rippled from the small burst of black flame that shot from his fingertip. The flame struck the starfish, burning a clean hole through its radiant body. With a faint shimmer, the creature dissolved into a black smoke, leaving only drifting fragments of rose-colored flesh.
"Whew… it's like a shotgun, heh." Azael blew on the tip of his index finger like a kid pretending he had just fired a revolver. A small, proud grin curled on his lips.
[ Congratulations. You have defeated a hellhound creature: "rose starfish" ]
[ You have obtained: 100 soul energy ]
Azael exhaled, lowering his hand.
"That was… kinda cool, right?"
"…You're an idiot," Satan muttered. "But yeah. A tiny bit cool."
"Next time," Satan said quietly, "think before you throw yourself into danger. Even if it looks pretty." Azael nodded, clutching his stinging index finger. He knew Satan was right. He also knew he probably wouldn't listen.
The man was still tangled in the starfish's tentacle, writhing and gasping. Azael quickly swam over and tore the limp tendrils apart. The instant the man was free, he launched forward and wrapped Azael in a crushing hug.
"O–OH— UH—" Azael's brain short-circuited. His face instantly flushed red, heat blooming across his cheeks. "H-hey—! Wait—!"
"Oh my god, thank you! Thank you so much!" the man babbled, shaking from adrenaline. "You saved me.... you seriously saved me, you're my savior!"
Azael froze stiff like a plank of wood, ears burning. Why is this guy hugging me like this?! He could literally feel the man's cheek pressed against the side of his neck, and that only made his heartbeat go faster.
"A-alright! Okay! You're welcome can you, um, let go now?" He tried to gently pry himself free, avoiding eye contact as steam practically rose from his face.
"Oh! Sorry!" The man pulled back quickly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I got a little… emotional."
Azael coughed and looked anywhere except the man's face. His cheeks still glowed faintly pink.
He noticed then that the starfish's severed tentacle was still twitching, dragging itself across the seafloor like some dying nerve. It curled around a patch of seaweed, then collapsed. A faint black smoke puffed around it as it dissolved.
"What the hell…?"
Azael swam closer and peeled away the seaweed.
His breath hitched.
Underneath the seaweed were three eggs, half-buried in the sand soft and glowing.
One pulsed in a gentle pink-to-red gradient.
Another shimmered with warm yellow-and-orange hues. And the last.
Azael's eyes locked onto it.
A deep blue fading into black, glowing faintly like a quiet nebula. Just like his own eyes.
"…woah…"
He whispered it so softly he barely heard himself.
He reached out, almost afraid to touch it. The moment his fingers brushed the shell, a window popped up
[ Starfish Egg ]
[ Hatching Process: 20% ]
[ Grade: ?? ]
Azael's heart dropped.
"A… starfish egg…"
His voice trembled.
The realization hit him like a punch to the chest.
Did I kill their mother…?
His hands shook. His stomach twisted uncomfortably. The beautiful glow of the eggs only made the guilt sharper like they were silently accusing him. He swallowed hard, throat tight.
"Wow, that's a beautiful egg," the man said beside him, leaning in. His tone was casual unaware, unbothered. Azael couldn't even look at the shells anymore. He felt sick.
I killed their parent. I killed the one protecting them. And they were just… hiding here. Waiting…
"If it makes you feel better, you can adopt it," Satan's voice echoed lazily in his head.
What did you just say? Azael responded mentally, mortified.
"Just store them in your inventory and take care of them when they hatch. They won't survive a day in this place without a protector. And technically" Satan snickered. "you DID kill their guardian. So you're kinda responsible."
Don't say it like that!
Azael's heart twisted painfully.
But… you're right.
He quickly opened his inventory. Something was already inside an item glowing with a sickly green tint, it looked like a meat covered in barnicle and mold.
[ Item: Rotten Whale Meat ]
[ Poison Level: 50% ]
[ Grade: F ]
rotten whale meat, is it from that whale i killed before?
He tucked that thought away and carefully picked up the blue-and-black egg.
"What are you doing with it?" the man asked, leaning a bit too close.
"I… I'm going to store it. In my inventory," Azael muttered, gently pushing the egg into the glowing window. The shell flickered, glitched and vanished. It appeared safely inside his inventory menu.
"Oh. That actually worked," Azael whispered.
He stored the other two eggs as well, closing the window and pressing a hand over it as if making a silent promise.
I'll take care of you. I promise...
The man swam in front of him again, smiling curiously. "So… why'd you do that?" Azael stiffened at how close he was and looked away, ears warming again.
"I… felt bad," he admitted quietly. "I killed their mom… or dad. So… I guess I'll take responsibility."
The man blinked. Then laughed. "Oh.....so you're like a single dad now."
Azael nearly choked on seawater.