Pain exploded in Azael's head. A white tentacle had just smashed into him. He tasted blood in his mouth. Before he could even think, another tentacle hit him in the ribs. He heard a sickening crack.
He hurled backwards and crashed into a sharp rock. The impact tore the skin on his back and popped his shoulder out of place. He slid down, trying to breathe, but his body wouldn't listen. He coughed, and a cloud of his own blood filled the water in front of him.
He was hurt. Badly.
The giant albino squid wasn't done. Another tentacle wrapped around his ankle and wrenched him from the seabed. It swung him through the water and smashed him into the rocks again. This time, he felt his ribs break. The pain was so bright and huge he almost passed out.
The squid threw him. He tumbled through the dark water and his head struck a giant boulder with brutal force. Everything went black and quiet. Isthis is how I die? he thought. At the bottom of Covetous.
But then, a blinding white light exploded everywhere. It was warm. Azael watched, stunned, as the cuts on his arms sealed up. The terrible pain in his head faded as his skull fixed itself. His broken ribs clicked back into place. He could see clearly again.
"Thank you," he whispered, shaking. He had forgotten about the healing light.
The fight wasn't over. The dragonfish was still fighting, but it was badly hurt. One of its big fins was almost torn off. It breathed a stream of blue fire at the squid. The fire hit the squid's main body, and one small spark landed right in its giant eye.
The squid shuddered. It blinked fast, again and again. It was hurt. Azael's eyes widened. The eye. It hates anything touching its eye
"Think, kid, think!" Satan's voice snapped in his head. "Monsters like that usually have a weak spot! find it!"
"The eye…" Azael muttered, getting an idea. "Its eye is the weak spot!"
He spotted a sharp, heavy piece of broken rock on the seabed. He swam down and grabbed it. If i could hit the eye just right…
azael planned on using a move he always wanted to use with the fire invocation.
"be careful when using your invocation too much, you could ran out of soul energy, that woul lead to your soul decaying if it hit minus" Azael listened to satan and He checked his soul energy status.
[Soul Energy: 1,090 / 10,000]
i till had enough. For now atleast
He swam towards the squid, which had just ripped the last fin off the dragonfish. The poor creature lay on the sand, motionless. "I'll get revenge for you," Azael promised quietly.
The squid saw him coming. A tentacle whipped toward him. Azael crossed his arms in an X over his chest. He took a deep, painful breath.
"2% Wrath of Fire!"
[ 2% Wrath of Fire Activated. 200 Soul Energy Consumed. ]
Black fire erupted around his crossed arms, burning his own skin. He gritted his teeth so hard he bit his tongue, tasting blood again. With a shout, he flung his arms open.
An X-shaped blast of black fire shot through the water. It sliced clean through two of the squid's tentacles and slammed into its main body. The fire burned into its pale flesh, and then—
BOOM.
A huge underwater explosion shook everything. The force of it made Azael tumble backwards.
When the water cleared, the squid was badly burned. It was already trying to heal, but one of its eyes was damaged. The other eye was safe, blinking slowly. It looked right at Azael.
Now was his chance.
Azael lifted the heavy, sharp rock. He put all his strength, all his pain, all his fear into the throw. He hurled it.
The rock shot through the water like a spear.
The squid tried to move, but it was too hurt to move.
THWACK.
The rock hit the giant, blinking eye dead center. It pierced the soft jelly and buried itself deep. The squid let out a soundless scream of agony, its whole body seizing up. Then, slowly, it collapsed. It hit the seabed with a heavy THUD that shook the ground.
[ Congratulations! You have defeated a archfiend Creature: "Albino Squid." ]
[ You have been Rewarded: 400 Soul Energy ]
[ Reclamation completed: the archfiend "albino squid" has dropped an item into your Inventory ]
"wow, you cook there kid, littreally" satan teasing wasn't even registered in azael mind, He swam quickly over to the dying dragonfish.
It was lying on the sand, its side rising and falling weakly. Azael put a gentle hand on its rough, scaly skin. "Thank you for helping me," he whispered.
Then he heard a voice, it was faint.
"Hey…dummy… a little help here?"
Azael looked around, confused. The voice sounded familiar. is the mimic nearby as a ghost?
"Seriously… dude, heal me…" the voice groaned again.
Azael's eyes went wide. He looked down at the dragonfish. Its one good eye was looking right at him.
"Mimic?!" Azael gasped, pulling his hand back. "Is that you? You turned into a dragonfish?!"
The dragonfish's mouth moved slowly. "Yes, it's me, you idiot," the mimic's voice came out, ragged with pain. "Now quit staring and help!"
"Oh! Right!" Azael panicked. What could he do? He remembered the item he just got from defeating the albino squid, he opened his inventory, and saw a alchemist shaped bottle.
azael tapped on the bottle.
[ Albino ink ]
[ Description: unlike regular ink, the albino ink is used to heal any kind of Injuries, it healing ability is used alot by other creature ]
[ Grade: A ]
He took out the small bottle. Inside was a glowing white liquid that swirled like milk. "This will help. Hold on."
He uncorked it and poured the ink over the dragonfish's worst wounds. The liquid didn't float away. It sank into the scales and flesh like it was being absorbed.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a soft white glow spread from the wounds. The deep gashes closed up. The torn fin regrew, piece by piece, until it was whole. The terrible injuries vanished.
The mimic let out a long, relieved sigh and slowly rose from the sand. "Whoa… I really thought that was the end."
Azael looked at the magnificent, healed creature. He wasn't thinking about the dragonfish. He was thinking about the friend inside it. This chaotic, flirty, annoying mimic had turned into a monster to fight for him. It had almost died for him.
A sudden, powerful feeling swelled in Azael's chest. It was too big to hold in. He swam forward and wrapped his arms around the dragonfish's thick neck, burying his face against its cool, smooth scales.
"Whoa—hey! What are you doing?" the mimic's voice was flustered, surprised.
"Nothing," Azael mumbled, his voice thick. He wasn't just hugging the dragonfish. He was hugging the first being in this terrible place who had fought for him. It was the closest thing to a hug from home he would ever get here. "I just… really needed to hug someone."
He held on tight, and for a moment, he wasn't in Hell. He was somewhere safe. A single, hot tear mixed with the endless saltwater as he whispered a promise, not to the mimic, but to a memory:
"Don't worry, Mom… I'll find my way back."
---
Azael let his body go limp, resting against the broad, smooth scales of the dragonfish's back as they swam through the endless murk toward R'lyeh. The rhythmic, powerful undulations of the creature's body were strangely soothing.
"Hah, you look pretty chill for someone who was almost squid-paste a minute ago," the mimic's voice echoed playfully from the dragonfish's form.
Azael just scoffed, a tired but genuine smile touching his lips. He patted the hard, cool scale beneath him. "Of course I am. I've got the best partner in crime right here."
The mimic's laughter vibrated through the massive body, a sound that felt like safety in the oppressive dark.
Azael gazed at the ugly, lightless water ahead, but for the first time since falling into Hell, a quiet warmth bloomed in his chest. He had a friend. A real one. Someone who had fought for him, bled for him. Together, he felt sure they could face the Leviathan.
But then, deep in his heart, a cold, sharp ache began to pierce that warmth.
After we defeat the Leviathan… then what?
The question slithered into his mind, unwelcome and heavy. The victory he was fighting for meant climbing to the next floor. Could the mimic come with him? The thought of going into the unknown alone again… the warmth in his chest turned to a hollow dread.
"Of course not, kid."
Satan's voice cut through his thoughts,cold and final, answering the question he hadn't dared to ask aloud.
Why? Azael asked inwardly, his mental voice small and already braced for hurt.
"If it was another sinner, sure. They can climb if they help beat the Sovereign. But for creatures born of Hell? They're bound to their floor. They can't just leave."
But… Azael's mind grasped for an exception. You did. You came with me.
He could feel Satan's smug, knowing smirk in the back of his skull. "A technicality. I'm only here because we have a contract. That's the only loophole. A creature can follow if it's magically tethered to a sinner who climbs. Frankly," Satan added, his tone dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "that's the real reason I made a deal with you. My ticket out of a treachery."
The truth landed like a physical blow. The contract with Satan wasn't just power; it was a chain and a key. For the mimic, there was no such key.
The fight seemed to drain out of Azael. All the hopeful warmth was extinguished, leaving only the cold water and a colder reality. He slumped forward, his forehead pressing against the dragonfish's scales. Absently, his fingers traced the intricate patterns of a large, smooth scale.
"Hey," the mimic's voice chimed, lighter now. "That tickles." The dragonfish gave a little shimmy under him.
Azael didn't laugh. He didn't move. The words that came out were a whisper so low and thick with defeat it was almost swallowed by the ocean.
"Sorry…" he murmured.
He wasn't apologizing for tickling. He was apologizing for the future he now saw clearly a future where he would have to say goodbye to the first real friend he'd made in this terrible place. He lay there, holding on to the dragonfish, already mourning the loss he knew was coming.