There was a loud rumbling sound from the pond behind her; she shifted, turned; bubbles floated from the pond continuously.
Slowly emerging from the midst of the bubbles was a large red Qalupalik; its eyes, blood shot, sent tremors of fear into Kate's body as she gazed at it.
It was larger than the others they had fought with earlier; the edges of its scales red, it had four large elastic fins, each pierced with a red bracelet, barely fitting the pond area.
It shot a fin at Kate; she leapt, twirling on air as she landed steadily, further towards the back, purring loudly.
She then summoned her beast form; her body restructured at a quick rate.
There was an instant release of energy from the Red Qalupalik; it dazed Kate for a few seconds; her transformation paused along with her movement; she no longer had control of her body.
The Qalupalik immediately used the opportunity to lunge another fin at her.
It wrapped the dazed Kate tightly, hurling her towards the pond; Kate used all of her strength to resist the red Qalupalik, holding on to the muddy ground of the dungeon, but it was no use; she tried changing to her beastly form again.
But that wasn't much of a choice as the red Qalupalik supported one of its elastic fins with two more; Kate held the ground harder, trying to pull herself free.
***
Lex was halfway on the path that led towards the entrance of the middle hole; he was totally focused on the translucent screen.
{The dungeon Boss}
{Blood lust Qalupalik}
{Mana stone output; 30}
{Defeat the boss and accomplish the change of occupation quest}
{Good luck host.}
Lex beamed in delight; this was the final battle; all he had to do now was to eliminate the boss and complete the quest; it'll even help him in passing the actual threshold, just by one Mana stone point.
Unaware of his surroundings, he stumbled onto someone; the translucent screen vanished.
"What are you doing here?" Lex asked Dane, who was also shocked to see him.
"Why didn't you follow the plan?" asked Dane as he gazed at Lex sternly.
"Well, I wasn't okay with it."
"What are you doing here? The dungeon boss is on the left hole."
"What do you mean?" Replied Dane.
"There were only a few goblins, which I have already killed."
Lex was taken aback; so what about the others? "I was just about to meet them; they are now filling their sacks; I came to search for you two when I was sure of their safety."
"If what you're saying is true, it means the blood lust Qalupalik is either here or on the other hole!"
"The blood lust Qalupalik?!" Dane yelled, stunned.
Lex then hit his right hand on his forehead, disappointed in himself; he should have realized this earlier; of course the blood lust Qalupalik would be in the pond, with the smaller ones.
Lex and the green armoured knight turned, dashing towards the pond at full speed; "I hope we're not too late," Lex cried, staring at the translucent screen.
They arrived at the pond, panting profusely; the pond was still, and there was no trace of Kate; "We are too late," spoke Dane, turning back.
"Wait here, you fool; what would you tell the princess if I'm dead?"
"But you're alive," Lex grabbed the two swords beside the sacks, diving into the pond; Dane shook for a bit, refusing, but later dove in.
Lex swam deeper; the pond was more hollow than they'd thought it would be, filled with the remnants of the Qalupaliks they'd killed earlier.
Just far away in the deep pond, sitting on a shell, Lex spotted it.
The red Qalupalik; it sat on a huge shell with Kate wrapped up in its fin, looking lifeless; Dane got hold of Lex's hand from behind.
Lex turned, glaring at Dane; Dane shook his head, encouraging him to return; it was no use; Lex didn't hesitate; he gave Dane a wild kick, sending him tumbling forwards; the red Qalupalik, seeing this, also lunged a fin forward towards him.
Splat! The muffled sound of butchery could be heard as Lex sliced the fin into pieces.
The Qalupalik dropped Kate on the muddy ground to have the maximum focus on the battle.
Lex looked back, signalling for Dane to pull her out of the pond; Dane nodded his head; they both lunged towards the red magic beast; Lex brandished both of his swords, attacking the fins from each and every corner as they shot furiously at him.
With Lex being used as a distraction, Dane successfully lifted Kate from the ground, swimming out safely.
Lex would have heaved a sigh of relief if he could, but now, he was in need of oxygen; he tried to swim back to the pond, but his leg was caught up in a huge Qalupalik fin; he caught the fin immediately, trying to escape, but the fins continuously shot towards him endlessly; regeneration, he thought to himself.
That was the only way more fins could keep coming, even after he had cut them.
He would be stronger if he had it.
Lex smirked.
Launching at the Qalupalik once more, the Qalupalik sent a frequency of tremor towards Lex; it had no effect.
The Skill was built to only have an effect on magical beings, which he wasn't, yet; Lex positioned his sword and aimed it at the head of the Qalupalik; he then shot it forward.
In immediate retaliation, a huge fin swerved, aiming to block the strike; Lex then tossed the other sword, which accurately supported the former, landing directly on the former's handle and protruding the head of the blood lust Qalupalik; the Qalupalik groaned loudly.
Tidal waves rose from within the pond, pushing him back; he used the help of the boost from the Blood lust Qalupalik's groan to swim back to the surface.