Lucy leaped into the air, striking a disk much higher up while Yara smashed one with the boomerang axe close by. Dari was one to finish breaking the ones closer to the ledge while keeping a steady eye on Riley.
The beast in the depths stirred in the murky water, its gaze unflinching in the face of Riley. It should not have been this passive in the face of opponents much weaker than itself. Riley knew this.
So his own fear began building up and refilling the dwindling dread core.
Another reason he was not feeling too confident was the effects of the lantern. It had frozen creatures in fear before, but it merely aggravated this one. And its anger could only bring forth calamity.
Riley wandered through the cavern, keeping its eye only on the beast and trusting that there would be no other creature biding its time to strike. Handling such a beast was hard enough, but adding more to the mix was certain death.
They were lucky to only have received non-lethal wounds. But luck was both scarce and rare.
"We won't get another chance like this."
He sighed to himself, gripping his blades tighter. It was putting a lot of strain on him just thinking about what could happen.
And just as he turned his back on the pool. A great stream of water shot to the ceiling of the cavern, falling down like rain. And that's where he saw it.
Its large serpentine body now was bared fully in the light.
"That's not a serpent…"
All four stood in awe at its great body. Wings that reached from cavern wall to cavern wall and newfound pressure surrounding it. The very air around them grew damp, threatening to drown their lungs. Its yellow irises grew into a sapphire blue and its throat bulged like a balloon.
"WATCH OUT-"
A stream of water pulsed from its mouth and smashed against the wall where Dari had stood. Its onslaught had not stopped for close to twenty seconds, and once it did, a crater had been eroded leaving nothing behind. Not even Dari's skeleton survived.
"NOOOOOO!"
Yara screamed, her lungs aching and heart pumping like an engine.
She dashed forward, throwing her axe against the axil of the dragon's wing. But it bore no fruit, only enraging the beast and forcing its throat to swell once more.
With a flick of Riley's wrist she vanished from her spot and the beast calmed down.
It folded its wings and dived down in the water once more. Riley allowed her to appear again, this time shaking on the ground. Her face was covered in tears.
"Lucy, take her to the cavern's entrance, I'll keep you guys covered."
She nodded and swept the weeping widow away.
Riley didn't even think about what memories his friends lost of him this time. He had gotten used to the idea of them forgetting something, at least, as long as they were still his friends. Memories could always be made again.
But he was in no mood to reminisce. Riley was seething, blood trickled from the grip of his blades.
"I told you what would happen if you touched my allies. Prepare to meet your end."
His chest ached. But he endured.
His bones shook. But he pushed forward.
His core trembled. And he embraced it.
Two blades blurred through the air as he shifted through the space, breaking the final two mirrors on the cliff's edge. The creature peaked its head above the water while it greedily drank in more.
"Are you scared of a mere human? You vile heathen, face me!"
The water dragon rose from its waters. A cocky smirk allowed its fangs to glint in the light of the cavern. It brought its head near Riley and sniffed him before leaning back and roaring.
Yet this time, it was not out of pain or horror. It was acknowledgement.
Riley barrelled through the air with no fear of the beast retreating in its obsidian realm. Mythic steel tore through the membrane of its long wings while it tried to bat him away.
Its bone peaked under a river of blood, and it was much slower to regenerate now.
Once more its throat bulged. But Riley veiled himself and the creature missed where he had been. It turned, searching for him, but it failed.
Because Riley had just landed on top of its head.
"Atone for your sins."
His blades sunk into the dragon's head, ripping everything it touched on the way down. Blood spewed up like a fountain and painted Riley into a demon of crimson. But he continued to slash away, slicing into thick skin and scratching at the bone.
It thrashed around violently, smacking its head into the wall and leaving craters the size of cars around. Riley barely clung on. He was forced to slow his slicing in order not to fall off the beast.
"Ack-"
In one of its many spasms, Riley hit his head against the rocky wall. Blood dripped while a drowsy poison infiltrated his consciousness. His hands loosened around the blades and he plummeted down to the ground. A pool of blood spread around him stemming from his head.
The dragon shook the blades free from its scalp and drew close to the barely breathing body. Its smile had faded, now replaced by the cold Will that had brought it victory.
"Hu-man."
Were its only words. Its throat bulged, much larger than previously. It looked down at Riley's pitiful form.
In that moment, Lucy dove in the large basin of water, plunging to the very bottom. The spear struck the obsidian surface once, with only a small crack appearing.
She struck a second time and the cracks spread further. The water rippled intensely as the powerful dragon dove down after her, forgetting his original target.
Lucy struck down a third time. The obsidian disk shattered into thousands of pieces and the water began draining from a vent at the bottom.
The beast began to melt into the water. First its tail, then its abdomen and wings. And lastly, its head that let out one final wail of agony.
[You have slain a Corrupted Devil, Leviathan's Harbinger.]