While Alith looked down into the depths of the dark trench, Sofia suddenly turned around.
Something wrong? Alith asked, gripping her rapier.
I felt bones move just now. Right at the edge of my aura.
Fish?
No, it was very big. And it only lasted an instant.
Well… Can’t see that far. Let’s go down, should be safer to be between two walls.
Right, let’s not waste more time anyway. After you, Pareth.
Forked spear in hand, Pareth jumped, and the others followed right behind
Just to be safe, Sofia left a tiny surprise for whatever creature might try to follow after them. While the others descended, Pestle took a break on the ocean floor, digging her hands into the cold sand that felt like sludge.
After a few long minutes, the presence Sofia had felt showed itself, slithering through the depths, a great grey serpent with a wrinkly, vaguely human face with jagged yellowed teeth. Pestle watched it carefully approach and swim above her, barely creating any disturbance in the water. Its strange face looked down from the spot everyone had jumped from, the end of its long scaly body far outside of the distance Pestle could see.
It had not seen through her invisibility, despite the incident in the dark epoch ruins, ravager fairies were still experts of stealth, but Pestle could easily tell this was not an enemy she could fight.
As the serpent started to plunge into the fault, Pestle hurriedly unsummoned herself.
Bookie and Sofia instantly noticed and resummoned her right away, handing her her communication bracelet back.
IT COMING! WE VERY HIDE! VERY ESCAPE!!!
Nobody asked any questions, Sofia summoned the graveyard Nymphs, and the entire group sunk far into the jagged stones of the cliffside.
This should be fine, right?
Pesle not know. It human head fish! Follow Sofia, very danger!
I can see a bit farther from here, ironically enough, Alith said, not seeing anything moving for now. Want me to return closer to the wall to check?
No, stay. If Pestle reacts like that then this isn’t a creature we should approach. We might not even be safe here, if it can reach into the spirit plane too.
Alright. Human head fish, though… Is it like the next evolution after the siren queens?
Might be. The sirens, the sirhellions, now whatever Pestle saw… I really wonder how these monsters are all related, and why they have those weird human faces.
This one is probably another strong spellcaster if we follow the trend, right? Alith wondered, strange that it would sneakily follow up like that. Are we thinking that this is why the ships are all missing their rear half?
Very yes! Pestle answered, Head mouth huge big, is can leg boat!
Good that we’ve run into it like this, then. We could have easily been totally oblivious…
This is why we trust your bone senses, Alith said, laughing internally.
As you should.
Feeling it was probably safe enough, Sofia ordered the Nymphs to pull everyone further down. Since that monster was on the prowl outside, they would just move from shipwreck to shipwreck through the walls.
They carefully returned to the dark and cold waters of the ocean directly inside of the next wreck, some five hundred meters deeper.
I don’t feel anything nearby, but we should still be careful.
This one ship was perpendicular to the fault line, stuck upside-down between the two stone walls.
There’s still some stuff here, Alith noted, grabbing rotten remains of waterlogged furniture strewn about the ceiling they walked on.
But no corpses, still, just like the other ones… I think I’m catching some faint mana fluctuations from above. We might have an enchanted item up for grabs.
Pesle is look.
Before anyone else said anything, Pestle was gone, and she returned quickly after, holding a palm-sized silver object.
Belt buckle?
Let me ID that, since you can’t, Alith stepped in, quickly sharing the system window with everyone.
[Belt of the fish among sharks]: An enchanted belt, or what remains of it. Would be using illusion magic on the wearer to make them harder to detect while underwater, but some critical parts are lacking.
Didn’t work out for them, huh.
Can leg?
… I don’t mind.
Alith shrugged and handed the belt buckle to Pestle, who somehow devoured it in one bite.
At least someone’s gotten something out of it now. Nothing else interesting here, I think, let’s get going.
Everyone returned to the wall, and the Nymphs carried them to the next location. Sofia’s fishes were still searching in the meantime, venturing deeper, and making more discoveries.
There were no more signs of the human head serpent so far, and the group searched through wrecks one after the other, again to no avail. After checking a few more, they entered the last one the fish skeleton found, which was just as empty, and sat there to think about their next steps.
It’s starting to be strange just how many of these there are. They seem not to all be from the same time, too. Is every ship ever sailing above here ending up like this?
I’m more freaked out by the lack of corpses anywhere, Alith said. Even if the snake thing is sinking the ships, it’s surely not whatever’s digging in there for the corpses. There isn’t even a trace of a fight in any of these either. Like everyone died on the spot even before the ships sank or something.
Wait, Alith… We’re dumb. It’s fucking sirens. They make everyone jump out with their hypnosis magic, we know this.
Ah shit, you’re probably right. But why weren’t we attacked when we lounged around on the surface then?
I guess we went undetected because we didn’t come by ship. Never mind all of that, though, we still haven’t found any trace of the mirror, and further down it is too dark for the Filarine skeletons to see anything.
I mean we could give em a lightstone or two, but the darker it is the more any light will stand out, if that thing is still following us we’re kinda shit outa luck here.
We’ll have to go ourselves then, between your potion and everything I can still see relatively fine, if not very far, Sofia shared, looking at the abyss below through a hole in the hull. The cliffs are also getting closer together. I might be able to see both sides swimming in the middle.
Yeah no, we gotta stick close to the walls in case that thing from above’s still around.
That’s fine, my mana senses still clearly reach both sides even if it’s starting to get blurry the deeper we go.
I- I think I’ll wait inside… Bookie chimed in, not too eager to jump into complete darkness.
Get Crowie in there to keep you company, alright? I’ll call you if we need you. Sofia comforted him with a slow skullpat.
He quickly summoned Crowie and the two entered the painted halls right away. Of course Pareth intended to stay either way, even if he could not use his armor or weapon without becoming a shining beacon of light. He seemed confident just holding the master shield in his main hand. Pestle on the other hand was in her element, flying through water just as well as thin air, and profiting from the abundant ambient mana of the ocean’s depths.
Sofia first sent the skeleton fishes to scout back up, to make sure the human head snake was nowhere to be seen, and soon the group let themselves fall down into the darker waters.
I wonder if this might lead directly to the forbidden layer, Alith commented, some eight hundred meters further down.
At this rate it very well could, but I doubt it. Probably not directly, at least, but there could be an entrance somewhe- weapons!
Everyone instantly got ready to fight on Sofia’s sudden orders. They clumped together, next to Pareth.
On the left! Shield!
The attack was silent, long and narrow chitinous spikes pierced through the water. Many first collided with Pareth’s shield, each impact so violent it sparked a short burst of light, illuminating the dark waters. Sofia hid behind Pareth’s shield while Alith defended herself, intercepting most of the projectiles aimed her way with minimal rapier movements. The ones that hit were almost all stopped by Dopple’s protection, but one left a gaping the size of a fist through her thigh.
Poisoned. She noted, although everyone in the group was immune.
The salvo of attacks only lasted an instant, whatever creature it came from still hiding in the darkness.
You’re good? They were six monsters. They retreated right after attacking.
This’ll heal in no time, I’m fine. Powerful things though, probably around our level.
Seems like they’re ambush attackers like the snake thing. They might be back.
Pesle hunt?
No, the light this made might attract more. Let's move quickly.
Without hesitation, the group let themselves fall further, Sofia stayed with her back to the wall, with the others around her.
As Sofia feared, less than a minute later, she felt the creatures approach again. There were a lot more, and from both sides.
Now!
Before the monsters could attack again, Sofia’s group struck first. Alith’s [Maiden shriek] spread like a distorted siren’s chant through the water, Pestle disappeared like a cannonball, while Sofia sent projectiles of her own, firing a continuous salvo of [Lightsoul curse] soulsnakes at the unknown monsters.
The deep waters soon returned to silence.