Into the Depths

The catacombs stretched for miles. There was an eeriness to them, the graves of those who fell in the name of the gods. This was their final resting place, and they were intruders, passing through in somber silence. Will led the way, lantern in hand, Ren following closely behind. The group lagged a few steps away from the vanguard.

“This place is creepy,” Lina shivered, huddling up to Natalia. “Hero Crestfall, please hold me.”

“Can you not be so casual with Natalia?” Shisa hissed, pushing herself between Lina and Natalia. “She’s an S rank adventurer, show her some respect.”

“Hmph.” Lina puffed. “Lady Crestfall is a true hero who protected me from bandits. I’ve decided to dedicate myself to her and all her endeavors, whatever form she takes.”

“Sorry,” Shisa pulled Natalia away, wrapping a defensive arm around her. “The position of devoted life partner is already taken.”

“What am I witnessing right now?” Alan groaned, watching from the rear.

“Something stupid,” Dan replied.

“Which one do you prefer?” Shisa and Lina said in unison to a befuddled Natalia.

“Uhm,” Natalia panicked. “Hey Will!” She dashed off, running ahead to walk alongside him.

“Natalia!”

“Hero Crestfall!”

Natalia matched her step with Will’s as they advanced forward.

“You didn’t have to come, you know,” Will said. “You don’t have to force yourself.”

“It’s all right,” Natalia replied. “Had a bit of a change of heart. Plus, this whole mess is partially my fault anyway. If I had known about Kagan’s corruption, maybe we could’ve prevented all this from happening. Besides,” She smirked. “Who’s going to help you use my skill anyway?”

“Admittedly,” Will chuckled. “I’m kind of relieved you’re here. Still a lot I don’t understand about it.”

“Exactly,” Natalia winked. “You’d be lost without me.”

They walked forward ahead of the group, lost in their own conversation.

“There’s something about those two I don’t like,” Shisa fumed.

“Agreed,” Lina said.

“Do you really mean it, what you said?” Natalia whispered, leaning into Will. “About carrying my burden?”

“I do,” Will answered.

“Weirdo,” She smiled. “If you said that to me last week, I’d be really angry right now, but for some reason, I believe you.”

The came across a wider area of the catacomb. The sound of dripping water echoed, flowing down from above and forming a dark pool at the center of the room. The catacombs naturally curved downwards into it, forming a sort of bowl.

“Anyway around it?” Will asked.

The other side of the catacomb, across the dark still water, was barely visible. It was much too far to jump, and the sides of the bowl were too steep to walk across.

“Allow me!” Lina leapt forward, preparing a lantern. “Water walking!”

A bright blue glow engulfed the party, mana flowing and forming onto their feet. Lina stepped forward, standing atop the water. Will stepped forward next. His steps were unsteady, almost like he was walking across thick gelatin.

“Admittedly,” Lina sighed. “I’m not that good at water spells, but it seems to be working.”

“You cast that without being sure?” Natalia commented.

“I’m certain that my devotion to you, Lady Crestfall, would be enough to power my spell,” she huffed, hands on her hips looking smug. The gelatin water shifted under her, nearly knocking her off balance.

The group continued, slowly making their away across the dark abyss.

“Keep close,” Alan directed, his voice echoing off the cave walls. “We might need to grab each other for balance.”

“Eek!” Natalia shrieked, tumbling over.

Will reached out, catching her with one arm, just as her knife tumbled out of her pocket, sinking into the depths below.

“My knife!” Will cried. “Noo!!” it was a gift from his old village chief. It was the only piece of equipment he hadn’t managed to lose.

“Natalia, are you alright?” Shisa tried to rush forward, taking heavy steps across the uneven water.

“Uh, yeah,” She nodded. Suddenly, she realized Will was still holding her. A slight red blush erupted across her face. “Wait a minute! That’s my body! Why am I getting so flustered?” She thought to herself.

“Sorry,” Will apologized, letting her go. Lina and Shisa looked livid.

Attack Anticipation activated suddenly, an image of trident rammed through his neck, burning itself into his brain. He reacted quickly, knocking Natalia aside and drawing his sword, barely blocking the weapon as it emerged from the water below him. He looked down, and found himself looking into two fishy eyes.

“Mermen!” Dan cried.

Will knocked the weapon aside, stabbing downwards and killing the monster. A moment later, several dozen more merman emerged a short distance away, wailing at them with guttural cries and waving their weapons.

“Run!” Will directed.

The group scrambled, moving to the best of their ability, to reach the other side of the cavern. Will lagged behind, Natalia a short distance ahead of him. She was struggling to move forward.

“Give me your hand!” Shisa said, reaching out to her.

A trident erupted between just as Natalia reached out, causing her to tumble backwards. She bounced across the water surface, partially sinking into the waves like it was quicksand.

“Not good!” She flailed, only causing her to sink deeper into the water.

Will leapt forward, pulling her up just as a merman attacked. He knocked the weapon aside, switching to a one-handed grip, before chucking Natalia over his shoulder. He turned, and ran, bouncing across the surging liquid, towards the rest of the group. They were almost across now, just a few more bounds.

Attack Anticipation activated again, this time two tridents piercing his lower belly and stomach. Will cursed, leaping sideways, parrying one of the strikes and dodging the other, Natalia a deadweight over his left shoulder.

“Any other tricks I could use that could help us?” Will asked, watching dark shadows circle the two of them. They were cut off from the rest of the group, a larger number of merfolk appearing between them.

“Either Mana Blade,” Natalia yelped as Will dodged another trident. “Or Blade Ballet! But you can’t use Blade Ballet! So Mana Blade!”

“That’s that explosion attack, right?” Will asked, slicing the head off one of the merfolk.

“But be careful!” Natalia warned. “It’s pretty powerful and the first time I used it…”

Will leapt again, this time into the air. With effort, he began to focus mana into his blade. He was not a magic user, but Natalia’s muscle memory, along with the skill’s intuitive nature, allowed him to instinctively charge the weapon. The blade began to glow a radiant white, illuminating the whole cavern like a falling star. Will guessed there were as many as fifty merfolk below him. He took a split second to see where the others were at. They were on the shore, watching with worried anticipation.

Will swung, an enormous shockwave of magical energy surging from his weapon. The explosion boiled the water below, incinerating most of the merfolk and sending up an huge plume of burning steam. The steam sizzled against their skin, leaving behind minor burns. The two fell, slamming into the churning water and bouncing across it like two stones. Will lost his grip on Natalia causing her to skid away from him. The surging, boiling water tossed them about, further separating them until it finally settled down. What ever merfolk were left alive after that attack seemed to have dove far below them.

Natalia was the first to stand, unsteady feet shaking as she balanced herself atop the churning water. Will was a good distance away, getting to his feet a few seconds later. Luckily, he still had his blade. He was worried he dropped it like he did Natalia.

“Are you okay?” She yelled to Will.

“Yeah,” He replied, turning and making his way to her.

“I told you to be careful!” She scolded. She had a few patches of red-hot skin scattered across her arms and face. Those would sting a bit later if Dan didn’t heal them. With a sigh, she began to stumble her way towards Will.

Natalia did not see the tentacle before it had wrapped itself around her, dragging her into the dark abyss below.