The Sunken Ruins

I didn't expect too much trouble as we sailed on the princess's grand boat that she brought from her kingdom's harbor on our way there, but I was wrong.

I had to slay three snake-like sea monsters and a few large crabs that invaded our pirate ship, but they did little but alleviate our boredom.

The most annoying part was that phoenix girl, Seraphe. She flew over to us and tried to rake my face with her talons, all while grinning. I decided to try to burn her to death as a way to say "Fuck off."

Even for a phoenix, after a few [[Fireballs]], she became KFC. It didn’t take long for her to come back though, but she didn't attack again while also refusing to return to her senses. 

This annoying bitch. 

“Thank you for the death, I am satisfied for now,” she said before taking off once more.

It seems the price for knowledge would be quite a pain. Who knows how many times I would have to deal with that annoying chicken? Why did everyone I meet besides Komoria end up being some sort of freak? My life was somehow more hectic than when I was an urchin brawling every minute of every day I could.

———————————————————————————————————————————

So... Some shit went down over our sailing trip. A lot of shit.

I'll summarize it since I really don't want to relive it. Getting marooned on an island for days, fending off pirates, and taking on a monstrous Kraken known as the Leviathan. We also found some wack-tasting green fruits which ended with Lyra to the bathroom for quite some time.

After another day of trouble, we finally arrived at our destination...or what was left of it. Wooden debris floated around like a shipwreck inside a large spinning circle with rocks with jagged edges sticking out from all over. Really gave off the vibes of that Greek whirlpool monster, Charybdis, or whatever. 

This was a ‘sailor death zone’ as they called it. The crazy chicken explained it as a place that was equivalent to the Bermuda Triangle. No one came back from here. To make matters more interesting, this entire part of the sea used to be an island where humans and beast-kin both lived, but that was a long long time ago.

“It’s like we are just walking into our death.”

“Well, sailing, but yeah. This place looks sus as fuck. And we have to dive down here. Not feeling it.”

Lyra nodded solemnly as she gazed into the rough patch of water ahead of us. The inside of the circle spun violently like a vortex, if we got any closer, our ship would meet the same fate as the others.

“Let’s depart from here. I hope you two are ready. Princess, do your thing.”

I gestured to her with a head tilt, but her sulking expression told me all I needed to know.

“C’mon. Don’t be like that. You said you wanted to be useful, right?”

“B-but what about all the tim—”

“I think you should go home. I don't need any more baggage.”

“W-w-wait! I’ll do it. Raze, I’ll do it! Please don’t make me go back to Father!”

I turned away from her and grinned. Too easy, I thought.

I faced her once more. She was blushing to the tips of her ears, her nervous gaze on the ground. I thought she would be more angry and yet she let me walk over her. I guess her other side didn’t think this was a battle worth fighting.

“Well, let’s go fix this shit.”

———————————————————————————————————————————

Sharks, large fish, and squids of many colors and sizes swam around us and sometimes crashed into each other in feats of strength. I couldn't use fire underwater and ended up relying on Lyra and the princess to protect us. Sure, I could have turned into that eldritch shit again, but my stomach ached like a bitch after whatever the hell I ate and I don’t want to be in that kind of situation again. These women are surprisingly capable, so I’ll let them prove their worth.

We couldn't communicate, but Lyra led us deeper and deeper through the ruins until we reached a large cave entrance. This was the place that the chicken told us to seek. It led to the entire underwater country that had been taken over by the Locust King.

With a fire, forest, ice, and desert climate inside it, the entrance to them supposedly changed periodically. It could take days to find where we needed to go...or so I thought.

When we were finally able to inhale air on the other side of the cave, what stood before us was a bright and lush landscape filled with trees, birds, and rich soil.

Bingo.

This was the climate where the Splitting Seed was located. I was lucky so far, but if we ran into the Locust King, I don’t think I would stand a chance with my abilities still restricted from being stuck in this body.

Of course, my real reason, which I didn’t want to admit, was so I could have Komoria back. She was the most important person to me in this world and I really fucking wanted to speak to her again.

Throughout my journey here, I caught glimpses of her memories when she was younger and her motivation to venture out of her small town and into the unknown. The memories beckoned to me as if asking me to plunge directly into them.

I wonder what would happen if I gave into it...well, now wasn’t the time to think about that.

“She said it grows close to the largest of trees. If we aim for the biggest ones, then that's our best bet,” Lyra concluded. “There doesn't seem to be any harmful wildlife either.”

I let her lead while the princess and I followed. She walked rather close to me as if to strike up a conversation.

“So…”

“What do you want? You know this is your fault right?”

“Y-yes I do. So I want to take responsibility.”

She gazed now at my crotch and flushed for some reason. I instantly covered it with my hands as if to block her gaze. What was wrong with me?

“That’s okay. Just let me whip you on the ass a few times later and that should be good.”

“O-oh really? Well then, call me to your room when you require me.”

What? What the fuck?

I was half-joking to scare her, but the exciting gleam in her eye filled me full of nervousness...and was that...panting? She’s panting?!

Was this princess actually half-dog?

I looked away, disgust written all over my face. I didn’t want to talk to her anymore...or like every again.

I decided to walk up next to Lyra who didn't even try to converse. Now that woman knows what's up.

A little while later we found what we were looking for. Under a tall shady palm tree, there was a hand-sized green pea-looking plant that grew directly out of the ground. There were three in total. Luckily, only one bite would suffice or so it goes.

I approached it, rubbing my hands together and licking my lips.

This was it. I would finally ring Komoria back, return to my original form, and also give that goddess a piece of my... Wait a sec.

I stopped walking and touched a hand to my receiver. It had been a while since I talked to the goddess. If anyone would have helped me get out of this situation, it would have been her.

So where the fuck is she?

I used the call button from my scanner that she added last time we talked. It rang and rang and at last, it picked up. It was a hectic sight, displaying the bitch-ass goddess looking away and gazing at many different bladed weapons with explosions going on in the background. Somehow she seemed lost in thought.

“Hmm...too sharp...maybe this one? No. I hate fighting!”

“Uh...goddess? The hell is going on?”

She turned around and wiped the hair out of her face. She had bags under her eyes even though she was a goddess. Did they even need to sleep?

“Oh, Komoria, nice of you to...call. Wait…”

She tilted her head narrowed her eyes and tried to figure out what was up with my look.

“I’m Raze. Komoria is gone right now. A lot of shit happened and I’m about to fix it, but what the fuck is up with you? You haven't commented on my lack of good deeds nor have you tried to find a solution to our plight. You seemed like you cared a lot about reforming me, but was that actually the case?"

“Uh, Raze… You see...”

“Not now, Lyra. I need this stupid goddess to tell me what the fuck is up with her. This is all her fault.”

“It’s not as if I forgot about you! Far from it, actually. It’s just… it’s just that we up in Heaven have had our hands full a bit. You see...Dark Heaven has made their move. They released many of our enemies from the Underworld and gave them a path directly into the heart of Heaven. Everyone has been pushed to the brink. Even a beautiful entity like myself has had to take up arms and fight. I have already killed three hellhounds and six devils since last night. It looks like this will take a while.”

“Well, uh, good luck with that...I guess.”

“Thank you. Please just don’t do anything foolish and just wait for us to push back and regain control. Hey! Do not do a Soul Duel in here! Do you hear me?!”

She shouted to someone offscreen who I had no doubt met before.

“Anywaygottagobye!” She hung up rather quickly.

“Well, that explains it, now back to the Spitting..Seed? What the fuck!”

“I tried to tell you,” Lyra said tragically. She pointed to a smaller tree to the right. There was something that had the same color as lava sitting on top of it and slowly melting it. “That slime ate them. If we don't get it from them soon..."

“You don’t need to tell me. Let’s dance you little shit!”

The slime responded to my challenge by leaping down from the tree and melting the ground below it. It would be a bad idea to get close to it.

Too bad that wasn’t an option.

The slime grew inside with a relatively humanoid body. A blue piece manifested from its right arm while its left was made of a torrent of water. Its body and head were still the color of lava with no facial or body features whatsoever. One leg was covered in moss while the other was completely frozen. I stared at its magma-infused chest as if something was coming out of it.

I dodged to the side before it was too late. A long claw shot out from its chest, aiming to grab me.

Its focus was locked onto me while the princess stood combat-ready while Lyra...well she was staring at the slime's right arm.

She was in a daze, but that didn’t mean I could lose focus. From its right arm released a blast of water and ice shards aiming directly at me again.

All the control over these elements, huh? What the hell is a creature like this doing here?

I managed to narrowly dodge the attack again, while the princess used her portals to send the ice shards right back at the enemy. They had harmlessly stuck into its jelly-like skin and dissolved back inside its burning body.

I decided to finally use my scan once more, but before I could finish it, another claw attack and vines that sprouted from the ground went for me.

“Raze, here!” the princess shouted as she sent me into a portal that led behind it.

This left me no choice. I used the [[Eldritch Evolution]] once more.

Not only did it improve my combat capabilities with the tentacles and stats, but it also gave me increased regeneration which would be critical here if I wanted to grab that Splitting Seed.

The chicken told me that the Splitting Seed was impressively resilient to heat and took a few minutes to melt down even with its soft surface. Even while it was inside it, I still had a chance to grab it.

I used two of my tentacles to pin down its legs while the other two did their best to pin the arms.

Bloodlust tinted my vision crimson as my fangs were enveloped with the saliva that came from intense hunger. It took all my willpower to not sink my jaws into something like this. No regeneration would save me from a face full of lava.

“You’re giving me that goddamn seed you lava piece of shit!”

I plunged my sharp claws into its back before following with my metal gauntlet.

“Ahhh! ARGGG AHHHHHHH!”

It burns! It fucking burns! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The slime must have been trying to absorb my flesh because I was slowly sinking deeper and deeper. Even with all the immense pain, I reached around until I couldn’t feel my hands anymore.

I pulled out to see charred elbows and nothing below it, but it didn't take long for my new limbs to sprout and so I went into it once more.

My entire world was on fire while more saliva leaked out of my mouth and onto the slime body that I had pinned. The only reason it hadn’t pierced my chest was for the distraction caused by the princess and her portals. She probably didn't try to slow down its time since slimes didn't have a brain and anything bigger would get me enveloped with it as well.

I was in so much pain that I bit deep into my lips, drawing a fair amount of blood. And yet, I continued to lose and remake my arms until I found what I sought.

The creature was getting restless now, but after many attempts and pain that would make me die over and over, my one remaining hand managed to pull one of them out.

Without hesitation, I swallowed it whole.