The group of survivors didn’t wait an hour before moving, but much longer, as the thing they experienced left them questioning the decision of trying to leave this place. If there are more monsters like it, there is no guarantee they will leave this place, at least not alive.
After around five hours, August woke up, feeling a bit better. As he tried to lift himself up, he fell down to the floor, instinctively trying to use both of his arms to stand up when one of them was missing.
As he groaned on the floor, he was asked a question: “How are you feeling?” Sitting right beside him was Navia, glad to see her companion alive. Her smile vanished once her eyes darted to his wounds.
“Could be better…” He whispered, placing his hand where his right arm used to be. “Are there any warriors with missing limbs? Or am I already crossed out of the list?” August asked playfully, trying to make himself feel better.
“Your main concern is joining the order? I admire that.” She said solemnly. “If you are not paralyzed, I don’t think there will be a problem. I heard of a warrior from a different squad who lost half of his arm. If you show them that you can fight and defend yourself, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“That makes me feel a little better already.” August let out a huff. He was relieved to hear that there was still a chance for him. A slim one, but better than nothing.
Looking at him in this state made Navia wonder back to when Anglerfish’s bulb of light was cut off. “August… Did you unlock the gate?”
“Yes? I am not entirely sure… I found something, and when I opened my eyes for a moment… I did it on instinct… I don’t know what it was or how to control it… It was all on a whim.” As August explained what had happened, he became even more confused than Navia. It was as if he remembered it and forgot at the same time, mixing dreams with reality.
All Navia saw back then was a flying sword that cut the monster, while she had problems even scratching it. “Whatever it is, it’s strong. And that will be recognized by the order. You just have to learn how to use it.”
“Would you be able to help me with that?” Asked August, his voice was getting weaker, clearly exhausted.
“Well… I am not good at teaching… You should look for a proper teacher…” Navia had a strong urge to come back home, but Sie told her to heal her inner world at the monastery. “There is an Order's outpost, so I might be able to leave some kind of message…” She thought and considered what she should do. “I can take you to Monastery, the masters of gates. That is where I was heading… Because I have some work to do on my gates too, and they are the only ones who could help me. At least from the information I got.”
Their conversation was stopped when Diana came into the room and informed them, “We’re moving. Navia, I… We need you at the front, that’s the only thing that will make them move.” Taking a closer look at the warrior, Diana noticed that the wounds from splinters had already healed, and some of the heavy wounds got better. She wasn’t at full health, but it was good to see her in better shape. “This might raise the morale a bit…”
Navia was the first to step out of the storage room; all the eyes were on her. Judging her state and deciding if she is the one they will follow. It was only five hours, and she already looked better.
Yet the first words were said after August appeared behind her. “Finaly… It’s time to move. We wasted enough time already.” The person standing in the corner of the room and constantly looking through a small gaps is the planks, Benedict.
“You heard the man! It’s time to move.” Ordered Diana, which surprised Navia.
She looked back at the chef, wondering if cooking was all she did in her life. There was something in the way she spoke to the people and the basic medical knowledge she showed. “There are more interesting people than the eye can catch.”
Navia was the first to come out of the shelter with a short sword in hand, this time she didn’t rush out to attack any nearby monsters because she was aware that there weren’t any. If something was there and knew about them, it would attack them earlier.
At her signal, people began to come out one by one. The first ones were the people who seemed to trust Navia, and at the back, people came out with knives, constantly looking around, scared that something would come out.
“August. Which way?” Asked Navia, unsure where they were since it looked the same in all directions, and after the battle, it became more confusing.
The injured man nodded his head toward the direction of the exit, as if the image of it was burned into his head. A path to freedom he so desired. Navia didn’t question August and walked the road he showed.
As they walked forward, Navia constantly looked backward. People feared that something was following them, but it wasn’t a look of someone scared or concerned. It was the eye of a curious person. Diana could tell that she had picked the interest of their defender.
Diana walked alongside Isabell, monitoring her state as she was worried about her health and another heart attack that could happen since her body is weakened. Since her breathing wasn’t heavy, she walked easily without much concern.
The path was an easy one except for the odor of the monster’s guts, which were inside. Walking further away from its center, the scent was getting less powerful. There was less cover since there were barely any shipwrecks. No way to hide from monsters, and the same could be said for them. People felt safe knowing that no monster could ambush them.
Navia saw an opportunity and slowed down to move closer to Diana. “You had a different profession before becoming a cook. That’s clear to someone who has some experience in this field.”
“Is it really that easy to tell? I might’ve been a student at Highest University in Beronia.” Diana answered, side-eyeing the warrior with a light smirk.
“There are not many students who don’t fear such a gruesome sight of heavy injuries and don’t shake at the sight of Tide’s monsters.” Stated Navia.
“You’re right. I have seen many things working in the Beronian Military. Medical Force to be exact. Not much fighting with monsters, but I fought for human life. If only I had some tools, I could do something about August’s wounds or yours… At least a few hours ago…” Diana let out a light chuckle as she looked at Navia’s wounds and how they used to look.
“I’m glad that I ended up in a hole like this with you.” Laughed Navia.
“I could say the same. Never seen someone as strong as you.” Giggled Diana, truly glad that Navia was their defender.
“Then you never witnessed any captain in action. Or the Grand Master himself. You hear a single lightning strike and a hundred barnacles lose their heads in an instant.” Navia never witnessed the true strength of the Grand Master, but she heard many tales, even from her teachers. The ones who hated the fairytales the most.
The path which August saw from afar seemed big enough for them to travel through, but from up close, it was massive, and most of them could walk beside each other without pushing each other. Along the path, there were many red and blue lines, and warm wind blew from the tunnel.
Diana looked inside, with a pessimistic expression on her face, “Looks… Ominous…”
“Can’t be worse than the stomach of a Leviathan. At least it doesn’t smell as bad.” Chuckled August, looking back at the place they stayed in for a few last days.
“We are inside the most dangerous monster out there… It can’t defend itself from the inside. If I cut it all around, it would eventually die… But I don’t know what would happen to us. While it is tempting, I have to hold back that urge.” Thought Navia, looking at the veins inside the tunnel, pumping blood through them.
Navia turned around to check on all the survivors. There were only seventeen people, not many, but it means she will help more people than back on Brimwon. As she lifted her right arm, she could feel that it didn’t fully regenerate. Trying her best now to show the pain, she lowered her head for a moment. “Our path is a forward one. Could be a long one or a very short one. What matters in the end is our survival. If we stand as a group, we will leave this place whole. So hold your weapons, and we march forward!” Navia turned and moved first into the tunnel.
They walked forward without running into any obstacles. The longer they walked, the louder they could hear it. A constant echo of a drum, which was played in a monotonic rhythm. One, two, one, two.
“We must be close to its heart…” August's whisper could be barely heard because of the beat of a giant organ.
Knowing that something like that was near them only scared the people. If its heart could make their whole body tremble with a single beat, then how massive that monster truly was. It ate their whole ship, but it could be as small as its single tooth. There was no way of knowing it until they saw it with their own eyes, but none of them truly wanted that. They would rather never see that creature again.
“I don’t like how silent it is… Besides the heartbeat, I mean.” Lightly, Diana shouted so Navia could hear her.
“I share your feelings. While you can spot a barnacle from afar, the frogs are really dangerous when they know where you are. I’ll have to write a report about them…” Being in a field for a long time, Navia had nearly forgotten the worst part of being a high-ranked member of the order. The paperwork they had to do, describing the whole battles, monsters that appeared in them. “Now that I think about it… The order doesn’t know about the Anglerfish’s existence since no one could report it to them.”
Between the heartbeats, Navia heard it, the screech, the scream. There was no doubt who was coming their way. “Everyone! Run!” People ran past Navia in panic as she took out two daggers, looking deep into the tunnel. The sound was getting louder; it was approaching them quickly.
Out of the corner, a white blur appeared on a pinkish canvas. Instead of walking on two legs, it crawled using its fiendish bony hands. The Anglerfish no longer held its harpoon and cut off the muscle that held its broken leg. Driven by pure hatred, it became much faster as it saw Navia, the person responsible for leaving it in this state.
“Shit…” Navia thought, watching as the monster opened its jaw wide open and bared its fangs at her. Navia connected her daggers and turned them into a glaive, which could reach the top of a tunnel. Holding the end of the weapon, she swung it along the tunnel's side wall, making sure she only cut the artery. As the red organs slid into the tunnel, a lot of blood began to flow down the tunnel, pushing the skeleton monster away. “It should slow it down.” She turned around and ran to join the rest of the group.
She moved without much worry as she didn’t imagine the Anglerfish hurting its allay, especially while being inside it. Yet the monster sank its claws into the Leviathan’s flesh to crawl on it, away from the flowing blood. Navia turned her blood into a shield and blocked, as sharp as a spear, the finger of the monster. With a weakened arm, her guard was broken, and the Anglerfish raised its other arm for a swing.
The shield morphed into a simple long sword, which she moved to the side, forcing the bony hand to slide along its blade. Her injured shoulder moved down along with the swing, dislocated from the joint. Its long arm then flew from the side, it was too close to scar Navia with its sharp fingers, but as it hit her body with a wrist, it sent Navia flying.
The Anglerfish rushed toward Navia, disregarding the place it was in as its claws scratched and harmed the insides of the Leviathan. The flowing blood became even louder than the beat of the heart they were close to.
Using her dagger, she stabbed the monster’s flesh to slow it down, making a long and deep wound. As she looked forward, the monster was right in front of her, its bony finger right in front of her eye. Her body reacted, but barely in time. Tucking her head to the side, she was able to avoid a killing blow, but it wasn’t enough to not get damaged.
She didn’t feel it because of the adrenaline, but it was clear that she now had only one eye; her left one was sliced. Still attached to her head, but useless. Realizing that her breath became heavy as the situation became more dangerous. Losing a finger was nothing, but losing an eye was a whole different story.
The monster’s arm flew from her right, so she was able to see it coming. Unsure of how truly close it was, she dropped down to the floor. With a single swing, it sliced a deep line which twitched every second.
While on the floor, Navia used her arms to spin around and kick the monster in the head. The Anglerfish barely felt that, but she was able to push it away, even if a single foot away. She could see the monster coming her way, but she couldn’t see its right side.
Using her blood, a wide and heavy blade appeared by her side to intercept the oncoming attack. She didn’t try to hold off the attack; instead, she focused on not getting injured as the weapon collided, she was pushed away, and the wound in the Leviathan’s organ grew deeper. With every beat of its heart, the flesh slowly ripped itself apart until a hole to the other side appeared.
Both Navia and Anglerfish froze for a moment as on the other side was a chamber with a single organ in the center, its beating even louder as no wall was separating them from the heart.