Chapter 492: We’ve got everyone’s back
"That’s a big squid." Cass muttered to himself.
Edgar made no comnt as even the monsters around them faded away, too intimidated by the giant beast guarding the gates of the dungeon. Cass hadn’t experienced this prior, and the mories of the other dungeons were a little...distant from Cass’ personal experience.
Now was also not the ti to recall the previous dungeons, especially when things could go wrong if he didn’t focus.
"Don’t worry, Lucy and Gideon have this." Edgar whispered. Cass wasn’t scared, at least, not really. He knew that he should be, since he was underwater, where no human had any right to be. That there was a creature facing him that he’d only seen on restaurant nus and on t.v. screens before. However, Cass was just having a hard ti wrapping his head around this.
The fear hadn’t sunk in yet, his mind forcing him to focus on remaining calm and collected because he needed to be for the magic to keep protecting everyone. It was a bit alarming that the closer they got to the dungeon, the less of a pull he felt his personal magic was having on him. Even just being close to the dungeon was helping his magic control, the flow of magic begging him to get closer.
There was just a teeny, tiny problem in their way.
A giant water beast, glaring at them from the deep with its giant, iridescent gaze. Edgar was forced to stop as Lucian held out his hand, halting both Edgar and Gideon for a mont. He glanced around them, taking in their surroundings as the water continued to grow colder. Cass could feel a tug in the water, and had a suspicious feeling that it was due to the water spiral in front of them.
"Are we going to have to kill the squid?" Cass asked and Lucian nodded grimly.
"I don’t think it’s going to let us by otherwise. I’ll distract it while the rest of you stay behind . I’ll protect you, but Gideon, keep an eye out. It would be the perfect ti for a monster to make a surprise attack. Edgar, you also keep your eyes out." Lucian’s orders were firm, controlled. He wasn’t afraid, he was planning.
Cass swallowed, watching him watch the giant squid before Cass sighed. He had his own mission to worry about.
"Don’t get hurt." Cass muttered and Lucian’s head jerked to Cass, his eyes wide. Then, his expression softened.
"You won’t nurse
back to health if I get injured?" He asked and Cass scoffed.
"You’ll attract the monsters if you bleed in the water." Cass told him and Lucian grinned.
"You hear that, everyone? No bleeding in the water." Lucian said with a grin. Gideon gave a soft laugh.
"Well, if my managent of my ability was better, everyone but Cass wouldn’t have to worry about getting hurt because I’d be able to heal you. I’ll be careful." Gideon muttered and Cass watched him silently. Then, Lucian waved his hand.
"Let’s go. There isn’t going to be a perfect ti. That thing has been watching us this whole ti." Lucian muttered. "Stay a little bit back from , but also nearby. I’ll make myself the bigger problem." Cass wasn’t sure what that ant until Lucian caught his eye. "Have a drink, Cass. You’re going to need it." That was the warning he got before Lucian took off. Gideon followed, keeping pace with Edgar and Cass while Cass fumbled with his flask. He took a large gulp, sohow keeping it safe from salt water as he did so, and then tucking it away again.
Then, what Lucian said made sense.
His human form faded away, being replaced with the giant, draconic form that was his true form. It was a marvel, and when he was fully shifted, the giant squid looked...average.
Not as scary as it used to be.
That didn’t an that his warning had been unjustified in two ways. Cass felt the colour and heat fade from him as the tug of magic on him was amplified. It was one thing to support the breathing of a humanoid dragon, it was another thing entirely to support a fully ford dragon. Cass felt dizzy, a little woozy as the magic he was casting on Lucian tripled if not quadrupled.
No one noticed, thankfully, that Cass was struggling. That was a good thing for Cass because if they knew how bad he was doing, he was sure that they would get mad at Lucian later. Or try to stop what was happening.
It was going to be okay. As long as they hurried towards the dungeon.
However, the dragon was right to warn them that other monsters would get so smart ideas. Only 5 minutes after Lucian had transford and they were on their way towards the dungeon, more of the weird rn that Cass had seen torn to shreds ca after them. They had sharp talons, large sharp teeth, and eyes that were completely black. They had large tails, two arms that were webbed for speed, and speckled bodies. They looked more like sharks than classic fish.
Cass was grateful when Gideon’s new sword ca down on them, and then less grateful when a horrific screeching filled the water. Edgar and Cass flinched, while Gideon, who had been further ahead of them for the most part, remained steadfast. He’d already had to deal with this, and now Cass understood why they had tried to stay ahead of them until now.
They had been protecting them against this horrific cone attack.
Lucian was busy fighting against the giant squid. Ink filled the water, making it hard to see what the two monsters were doing, but Cass knew he was okay. Again, his magic made it so that he was able to keep tabs on the other, even if he couldn’t see him. Gideon was busy protecting Cass and Edgar, and if a monster got too close while Gideon was already busy, Edgar would use the jets he had created to propel them away.
They kept moving, kept making their way towards the dungeon entrance. Each minute felt like an hour, each attack delaying them more and it wasn’t just Cass who was worried about Lucian. By the ti that they made it to the edge of the whirlpool going down, the cloud of ink was spreading. Cass couldn’t see a damn thing, but thankfully the pull of the magic that Cass was using had lessened just by being closer to the dungeon.
"Can you see him?" Cass asked Edgar, hopeful. Edgar shook his head grimly, even as his eyes glowed blue.
"I can’t. It’s pitch black for
too. You can still feel him though, right? Plus, I doubt that he would lose to sothing from the ocean. A dragon losing to sothing like that? It would bring sha to his whole bloodline." Edgar said it, loud enough that it made Cass wince but Cass knew what he was trying to do.
He was trying to egg Lucian on, if he could hear them. Gideon, for once, seed to get sothing right away without needing further explanation. It only took Cass a second to realise why. If anyone would know anything about taunting, it was the knight of the group. Hell, his family was ridiculously good at it.
"A dragon versus a squid? It’s obvious who would co out on top in this kind of situation. Without Cass’ magic, the dragon wouldn’t stand a chance." Gideon spoke louder than Edgar, but he was the human of the group. He had no idea how loud he would need to speak for Lucian to hear him, and he was further away from Cass and Edgar as well. It didn’t make either of them wince, but Cass swore he heard the sound of a gas stove starting off in the distance.
Cass’ lips twitched slightly, before he turned when he felt sothing approach.
"Edgar!" Cass shouted, Edgar spinning as a rman approached quickly. Gideon wouldn’t get there in ti, Cass raised his hands as Edgar began chanting. It would be too late for Edgar, but Cass’ hands were out and suddenly, horrifically, a giant ice spear ca from Cass’ hand. It froze the water around them before pushing away from Cass’ hand and slamming into the chest of the rman approaching them.
It felt like ti froze, as out of the corner of his eye Cass could see sothing dart out of the ink cloud, making a thin point of darkness appear and dragging the ink behind him. The rman froze, Gideon slid into Cass and Edgar, and the form that was darting towards them gathered all three of them up in their arms and pushed them all into the whirlpool.
No one had even a chance to gather their breath before they were pulled into the whirlpool and down. Cass barely registered what was happening until he found himself at the bottom, his breath gone as he slamd into the compact sand at the bottom of the ocean floor.
Cass wasn’t the only one, Edgar also gasping while Gideon quickly composed himself. Lucian looked rough. Not beat up rough, but ruffled. It was clear that the fight hadn’t been easy, but he was whole, he was uninjured, and he was with them.
"Everyone alright?" Lucian asked, his voice croaking. He cleared his throat, coughing before he spat on the ground, black ink turning his saliva black. "Ugh. Gross." Lucian muttered. "Last ti I eat squid for a while." Cass sat on the ground, watching as Edgar got to his feet and Cass tried to compose himself.
He’d...eaten the giant squid? Is that why it was so cloudy? What?
Cass felt that if he tried to process what had happened too much, his brain would lt. So instead he checked his magic spells. Checked his focus, going down the list to make sure that everyone was still okay.
From outside of the whirlwind Cass and the others could see more monsters circling. It was clear that they didn’t want them to go into the dungeon, but there was no other choice. Edgar brushed himself off, rubbing his ass for a mont as he watched the monsters on the other side cautiously.
"How many do you think are going to be in the dungeon? Do you think the boss monster is going to be similar to the squid?" Edgar asked and Gideon gave a shrug.
"No idea. My guess is that these guys are the grunts. Probably going to see more weird animals inside of the dungeon." Gideon offered and Edgar frowned.
"Lucy? You okay to continue?" Edgar asked and Lucian rolled his shoulders.
"I’m fine. Cass? Are you good? Not too tired? My guess is you could take a break from the breathing spell or any of the other ones you cast on us to recover a bit." Lucian suggested and Cass, finally after having checked everything, slowly got to his feet.
"I’m fine. We’re near the dungeon now so my magic abilities are amplified." Cass told them. Gideon seed mildly intrigued by that.
"Is that so?" He said slowly, clearly looking like he wanted to ask more, but stopping himself from doing so.
"Yeah. A theory I developed after casting earth magic outside of the dungeon." Cass muttered. "Anyways, we shouldn’t delay. They might not have an easy ti getting through, but I don’t know if their weapons will have the sa issue. We need to close the dungeon as soon as possible so Lucian can rest." Cass said. Edgar’s, Lucian’s and Gideon’s expressions softened at Cass’ serious words. Lucian reached out, wrapping his arm around Cass’ shoulder and giving him a squeeze.
"Thanks for thinking of , Cassy Baby. Let’s get going then. Be prepared, everyone."
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