The great vault, a huge drop from the second layer all the way down to the fourth layer, a gigantic drop full of giant winged beasts that will eat you alive before you can even get to the bottom.
It took every fiber of my being to not jump and see if I could survive. Seriously, a death pit has never been so tempting before.
"Marulk, is it bad that I really want to jump in right now?" I asked the boy standing next to me while staring down the great vault.
"Yes, yes it is…" Marulk replied while tightening his grip on my hand. "Being immortal is not an excuse to be suicidal."
I pouted and step back from the pit. "Fine Mr. Rational, I'm not jumping in…"
Just when we decided to turn around and look for Ozen, loud screeching sound appeared right behind us. I brandished my indestructible knife and stood in front of Marulk. "Bring it on!"
Floating right in front of me is a giant purple flying beast. Its eyes are elongated from their head like stalks while its body looked like an unholy combination of dragonfly and lizard, with a dash of uncle Lovecraft's mutant juice.
Maybe I should bring Marulk to safety first...
I jumped back and grabbed Marulk by his waist. Then I start carrying him, firefighter style, as far away from the monster as possible. "Marulk, analysis!"
"Madokajack, native to the third layer. They usually hunt in pack and aren't that much of a threat when alone," he explained in quick succession before hiding behind a big rock. "Also, turn on your intercom, I think I can help you."
I pressed a button on my earpiece. "Now what?" I asked Marulk who's putting on his goggles. "You're gonna warn me when I'm too high up?"
"Just follow my instructions, okay?" Marulk's voice appeared from my earpiece. "Now run back to the edge, there should be five more Madokajacks waiting for you there."
Five? I didn't know this is my birthday!
I ran back to the edge and saw two of the Madokajacks flanking me from the sides. "Don't mind them, keep running!" I decided to obey his words and kept running closer and closer to the great fault.
When I'm close, another, much bigger Madokajack burst out of the Great Fault and headed straight towards me. I let out a laugh in excitement at the sight of it just bursting through the layers like they own this place. "Now jump!"
I jumped as high as I can and managed to land right on top of the monster's head. I struggled to keep myself from falling down as the beast shook its head trying to get me off. "Hang on! Just a moment!" Marulk exclaimed from my earpiece.
The two Madokajacks from earlier came rushing towards me. "Get out of there now!"
I obliged and jumped off the giant Madokajack. I landed smoothly on the ground and turned around just in time to see one of the awesomest beast battle of the century. "I love you so much, you know that right?" I exclaimed while watching the two small Madokajack fighting against the giant one for dominance.
"Circle the Fault! The next one's coming from left!" Marulk exclaimed.
Without hesitation, I start circling the Great Fault. Two more Madokajack burst out ahead of me and flew straight towards me.
"Go nuts."
I quickened my pace and start running faster than humanly possible. Then I jumped as high as I can and raised my fist. With the power of five thousand men, I punched the Madokajack right between its creepy eyes, sending it plummeting down to the ground below.
Then I landed on top of the next Madokajack and stabbed its back with my knife. "All right Jacky Boy! You can either resist..." I twist my knife making it screech in pain and struggle even more. "Or you can stop fighting and be my vehicle."
The Madokajack struggled for few more minutes. But then it stopped and slowly landed on the ground after I start dragging my knife along its back. "Smart Boy Jacky!" I exclaimed before taking out some rope. "Now let's pick up my boyfriend and be done with this."
I tied its neck with a thick rope and used it to steer the beast. "Uhh, Haios, are you sure this is safe?" Marulk asked when I am close to his hiding spot.
Jacky landed right beside Marulk and I jumped off of it. I looked at Marulk who's staring at me and Jacky in disbelief. "We're in hell, there's no such thing as 'safe'." I grabbed Marulk's hand and tapped his shoulder. "By the way, you were AWESOME!"
Marulk rubbed his shoulder and gave me a sheepish smile. "It's thanks to the goggles actually..." He took off the goggles and let it hang on his forehead. Then he walked towards Jacky and took a closer look at it. "I wonder if anyone can tame a creature of the abyss or is it just you."
I shrugged and held the boy by his waist. "I dunno!" I jumped on to the beast and made him sit in front of me. "But I bet you've never ride one of these bad boys right?"
The boy smiled at me. "You're right, I haven't, Haios-chan..."
With that, the two of us soared through the second layer with the help of Jacky Boy. Being a native to the third layer, Jacky is much more capable of navigating through the winds of the second layer, though it still cannot flew near the inverted forest due to how extreme the winds there are.
This is the reason why I decided to park Jacky Boy at the bottom of the second layer below the seeker's camp. I can see Ozen waiting for us there in her casual dark brown suit instead of her armor.
"Okay Jacky Boy, that woman down there is a Category Five Badass. So remember to bow and show your respect okay?" I told the monster as the three of us landed on the ground.
Marulk and I climbed off the Madokajack and walked towards Ozen. "Bet you didn't expect that huh?" I exclaimed with a wide grin.
Ozen just gazed at me with that cold expressionless face. "I suppose I underestimated you Haios," then she hunched her back, bringing her face closer to mine. "Though, I do wonder... what will you do in the face of a fate worse than death?"
I gulped a little after hearing that. "Well... You know... I mean like..." I looked away from her a little bit. "Can you give me an example?"
A cruel grin appeared on her face. "You're a girl aren't you? You can spend the rest of your life as a little seedbed in the bottom of the abyss..." her eyes turned blank and I am starting to feel very scared. "Or you can spend the rest of eternity caged inside a prison of your physical form as the curse of the sixth layer reduces you into the shapeless husk of what you once were."
I gulped a little and took a step back. "Well it's not like..." I cleared my throat. "I'll try my best not to get into that situation."
Ozen looked at me for a moment before moving her attention towards Marulk. "Travel with her to the bottom of the Abyss," she ordered the boy. "Someone has to keep her in check. If anything goes wrong..." she chuckled a little. "Don't hesitate to kill her."
The Immovable Lord turned around and walked back to the seeker camp. Marulk and I on the other hand were left flabbergasted at what Ozen just implied. "She knew about my curse?" I muttered in disbelief.
"Well... She is Ozen..." Marulk replied, summing up the reason in three words.
"Huh... does that mean she gave you permission to come with me?"
"I don't think I have much to say on this matter..."