"Luz, slow down!" Eda whispered as she ran slightly behind the girl. They went deeper into the cave as a lot of whispering, arguing, and outright roaring could be heard up ahead. They soon came upon a fissure within the cavern, the mast of a wrecked ship rising out of it. Hearing all the noise coming from down below, she and Luz pocked their heads over the cliff and looked to see a bunch of ominous figures in robes surrounding a giant blue pentagram. The Selkidomus roared at the center, but it couldn't move, being bound by several chains and mythical tendrils.
"We need to hurry this up," a goat-like demon, most likely the leader, said, "The Sparda and the prodigy of the Coven are here. They'll ruin everything if they find us!"
There's that name again, Eda mused, remembering what her sister and Nero said about this guy.
"Boss, you sure about this?" a tall, lanky looking witch asked.
The Goat glared at him, "We may not be summoning one of the Hell Lords, but it should be just as capable of getting the job done. All we have to do is summon it. No need to convince it of anything. Just a simple, rampaging beast that will do our job for us when it reaches the isles."
"Sounds like a lot of people are going to die," one of the other robed members, a dark-haired woman, said.
"Please, the isles can burn for all I care so long as Belos burns with it," the goat said and started preparing the ritual, all while Luz and Eda looked to each other in horror.
Okay, I'm all for taking down Belos, but these bastards are going too far, Eda glared down at them as the Selkidomus screamed, drowning out their chanting as the circle glowed an ominous blue. She was about to try and come up with a plan, but Luz beat her to the punch.
"Eda, you stay up here. I'll go stop these guys."
"What?" Eda looked at her ward like she was crazy, "No, it's too dangerous!"
"I have to, Eda," Luz gave a reassuring, but terrified and sorrowful smile, "It's the only way to make things right."
What is she talking about? Eda saw the guilt in Luz's eyes. The girl was about to jump down, but Eda grabbed her hand, giving a pleading look, "Luz, you can't go it alone. Remember what I said? Us weirdos have to stick toge-"
"I know! But look where that got you!" Luz shouted, causing Eda to let go and back away. The amount of hate Luz was directing at herself was downright palpable. She wanted to say something, anything, to help her kid, but before she could...
"Guys, we've been spotted!"
Shit! Eda and Luz looked down and saw one of the robed guys pointing up at them, followed by a few forming spell circles and launching fire blasts their way. Both of them ducked behind the cliffside as Eda remarked, "Well, looks like I'm involved whether you like it or not."
"Keep them busy!" the leader said, "It won't take long for me to finish this!"
"Oh, not on my watch you ain't!" Eda pulled out one of her potion bombs and shouted, "SPICY-TOSS!" before throwing it down on their attackers. The resulting explosion scattered them as she and Luz jumped down, the latter using a plant glyph to swing using the ship's mast and kick one of the goons in the face. "Alright, now listen here Mister short, old, and smells like crap," Eda pointed to the leader, "Let the Selkidomus go before I smack you around!"
"Oh please, why should we fear you?" the old goat asked as the Selkidomus screamed in agony, "You don't have any magic, Owl Lady."
Eda grunted at the reminder and threw another potion bomb, prompting a yelp from the goat demon as he quickly whipped up an energy barrier. Before she could just run up and punch him in the face, she found herself surrounded by the robed goons, all of whom had spells primed on her. In response, Eda pulled off her left arm and pointed it at them like a baseball bat, which earned her nothing but mocking laughter. Said laughter was cut off when Luz let out a war cry as she swung in on a vine, glyphs turning into fire balls that rained down on a few of their opponents. With some breathing room, Luz landed right behind Eda, both of them standing back-to-back as they were surrounded once more.
"I call dibs on the human! I need a new head to play bowling with," one of the more...deranged robed guys said.
"Dude, you have a problem."
"It's not a problem!"
"UGH! Why do we hang out with you again!?"
Luz and Eda just gave each other a deadpan glance before facing their opponents. Luz combined a pair of plant glyphs and slammed them to the floor, enveloping the first half of the goons in green vines that lifted them into the air. Eda rushed forward and smacked the nearest cult guy out with her bat-arm before ducking under a spell and throwing said arm at the attacker. The witch started shrieking as Eda's arm punched him in the face repeatedly, letting the Owl Lady toss another bomb at a charging foe. Unfortunately, she let her guard down and found herself caught in a hold from behind. She tried to break free, but lacking an arm made that harder than expected. Making matters worse, two of the goons approached, both wielding serrated knives.
"End of the line, Owl Lady," the one at the left mocked.
"Any last words?" asked the girl on the right.
"Yeah, why do you have boot on your face?"
"Wha-" was all they had time to say as Eda kicked her feet off, launching them at the goons' faces and sending them back. She slammed the back of her head into her captor's face and fell to the floor, whistling to gather all her limbs back. In no time, she reattached her arm and legs, standing tall and looking over to where Luz was, watching her kid kick some serious butt. But as Luz threw an ice blast that froze an opponent solid, Eda noticed something about the way she was fighting. It was far more reckless than usual, and that made her recall what Luz had said before all this happened.
I really need to talk to her when this is over, Eda worriedly thought as Luz blinded the last goon with a light glyph that left him reeling.
"You okay, Eda?" Luz asked as she walked over to her. Eda was about to answer, but one final scream from the Selkidomus snapped their attention back to the leader, who faced them as the pentagram glowed brighter than ever. The Selkidomus itself looked to be in immense pain as its body writhed, trying in vain to break free.
"You want some too?" Eda held her fists up, ready to throw down, but to her surprise, the goat demon smirked.
"No, just leaving you to your fate is all. Have fun with the Leviathan!" he said as he wove a spell circle that caused the ground beneath to swallow him and his goons, leaving them alone with the Selkidomus, whose screams now shook the entire cavern.
Gasping, Luz ran towards the pentagram, "Eda, we gotta get rid of that circle!"
Eda ran alongside Luz, but suddenly, the pentagram's glow became blinding. As both of them shielded their eyes, the screaming stopped, and it was then that Eda knew it was too late. Thinking quick, she grabbed Luz and bolted in the opposite direction, despite her kid's protests, and hid behind a broken off piece of the ship. She shielded Luz, eyes welded shut until the flash of light ceased. Opening her eyes, she made sure Luz was alright before noticing that an enormous shadow now loomed over them, and it only grew larger with each passing second. Fearfully, she looked out from behind cover, eyes going wide at the sight of the beast. As she panicked to find a way around it, the beast roared.
Eda could now only think one thing, We're dead.
Nero grit his teeth as Red Queen clashed against Hunter's staff, putting them into a blade lock. The Golden Guard managed to push him several feet back, zooming forward to follow up with an energy slash. Nero managed to flip to the side, launching a trio of sword slashes that Hunter avoided one after the other. Delivering one final, downward strike, Nero was caught off guard when his opponent instead teleported in a crimson flash. Feeling the air behind him shift, Nero turned back just in time to see Hunter's staff aimed point blank at his face.
Crapbaskets! Nero just barely managed to bend backwards and avoid the powerful laser blast, though the bangs of his hair were singed and his pirate hat was vaporized. He backflipped to put some distance between them before lunging forward, becoming a streak of dark blue that struck at the Golden Guard. Hunter side-stepped his attack, clearly intent on countering before King jumped from Nero's shoulder and right onto the Guard's helm.
"Hey! Get off me you little-" Hunter reached for King, who kept crawling all over him to avoid capture. Seeing his opening, Nero smirked and darted back before darting forward at even greater speeds, delivering a burning sword slash that sent sand and flames flying everywhere. The distracted Guard was sent upward alongside King, who flailed about with a high-pitched shriek. Sending a spectral hand towards the little demon, Nero caught him and pulled King back to the ground.
"You okay?" Nero said as King jumped back up to his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but how about a little warning next time you do that!?" King yelled.
"Sorry," Nero sheepishly replied as he saw Hunter flailing in the air, trying to regain his bearings. Thinking quick, he launched an ethereal arm that grabbed him mid-air, pulling Nero right towards him. As he neared, he struck, only to be met with empty air. He looked back and saw the Golden Guard now casually floating about, his staff holding him aloft. Before Nero's descent could slow down, he used his right arm and let off a fire spell, the blowback sending him flying right toward Hunter at a speed he wasn't expecting. The Clawthorne delivered a dive kick to the Guard's helmet, sending both of them crashing to the ground and rolling to regain their footing. Both of them stood tall, panting and covered from head to toe in dirt, sand, and grime. There were several tears in their attire that exposed the lacerations and burns they'd received throughout the fight.
"Okay, I'll...admit," Hunter caught his breath, rubbing at the new dent in his helm, "You're a lot tougher than I thought you'd be."
"Same to you," Nero coughed as he felt his wounds begin to heal. Even still, it was taking a lot out of him just to keep pace with the Guard's speed, having to make sure the hits he could connect counted. With his opponent still drained, Nero quickly drew up a spell circle that sent arcs of lighting Hunter's way. Unfortunately, Hunter recovered quick enough to block them all with his staff and blitz towards him. Right as Hunter came near, Nero struck the stave with Red Queen to block, sparks clashing as they flew past each other.
"Would you just give up already!?" Hunter's frustration was now reaching a peak as he skidded to a halt a ways away.
"You first, bucket head," Nero grunted, ignoring his exhaustion as Hunter was enveloped by the energy from his staff. The Golden Guard rushed for him, once more being blocked by Red Queen and landing behind before striking again as a scarlet blur. From behind, the side, from everywhere Nero wasn't immediately looking, he was attacked by an onslaught of powerful staff strikes that took everything he had to keep pace with. Gritting his teeth, he blocked over and over again as he struggled to find an opening. However, he noticed that the Guard was slowing down, pausing for breath while skidding to a stop once more.
Now's my chance, Nero readied himself as Hunter became a crimson comet one final time. Right as he neared, Nero sent an uppercut straight for the Guard's chin that managed to connect. As it struck, however, he saw that Hunter's staff connected to his chest, emitting a blast he had no time to dodge.
"ARGH!" Nero was sent flying back as the Guard was knocked into the air. He rolled against the ground, clutching at his chest and picking himself up.
"Nero! You okay there bud?" he heard King yell as he looked up, seeing the demon rush to his side. Clearly, the blast knocked him off his shoulder.
"Yeah," Nero groaned, "Fuck, that hurt." He looked over to Hunter, whose helmet was knocked off as he started getting up, and sighed, "Guess this shit isn't over yet."
"Ugh, I know," King added, "This was fun at first, but now it's just exhausting."
"What are you talking about? I'm the one doing most of the fighting here," Nero pointed out as Hunter stood at full height, shaking the sand out of his ash-blonde hair before glaring and gritting his teeth at them. This would have been somewhat intimidating if not for the goofy looking gap in his front teeth. He aimed his staff while Nero pointed Red Queen for what would likely be the final round. Before either of them could make a move, however, the ground shook and knocked them both off balance.
"What in the name of the Titan is that?" Hunter asked, struggling to maintain his footing as Nero did the same. A loud "BOOM!" sounded behind him, forcing him to turn just in time to witness the height of the ridge exploding into enormous chunks of rubble and dust.
"What the Hell!?" Nero shouted as some of the rubble flew right towards them. King hid behind him while he slashed away at any large rocks that got near, cutting them to pieces. Hunter handles them his own way, firing lasers from his staff that blew up the rest. Looking back at the Guard, he said, "Thanks."
"Just making sure I don't get crushed too," Hunter replied with a glare, "Don't assume this means our fight's ov-WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?"
Nero followed where Hunter was pointing, his eyes growing wide as dinner plates as a roar filled the sky. Flying far above them was a colossal aquatic demon with three tail fins and four orange eyes that circled back for them. It opened its mouth, a pulsing glow roaring out that launched a massive energy blast down on the beach. All three of them were forced to duck out of the way, avoiding the blast radius that left a massive crater behind.
"Is everyone still breathing?" Nero asked.
"I think I am," King squeaked out.
"Ugh," Hunter stood up, looking to the monster that circled them overhead, "Giant, super powerful, and doesn't seem native to Limbo. I'm betting this thing's from one of the lower circles and the Rogues summoned it."
"Rogues?" Nero asked, "You mean those robed guys?"
"You fought them?"
Nero nodded, but a buzzing in the pocket of his pirate jacket caught his attention. Reaching, he pulled out the device Luz gave him and Eda, a tama-whatsit. He couldn't really recall the name, but they were kinda like scrolls and birds in that they allowed them to keep in touch, with this one sending a message from Luz. A series of shapes and symbols appeared on the tiny screen, but Nero couldn't read any of them.
"What's Luz saying?" King jumped to his shoulder.
"No clue. Can't read any of this," Nero scratched his head, "I think maybe she's trying to warn us the giant asshole flying overhead, but it's a bit late for-"
"Wait, turn it to the side."
"What for?" Nero's question was met with King jumping to his hands and doing just that, letting him see the words the symbols made out, "Oh...that makes way more sense." Nero cleared his throat and spoke out the message, "Trapped in Leviathan belly. Please help."
"You mean to tell me they're inside that thing!?" Hunter asked, pointing to the beast as it continued circling the small isle. Whether it was mocking them or waiting for their next move, Nero didn't know.
"Seems so," Nero put the device away, staring at the creature with worry for his aunt and friend trapped inside it.
"But how are we gonna reach it?" King asked, "Last I checked, neither of us can fly and I'm not so sure waiting for that thing to come down to us is a good idea."
Good point, Nero pondered over that fact, trying to figure something out, but then Hunter coughed and drew their attention. Annoyed, Nero asked, "You're still here?"
"Yes," Hunter's staff glowed, grabbing his helmet, "Now, I'm gonna be completely honest with you," he put the helm back on, "I don't like you, and you don't like me."
"Gee, what gave you that idea?" Nero deadpanned and crossed his arms.
"But we're both exhausted from fighting each other. I can't kill it by myself, and neither can you," Hunter pointed to the Leviathan, "And if neither of us can kill that thing, it's gonna rampage across Limbo until it reaches the isles. If it does, countless innocent people are gonna die."
Shit! Can't let that happen! Nero glared at the beast for a second. Between his family trapped in its stomach and his previous fatigue, he didn't even think about that.
"So rather than make a big speech about a common foe or anything like that," Hunter sat on his staff as it floated in the air, "Let's just skip to the part where you hop aboard so we kill this monster."
"All while keeping in mind that this changes nothing, and we go right back to trying to kill each other when we're done?"
"Exactly."
"Fine by me, now move over," Nero got onto the staff, riding it like a board and holding his hand out for King, who jumped on and climbed to his shoulder. Seeing that everyone was on, Hunter flew them upward at high speeds, flying them just behind the Leviathan and following its trail.
"Man, this whole sequence reminds me of when Ruler and his subordinate, Francoise, were forced to team up with their sworn enemy to defeat the Great Usurper!" King excitedly said.
"Wait, that sounds like-" Hunter looked back at King as they flew high above the Leviathan, "You read Ruler's Reach too?"
King started looking rather smug, "Read it? Who do you think wrote it?"
Despite wearing a helmet, Hunter somehow managed to look both flabbergasted and awe-struck, "You mean you're the author!? W-Wow, this is so awesome! Can I get your auto-"
"Dude! Fight now, fanboy later!" Nero chastised as he looked down and yelled at King, "Hold on!" before leaping off the staff and free falling for the Leviathan's back. As soon as they neared, he threw a spectral arm and latched on, pulling himself towards it. Holding onto the beast's back, he stabbed Red Queen into it and clung for dear life.
"Please tell me you have a plan!" King screamed.
"Nope!" Nero started stabbing the Leviathan's hide over and over again, Dammit, this thing's though! Just hang in there you guys!
Luz ducked under the scythe swing with a loud yelp; it was one thing to get eaten, but there being demons inside was even worse. Luz threw out an ice glyph that froze the demon on impact, hoping to give herself some breathing room. There was hardly any time for that, however, as a yell from Eda forced her to turn just in time to avoid getting hacked to pieces by another scythe-wielding demon who then shattered its frozen ally without hesitation. Besides being hostile enough to make those flesh-eating fairies seem nice, they were also tall, lanky humanoids with weird masks and large bulbs of flesh on their backs. Probably the most disturbing thing about them was that none had any skin and were just shambling masses of exposed muscle.
If I hadn't already been eaten by a demon once, I'd probably be puking right now, Luz thought. She whipped out a plant glyph and ensnared the demon in vines before throwing it off the current pathway, sending it far below and probably into stomach acid. Just behind her, she heard an explosion from one of Eda's potion bombs, diverting her attention to see Eda kick another demon off the fleshy walkway while her severed head was biting into the arm of another. As it shrieked in pain, Eda's body walked up to it and delivered a powerful kick right in its crotch. Oof, demon or not, that had to hurt. Luz watched the demon slump to the ground before Eda stomped on its head, crushing it into green goop. The rest of its body melted away in what looked almost like bile.
"That was...gross," Luz said as Eda reattached her head.
"Sadly, I've seen grosser things at the Night Market," Eda said as the entire Leviathan shook. "Sounds like a fight's going on out there."
"Then we better keep moving. There's gotta be an exit around here somewhere," Luz added as she began walking down the walkway, where they entered a mucus and slime filled hall. Ignoring that for now, she pulled out her notebook and started writing down everything she could about her current environment for later magic training notes, as well as using the pages to draw up more glyphs. Throughout their travels in the Leviathan's stomach, they came across what looked like a giant Spanish Gallion, the ruins of an old Victorian castle, and leftover buildings among other stuff, all of which could only mean one thing.
"How did this thing get to Earth to eat all that?" Luz wondered out loud. For a second, she thought an answer to her current "stuck with no way home" problem might involve whatever brought this thing to Earth, but then she recalled how the Leviathan was summoned in the first place and chucked that idea into a fire. Anything that required sacrificing someone else to get her way was an avenue she wanted nothing to do with.
"I don't know," Eda replied as the two of them avoided the puddles of acid that littered the halls. Soon as they brushed past a membrane-like entrance and into what looked like an intestine, which thankfully didn't have any acid puddles from what could be seen.
And how badly do you have to screw up that no acid puddles in a giant demon's stomach is the silver lining? Luz admonished herself, but kept to writing in her notebook as a distraction, First Eda loses her magic because of me, then she has to sacrifice so much just to make sure I can eat, then that innocent Selkidomus dies because of me, and now we're stuck in a demon's belly because I was too slow to stop those guys from finishing their-
"Luz," Eda snapped her out of it, both of them stopping, "I think we need to talk."
"Can it wait until we're out of here?"
Eda shook her head, "No, it's about what you said earlier." Her expression became terrified, something Luz wasn't used to seeing on her mentor, "When you said that what you were doing was 'the only way to make things right'. What did you mean by that?"
Luz wasn't sure she wanted to answer, but thankfully, she didn't have to. The ground shook, and the walls spasmed, a high-pitched roar echoing from behind Eda. They both looked down the intestinal hall and saw what looked like a giant tapeworm crawling right for them. Running ahead, Luz yelled, "Eda, get behind me!" before throwing a pair of ice glyphs that froze its head, "I'll hold it off."
As the beast smashed its head among the walls to try and shatter the ice, Eda yelled, "Luz, you can't! We have to stick together to get out of here!"
"Why? So I can make your life worse?" Luz snapped, facing Eda as her voice became more strained, "Look around! Because of me, you lost your magic, you almost died, and you can barely afford to make ends meet. You wouldn't even be stuck in this thing if it weren't for me!" Eda went quiet as Luz's breath heaved. A sudden roar and the shattering of ice forced her attention back on the freed worm. "Eda, just go. I'll catch up to you as soon as I can, but if I'm gonna set things right, I have to handle this alone."
Luz heard Eda yell at her, but she didn't listen, instead letting off a fire glyph that the tapeworm withstood before charging. As it neared, she combined a pair of light glyphs that emitted a giant flash, causing the worm to back up and screech. However, it recovered quickly and started charging forward again, the narrow tunnel giving no way past it. Luz was about to set up a barrier of vines that would hopefully slow it down, but a trio of potion bombs flew overhead and into the beast's mouth. A series of booms came from inside its throat before it coughed up smoke.
"Hang on!" Eda grabbed Luz, despite her protests, and bolted down the hall. From Luz's position, she could see the worm recover and speed right for them. Eda ran as fast as she could, just barely staying ahead until she managed to jump into a small opening that led into another passageway. The worm ineffectually banged against it, unable to fit through, letting Eda run down and gently place Luz on the floor when they were safe.
"Eda, what are you-"
"Luz, just stop and listen for a minute!" Eda yelled as she knelt down, "I get that you want to help me, but all this recklessness isn't going to work, and this is coming from me! You keep saying you've made my life worse, but I don't see it that way," her expression softened and sounded like she was starting to tear up for a moment, "You helped me find King's crown when you barely knew me. You saved me from Belos, helped me at least start patching things up with Lily. Hell, if you hadn't dragged me to that Covention, I'd never have met my nephew. Bad things happened, sure, but so did a lot of good stuff too." Eda looked away, as if trying to find the words, "So no matter what you believe..." she then looked her dead in the eye, "My life's pretty great because I'm friends with Luz the Human."
"E-Eda, I..." Luz sniffled, her own tears threatening to spill out, which ceased when Eda poked her forehead.
"Now, please, for your own sake, don't feel so guilty about everything," she stood up, holding out a hand, "So that us weirdos can get out of here together."
Feeling a genuine smile return to her face, Luz nodded and took the hand. Both of them started down the passage, once more pushing past gross slimy walls, all the while Luz felt lighter than before. The guilt she felt was still there, but she could put it aside, at least for now. It also helped that she was too focused on the light at the far end of the tunnel to truly pay that any mind, running alongside Eda to the end and exiting to find themselves in another pulsating, spasming room made up of tissue and membranes.
"Where are we now?" Luz asked, looking around before her eyes landed on the room's centerpiece. Behind a large, transparent, membranous wall was a trio of giant...hearts? She assumed they were hearts at least, though one to the left had several red crystals in it, not to mention what looked like teeth at the bottom end and all of them had weird lines and symbols running throughout. Before she could wonder any further, the Leviathan shook again, reminding her of the fight outside.
"Damn, doesn't sound too good out there," Eda remarked, concern evident in her voice, "Wish we could do something."
Staring at the hearts and pressing a hand to the barrier, Luz got an idea, "Maybe we can." Eda raised an eyebrow at her while Luz pulled out a sheet of paper and smirked, "Want to learn your first glyph?"
Hunter soared higher, following the Leviathan as it flew directly upward into the sky. For a moment, he looked back down and saw the ridge they were on now far below. He looked back, only able to make out the silhouette of the demon as he caught up, soaring through the clouds and reaching its back. Eventually, they burst above the clouds and into the afternoon sky, the sun shimmering of the Leviathan's scales as it roared. Hunter watched as it fired off a blast into the air, turning and facing him to shoot him down. With a spin, he narrowly avoided it, briefly seeing Nero and his demon friend hanging on for dear life from one of the Leviathan's eyes. He ducked under the beast came up with a new idea.
Hide on its back's too thick, let's try the underbelly, Hunter thought and took aim, firing a precise blast that ran the length of its stomach. Unfortunately, it didn't work, as the scales underneath were just as thick. So far, he and Nero have been hammering away at it and nothing could put a dent. Better regroup, see if we can come up with something else, Hunter flew as fast as he could, catching up to the Leviathan and nearing its face.
"Hey!" Hunter shouted as he saw Nero and the demon on the eye with Nero's sword impaled through it. "Hop on!"
Nero removed his blade, now slicked with blood, from the eye, and the Leviathan roared in pain and tried to shake Nero off. Its flight path grew erratic, forcing Hunter to veer away from it while Nero found his footing, running along the snout before leaping off into the air. He threw out a spectral fist that grabbed one end of Hunter's stave and pulled himself aboard.
"Good news! I found a weak point. Bad news is there's only four and they're a pain in the ass to get to," Nero said.
"And that mouth laser almost shook me off!" the small demon screamed.
"Alright, I got an idea." Hunter increased his speed, firing a few energy blasts at the demon's face to aggravate it. The Leviathan was hot on their trail, but Hunter zoomed far ahead to get enough distance for his plan. Once they were far enough, Hunter jumped and hung from his staff, letting it act as a makeshift bazooka like the ones Blight Industries sold. "Steady, easy..." he stilled his breath, waiting until the beast neared enough and its eye was in position. "NOW!" A beam of pure energy struck the Leviathan's upper left eye, blowing it to smithereens.
"HELL YEAH! WAY TO GO!" Nero yelled while his friend punched the air. Despite their alliance being temporary, Hunter couldn't help but smile at the praise. Of course, it was understandable, as praise and respect were only deserved for accomplishing one's tasks efficiently.
"HA! Two down! Two to-LOOK OUT!" the small demon yelled, forcing Hunter's attention back to the Leviathan as it charged for them. He was able to get aboard his staff and veer them out of the way as the beast flew high above them once again. From the looks of it, the Leviathan was gonna fly so high that it'd be impossible to reach. He had to act quick and blind it before-
"KING!" Nero yelled, making Hunter aware of a high-pitched scream as he looked down to see King plummeting. Before he could even process that, Nero jumped down after him, entering a dive.
"Oh you gotta be fudging kidding me!" Hunter slapped his helmet and looked back up at the Leviathan. If he went after it now, he could take out the other two eyes and leave it helpless. But then Nero and King would plummet to their deaths. He shook his head, his thoughts sounding almost like Uncle's voice, You have a job to do, Golden Guard. The Clawthorne and his pet are an obstacle. Leave them to their fate. It's the boy's fault he decided to do something so foolhardy in the first place. But then he recalled how, despite having the opportunity to stay silent, Nero spoke up in his defense against the Emperor, willing to share the blame for something that was entirely his own fault.
"Ugh! Titan darn it!" Hunter became a crimson blur, zipping down at blinding speeds and catching up to Nero right as he caught King. Holding out his hand, he grabbed the two and pulled them back on. As he flew back up, he asked, "You two okay?"
"Yeah, I-I'm good," King whimpered, still shaking off experience.
Nero, meanwhile, gave a smile and thumbs up, "Yeah, thanks for the save."
"Don't mention it. Let's just say I owed you one," Hunter replied before focusing on the Leviathan as he flew through the clouds, "Let's just hope that thing didn't get too high up for-" suddenly, the air around them shook. An ear-piercing roar echoed around them and drew closer. It sounded like the Leviathan, but this wasn't the rage from before. It was almost like it was in agony. It kept going and going until it finally ceased, leaving only the sound of billowing winds. "What the heck was tha-" Hunter was cut off as the beast's familiar giant shadow drew close.
"WOAH!"
"WEH!"
"SHIT!"
Hunter flew out of the way, barely avoiding a fin as all three of them looked down to see the Leviathan sprawled out, not moving an inch. He followed it, bursting out from beneath the clouds and watching as it plummeted to the ridge with a mighty crash on its back. It landed on its back atop the destroyed structures of the miniature island, head hanging above and covering half the cave entrance.
"Did...did it just die?" King asked, equally as befuddled as Hunter was feeling.
"Looks like it," Hunter landed, allowing his passengers to hop off and run up to the giant corpse, "No idea how though."
"I think I might know how," Nero hummed before pulling out that device from earlier and started pushing buttons, King helping him figure out how to send a message.
Hunter looked over Nero's shoulder and asked, "You think the human and the Owl Lady killed it?"
Nero nodded as he finished sending the message, "They probably fucked something up inside the thing. Can't think of any other reason why it'd just drop dead after only getting two eyes blown out." Hunter thought it over and accepted the reasoning, not seeing any other way. All three of them stared at the device, waiting for a response, but after over a minute, nothing came up. Nero typed another message, looking a lot more nervous than before, whispering, "Come on. Pick up you guys."
"I'm sure they're fine," King said before staring at the demon corpse with worry, "A-At least I hope they're fine."
"Think one of us should try to enter it and-"
"WHAAAAA!"
Hunter was cut off as he looked far in front of him, where the human seemed to have landed on her backside. She sat up and shook her head, at which point the Owl Lady came out from somewhere behind the Leviathan's head and landed on her feet.
"Or they got out just fine," Hunter finished, watching as the outlaw helped the human up while Nero and King ran over, yelling their names in relief. They started doing...something with each other. Hunter didn't know what it was, but they all had their arms wrapped around one another. Was it some kind of display of affection? Either way, he headed over, looking up at the corpse until the eyes were visible. From the looks of it, the duo manages to get out through one of the empty eye sockets.
"BLEGH! You two definitely need to clean off when we get back. You reek!" King pinched his nose, Nero seeming to pick up on the scent as well and waving it off. Hunter would admit that the stench of blood and demonic innards was starting to stink something fierce. The human and Owl Lady, however, simply laughed it off.
"Ha! Yeah, I guess we do," the Owl Lady wiped a piece of a flesh-like membrane off her coat, "Blowing up a demon's heart with fire glyphs will do that."
Glyphs? Hunter mused. Were they talking about the Wild Magic the human used? Could the Owl Lady use it now too? Did that mean it could be taught? Despite Uncle's warnings about Wild Magic, he listened in on the conversation, wanting to know more.
"Damn! Talk about a serious case of heart burn," Nero chuckled.
"Don't keep us in suspense. Tell us all the squeamish, gory, gruesome details," King demanded in excitement. Hunter wasn't sure if that was worrying or not.
"Technically it was three hearts, and I'd rather not think too hard about that. But I'll say that it was super awesome! And really gross, but mostly awesome!" the human cheered, but to Hunter's confusion, that smile faded away. Why? Weren't they successful?
"Luz, something up?" Nero asked.
The Owl Lady knelt down and met Luz at eye level, "Hey, you're not going all guilty on us again, are you?"
"Sorry," the human shook her head, "Guess I'm a bit bummed since I couldn't save the Selkidomus from those guys."
Ah, that makes sense, Hunter mused. In spite of killing the demon, she still failed in her mission. The girl was clearly worried she'd be facing punishment for said failure. For as much as he didn't know nor care for the human, he could understand her fears and hoped that her mentor wouldn't reprimand her too severely.
"It's okay Luz. You did the best you could," the Owl Lady did that thing with the arms again, wrapping them around Luz as she did the same. Nero gently placed a hand to her shoulder and looked understanding, and expression that King shared. The sight further confused Hunter as he tilted his head. Weren't they supposed to be chastising her for failure? Why were they providing comfort for it?
"EHEM!" Hunter coughed, gathering everyone's attention. Luz pulled out a piece of paper while Eda readied the last of her potion bombs, prompting Hunter to raise his hands in peace. "I'm not here to fight anymore," he said, "I'm simply saying now that the Leviathan's dead, I'll be taking my leave. As thanks for helping kill it and thus preventing it from reaching the isles, you're free to go for now."
"Huh, that's...pretty generous for the Emperor's top goon," Nero raised an eyebrow.
Hunter scoffed, "Call me what you want, but with the Selkidomus dead, my mission's already complete," a lie, given that there was no longer a corpse to return with, "So I have no further reason to stay here," with that, he turned and made way to leave and hopped aboard his staff. He gave the outlaws one last glare and warned, "Try to stay out of trouble, or you will face the Emperor's wrath next time we meet."
With that as the final word, he flew away, not feeling particularly jubilant with his failure to secure the Selkidomus for his uncle. It was likely he needed it for something important, and Hunter blew it. All he could do now was report everything that happened. With the involvement of the Rogues, perhaps the emperor would be a touch more lenient?
Right?
Eda watched as the coven's golden boy vanished, becoming a red comet soaring across the sky. Once he was out of sight, she clapped her hands and said, "Welp! We better start heading home. Gotta make sure Hooty and Graff haven't burned the house down. Or that Lily hasn't tried to kill Hooty."
Nero let out a loud yawn and rubbed his eye, "Yeah, after all that, I'm exhausted."
"Me too! King wants nappies!" King added, though he seemed too energetic to be tired.
"Wait," Luz held a hand up and looked back into the cave, "Do you guys hear something?"
Eda opened her mouth to ask what she meant, but then she heard it; a loud, scared cry that echoed within the cave. Narrowing her eyes, Eda took a step forward and saw something move in the cave's darkness. Luz gasped and ran towards it, the figure backing away slightly.
"Luz, get back. Whatever it is, you're scaring it," Eda said, slowly walking up to her kid, And when a wild animal's scared, it's a roll of the dice on if they'll bite back.
Luz nodded, but still approached it, hands placating, "Hey little fella. It's okay, we're friendly," she knelt down, "You can come out. I won't hurt you. I promise."
Eda could make out the silhouette of the creature as it backed away a bit more, though not as much. She could see the eyes and how they shimmered in the dark. Slowly, but surely, it was coaxed out, revealing the animal to be a grey-purple little thing with black eyes and a sapling on her head. Upon sight, Eda realized what she was and gasped, "A baby Selkidomus."
Eda heard Luz's breath hitch as she moved a touch closer, the Selkidomus trusting her enough to close the gap. Holding her arms out, Luz embraced the sea creature as it let out a low, sad whistling sound.
"I'm sorry," Luz bitterly whispered, nuzzling the Selkidomus' cheek, "I wish I could've saved her."
Eda turned to Nero and King, who looked about the same way she felt. She walked up to Luz and knelt down, arm rested on her kid's shoulder, "Luz, I-"
"That's it!" Luz suddenly perked up.
"Wha-"
"Eda, we're bringing her home with us."
"Whoa, wait a minute Luz," Eda stood up and gave her student an utmost serious look, "We can't just bring a baby Selkidomus home with us. They belong out here in the wild."
"She won't last long out here without her mom," Luz countered, causing a whimper from the baby. "Shsh, it's okay," Luz whispered to her with a light hug, "I miss mi mama too."
Eda sighed, "Okay, point, but we're struggling financially as is."
"Then we'll take up more bounty hunting jobs! Whichever ones pay the highest," Luz then added, "Uh, after we read the fine print so we don't accidentally do Belos' dirty work, of course."
"I...I just-" Eda found herself unable to say no as Luz's eyes grew more pleading. The Selkidomus' own sad eyes made it downright impossible to fight back. She snapped her head back to Nero and King, "Guys, please back me up here!"
"Nah, I'm with Luz on this one," Nero immediately said, seeming to enjoy Eda's inability to resist the sad eyes.
"As long as that thing doesn't try to eat me or usurp my place as Luz's best friend, I'm fine with it," King harrumphed and crossed his arms, opening one eye and looking at the Selkidomus, "I guess."
Feeling her eye twitch at being outvoted 3-to-1, Eda dragged a hand down her face and groaned, "Fiiiine, you win. We'll take her home with us."
"YES!" Luz cheered, giving the baby a squeeze as it cooed happily.
"BUT!" Eda added, "We gotta set some ground rules. First and most important, this is temporary. Like it or not, she's gonna have to head out into the wild eventually. So she'll only stay with us until we can find her a new home with another Selkidomus pack, okay?"
"Got it!" Luz saluted, drawing a light chuckle out of Eda.
Clearing her throat, Eda continued, "Second, we need to keep her away from prying eyes. We know that the Emperor's Coven's hunting these things down. They find out we have one, and we'll have more on our plate than we can handle. Third and finally, until we find her a new home, you'll be responsible for her. I already got my hands full with Hooty, you, and those two back there."
"Hey!" Nero and King yelled.
"It's a hard truth you two, live with it," Eda snarked and asked Luz, "So, think you can handle that?"
Luz nodded and, with a determined stare, said, "Don't worry, Eda. You can count on me."
Smiling, Eda hugged Luz, "Always will, kiddo. Always will."
Luz hugged back, and the five of them stepped into Eda's flying bathtub. After a rough start, Eda managed to get the motor going, the group flying above the boiling sea and back to the mainland. As they flew, Eda couldn't help but get a bad feeling about this. They didn't get the money, were adding a new mouth to feed, and were probably just placing a bigger target on their backs in doing so. She'd just started learning glyphs, so she didn't have confidence in her ability to ward off threats to the Owl House. Sure, Hooty would be able to manage, but there was only so much he could do.
But then she saw Luz gently hold the Selkidomus up, letting Nero pet her. Lily's kid smiled and commented on how he'd always wanted a pet, but could never get one. King pointed at the animal and tried to tell her she was part of his "Dark Army" now, only to be licked in the face for his troubles. As King wiped the saliva away, Luz and Nero laughed their asses off. It took a bit, but even King joined in with them as the Selkidomus clapped her flippers. All of them were safe right now, but more importantly, they were happy. Her family was happy.
Know what? Eda let a small grin make its way to her lips, Worth it.