Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss-Chapter 273: Broodmother
The rest of the week passed fairly quickly.
The group focused on making it to the other side in peace, and on the seventh day, it finally came into view, close enough to be seen by the moss light.
Up ahead was their destination, a large cliff wall that took up the entire horizon in front of them.
The end of the cavern.
Dark. Jagged. Endless.
It rose from the depths like the spine of something old and long dead, curving high into the cavern's ceiling like a god's teeth gnashing down from above.
Somehow, the light from the moss flickered weaker here, explaining why they had to be so close to even see it.
But the lack of strong light meant there were more shadows over the cliff's face, where strange indentations ran down the stone like claw marks.
They had no idea what was waiting for them there. Was it danger or salvation?
They'd have to trust in Ren. He'd never led them wrong before.
Zuzu stood at the helm of the boat, squinting into the darkness.
"There!" She said, pointing. "A shore. I think. A rise in the stone. Maybe we can land."
The crew leaned forward, squinting.
Ren saw it too. A ridge jutting from the cliff wall, broken and uneven, but dry. A landing.
"Yes!" Thorn pumped his fists. He raised a hand into the air and yelled. "Finally!"
The sound echoed around the cavern, getting lost in the distance.
"What the fuck, Thorn?" Zuzu hissed. "Are you trying to get us killed?"
"Come on." Thorn chuckled. "We're already here. There's no way anything will attack us. The dangerous monsters have to be at the deepest parts of the sea. It's practically tradition."
And then, something moved beneath them.
A tremor.
"Fuck." Thorn swore.
Zuzu stumbled back from the helm as the water rippled, the waves moving outward like a heartbeat.
"Every part of this sea is deep." Ren said in the resulting silence.
A shape passed beneath the boat, and whatever it was, all they knew was that it was long.
The shadow created a small ripple before twisting just out of sight.
Then, another shape appeared.
And then a mass.
"Something's coming." Lilith said, standing from her crouch, eyes fixed on the dark water.
They all backed away from the edge.
"I'm sorry, guys." Thorn whispered.
And then, the water split.
With a scream that wasn't sound, the sea erupted upward as a creature tore free from the sea.
A Leviathan.
But not just any.
A Broodmother.
Her body was bloated, round with masses clinging to her sides like tumors. Dozens of smaller spawn clutched her flesh, twitching, shrieking, blind and malformed.
Her gills wheezed steam. Her eyes were wide and veined with yellow. Lining her open mouth was teeth that were individually big enough to grind them to dust.
There was no time.
She struck.
The Lady Rill shattered on impact.
The wood splintered like bone. The hull snapped. Barrels exploded. A wave of force flung them into the air.
Then, water.
Dark, cold, and crushing.
Ren surfaced first, coughing, spinning to find the others.
Then, Lilith shot past him, wreathed in soul energy and her throwing knives already in her hands.
Ren dove again.
Somehow, inside the water was brighter than the surface made it seem.
He could see far in all directions, and that meant he could see the Broodmother twisting in the water like a storm. Her spawn writhed from her sides, screaming in unnatural voices.
With that confirmed, he surged upward, breaking the water.
Lilith already had a platform of hardened soul energy that floated on the water like glass.
Ren pulled himself up on the platform, dripping wet. He dipped his hand inside his pouch,. emerging with Freedom.
"Let's get the crew!" He yelled, eyes already scanning the water for them.
"There!" He pointed to the part of the water where Elias, Thorn and Zuzu floated. "Get them. I'll distract the monster!"
He kicked forward, charging at the beast.
The Broodmother broke through the surface of the water, kicking up a huge wave of water.
Her eyes flicked towards Ren as he streaked towards her with a Push, and her tail whipped.
Not towards Ren. Towards the rest of the crew.
"Shit!" Thorn swore.
Lilith's eyes widened and she stretched her hand, a blue translucent shield made of soul energy stretching out from her hand to cover them below.
There was a loud crack as the tail speared through the hastily erected shield with force.
Luckily, the shield was enough to slow down the strength of the attack and Elias cried out as it struck him mid stroke.
He was sent flying towards the cliff, where he slammed into a rock outcrop. He went still.
Zuzu screamed as the resulting wave flung her towards the cliff.
Thorn dove, his blood bound cloak lifting him up like a flying carpet.
He caught her in mid air, manoeuvring his cloak carpet to the unconscious Elias.
Lilith screamed.
Not in fear.
In fury.
Soul energy flared to life around her. The translucent blue flame exploded around her, her eyes burning brightly.
She jumped.
The small platform of soul energy that was under her feet cracked under the pressure.
Lilith struck the Broodmother's face. One knife plunged into an eye, and a second later, she streaked through the air, the other knife plunging into the open jaw.
Ren followed, slashing into the creature's underbelly, cutting into the soft membrane between the armor plates with Freedom. Blood poured into the water.
The Broodmother thrashed, and her spawns scattered, the smaller monsters fleeing.
The cliff shook.
Ren lost his grip on the monster, but Lilith didn't.
She climbed onto the beast's head, her knives vanishing into her clothes.
She raised her fists.
Soul energy burned over her arms, crackling.
She plunged her hand into the remaining eye, shoved deep, and ripped.
With a final roar, she tore free the brainstem with a giant hand made of soul energy.
The monster convulsed, then went stilled.
Blood and black ichor flooded the sea.
Lilith floated, body swaying, breath heavy, arms limp.
Ren swam to her.
He reached out.
She took his hand.
They drifted together, past the floating corpse.
They'd made it to the end of the entry sea.
