บท 96: Bloated Hadal Serpent, Nartak
Of course, Axio, now able to see clearly in the stagnating ocean, kept an eye on all of the things happening around, especially whatever could be a possible threat.
He firmly believed in his theory of loops and such, for no other reason that he had been the one to think of it, but he didn't discard the idea that his presence could still make things move in different ways.
He was a new cog in this rusty routine everyone here seemed trapped in, everything might break at any second, he especially eyed Nartak, the king's friend as he had been reffered as.
Though Axio had trouble seeing how a monster like this one could be friends with anyone, to the point of willingly rotting alive for years, just to protect his friend's subjects.
'Pathetic' that was what Axiolypito thought of it, he swam further and further away from the dome of purity, he wasn't worried about the rest of the marine wildlife or the knights, he may not be nearly as fast underwater as on land but he was still way ahead of those.
The serpentine fool however, he had seen him move at speed greater than what was available to the wretch at the moment, Axio could be gobbled up in an instant if he didn't pay attention, not that this would kill him but he woud rather avoid that.
Progress was made at a quick pace, nothing able to impede Axio's swimming, Nartak remained passive, although it most likely wouldn't remain so for long, the hadal snake had been following him from a distance, not so subtly as he stared right at him without letting go.
The bloated beast was waiting for something, perhaps he needed a reason to justify attacking Axio or maybe it already knew that the outsider was swift and prefered waiting for a perfect occasion, it wasn't easy to read the thoughts of a giant snake that was partly decayed.
Axio didn't even know if it was thinking at all, as mighty as it may appear, it was a monster and monster's were too greatly varied to make baseless assumptions about, when they were right in front of you, no less.
Axio would know, with the amount of monster he had needled and taken over, he had gotten to meet many alien minds and ways of thinking.
At some point, the wretch stopped in his track and looked at a cliff in front of him, he had reached one of the sides of the ocean and it definitely seemed like something was going on here, the wall was filled with caverns of various sizes, though most appeared to be the perfect width for Nartak to slid into.
Was this the snake's home? Axio doubted he could still fit in comfortably with how bloated he had become in certain spots, he would rip his body apart trying to enter.
He turned to Nartak, still appearing the same, not agitated in the least, just staring right back at him, his slit-like pupils just as usual.
'Mmh...' Axiolypito approached the caverns some more...
Still nothing from the big guy, looks like he didn't care about anyone entering.
From the corner of his eyes, as he swam next the entrances, he noticed something different.
This one wasn't natural at all, the 'cave' had clearly been carved, at least the entrance since it was a perfect hexagon, not to mention, the interior was decorated, or at been decorated, everything had deteriorated beyond recognition.
Some sort of banners or carpets floated about, pieces of them filling the inside and as he stared deeper into the darkness of this one place, Axio felt chills running along his spines, as if he had made eye contact with... Something.
At the same instant Axio noticed the oddity of this one cave, Nartak switched his demeanor entirely, his pupils becoming so thin they seemed to vanish entirely, his rotten body coiling into a spring before he charged through the dense and mud-like water unrestrained, his maw wide open and ready to deliver a crushing blow.
The wretch snapped out of his momentary stupor and turned to stare at the incoming serpent, the beast had howled during its charge, the bloop travelling through the water and shaking the entire ocean as well as Axio's very bones.
Axiolypito rushed forward in an unexpected move, diving right onto the open mouth of the snake, who didn't shut it in time to crush the pest in surprise, turning its eyes to look at itself, Nartak clearly saw the small figure exit through one of the openings caused by the rot and swim away like an arrow shot by a giant.
The bloated monster gave chase instantly, trying to bite down and swinging his own head like a battleaxe to try and end the wretch's little life but to no success, he may not be as fast as he would like, but Axio's was still a cockroach, no, he was the king of cockroaches in fact!
Axiolypito wouldn't have liked the nickname but this was what his unhurt self after being struck by blows capable of brining a titan to his knees inspired the Bloated Hadal Serpent.
How such a weak creature could gain so much power in the first place was a mystery for Nartak but it could only mean that he knew how to kill and take advantage of anything, this was why he wouldn't let him anywhere close to the king, even if slight, the possibility that this vermin could dare disturb him made Nartak's rotten blood boil.
At one point, the snake discovered what it was that the wretch was trying to accomplish, they hadn't been moving in a straight line but actually bending back around and straight toward the caves!
Realising that a puny creature was trying to trick him in such a scandalous and overt way, Nartak didn't wish to see it even come close to succeeding, coiling like a spring once more, he dropped the chase and instead went on ahead, blocking the entrance with his own body, making sure none of the holes in his body could be used to gain passage, he stood guard.
It was fine, even if he couldn't kill the wretch, he could simply remain close to the entrance and focus on swatting him away whenever he tried to get close, he would certainly give up eventually.
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