The next morning Cass stood squinting at the edge of the cliff, staring out where the mercenary pointed once more.
Like the Priests, Cass realised he could sense the general direction of the dungeon. However, just like them he couldn’t exactly say for certain he knew where it was. It was more of a vague sense that it was to the right when looking out over the cliffs, in the water, but that was about it.
The head mercenary used to be a sailor, which was why they were able to pinpoint where the dungeon was located. According to them ’the ocean looked hungry’. Whatever the hell that ominous phrase meant.
Lucian was able to fly over, pin point the location, and fly back. He did so in his half shifted form so that he wasn’t as obvious of a beasty, but Cass didn’t think that was possible for him. Plus, he was supposed to be ’hiding’ that he wasn’t human, but it appeared that cat was out of the bag.
The Priests flinched when a pair of giant, dark red wings tipped in black exploded from Lucian’s back. So fast that a wind tore up around them, forcing Cass’ hair to flutter around his eyes. Lucian’s height shifted, growing just a few inches taller, his hands becoming thicker, with thick nails at each point. Talons, more like it.
And those dangerous horns curling out from the top of his head. Scales covered his body, highlighting only the most dangerous, deadly and delicious spots on his body. Cass was busy trying not to be distracted by him, speaking to the mercenaries about what kind of monsters they had spotted throughout the night. However, when Cass caught sight of a wing he had to look over.
That was when he caught Lucian’s eye and he winked, reaching up and pulling down his bottom lip to expose thick, dangerous fangs. From what Cass could see, he had two sets of canines. One set was smaller, looking like the original canine teeth while the second set was larger and thicker.
It was clearly meant for rending and tearing flesh, and damn it if Cass didn’t feel his knees go a little weak. It was Edgar who shoved the dragon, surprising many of the others around him except Lucian.
Lucian had laughed at Edgar’s action, chuckling before he’d gone for his scouting mission. When he’d come back he had informed them that he had seen the giant squid. It had grown bigger compared to the last time that he had seen it. That meant it had probably eaten something, hopefully not someone, and they were going to have a harder time dealing with it.
That would explain the low sightings of other monsters, even those that were curious about the sudden appearance of the stairs. Cass had kind of hoped that his actions would attract some of them so that they could catch them and examine them. He was hoping for weird fish hybrids, but they hadn’t even seen them. They had only seen mermen, and they hadn’t come onto land. They had thrown weapons at the mercenaries that had gone down the steps, failing to hit them due to the railing that Cass had made.
That alone was interesting to him, but Cass knew that he shouldn’t get his hopes up. Mermen and mermaids were probably far more monstrous here then they were in the novels that he had read. He should imagine more of the siren-esque images that he’d seen before mermaids became mainstream.
Gideon had already warmed up his body, waking up early compared to the others to relieve some of the watch so that he could wrap his mind around what would be in the dungeon. Cass was sure that the man was a little nervous since he was going into the dungeon as the only full human and a newly crowned saint.
The sky darkened just as Cass finally made his decision about when they were going to go into the dungeon. Rain began to fall about twenty minutes after the sky began to darken. The first time that Cass had really seen rain in this world in the two months that he had been here.
Lucian was the one who made the shield above Cass, Edgar, Gideon and the others, kind of like an umbrella. Cass was a little annoyed at himself that he found it so damn impressive that he could do that, and then realised that the others were impressed outside of Edgar and Gideon, so he felt a little less upset.
"We better get moving soon. I have a feeling that the area is only going to change more the longer the dungeon is around. Look at the water. It looks angry." Lucian commented, forcing everyone to look out.
"Is that...a whirlpool?" Cass asked, shocked, and the head mercenary looked over at him grimly.
"Yes. Right over the dungeon." Well, that truly wasn’t good.
Cass began casting the magic that they would need. He made sure to layer it, including protective magic so that their clothes remained dry and they remained warm along with being able to breathe underwater. Lucian, much to Cass’ embarrassment, handed over the flask that he had helpfully filled up again that night. Cass didn’t let his own discomfort get the better of him.
He took a healthy swig when he felt his powers begin to fluctuate, the flask helping him keep stable as he worked.
Gideon and Edgar were busy talking to the others, making plans and giving them estimations of when they thought that they would be out. Gideon said they could be in as long as 2 weeks, while on the low end they would probably be inside for a week. Cass agreed with his statement in the back of his mind, focusing more on the magic.
Soon, they were ready to go. Cass could feel the layers and layers of magic on his body. It felt a bit constraining, like he was in a low oxygen environment, but it wasn’t entirely uncomfortable. Lucian was clearly not happy with it, but he didn’t protest when Cass layered him with magic. Gideon looked like he was truly preparing himself.
"Formation down the stairs?" Lucian asked and Cass nodded, Lucian and Edgar stepping down first, Cass and Gideon following. Cass didn’t say a word to anyone else as they descended, his mind focused on making sure that their magic didn’t drop. He closed the cap on the flask, tucking it away into the inner pocket of his jacket.
The sound of the waves hitting the cliffside down below, the smell of salt on the breeze, the sound of the rain hitting the rocks and grass. It was a rather potent combination, so much so that Gideon had to make sure that Cass didn’t slip down the stairs.
"How fast of a swimmer are you, Cass?" Edgar asked and Cass blinked slowly, his body heavy with the magic he was casting.
"Mm. I don’t think I can swim." Cass admitted and all three of them froze.
"What?" Lucian asked, horror filling his expression as he realised that he’d forgotten to ask a very important question. "You can’t...swim?" He asked and Cass gave a slow nod.
"Yeah, but I was just planning to use the water to push myself forward." Cass told them. "That’ll work, right?" Cass asked and Lucian stared at Cass before he blinked, shaking his head.
"You didn’t...even consider not being able to swim an issue, did you?" Lucian asked and Cass shook his head.
"No. Not at all. Magic exists, and I knew that you wouldn’t let me hang in the water alone." Cass said. Something shifted in Lucian’s expression and Cass wasn’t able to place it. He dropped his head for a second, letting it hang before he sighed. When he raised his head again, he was beaming.
"You’re right, of course. Alright. My suggestion is to make a jet of some kind to propel yourself forward. Point it behind you. You can do that while also casting the magic that you’re currently doing, right?" Lucian asked and Cass hesitated.
"Um, not so certain I can do it outside of the dungeon." Cass admitted and Gideon and Lucian slid their gaze to Edgar. He was already steeling himself.
"No worries. I can help there. I’ll be your jet." Edgar promised, smiling. Cass nodded and they were moving once more.
When they got to the edge of the last steps, staring out at the storming ocean in front of them, Cass felt a shiver run down his spine. Now that he was close to the water he could feel the pulse of demonic energy.
It called to him.
Cass shivered.
"I should have made a giant bubble or something." Cass mumbled and Gideon chuckled.
"That would have made fighting difficult, Cass." He commented and Cass groaned. He was right, but he would have felt a little better. As if to accent that things weren’t safe, a spear came hurling at them from the water. It was aimed at Cass, but Lucian just plucked it out of the air, his expression grim.
"Well, I didn’t like that." Lucian muttered, his eyes glowing. Edgar’s eyes also began to glow before he turned, wrapping an arm around Cass’ waist and pulling him closer.
"Wrap your arms around my neck Cass, so that I have full use of my hands once we’re in the water." Edgar muttered and Cass nodded. He then watched Lucian jump into the water ahead of them. It made sense that the more durable one would go first.
The trio waited for a second, hoping for Lucian to emerge. Instead, the water around them began to turn a deeper, darker shade before Cass realised it was turning that shade because of blood. Cass just hoped it wasn’t Lucian’s.
Five minutes later Lucian emerged, looking invigorated. The magic hadn’t dropped, so Cass had some assurance that he was still alive, but he didn’t like it.
"Come on in! I’ve cleared up the area. Let’s go." Edgar only gave Cass a second to brace himself before he jumped in. Cass clung to the other man like a leech as the water went over his head. Cass knew that he had cast the magic, but it felt strange for him to be under water without any difficulty. His clothes were dry, he felt warm, and when he tested breathing, he was fine. Edgar chuckled.
"Hold on, Babe. We’re following after that idiot dragon." Edgar promised before he whispered a spell and they were off. Gideon was already moving, his strong muscles taking him ahead of them, trailing after Lucian. They wouldn’t worry about Cass and Edgar because there was no need to.
Bodies littered the water around them. Lucian had made mincemeat of the fish...beings? In the water. Cass couldn’t tell because the man had been rather thorough in destroying everything about them, not just their lives.
Edgar and Cass didn’t have to worry about the monsters in the water either. Lucian and Gideon made quick work of anything that approached from the front. The jet magic also was a great deterrent from the back as well, so the two mages were doing quite well.
However, even Cass could tell that the water was getting colder and colder as they approached the dungeon. It was a giant water spiral down towards the bottom of the ocean. It was impressive as much as it was dangerous.
It was too late to go back now, especially as Cass saw the glowing, giant eye staring at him from the deep, lurking in the shadows of the deep.