Even as I entered the mouth of Velsharath, I still felt the suction force pulling me deeper. I didn't allow it, though. I couldn't go further downwards towards the stomach where the suction force was coming from—it's likely I'll die instantly the moment I pulled towards the stomach acid of the Sun-Cursed Worm.
So, I plunged [The Cleave] right down into the massive tongue of Velsharath, holding on to to tightly, so that I'm not pulled away by the immense suction force coming from right where the stomach was.
The worst part wasn't even the suction force, either. Rather, it was the crimson water Velsharath had drunk and taken into his mouth when he was trying to suck me in. So, I had to hold my breath and be careful not to drink any of the toxic water. Atleast until all of the crimson water managed to get swallowed down.
It was just being devoured at an insane pace. I could tell what Velsharath was trying to do—while also trying to eat me, he was trying to quickly drink down the crimson water, letting his stomach acid or whatever the hell is down there deal with the toxic water, being quick enough to not allow it to get absorbed into the skin.
So, I simply waited paitently, holding on to [The Cleave] tightly, without taking any intake of air in yet. I had to wait until the water was completely swallowed down.
Which didn't take too long, by the time it was finished, I was drenched wet. I didn't hesitate in taking a deep, careful breath. The oxygen here was limited, so I had to be quick about what I'm about to do, while also resisting the powerful pull downwards into the stomach. It was not gonna be easy.
But if I was successful, I'll manage to kill this guy. He was strong on the outside, but on the inside? I was certain he was much weaker. Besides, there isn't much he could do to take care of me here, besides placing his trust on the suction force.
Just as I said that, I felt myself suddenly losing footing—I held on to [The Cleave] tightly as a gasp escaped my lips, placing my feet down.
"I guess he could do this as well…."
I mused, a bit irritated. He was now moving his massive tongue to slide me down into the stomach. He must have felt me stabbing him and assumed that I was still alive. Which was not a bad decision to make, as just one wrong move to cause me to lose my footing. So, I had to take care of this annoying tongue first.
Without any hesitation, I twisted [The Cleave] even more on the tongue, plunging it deeper and deeper towards into the tongue. I was planning on cutting off the main muscles that helped him move his tongue, once they are gone, he will lose his connection to his tongue.
By the way the tongue started thrashing even more wildly, I knew Velsharath had realized what I was about to do. Even still, I managed to keep my footing despite the struggles, plunging the onyx blade even deeper. More than half of it was plunged inside the tongue now.
I could feel the thrashing getting weaker and weaker with each muscle I got off within the tongue. Eventually, it all just stopped all together.
"Phew…."
I breathed a sigh of relief. Now the only thing I had left to deal with was the suction force coming from the stomach, which wasn't something I could really fight against. Luckily the tongue wasn't an issue anymore. He couldn't fight against me now. All I needed to worry about was the suction force.
Now was the time to start attacking. I couldn't wait here any longer. Something was off. I thought Velsharath would be trying to swim up to the surface after managing to capture me, but he hasn't. I felt a bad premonition coming, so I kept my two blessings active for as long as my innate spirit would allow me.
"Alright. I can't waste anymore time…."
I huffed, clenching my fist and then pouring all my stored fury inside it. There wasn't much since I have been spamming this quite recently, but i was certain it was enough to do some damage from the inside.
"Hah!"
I punched the left cheek with all the strength I could muster. It caused a huge shockwave to be released right inside Velsharath's mouth, the sound echoing and rippling throughout my surroundings. The damage left behind was severe—I could see that just a few more punches would be enough to break free from here. And Velsharath had nothing he could do about it.
Escape wasn't my plan, though. I wanted to make sure I did as much damage as possible before escaping. Then, I strike him down while he is still weakened from the outside. That is still assuming if Velsharath would bother to reach up to the surface. I have realized that he hasn't been moving at all recently. Or Is it just because he was so big, I rarely felt any movement? Like riding a train….
I wasn't sure and that was the main cause of my unease. The unknown was truly a scary thing.
Despite it all, I continued my punches in quick succession to every bit of the mouth I could damage. The attacks was building up, creating some holes that leaked crimson water inside—which was immediately whisked and sucked away by the suction force, which seemed to be growing stronger by the minute. I could still resist, though. Compared to how the suction force was like on the outside, it was much weaker on the outside.
As the damage started to build up, I began to realize that Velsharath really hasn't moved at all. He hasn't moved at all back to the surface. Rather, he seems to be staying inside the crimson water for some reason.
'Was he dead?'
I assumed, suddenly feeling my heart thump even more loudly. If he was dead, then….my chances of surviving this situation has skyrocketed. Maybe he got too confident thinking he could resist the toxic crimson water, or maybe he just got too desperate even to risk it all in order to kill me.
It also made sense why he wasn't reacting to my attacks if he was really dead. I didn't think things would be this easy—
Crimson water splashed against my face violently.
'Argh!'
I was wise enough not to open my mouth, my eyes widening as I looked towards where the water was flowing—the mouth had opended. Velsharath was sucking in even more of the blood river. No, he wasn't dead. He was just waiting for this opportunity.
'Does he not care about his life anymore? This will surely get him killed as well! Has he lost his mind?'
I didn't know what this massive sovereign of worms was thinking, but everything about it was detrimental to me. With the crimson water now flowing inside his mouth, being sucked into the stomach—it was hitting my body and making me recoil back, it would inevitability result in me being caught by the suction force from the stomach and being devoured along with the crimson water.
'Dammit! I have to escape!'
There was no other option. I have already done alot of damage, anyway. This was likely a last ditch attempt from Velsharath to kill me. So, by the time I escape, I would be the one in the advantageous position to kill him. There was nothing else needed to be considered!
Without any delay, I started walking forward along the massive tongue towards the exit of the mouth, my hand gripping [The Cleave] tightly, as i dragged it along. Yes, this whole time I wasn't keeping it simply plunged in there. [The Cleave] was slowly infecting the tongue with the toxic crimson water it absorbed early on. This made it impossible for Velsharath to even make little tongue movements that was still possible for him before.
His tongue had been entirely killed by me. Next will be his entire body.
Determined, I continued making my way towards the exit of the mouth, fighting against the powerful current trying to make me flow the opposite way. The suction force from behind me getting stronger and stronger, as Velsharath began putting all he had into killing me with this last ditch attempt. It was almost admirable how determined Velsharath was, to take such risks and sacrifices to kill me….
Perhaps I could of been a friend of his, if we hadn't met under these circumstances.
Realizing that my own strength wasn't enough once I felt the current becoming stronger, impossible to simply walk through. I clenched down my calves, pouring the remaining amount of fury i accumulated through having [The Zone] active for an extended period of time.
Then, I bursted forward with a single leap. Just this one leap was enough to disrupt the current for a brief moment due to the shockwave that came from my jump, allowing me to flow freely out of the mouth—Velsharath seemed to have realized and attempted to close his mouth just as I was about to exit, but I managed to escape on time just by a hairbreath. I was close, too close to being cut in half or losing a leg once that mouth closed.
'Phew….'
I looked up towards what was in front of me. Velsharath still looked the same as before, if you ignored how his skin seemed to be bulging, becoming paler and losing colour. If it was even possible for a giant worm to be like that.
We both exchanged looks.
No words were spoken, mainly because it was impossible to speak under the crimson water. I still had a few minutes of air to spare inside my lungs, but could the same be said for Velsharath?
As if answering my question, Velsharath turned around and began swimming away towards the surface where the violent sandstorm was still raging.
'As if I'd allow that!'
I chased after him mercilessly, swimming upwards at an enviable speed for most passionate swimmers. Right now, my mind was being heavily influenced by [The Zone] I knew it and still didn't turn it off, because I knew how important the extra levels of physical attributes [The Zone] offered when active. I needed it if I wanted to kill Velsharath, even when he was in that state.
Unfortunately, however, since I was running dangerously low on innate spirit, I had to turn off [Probability Pryer] to keep [The Zone] active for a few more minutes. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make for the extra levels of physical attributes I required.
Eventually, I reached the surface. The damn sandstorm was still raging on, making me squit my eyes and careful enough not to take a reckless breath here. Getting on my feet, I began looking around. Then, I saw Velsharath.
He wasn't far away. The massive shadow of the Worm was limping, trying to desperately create a hole to hide himself in. He had even called in some Sun-Cursed Worm to help him and the lesser worms seemed very much willing to do so.
"Pathetic. You call yourself a leader…."
I was disgusted and disappointed by the sight. I didn't bother engaging in conversation, though. All of them was distracted. All I needed was one last burst of strength to hit the finishing blow….
I needed to use the last bit of my innate spirit and remaining strength to kill Velsharath.
In a blur, I had arrived right before the Sun-Cursed Worms. I didn't bother killing them, but my sword cleaved right through their skin—leaving behind fatal injuries. I couldn't do it before, but now with the sandstorm obstructing their vision, I knew they wouldn't be able to easily focus on me. Compared to them, I was just a little insect after all….
Grinning, I attacked the remaining Sun-Cursed Worms from the shadows. Then, my attention turned towards the unconscious body of Velsharath. He seemed to have fallen asleep, his body on the verge of succumbing to the injuries and being on the verge of dying. The many Sun-Cursed Worms around was trying their hardest to help their leader with any means necessary.
But it was futile. He was gonna die.
I wasn't gonna let Velsharath die like that, though. Im gonna be the one that kills him. Im quite greedy for the Abyssal Fragments, after all. And I was curious to see what would happen if I killed the leader of the pack.
So, without further ado, I used my enhanced speed with the help of [The Zone] and blurred my ways towards the unconscious Velsharath. Taking advantage of the sandstorm to hide myself, with ease, I cut cleanly through the head of the giant worm laying on the sand.
The head fell down, sending sand flying everywhere, that was caught by the powerful winds of the sandstorm. At the same time, I heard the familier voice sound inside my head, just before the Sun-Cursed Worms realized what had happend to their leader;
[Boss fight ended!]
[Preparing Rewards…]
[You have become the first player to kill an AA-Class monster of the low-tier!]
[You have achieved the impossible!]
[You have received the achievement 'Making the impossible, possible I'!]
[You have recieved 470 Abyssal Fragments!]
As the rewards kept coming and the Sun-Cursed Worms began mourning. I saw them shrinking in size. Then, a warm glow hit my face.
[The Crimson Moon descends….]
[The Sun rises!]
A small smile formed on my face.
[The Sandstorm has left….]
I thought that would be the final one to appear, but then another one was announced.
[Player 789,776 has ascended to the Third Level!]
[As per player 789,776's decision, time will begin reversing….]
My eyes widened.