Ash kneeled to Silvey. He put his shield down and met her eyes. "Stay here, Silvey. You'll be safe. I need to figure out what those screeches are so we can get out of here." Silvey gave him a worried, telepathic message, and Ash nodded. "I will. I hope so, too." With that, he put his sword down and pulled her into a tight hug.
Silvey hugged back with her feelers.
Letting go, Ash rubbed her paw. "Promise me you won't come out until I say the coast is clear. Wish me luck, girl." Silvey did, and Ash gave her one last hug. He loved this fairy dog.
After hugging, Ash carefully picked up his weapons, and Silvey watched as he hopped over the rock into the fray, calling, "I'll be all right. Don't worry." Would he, though?
Ash saw something in the shadows: a pair of glowing, yellow eyes. Whatever was there was protecting the river's largest pool. That pool was the only way in and out of the tunnel.
Though he was nervous, Ash stayed brave. He knew he made the right decision in bringing some weapons.
From the shadows, a growl was heard, as well as the prancing of huge feet.
Ash loosened his grip on his weapons and waited for his target. What he saw was a creature he'd never seen before. It was a terrifying, yet beautiful beast.
It stepped out of the shadows and headed toward Ash.
He took a step back and planted his feet.
Silvey frightfully looked up from the rock she hid behind.
The beast's face looked like the Devil's. It stood on two iron-clad legs, and its large body above was red. Two horns stuck out behind its head, and two smaller ones adorned its chin. Its left hand sported sharp claws, but its right looked like a human hand, just with beefier fingers.
Ash remembered the legends of the Devil's Heir. It could slice a steel beam in two with one swipe of its claws. They also knew psychic magic. Even though he was scared, Ash remained brave. He had his weapons, his magic, and his confidence. He was ready.
Not bearing to watch, Silvey slipped behind the rock again and buried her head in a pile of dirt.
The monster roared in Ash's face. It swiped its claws at him, but Ash protected himself with his shield. The force of each strike caused him to stumble backward, but he didn't fall.
Ash acted out a backflip and smacked the Heir's human hand with his shield. While it cringed in pain, he rolled under it and appeared from behind. He had to find the creature's weak point.
Ash raised his shield and sword, then drew his bow and arrow. He ran up a tall, rocky ledge and aimed his arrow toward the Heir's left eye.
It wasn't long until the Heir lowered its hand and hurried toward him.
Ash, though, shot his arrow, and it stabbed the eye he wanted.
Crying out, the creature stumbled and fell toward the ledge he was on.
Ash put his bow and arrow on his back again, then drew his glider. He used it to glide out of the path the monster fell toward. When he landed, he stuffed it back into his bag and next tried a spell.
Ash pointed his hand at the creature and concentrated. An array of vines launched out of the ground and wrapped around its legs, causing it to fall. Now was the perfect opportunity to deliver a few strikes.
Ash hurried to the monster and slashed it with his broadsword. Those few strikes, though, didn't hurt as much yet because it was so big, and it wasn't long until it broke free of the vines.
As angry as a hornet, the Heir smacked Ash's shield with its claws, which caused him to fly back and hit the ground.
Silvey, who had unburied her head from the dirt and was watching, gasped and took a few steps back.
Gasping for air, Ash rolled onto his front and spat dirt out of his mouth. "Keep the heid, Ash," he told himself. "You can do this." Reaching for his sword, he picked it up and struggled to his feet. Ash held the blade behind him and used his magic to coat it in all blue. This would be so much easier if he had Crusader. He would be able to transform her into his extremely powerful bow and arrow, but he didn't. The sword had to do for now.
Once charged with power, Ash threw the sword like a boomerang, and it struck the Heir's shoulder. He drew his bow again and kept shooting arrows at it. Even though each was successful, they didn't stop the creature from attacking.
Swiping its claws forward, it pulled Ash's scabbard off his back and knocked him down. That was too close.
Getting up, Ash climbed another ledge and glided on his glider toward the shoulder his sword stabbed. When he passed it, he pulled it out, and the Heir roared. Ash landed gently on the ground and put the glider up again. He prepared the spell for the vines, but no way the creature was going to let that happen.
Finally, its eyes glowed, and yellow magic outlined Ash. He yelled as the creature picked him up and threw him.
With his concussion and brain injury, Ash was totally outmatched. He used magic to create a bit of a bubble so that the impact wouldn't kill him, but he crashed into the tunnel's walls and fell onto a dirt section of the floor. Ash landed on his side, and everything went black. A little bit of blood stained the dirt beside his head, and he lost his glasses.
Silvey yelped and telepathically yelled, "No!" Wasting no time, she leaped out of her hiding place and hurried to Ash. "Ash! No! No! Ash! Talk to me!" She shook him with her feelers, but he didn't stir.
Silvey soon stood before her friend and angrily barked at the Devil's Heir. It was all up to her.
Silvey extended her ribbon-like feelers and wrapped them around the Heir's legs, causing it to fall again.
From the ground, it used its psychic powers on her.
Silvey, too, was picked up and thrown, but she fought the power and used it against the Heir. Landing on her feet on the wall, she ran across it toward another loose wall of rock.
Furious, the monster tried to attack her, but Silvey dodged. She led it to the loose wall and started jumping back and forth like a flitting fly. Through telepathy, she yelled, "You inconceivable Devil's Heir! I'm going to make you pay for hurting my friend!"
The Heir attacked and continued to use its psychic powers, but the fairy dog was too fast. With every failed attempt to get her, it crashed into the wall, shattering the rocks.
Where he rested down below, Ash groaned and slowly regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes, his blurry vision caught Silvey fighting for him, and he whispered, "Silvey?" in a feeble voice. His head cried out in pain, and he couldn't get up because it was so severe.
With teeth clenched, Silvey extended her feelers again and wrapped them around the Heir. Her hind legs kicked a loose rock, sending it crashing down on its head.
As the Heir fell, Silvey hopped onto its back and down onto the floor. When she saw that Ash was conscious, she hurried toward him. She had to find a way to get him out of there. That psychic throw had only hurt him more. It was amazing, though; he remained strong.
Ash fought the excruciating pain and used Silvey to push himself to his feet. Now was their chance to escape because the Devil's Heir had been knocked out.
Ash thought about coming back and bringing Makenna. If she could defeat the creature, then that would be perfect proof that she could take on the Octopus Man and Kraken. It would be proof that she was ready to travel to the Bermuda Triangle and save the Magic and Human Worlds from The Mincing. Ash did not regret running into the Heir. He and Silvey had to escape, though, before it woke. Once they did, they would find Makenna.
Ash needed Silvey's help to walk.
She held him up with her feelers and picked up his glasses, slipping them over his eyes. She moved fast. She had to. The Devil's Heir wouldn't be asleep for much longer.
Ash, though, was not in good shape. Within minutes, he slipped out of Silvey's feelers and collapsed onto the floor. He and Silvey were only a few feet away from the underground river's largest pool.
Screeching to a stop, Silvey turned to her friend and approached him. Grabbing him again, she pulled him closer to the river, but Ash slipped for the second time and fell.
Silvey urged him to his feet, but he didn't move, and it wasn't long until he lost consciousness for the hundredth time.
A terrified Silvey glanced into the river's gentle water and barked, "Chief Wave, please! Ash is seriously hurt! He needs help! The monster was way too much for him!" As soon as she yelled that, she backed up to Ash and watched the water for a sign.
Silvey grew even more worried when she saw the Heir waking and tried to wake Ash, who rested motionless on his back. "Please, Ash," she begged, shaking him. "You need to wake up." No matter how hard she tried, she could not succeed. If dogs could cry, Silvey would.
Now more alert and awake, the Devil's Heir rose to its feet.
Silvey's jaw dropped, and she quickly turned toward the river's pool again. It wasn't long until she finally got something. It wasn't the Chief Wave, though.
The water bubbled and glowed a bright blue.
To protect Ash, Silvey threw herself over him and watched the magical phenomenon with suspicion.
It wasn't long until a figure rose from the water, and a gust of wind blasted through the area.
Silvey's eyes widened when she recognized the figure, and her mouth gaped. "Makenna."