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Year 16 AL, Tunnel of Love(?)
Luka and Alice had ventured quite a while down the tunnel of light, going deeper and deeper into the southern ocean off the beaches of the Natalia region. So far, they had encountered much of the same as when they got there, which really only amounted to the occasion school of fish. The most notable sight being a large sea turtle that had glided by a few minutes prior.
One that Luka staunchly denied to cook, much to Alice's dismay.
The seafloor was proving to be a very tranquil place, in fact. From the mounds of light sand reflecting the sunlight scattering across the undersea dunes to the intricate assemblage of coral that towered above the two as they swam past, everything about this trip to the bottom of the ocean was surprisingly peaceful.
'I kinda thought that there would be more Monsters alone the way.' Luka thought in puzzlement, 'That's what Meia had seemed to imply, at least. I'm pretty sure she specifically said that there were powerful Monsters on this trip.'
Almost as if on cue, Alice perked up beside him, looking past him and off somewhere outside the tunnel of light. Luka watched the lavender-skinned Lamia sniff lightly - at the water? - before her face morphed from curiosity to displeasure upon recognizing the scent. "Wh-What is it, Alice?" The young Hero asked, feeling a bit anxious at his traveling partner's sudden shift in demeanor. "I-Is it bad?"
Alice scoffed, her mood now suitably soured. "Oh no, not bad for you, I'm sure." The Lamia said while nodding out into the open ocean. Luka did an ungraceful pivot with his arms to glance away from Alice and over to where she had gestured, not seeing anything but the blank blue distance before him. "E-Eh, I'm not sure what you mean-" The purple-haired started while turning back to her. However, he stopped mid-sentence as he found that Alice had disappeared.
Without his lavender-skinned Lamia by his side, Luka felt much more ill at ease, as he was now drifting completely alone. Luka squinted his eyes as he stared off into the clear-blue distance, watching for whatever had caught Alice's attention and made her start acting so bizarrely.
For a few moments, the purple-haired boy couldn't make out anything in the ocean before. That was until a vague dark shape started to appear in the distance. Luka felt his heartbeat pick up as the murky shadow began to grow more defined, certain details becoming more pronounced as it neared. The oncoming form didn't seem to be very large, but something about the silhouette struck him as odd.
The bottom half wasn't too strange by itself, appearing to have something of a fishtail that swished gently about as it swam. However, the top half was the part he had trouble making out. It was very blobby, with two particularly large and round mounds bouncing hypnotically around. There also seemed to be two triangular-shaped appendages coming from the "head" of the shadow.
'Just what am I looking at?' Luka thought, his earlier fear fading away at the sheer confusion he was feeling at the moment. The young Hero wasn't necessarily an undersea expert, but he had read a lot of books about ocean creatures in the past. However, he couldn't think of one that would resemble the shape that he was seeing now.
'Guess I'll just have to figure that out when she gets here.' Luka mused with resolution, keeping his pale-blue eyes steeled as the shadowy figure grew closer. A few more moments passed by until the light of the tunnel illuminated the figure, revealing a very surprisingly familiar face.
"Well I'll be damned, never thought I'd be seein' ya down here, Luka." Mink said as she glided into the tunnel of light, giving the young Hero a wide smile. Luka gulped, now knowing what the two bouncing mounds he'd seen were, as the short Mermaid's rather large chest floated a bit too freely beneath her gray shirt. The purple-haired boy forced his gaze to stay up as he gave a tentative wave, "H-Hello Mink, f-fancy meeting you here."
Mink nodded, hefting the sizable bag on her shoulder. "Yeah, I was just scoutin' the area, looking fer fancy stuff to sell in my shop when I got spooked by this big 'ol thing." The Mermaid said as she gestured to the tunnel of light. "Hadn't seen anythin' like it before, so I figured I'd check it out." Mink elaborated.
Luka nodded, quickly taking advantage of the opportunity to get his mind off of Mink's chest.
"Y-Yeah, I'm using this thing called the Ball of Guidance to get to the bottom of the sea and meet the Queen." Luka explained, pulling out the crystal and showing it to the Mermaid. Mink's large green eyes looked over the item with a curious light, "Hmmm, neat little thing, that is." Mink remarked, before taking into consideration what Luka had just said.
"...Say, wh-what exactly are ya needin' to see the Queen here fer?" Mink asked, despite knowing quite well what any Human seeing the Queen in this area was about. All Mermaids in Port Natalia did, since this was the only place a Human and Mermaid can go to wed. However, the mere idea of the purple-haired boy before her doing such a thing was very troubling.
"A-Ah, yes, I'm looking to complete the Marriage Trial." Luka answered.
Mink faltered, even her usual maritime accent dropping for a moment. "Y-You're getting married?" The Mermaid questioned, nearly yelling at him now. Luka swiftly shook his head, "N-N-NO! I-I-It's not for me, I-I'm just doing it for a couple who can't do it themselves, you see." Luka elaborated, his words seeming to give Mink quite a bit of relief.
"Oh good..." Mink whispered out, to Luka's puzzlement. "...Eh, good that ya'd do such a thing fer someone. R-Really nice of ya." The purple-haired boy wasn't quite sure how to feel about the Mermaid's explanation, as he felt a good amount of doubt rising in his mind. "Thank you, Mink." Luka said in earnest, awkwardly floating in place while glancing down the tunnel.
"I, erm, do need to move on soon. I want to get this done quickly so that the ones I'm doing this for can marry as soon as possible." Luka said, bringing Mink's attention to him once more. The Mermaid nodded hesitantly, "Yeah, I figure ya probably would. Somethin' as strong as love be, ah..." Mink trailed off, before seeming to come to a realization, "...Hey, I could probably help you speed this whole thing along."
Luka gave Mink a questioning look, spurring her to elaborate. "Not meanin' it as an insult but most Humans ain't all that great at swimming, not when compared to a Mermaid at least. I could probably swim ya there in half the time you'd get it by yerself." Mink offered, causing Luka to pause.
'She's probably right. Getting to the bottom of the ocean at her pace will make this so much easier.' Luka thought, not having to mull over the Mermaid's offer that much more. Finally, the young Hero nodded. "Yeah, I'd really appreciate that, Mink!" The tanned Mermaid almost looked a bit too happy to join him, hurriedly swimming around and grabbing Luka by his waist.
Luka let out a short yelp as Mink wrapped her arms under his arms, clutching her hands together at his chest while pressing her rather large breasts into his upper back and carrying him further down the tunnel of light. The purple-haired boy certainly appreciated the help, but he couldn't help but be hyperaware of the Mermaid's assets smothering the back of his head.
In an attempt to keep his mind off of the very soft mounds of Mink, Luka started to converse with the Mermaid behind him. "S-So, you said that you were l-looking for things to sell?" Luka asked.
"Yep, I find some pretty interestin' things down 'ere. There's some sunken ships 'round that always seem to have something worth lookin' fer." Mink answered with a smirk. "And you wouldn't believe the things that ya end up findin' at the bottom of the seafloor; it's almost like ya Humans prefer to throw the more valuable things away. Not that it bothers me, just gives me more things to fill the store with."
Luka hummed as he mulled this over, "There's really that much stuff that ends up floating down here?" The purple-haired boy asked with a slight frown. The shipwrecks he could understand; once a boat sinks, it's pretty difficult to recover what's inside. But to just throw stuff into the ocean? It seemed rather unsafe to him. "I can't imagine that would be good for everything living down here."
Mink just shrugged, "Well, the regular junk definitely sucks but you'd be surprised how much can be reused. Most Monsters livin' down here, besides us Mermaids, don't really have the means to get on land and get stuff they want. So having it float down here can be helpful." Luka bit his lip on thought, 'Maybe so, but there's probably a better way of going about doing that than just throwing things into the ocean that happen to be useful.'
Crackle Crackle
Mink quickly slowed down upon hearing the noise, tensing up as she instinctively held Luka a bit closer to her chest. The purple-haired boy put up a valiant effort to ignore the pillowy breasts of the Mermaid behind him to glance around, a great deal of worry growing in his gut. "That ain't good." Mink commented, her tone low as she whispered right by his ear.
Crackle Crackle
The odd and quick static charge filled Luka's ears again, the young Hero spotting a brief flash of light flash in the distance. "D-Do you know what that is, Mink?" He asked quietly, to which the Mermaid didn't immediately answer. Instead, Mink released Luka and began removing her backpack. "Aye, I'd bet my tail that it's a Jellyfish. Nasty lot, I assure ya." She hissed back.
Luka gulped, watching the area where the odd crackling was coming from. Eventually, a murky shadow appeared outside of the tunnel of light. It was quite large and seemed to have tentacles hanging down below the main body. 'Haven't I dealt with tentacles enough today!?' Luka lamented as more details were revealed to him.
Many long and pale tendrils drifted from the Monster's bulbous top, the limbs swaying to and fro as she neared. As she got closer, Luka recognized this pale-blue top as being like a jellyfish hood. Which made sense, considering that Mink had just recognized it as such. The Monster drifted into the tunnel of light, an inquisitive light showing in her red eyes.
Now that she was inside the tunnel with him and Mink, Luka could clearly see all the details of the Jellyfish girl. The appendages coming from her bare torso - ones that would normally be arms and legs - ended in tentacles as well. Her arms in particular were very odd, ending in wide and rough-looking edges instead of hands.
The Jellyfish also had three flat tentacles on her head, the triangle-shaped flaps curving around her face as if it were hair, the middle flap in particular having four red jewels going down its length.
"A Human this far down in the sea? How curious." The Jellyfish mused, gracefully circling around Luka at a leisurely pace. The purple-haired boy tried not to grimace as the Monster's long limbs started to sway closer to him, thankfully not closing the distance as they reached out. "Y-Yep, just making my way d-down to the bottom of the sea! N-Nothing interesting about it, s-so you can, eh, go on your way now."
Luka's words did little to dissuade the Jellyfish girl, who started floating closer. "Is that so? Any Human going that far down with a Mermaid could only be doing so to complete a Marriage Trial..." Luka nervously bit his lip as the Jellyfish glanced toward Mink, who wore a particularly foul glare. "...Not the most impressive choice for a mate, even by Mermaid standards."
Mink clenched her fist, not at all happy with the obvious slight. "Piss off, ya jelly-filled freak! Yer talkin' a bit too tough fer someone close to being within guttin' distance!" Luka shifted his eyes to the Mermaid in alarm, not at all having expected such a violent response from her.
Crackle Crackle
The Jellyfish Girl lit up with a bright flash, her red eyes narrowing dangerously. "Is that so? That sounds like a challenge to me." She said, her tentacles writing erratically now. Luka swam a bit forward as he spoke up, "N-Now wait, there's no need to start a fight! C-Can't we just go our separate ways?" Unfortunately, the young Hero's plea fell on deaf ears.
"I ain't looking to start a fight, but I damn sure can finish one if I'm needin' to!" Mink proclaimed, much to Luka's dismay. The Jellyfish snarled, now having no intentions of letting the two pass. "You have a big mouth for someone so little. Maybe stealing your Human away will teach you to hold your filthy tongue."
'Oh boy.' Luka thought, reaching for Angel Halo since he could now tell that this wasn't going to be resolved without a bit of conflict. The young Hero pulled out his sword and held it aloft in the water, grimacing a bit at how being underwater made the effort more strenuous than it usually was. "I already tried to be nice, this time I'm serious. Leave us alone or you won't like what happens!" Luka of answering, the Jellyfish Girl pointed a tentacle toward Luka.
"Paralytic Tentacle."
Without any warning, a surge of electricity shot through the water towards Luka, flashing and sparking wildly as it did. The purple-haired boy was quick to react, clasping his hands together and countering with the technique Micaela had gifted him.
"Shield of Heaven!"
The protective barrier encircled Luka and Mink - the former looking quite shocked at his display of power - and actually reflected the attack back at the Jellyfish Girl's red eyes widened, not having any time to dodge as the magical attack came back and hit her!
CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE
The Jellyfish's scream was quickly covered by the large static noise of her attack landing, the noise being accompanied by an alarmingly bright flash of light. Luka had to cover his eyes during the ensuing chaos, only barely hearing Mink shout out a curse.
Eventually, the light faded, and Luka was able to drop his Shield and gaze upon the Jellyfish once again to find her completely frozen in place. The Jellyfish's red eyes were wide and staring at him with fear, as she was now completely defenseless.
"How in the Hell did ya do that!?" Mink yelled out, startling Luka. The young Hero whirled around - as best he could while swimming, anyways - and faced the bewildered Mermaid. "It's a technique I was taught a w-while back ago." He answered simply.
Mink blinked her large green eyes at him, "Hell of a technique..." She muttered, taking a glance at the paralyzed Jellyfish. "...What are ya wantin' to do with this one, then?" The Mermaid asked before giving the Monster a dirty look, "I gotta few ideas, myself. She's got a lotta tentacles to tie together there, ya know." Mink said threateningly, her dark smirk sending a chill up Luka's spine.
Opting not to ask what the other ideas may be, Luka gave the Jellyfish Monster a once-over, watching as her eyes bounced fearfully between the younger Hero and the Mermaid. 'I don't really want to seal her now, since she's pretty much defenseless. That would be too cruel.' Luka thought as he began to swim over to the Monster in question.
"Now," He began while putting away Angel Halo, "I'm going to let you go this time, so you'd b-better not go around trying to paralyze anyone else!" The frozen Jellyfish couldn't respond to Luka's words, so the young Hero decided to swim away, leaving her to float idly around in the tunnel of light. Luka returned to Mink, who looked a bit disappointed. "That's all yer gonna do? Wag a finger and then let 'er go?"
Luka nodded, "I don't like to cause more pain than what's necessary." He replied simply. "That, and she might even learn something from me letting her go. At least, I hope she will..." The purple-haired boy trailed off, giving the awkward-looking Jellyfish a solemn look as she floated away.
Mink gave a small hum as she looked Luka over, eventually just giving a shrug. "If that's how ya want it, I suppose." She said simply before swimming behind the young Hero and grabbing him once more. The two continued swimming down, heading towards the bottom of the ocean...
As they went deeper into the water's depths, the light of the sun started to fade away more and more. The sea around the illuminated tunnel slowly went from a bright blue to a much darker hue, making the tunnel turn into a beacon of light. At the back of his mind, Luka feared that this might attract deep-sea Monsters but at the moment, they hadn't encountered anything other than the Jellyfish Girl.
However, Luka did notice three different issues as they dived deeper into the ocean.
The first, was the fact that the water was growing colder. Without the sun's rays bringing them warmth, the pair of Ilias's Prophet and the Mermaid Merchant were left in increasingly chilly waters. This by itself was already uncomfortable enough, but it also led to the next two issues. These ones actually being directly related to the first one, as these issues were pressed right up against the back of his head.
Now, Luka had eventually gotten over the fact the Mink's breasts were resting at the nape of his neck. In fact, not that he would admit to it, the sensation was actually starting to feel quite pleasant. However, Luka discovered that the water's frigidness had an unforeseen effect on the Mermaid. And so, Luka quickly found out how thin Mink's shirt was, as he could feel her now erect nipples poking into the back of his shoulders.
Luka hadn't said anything about it, Mink hadn't said anything about it, and the purple-haired boy would much rather leave it that way.
"S-So," Luka began, trying to distract himself. "You were able to fix your doorknob easily enough, I hope?" He asked, referring back to what brought him to meet the Mermaid in the first place. Mink nodded, "Yep, didn't take me too long. I know my way 'round a knob, though I'm sure ya know that pretty well."
Luka very nearly sputtered, a blush burning his face as he was reminded of what else occurred during their first meeting. "E-Eh, yeah, I-I guess s-s-so..." He replied quietly, now very glad that he couldn't see the Mermaid's face. Thankfully, Mink did not venture further into this particular topic, leaving the two to fall into silence once again.
But just then, Luka felt something wrap around his right foot, stopping him and Mink from moving any further. "The Hell-" Mink started, before the young Hero was viciously jerked from her grip. Luka hollered in alarm as he was quickly separated from a distressed Mink, being rapidly dragged down into the near black waters of the deep sea.
Luka glanced up, noticing in shock that he was being dragged down so quickly that Mink's form disappeared within seconds of being caught. His wild pale-blue eyes turned back down, seeing the bright orange tentacle as it pulled him down to the very bottom of the sea. Eventually, the orange tentacle leads him to its owner, who was glancing up at him curiously.
The Monster was seemingly attached to some deep-sea coral, multiple tentacles similar to the one gripping him jutting from it and swaying in the dark water. In the middle of these tentacles jutted out a feminine torso, who had a head of long red hair that floated unkempt in the water as well. The oddest part of her main body was the ensemble of pinkish-purple tentacles on top of her head, which wriggled and writhed as she looked at him.
All-in-all, it appeared to be some sort of living Sea Anemone.
"Oh-ho-ho," The Sea Anemone laughed, "I've caught a young one, that's very good..." She smiled as she slowly parted her tentacles, revealing to Luka a sight that caused him to shiver.
Sitting right before her torse, was a large circular orifice. The fleshy hole opened up, smaller worm-like tentacles rising out from the hole to wriggle around. Luka's pale-blue eyes widened, immediately getting flashbacks to the Leech Girl. "...As you can see, I'm starving. So be a good little boy and let me have my fill of you." The Monster grinned, yanking her catch closer to her.
Luka swiftly reacted, grabbing Angel Halo off of his back and severing the tentacle completely. The Sea Anemone grunted as her grip was forcefully released, the end of the tentacle becoming quickly cauterized. "This can be fun or it can be painful," She said, glaring at Luka with narrowed blue eyes. "But you aren't getting away from me, boy."
More of the Monster's tentacles shot forward, aiming to grab the young Hero. Luka tried to parry away the onslaught and was able to cut at the various limbs, but the Monster was able to eventually grab at his leg again and yank him closer. The purple-haired boy gritted his teeth in pain, feeling how the Monster mercilessly squeezed down on his right leg. With no other choice, Luka took things a step further.
"Thunder Thrust!"
Luka's attack sent him streaming through the water and he was able to stab the Monster deep in her torso.
"AHH!" The Sea Anemone screamed out in pain, the severity of the scream causing Luka to cringe. He quickly pulled away, revealing the large scar left behind on the Monster's pale stomach. The young Hero felt a twinge of guilt, momentarily forgetting how the Monster wasn't quite done.
Suddenly, the tentacle still around his leg forcefully yanked him upwards into the water. Luka squealed as the tentacle raised him aloft, before dragging him down to the seafloor and swinging him onto the rocky floor around her.
An intense jolt of pain shot through Luka as he was swung back first onto the jagged stone below, feeling as if the back of his head was cracked open as he heard his skull colliding with the seafloor. For a frightening few seconds, Luka couldn't see anything but scattered white dots in his vision. The young Hero furiously gripped Angel Halo, wildly swinging down by his feet in the hopes of cutting at the Monster's tentacle.
Somehow, he was able to land a hit, feeling the offending limb release his leg.
Luka felt his right ankle throb from the Monster's crushing grip, frantically swimming into an upright position as his vision started to grow red now as the flashing of white faded. The purple-haired boy was confused by this until he realized that the red wasn't anything dancing in his eyes, like the white spots had been.
It was his blood, staining the water.
"Get over here!" Luka heard the Sea Anemone snarl, more of her tentacles descending on him. A harsh grunt came from the bottom of the young Hero's throat as he started batting at the limbs, cutting some in half completely while only scarring others. However, his wild defense was only able to get him so far, as the Monster's appendages were eventually able to overwhelm him.
Luka screamed as multiple tentacles squeezed down on his left arm, forcing him to release Angel Halo. It felt as though his shoulder was ripped out of socket from how intensely he was pulled through the water, returning back to the furious Monster. The air left his lungs as he was slammed into the Monster's reaching mouth, his arm going straight down into the awaiting orifice.
"Now you're done, I'll squeeze you dry for weeks." She chuckled after saying this, her mouth's tentacles now pulling at his injured arm. Luka gripped the edge of the mouth with his other hand and pressed his feet into its side. The purple-haired boy pulled back with all of his strength, fighting against the painful heat building in his arm.
"I WON'T LET YOU!" Luka yelled out, not budging from his place even as the Sea Anemone tugged harder. The young Hero gritted his teeth as he felt the smaller tentacle worming into his sleeve, wrapping around his hurting arm and pulling even more. Then, the Monster doubled down.
More of her larger orange tentacles came from behind, pushing against his back in an attempt to push him headfirst into her mouth. The foot of Luka's injured leg slipped, causing his face to get right up to the Monster's gaping maw.
Thump Thump
Thump Thump
"Oh yeesss~" The Monster moaned, grabbing at the back of his bloodied head with her Humanoid hands and pushing him down even further. "Give me what I want and let everything slip away..." The Monster trailed off, giggling as Luka thrashed in her grip. The purple-haired boy shook and trembled, the sheer amount of fight he was putting up causing his body to visibly tremble.
Luka's face was red from the strain, uneven gasps coming from his mouth as he pulled with all of his strength. The Monster leaned over, using the leverage to put even more pressure on the back of his head. "...You can only fight it for so long!" She yelled, continuing to push down on his head.
The water started to become filled with the scarlet cloud of Luka's blood once again, the combined pumping of his heart and the Monster aggravating the large cut on the back of his head causing more and more of his blood to gush out. Hysteria was starting to set into Luka as he felt his strength starting to fail, his right arm starting to buckle under the pressure.
Thump Thump
Thump Thump
His left arm was now practically numb, the pain of the tentacles pulling on it almost an afterthought in his mind as he watched the other tentacles start to reach out toward his face. Luka could feel a scream growing at the back of his throat, only kept down due to his ragged breathing. His chest was burning, the strain of his fighting starting to catch up to him until-
Schleck
"AAHHHHH!" The Sea Anemone suddenly screamed in pain as she was stabbed in the side by an enraged Mink, who had discarded her backpack after grabbing what she currently had dug in between the Monster's ribs: A short kitchen knife.
Mink wrenched the knife out, wasting no time capitalizing on the Monster's pain to swim around and grab Luka by the waist, thrashing and pulling until the purple-haired boy was finally released. The Mermaid swiftly swam away from the flailing Monster, who was quickly becoming engulfed in a cloud of her own blood.
Luka weakly glanced around, realizing that Mink was attempting to swim him back up to the top of the water.
"S-Stop!" Luka exclaimed, grabbing at the Mermaid's grip with his one good arm. Mink let go of the purple-haired boy, but only in order to spin him around and give him an incredulous look. "Don't tell me you're wanting more of that!" She yelled, gesturing a hand - which still held the knife she used earlier - towards the growing blood cloud down below. Tentacles could be seen flailing inside of it, attempting to disperse the haze of red.
To the Mermaid's visible distress, Luka nodded. "I have to! I said I'd deliver this Marriage Pledge to the Queen, and that's what I'm going to do! I can't be a Hero if I don't make good on my word!" He proclaimed, looking around the seafloor for Angel Halo. He finally spotted his weapon down amongst the kelp and quickly started to paddle down to retrieve his weapon. He felt Mink grab him from behind again, this time helping him to reach his weapon quicker.
However, once Luka grabbed Angel Halo, Mink pulled him away from the growing cloud of blood once more.
"H-Hey!" Luka exclaimed, attempting to fight from Mink's grip again until she scolded him, "Don't start with me or I'll thump ya right on yer pretty little head!" She chastised, stopping to hold out her arm. The purple-haired boy's eyes widened in alarm as Mink cut into the top of her forearm, blood seeping out of the small gash. "M-Mink, what are you d-doing?!" Luka asked in horrification.
"Lick it!" Mink exclaimed, holding out her cut to the young Hero. Luka recoiled at the demand, "W-Why would I do that!?"
"Just do it already!" The Mermaid demanded again, all but shoving her cut into his face. Luka's face scrunched up in hesitation, eventually grabbing her arm in a hand and doing as Mink asked. Luka ran a tongue along her cut, feeling how the Mermaid shivered from the contact.
The purple-haired boy felt disgusted as he begrudgingly swallowed down her blood, but he froze as a bizarre buzzing feeling started to grow in all of his injured areas. From the gash on the back of his head to his burning arm, even his swollen ankle suddenly felt this strange sensation. And, for whatever reason, Luka also felt this tingling spread in his chest.
Once this feeling went away, all of the affected areas felt perfectly normal. Luka reached around and felt the back of his head, a gasp coming from his mouth as he felt that the wound had closed up. "W-Woah..." He whispered out, looking towards Mink with shock gleaming in his pale-blue eyes. "...Mink, how did?-"
"TENTACLE VORTEX!"
Luka whirled around, looking to see an onslaught of orange tentacles shooting up towards the pair. Even with his sword in hand, the young Hero knew that the oncoming attack wouldn't be one he could counter with an attack of his own. So instead, he folded his hands together in preparation for what was becoming his most dependable technique.
"Shield of Heaven!"
The familiar white barrier wasn't quick enough to close before the tentacles got near, but this ended up only being worse for the Sea Anemone, as the dome ended up severing the tips of the outreaching limbs. Luka felt himself grow sick as he watched the detached ends of the tentacles writhe around, floating aimlessly in the water. The young Hero turned towards Mink, her wide green eyes watching the unfolding chaos.
"Mink," Luka said, knocking the Mermaid from her stupor. "Hurry, bring me down there so I can finish her off!"
The Mermaid wavered a bit before nodding, moving to swim behind the purple-haired boy and lock her arms around his chest. Once Luka dropped his shield, Mink shot down towards the blood cloud that was slowly dispersing down below. As they grew closer, Luka clenched his sword in preparation to finish off the Sea Anemone. Through the red haze, he could make out the vague shape of the Monster, who appeared to be panicking now.
Luka bit his lip, feeling a bit guilty upon seeing her distress; however, this wasn't the time to start feeling bad. This Monster had proven to be very dangerous, and he needed to make sure she wouldn't try hurting anyone else like she had with him.
"Demon Decapitation!"
Luka heard Mink yelp as he unintentionally burst out of her grip, surging down through the water and slashing at the Anemone's throat. She gagged as Angel Halo cut through her neck, leaving a large scar behind. Luka flew past, having to flail out his arms and legs in an awkward-looking attempt to stop himself.
Eventually, he was able to do so, reeling around to see the sealed form of the Monster now sitting on the orange and purple Sea Anemone swayed gently in its place on the jagged stone, looking unnervingly tranquil after everything that had just transpired. Luka frowned, closing his eyes for a moment now that the Monster was defeated.
This whole day seemed to be close-call after close-call for Luka, and it really was starting to wear on his mind. This one had been particularly harrowing, and he had to stop the morbid thoughts of what could've happened from filling up his mind. He opened his pale-blue eyes to see Mink swimming up to him, a look of concern adorning her tanned face.
"How ya feelin', Luka?" She asked, looking up and down his body. The young Hero shrugged and replied, "W-Well, I'm not in pain anymore."
The Mermaid was evidently unsatisfied with his answer, crossing her arms beneath her large breasts as a frown came to her face. "I know that much. Mermaid's blood can help heal just 'bout any injury ya can get, as long as it ain't fatal." Mink revealed, causing Luka to blink in surprise as she continued. "I'm talkin' 'bout how you feel in yer mind. I saw what was happening, she had you in a bad way."
Luka's pale-blue eyes fell away from Mink's gaze, as he wasn't even sure how to feel. His fight with the Sea Anemone was probably one of the closest he'd had thus far and was definitely one of the most terrifying. For a few moments, he had really thought he was a goner. And if it wasn't for Mink's interference...
"I-I'm a bit sh-shaken up, b-but I'll be fine." Luka answered hesitantly. He glanced up at the Mermaid before him, who didn't look all too convinced by his words. Before she could say anything further, Luka continued. "I-If you don't mind, I-I'd rather just move on now." Mink stared at him for a few quiet moments, her mouth scrunched up in obvious disapproval. Nevertheless, the Mermaid silently swam around Luka and grabbed him from behind, taking him further down the tunnel of light.
Luka could feel the unease radiating off of the Mermaid behind him, her body feeling tense against his own. The purple-haired boy felt only worse now, as he could tell that his close-call had cause stress for Mink as well.
"Hey, ya said that you were a Hero earlier?" The Mermaid asked. The question made Luka realize that he never did introduce himself as one before and so he quickly clarified this, "Y-Yeah, I'm a Hero." Luka felt the water tense in a different way now, and he idly wondered if the Mermaid wasn't too fond of this fact. However, when she spoke again, her voice did not carry any anger in it. Instead, there was something else, something softer.
"So yer a Hero, but ya don't have an issue with helpin' a Human and a Mermaid get hitched?" Mink asked.
Luka felt an odd wave of Déjà vu hit him, as he had just had a very similar conversation happen with Kitsu while he was in Port Natalia earlier. However, unlike that time, Luka didn't have Alice around to stop this conversation from going into very uncomfortable territory.
"Y-Yes, I-I don't see a problem with it at all." Luka answered honestly despite his growing nervousness. "In fact, I-I'd like to think that all Monsters should have that opportunity, as long as the man is willing." Luka elaborated, hoping that this specification would help make it to where Mink wouldn't get the wrong idea about things.
However, the Mermaid was evidentially very curious to prod further into this. "What 'bout yerself? I figure ya probably would want to start a family sooner or later." Luka cringed; this was a line of questioning that he definitely did not want to go down, as it was a very complicated subject for him already.
"W-W-Well, th-that's not something I-I've really - uh - put much th-thought into, j-just yet. A-After all, I-I have a p-pretty long journey ahead of m-me, s-so m-m-marriage isn't really a thing... I've, eh..." Luka paused, having quite the terrible and sudden desire to throw himself out of the tunnel of light in order to avoid this conversation.
Though he quickly snuffed this idea out, as it may be just a tad bit of an overreaction.
"Aye, I understand. Ya got a lot more on yer plate than findin' a gal right now..." Mink said, much to Luka's relief. However, that relief wouldn't last for long. "...Though I figure a boy like yerself wouldn't have to look long fer a wife after everything's said and done, if ya don't mind me sayin'." The Mermaid remarked.
Luka shivered, Mink's words feeling more like an offer than an observation.
"O-Oh, u-um, th-thank you." Luka answered lamely. Another silence overcame the two as a very large dark form started to appear before them. As the pair grew closer, the form started to take shape, revealing itself to be some sort of large undersea Temple. Definitely not a Temple of Ilias, though. 'I guess this is where the Queen of the sea lives, then.' Luka thought, eyeing the gray stone facade with a budding sense of apprehension. 'I hope she isn't too frightening of a Monster.'
The only experience he had with Queen-level Monsters was Lucretia, the Queen of the Harpies. She hadn't been scary outside of battle - quite to the contrary, actually - but during their fight, she had shown the sheer power difference between the two with ease.
'Yet another time where I would've surely been defeated if others hadn't stepped in.' Luka thought with a shudder, 'Hopefully, I shouldn't have that type of issue with this Queen. After all, she must be friendly to Humans if she's the one who gives blessings for their marriages with Mermaids?' The thought gave him some comfort, but not enough to keep his anxiety from flaring.
"Seems to be the place." Mink said with finality, "Now I'll tell ya, I don't know much 'bout this Queen since I've never felt the need to a Marriage Trail before. But if ya want, I'll go in with ya, at least." Luka nodded thankfully, "I-I would like it if you did, if you don't mind."
A scoff came from Mink's mouth, "If I minded, I wouldn't be offerin' in the first place." Her words would've been harsh if it wasn't for the surprising softness of her tone. Even more surprising though was the small chuckle that came soon after, "Hehe, but to be honest, if it weren't you, I probably wouldn' had cared so bad." The Mermaid quickly grew silent after saying this, making Luka wonder if Mink meant to confess that or not.
"Th-Thank you, Mink. That means a lot to me." Luka said though the Mermaid Merchant didn't respond. He thought about trying to look up at her face to see if she was upset, but decided against this as he quickly realized that doing this would mean getting a faceful of Mink's breasts.
And that wouldn't be a very helpful thing to do at the moment.
So instead, Luka kept his now blushing face forward, watching as the large gray Temple grew closer. At the front was an enormous arch, the inside of which being almost pitch-black. Mink slowed down as they neared the immense doorway, a bit of trepidation coming to the Mermaid. Nevertheless, Mink swam the young Hero into the Temple - though one could argue that she didn't need to hold him so close to her chest anymore - and they came into a dark stone hall.
The two kept silent as they ventured down the long hall, the lack of visibility making it to where they could only see a couple meters ahead. The water was colder than it had ever felt before, so much so that Luka began to shake. As he glanced down the stone corridor, Luka noticed a faint flash of blue light. "M-Mink, did you see that?" He whispered in question. He could feel her nod, "Aye, I saw."
Each blip of the flashing light brought it closer, making the purple-haired boy feel his anxiety rise even more. Neither he nor Mink said anything as a fleshy mass was revealed, showing them a very disturbing sight.
The Monster looked to be something like an Anglerfish, but was many times larger than both Mink and Luka. The Monster's dark brown skin seemed to pulse, much to Luka's immense displeasure. The Anglerfish Girl's large red tailfin lazily pushed it further, bringing it steadily closer to the two. From the top of its bulbous body was the bare torso of a woman.
The Anglerfish's face was devoid of emotion, staring blankly at the water above Mink and Luka. Jutting from her long brown hair was the titular angler, which was a long fleshy appendage that ended in multiple pairs of tentacles. The writhing collection glowed in rhythm, starting to glow very slowly before fading at the same pace.
Luka's face scrunched up in revulsion at the sight; he didn't like to judge Monster based purely off of appearance, but this one had to be one of the more repulsive ones he had seen on his quest so far. Mink seemed to think likewise as she hissed, "Holy shit!" While Luka wouldn't use that particular verbiage, he couldn't deny that it was somewhat appropriate. However, he wanted to treat this Monster with same courtesy he would with any other, so he attempted to greet her.
"H-Hello there! W-We don't want any trouble, we're just here to see the Queen..." Luka looked on as the Anglerfish girl gave no response, simply waving her angler from side to side. "...E-Eh, hello?" The young Hero repeated with a bit of confusion, watching as the Monster slowly swam towards them. 'Does she even see us?' Luka thought, noticing that her dark and dull yellow eyes didn't even look down in their direction.
Mink started to pull them to the side, giving a light shush to Luka before he could say anything. The Mermaid pulled him very close as she leaned back against the stone wall, leaving the Anglerfish ample room to pass. Luka fought a very difficult battle as he tried to ignore the pillowy mounds nearly cocooning his head at this point, watching as the Anglerfish girl simply floated by.
However, once the Monster grew close enough, it paused. To Luka's horror, the Anglerfish Girl began to turn towards them, aiming its angler at them.
"...Warm, food?..." She mumbled, brightening its angler as she peered down at them. But before it could grow too close, Mink suddenly kicked her tail, shooting herself and Luka down the end of the corridor the large Anglerfish Girl had come from. "I ain't messin' with that damn thing, that's fer sure!" Mink exclaimed, quickly taking herself and Luka out of harm's way.
The two watched as the Anglerfish glanced over where they had been, scanning the area with her angler. "...No, just dark..." She muttered, slowly turning away and going about her way once again.
'I don't even know what to think about that Monster...' Luka thought, not entirely sure how something like the Anglerfish fit into his dream of coexistence. '...Though I guess if she's this far down in the ocean, she would really only bother anybody trying to do this Marriage Trial, so she isn't that dangerous, I think?' The young Hero shook his head, wanting to just move on for now.
"Eh, let's just find that Queen now." Mink said, mirroring Luka's thoughts. And so, they turned away from the retreating Monster and ventured deeper into the Temple's depths...
Got this one out fairly quickly, thanks to some rare off-time from regular responsibilities. Though I also pretty well had where this chapter was going pretty clear in my mind already, so that always helps. For instance, I brought Mink back into the fold for a little bit as I wanted to put a little bit of tension in here, since this a trial specifically for a Human and a Mermaid to get married.
Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. And all that.
Deadinside378: Thanks to a certain Mermaid Merchant, the meeting actually won't end up being all that bad. However, Kracken's tentacles will still be a trigger for him.
F14M3RZ: Well, while cooking the whole meal for Lime is the stipulation, Luka joining in is what would be the first critical step into it becoming a date and is something that will absolutely end up happening. Either way, it'll prove to be a fun and maybe even oddly heartwarming moment between the two.
Luka will end up crossing paths with Sofia again in the future, so there may be a bit more to be seen with their relationship. For the moment, though, it'll be a confession that will benefit Luka's relationship with Alice a bit more, as she starts to see that there's a lot more to the purple-haired boy than she previously thought.
Soapy will be back for blood - and love - I assure that much. In fact, you may even see her more than just one more time...
I'd say that "Pocket Sand!" can be affectionately referred to as a "magical technique", although it really isn't one since most of its damage comes from the sand rather than any actual magical affect. Luka only really calls it out like a technique because Gob did. So in a way, you could say it's more of a placebo.
Guest: Just about the right idea, but wrong Mermaid. And I'd say that Luka should arrive to the Haunted Mansion within the next three chapters or so.
Shadow Necro: Luka's troubles with his heart will be constant and horrible. Especially when, eventually, Ilias is going to start really pushing him to ignore these feelings that he has.
Biodrum: It's on purpose. I have something planned for her, but the time to reveal that isn't here just yet.
omegaqilin: Thank you very much, that's a pretty high praise! I'm truly glad that so many have enjoyed it thus far. I really am trying to make it something special - if not a tad bit long - so I hope that it'll be something most can enjoy for both the high notes and the low notes it will have.
And don't worry, I'm not going to cope-out and have Lucifina die or anything like that. And I can actually promise you that. Although, it is going to take a long time for her to reunite with Luka.