NEMO: Into The Depths

Chapter 19: Revelation

The creature approached the unconscious body lying on the tunnel's floor, hundreds of shards of glass scattered around it, some caked with her blood. Before the creature cared for the elf coated in blue slime, only checking to see if she was breathing, they went to discern what had caused the pod's failure.

Its silhouette kept shifting, its legs, or whatever made its lower body, not even lifting as it glided across the ground, leaving a streak of slime behind it.

First, it touched the crystals on the base, the gems lighting up in response, some glowing much brighter than others, at least according to what Elyza could see through the corner of her eye. Second, it checked the steel holdings, feeling around for something within, and when it did, she could hear the remaining fluid being sucked away. Third, it moved on to inspect the glass, grabbing the dagger-like edges of what remained of the door without even a reaction.

Finally, whether the creature had learned what had conspired mere moments before or not, it turned its attention to her, still acting unconscious, unsure of when to strike. It knelt beside her, hands gently probing her armour, almost as if checking Elyza for injuries. The touch was unexpectedly soft, and as it reached under her, flipping her onto her back, she had to close her eyes.

The creature immediately went for the gash in the side of her stomach, where blood had soaked into her purple shirt. Its appendages pressed around the wound, probing to check its depth, causing some blue fluid to seep out. It took her entire will not to let out a single grunt, to resist her body's need for release, when suddenly, the pain just stopped. She couldn't feel the wound any more, moreover, that portion of her body felt unnaturally free of the slime.

Instantly, her arm shot towards the creature's neck, and it went straight through. Her hand cleaved through its body, which suspiciously felt like slime, but before Elyza could react, the creature leapt backwards. She flipped to her feet, expecting retaliation, only to have the slime monster melt into a puddle. Through its translucent purple body, she could see a wooden core that consisted of interlocking loops that formed a rounded triangle pyramid, or a curved tetrahedron as Alex would say.

Her halberd sprung to her hands, and she swung it towards the ooze. The blade sliced straight through one side of the slime, the hook grabbed onto the core and went straight through. As Elyza flicked the core towards herself, the viscous fluid that made the creatures flew towards her as well, a wave of purple coming upon her, attracted to what she could deduce as the being's brain.

She expected an attack, her halberd returned around her finger as her hand caught the core, squeezing it, threatening to crush it under her strength. The fluid flew around the core, coalescing as it reinforced the structure, but it felt inert, no sting of poison, no burn of acid. Her gut told her to stop, as the wave wrapped around the core, which drooped to form a vaguely humanoid body, but it did nothing to her, nothing to escape. It didn't try to blind her or slip out of her grasp, it simply stood, frozen, as she held in her hand its brain.

The core began to spin its inner mechanisms, the language inscribed on the wood glimmering white, the runes causing the wood to vibrate as it spoke, mimicking a voice that could belong to any guild hand she had talked to.

"I know this seems bad, b-but unnecessary violence will not help," the slime creature pleaded. The slime around its core solidified into a face that mimicked hers, causing Elyza to squeeze harder on its core, eliciting a quiet groan and creak from the wooden outer loop.

"O-Okay," The being said, its face melting back into its body, "That was a bad choice on my part."

"Where am I?" Elyza stated calmly, her free hand inspecting her wound, only to find it completely healed, her fingers touching her bare exposed skin.