The water abruptly sucked Roby in like a bug being washed down the toilet. In a mere second, he was nowhere to be seen--pulled into some sort of powerful current.
Ince and Scarlet stepped closer with intrigued yet concerned looks, "Either this is a travel route... or a death trap." Ince said, pausing.
Scarlet said her thoughts aloud, "Maybe we should try to find another--" She stopped, feeling a killing intent slowly ooze out from Ince that was directed towards her.
"No... if we turn back now, we might as well just be killing ourselves. It's a 100% chance of failure. But with this..." Ince's eyes widened, as though with an excitement stemming from relief.
"With this, we have a 50/50 percent chance to survive..." She immediately turned, grabbing Scarlet by the back of her hair and diving into the water.
Scarlet was dragged in with her, the two disappearing into the depths of the water tunnel.
*Present Time*
Center room.
As soon as Kael, Agneil, and his two guards cautiously stepped into the final room--the door behind them slammed shut. A purple mist covered the center seal of the door--melding it shut.
Now, the door was nowhere to be found.
Kael turned, his eyes narrowing, 'Exit closed? So no one can leave... and no one can enter either?' He glanced at Agneil, 'That means Ince has failed her mission... for the first time ever.'
He was shocked for a second, 'Wait...' He had a sudden realization, 'What am I saying?' He looked down at his sheathed sword, 'I am the final hope of Ace. Our goal was to kill Agneil, and frame it on Sin... but without an escape route for me either, I can't hastily do this. And on top of that...'
For a second, a memory flashed across Kael's mind.
A vision of Sin's fierce eyes appeared in his mind. It was when Sin was promising Kael that he would definitely survive this cave.
'That's right... at that moment, I was so convinced by the triumphant glare in Sin's eyes that I actually wanted him to survive. I actually forgot totally about Ace's mission for that split second. Despite that... even now when I think back to the look in his eyes. There's something about it that I can't explain... it's not like he wants to survive. Like a prey yearning for life... no... the look in his eyes tells me that he knows it. He knows he will survive...'
Kael felt his arm hairs rise slightly, 'What should I do then... what side of my conscience should I trust? My team... my morals... or Sin's eyes?'
He was stuck, but thankfully, he didn't need to make a move right now. Things were still uncertain, like if he would be able to escape from this room himself even if he killed Agneil.
Just then, the pond at the center of the cave began to bubble at the center.
It was like a force of water was pushing through the surface, slowly bubbling larger and larger.
Kael and the others walked towards the water--at a loss.
With a loud splash, three figures flew out of the lake. They were thrown into the room--scattered across.
Roby was thrown into a pile of bones, Scarlet and Ince having their backs slammed against the stone walls.
All three of them coughed up mouthfuls of water as they climbed back up to their feet.
Ince was the first to rise, looking around with furrowed brows.
After surveying everything before her, however, a slight smile appeared on her face.
She walked toward Kael, "Wow..." The two made eye contact, "I knew I could trust you, Kael. You have created the perfect situation for us, it seems."
Kael wasn't so enthusiastic. Only a second ago, he wasn't under pressure to make a choice. But now... that peace was thrown out of the window as if on purpose.
"Ince..." Kael said, "Are you telling me you didn't sense it?"
Ince raised a brow, "Why are you changing the subject?"
Agneil and his guards were confused, listening to try and get a hint at what was going on.
"This is even more important." Kael replied, his eyes finally darting at the lake.
Ince got the clue, looking over at the lake as well, "Well of course I noticed it. How could I not?" She chuckled, "It's the strongest damn beast I've ever been in close proximity to."
At that moment, a ginormous dark figure over 50 feet below the water swirled around the lake--causing a massive ripple and swirling motion throughout the entire body of water.
"It followed you guys here... and it must have come from an unimaginably large underwater depth which could house such a monstrous being." Kael said, his hand on his sheathed sword.
"What the hell are you morons talking about!?" Agneil screamed, "What beast? Where!?"
Kael turned, "In the water... I suspect it's a Water Drake. An ancient one at that. It might have even lived long enough to turn into the Elder variant of its species--which only the absolute leaders of one's genus can ever attain. To become an Elder Variant beast at old age, you need to be born with the genetics of royalty. Superior to that of all other members of your species."
Agneil was at a loss for words as he heard this, "A-a Water Drake? What in the world are you talking about? Something like that can't live so close to a city... not even a kingdom. Aren't those A-Rank beasts?"
Ince exhaled, "No... an Elder Water Drake would be... an S-Rank."
Everyone, not just Agneil, understood the gravity of the situation now. They were all frozen still, contemplating what to do next.
"We won't fight it." Ince said to Kael.
Kael squinted, 'So she wants to kill Agneil... and not deal with the beast at all huh? I guess that's fair... after all, we are all A and B Rank Hunters here. We will most likely lose, if not win with many casualties.'
Agneil got another message from Ince's words though, "What did you just say, you tiny little bitch!? After finally coming to the boss room, you dare say you won't complete the dungeon!? Don't try to joke around with me!"
His guards reached for their weapons, their hands ready to draw.
Ince scoffed, "You fat little pig... don't you get it yet?"
Kael looked at the floor, his face shadowed.