At the break of dawn, Tim, Skendus, and Ortana made their way to the south side of the reef, which was hours away. It was a lengthy journey, but their fins didn't feel the first half of the distance, because they were pretty sleepy. That kept them numb.
The other half of the journey felt much more intense to them, however, because they started anticipating danger through every beating second. It was their understanding that the fish which were infected with that green stuff, often made very explosive movements, the anti-mana made them agile like that. They didn't want to get pounced on by a creature of such speed, so they kept an eye on their surroundings at all times, and hoped not to die so randomly!
In the spirit of their potential predicament, Tim expressed. “If those motherfuckers managed to make more of those green pools, then we're already dead. They'll have us surrounded in no time!”
“So? We'll fight!” Ortana added, uncharacteristically.
“We're not the most efficient fighters, well, most of us. Do you have any firepower on you, plant lady?” He asked.
It wasn’t that Tim wanted to be a pain in the ass, it was just that he tried to be safe around here. If they could approach any and all danger strategically, then they may not die after all. Survival was a secondary goal at this point, yes, with exploration being the first goal, but they’d still rather not die. He wanted to be prepared.
Thankfully Ortana gave a good answer, she said. “Oh, I may not be big like you, but I went through another mana quality upgrade ever since the last time we saw each other. Decent mana (level 3) is really coming in handy, so yes, I do have ‘some’ firepower on me, Terrence, hard coal actually! I won't tell you what kinda powers they are, though, we'll let that be a surprise.”
“Hey, I won’t bother you as long as you try to keep us all alive. Whatever powers you have, may it help you not to ditch us when shit hits the fan.” He said.
Tim was obviously angry about being ditched in the past, which didn't make any sense because he was cooperating with the same ‘dishonest’ fish right now. His feelings were mixed about the matter, as he didn't like traitors at all, so at least that part of the issue was understandable. Everything else was an enigma of sour emotions!
Ortana didn't answer his complaint, she remained idle, though it was obvious that she wanted to say something stupid. Thankfully she refrained from doing so, and they could continue with their little journey thanks to her silence, they didn't need any unnecessary barricades right now.
Tim still tried to be prepared for any upcoming complications, he thought to himself. “If things go sideways, I can use that new shit of mine, the nerve splitter. I don't wanna die, and I'm sure that those green motherfuckers don't mind dealing with a dash of necromantic powers either, hehe! They're insane themselves, so what do they care about magical decency?”
Anyway, they continued traveling with that pace of cramped up nerves and raw confidence. Thankfully nothing pounced on them along the way, so when they entered the vicinity of the anti-mana pool, they had the grand advantage of camouflage and flawless infiltration. They had the upper hand!
Tim then noticed that the pool of anti-mana had really expanded. He could notice it, because what used to be a lair for the sect, was now more of a large, open pit! The lair's ceiling was gone, it had been destroyed on the day of the explosion, so virtually this green, goo-like substance had all the freedom in the world to expand itself.
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In theory, those weird green bricks helped expand the pool too, somehow? A bunch of infected dolphins could have tossed as many bricks in this pool as they wanted, and expanded the pool in exchange. It wasn’t like anyone could stop them, so this was only inevitable!
The pool seemed a lot deeper now too, at least five more meters deep at least. It has increased in volume, and if it continued to do so, the pool's contents could escape this large ditch’s borders soon. That wouldn't be a good thing whatsoever, considering that this green stuff despised and destroyed all things mana!
“Jesus, why do all of this shit just to destroy magic? Seems pretty pointless to live without magical powers in this world.” Tim thought to himself, his question was quite valid too, though without an answer.
Anyway, even though they had the advantage of being hidden, two large creatures couldn't really stay hidden for long! Skendus was a three-meter long sawfish, after all, so his size was disadvantageous when it came to staying hidden. They got discovered.
Two rabid-looking barracudas had spotted them. They had great eyesight, so it wasn't nearly a surprise how they spotted the team, even though the said barracudas were over fifty meters away! They spotted their targets, and then charged forward.
Although it took a few seconds to realize that their hiding spot was compromised, Skendus still managed to give his team a blunt advantage. He could hear the thoughts of other creatures, and when he heard a couple of thoughts beaming through the waters, he realized that he and the team had been found.
“Scatter!” He shouted, and his tone was soaked in panic, it was a sort of panic that was hard to ignore.
Tim and Ortana acknowledged his warning, so they started moving quickly. They arose from the coral, and looked at their surroundings to figure out what was hunting them. That was their first thought, they could only guess that they were being hunted!
Tim then noticed the rapidly approaching barracudas, and although he was intimidated by their speed, he had a plan in mind long before he got here. The south-side of the reef may not be ready to witness pre-necromantic powers, but he wasn’t planning to respect anyone's feelings!
He locked in on one of the beaming, green barracudas, and then he summoned his recently acquired, nerve-splitting powers! Before he attacked, the tip of Tim’s fins shone with this black, fuzzy light, which signified just how dark these powers were. Then, two needle-like bits of light shot out from his fins, and darted towards his target!
Tim seemed like a WW2 fighter plane for a moment, which was a bit funny, but the results he managed to muster up, all under a single second, weren’t as funny. His target stopped swimming all of a sudden, and was left under the mercy of the waters, who forced the barracuda to slow down, and then drift away aimlessly. His target was paralyzed, perhaps not thoroughly, but efficiently!
Afterwards, he aimed at the second green barracuda, who had gotten uncomfortably close already, and shot at it. He paralyzed this one as well!
Tim sighed in relief, he sighed largely, and then he expressed. “Nerve splitting is no joke! Look at those big motherfuckers, they shriveled up so badly that they look like old men's cocks… Damn, I saw a lot of those in locker rooms before.”
Skendus then stepped in, and said. “The pool doesn't seem to be a fan of your nerve splitting trick, kid. Look at that, it's gurgling!”
All of sudden, three fish emerged from the pool. This shouldn’t be possible, as a pool of anti-mana was strong enough to destroy everything physical, even its own kind, but then again, it wasn’t that they could understand much about this pool and its contents to begin with!
These green fish emerged, and although it was hard to identify what species they were, they sure looked dangerous! They were fatty, plumb, short-spined, and a whole meter wide. What they did afterwards was phenomenal!
The fatty fish suddenly harvested the paralyzed barracudas. This harvest, however, was in no way physical, as the barracudas were being converted into this essence-like form, a form which almost seemed ghostly! They weren’t eaten.
Afterwards, the blobs were getting ready to attack, it was obvious. Tim tried to attack one of them immediately, but he may not have time to paralyze the three of them. The upcoming clash was bound to have some unfortunate repercussions!