A single [Lance Shark] Elder kicks the water around him, clearly in distress. ´This is not good,´ his body-language suggests ´It's very bad actually.´
His kind was never too prosperous. From what he knows, from all the carnage in the past, his school could very likely be the last. But little does he care for the survival of his species, as long as his own school is in good shape, he doesn't think anything of such minor details.
Well, minor details in his not-so-humble opinion at least, because now the consequences of his narrow-minded thoughts may come back to bite him.
In recent times, disaster befell the [Lance Sharks]. An unknown disaster, a dangerous monster that has been decimating their brothers and sisters to nonexistence. Worse, it's cunning, more so than anything they had to deal with before.
For [Lance Sharks] it is tradition to live a life of repetition. This is how it always had been done; There's always the same scenery that needs a [Lance Shark] year to circle around. There's always the election of a scout who will bravely scan and report back on a certain area of the large sea. And there's always the same Prey that God would graciously send them, they need to defeat it once a year in what has been established as the 'Grand Hunt'. It serves as their holy supply of food, and it is customary to make a vow of gratitude, to pray before its life is taken for the greater good.
This is the quiet life these fish have been living; As long as noone bothers them, they too bother noone. There are rare times when a stray resident of the waters may stumble upon their designated route, and it is the [Lance Sharks´] tradition to show kindness first. Then – depending on the stranger´s attitude – this kindness may turn into hostility.
The poor creatures without a consciousness of their own are a danger to all and are a must of elimination, but intelligent beings of the ocean will posses ways to communicate – most commonly in the form of [Telepathy]. It is a most reliable way of communication for inhabitants of the deep waters, and as the ability is only granted to those with intellect and strong belief, it´s worthy to be called a Godly Gift. Or at least that´s what the [Lance Sharks] think. For some reason – for better or for worse – they have established this as common-sense.
And now, beings worthy of such miraculous gifts, are in danger of going extinct. Oh what misfortune, what have they done to deserve this? This must be the wrath of God, the mighty Leviathan must be unhappy with their kind for some reason. Because no matter how many distress signals they have sent, how many times they have tried to establish a conversation with the unknown disaster over the many years it's been wrecking havoc on them, there's never once been a reply.
-- -- --
It has been a while since the last scout was sent, and she hasn´t returned yet. It is fair to assume she has fallen to the unknown disaster like many others have before her. A grim loss, but nothing there can be done. From past experiences, it is to assume that every second brave soul will not return. Some fish are still believing that she will return – praying for her – but soon the reality will sink in for them too.
It´s no use to grief, there is still so many tasks that need attention. The elder checks in on the soon-to-be parents who carry an egg with them. They will hatch soon, more ranks, but more mouths to feed too. Their reserves for the year are near empty already, seems there will be a need for a second hunt, something that hasn´t happened in too long.
"Elder!" A sudden voice interrupts his daydreaming. The elder turns to the rushing child that has been born only three years ago. It could almost be considered a crime having him enlisted for the Hunting Team already. "Elder! Th-this is bad! We, I... what should we-
"Alright, stop right there. Take a deep breath and tell me what´s happening, we will waste more time if you panic now."
Thankfully, the young is a competent one. "We assume it´s the unknown disaster, it´s attacking us directly"
"WHAT?!"
It appears the elder has a harder time staying calm than the kids nowadays.
"It has taken down two of our veteran fighters with a surprise attack, t-they were no match, died in less than a second. Who knows how many more have fallen since then. We need orders, Elder!"
This is bad bad bad bad bad! Why now? Eventually it would´ve come, but why now!? "We have to go immediately! Lead me, we will assemble all we find on the way!"
This may not be the decision he would´ve made if he were given time to collect his thoughts, but he needed to be quick here. Every lost second means another potential casualty, which in turn reduces the overall chance of victory. In some very back-part of his mind he wishes this was a dream, that everything would be resolved when they arrive, but he knows more than anyone this won´t be the case.
When they arrive there are about three dozen fish following closely behind, the majority of who´s left. If there was one word to describe the scenery in front, it would be ´carnage.´ The water has turned a tinge of red from the twisted corpses on the seabed. There are still survivors, but they don´t seem to be fighting, they look more lost than anything.
"You there! Where is the enemy?!" the Elder´s telepathic voice resonates for all troops around to hear.
"I don´t know," the first responds. His voice is calm, too calm. He seems to have given up already.
"What do you mean?"
"First there´s nothing, then there´s something. Then there´s merciless killing before the monster disappears in the dark blood of the fallen. Elder, there´s nothing we can do, it will happen again until we´re all gone."
And happen it does. The dark cloud grows in size, revealing it´s not just blood that has been tainting the water, but some pitch-black fluid else too. The next moment a tentacle shoots out from within the black and red mixture and grabs a [Lance Shark] who happens to be too young to know he's out of position. His cries of fear telepathically inflict mental wounds in all that are around, until the connection is suddenly cut off. There is a loud crack – made by bones – then the cloud subsides ever so slightly as his lifeless, twisted body sinks to the sand beneath.
The Elder did not miss a beat of that. He clearly saw the creature, even if it was for a split second only, and he felt sick at realizing who it was. He was there on the day when it happened. The memories of the squid-like creature attacking him and his long gone brethren, the memories of how they fought and defeated it, how it crawled into the forbidden domain holding on to dear life. They were crystal clear, because he was the one who almost died that day.
How did it manage to survive? It's been close to a hundred years since then!
It was eminent that it had grown immensely in that time – in size and in power – but it's abilities still remained the same. How unlikely it may appear, with this information they may stand a chance!
"You lot, listen!" The Elder shouts loudly enough to momentarily startle his school "The Unknown Disaster will not be our end, for I have once fought and driven it away! It fights with trickery, spouting black clouds to seal your vision and turning invisible. Its limbs may be strong, but we can defeat it! It is not invincible, and we will show it that!"
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The Elder´s determination brought back the life to most [Lance Sharks'] eyes. It wasn't perfect, but this was the best the Elder could do right now, mixing half-truths into his words. Even if it was just an act, he couldn´t show weakness now, because he decided that he wasn't going to leave this world just yet.
"Surround it, we will attack it together! One of us hits, stick to it! We will bring it down in union!"
He turns around to the black cloud: "Let's get this over with, you fucking nightmare."
-- -- --
'Hmm, seems they're finally trying something? They managed to get together fairly quickly, the Leader is doing a good job,' Mari thought, putting a finger to her chin, then moving it up to her lip to playfully bite it.
After observing the [Lance Sharks] for months, she decided this would be her best approach in fighting with numbers in the enemy's favor: Hide in a cloud of [Ink Spray] and pick them one by one. If something goes wrong, gain some space with [Camouflage].
The girl's plan was somewhat shallow, but she didn't see why it wouldn't work. With all the Life-Essence she absorbed, she could maybe even win a fight head on. Not that she wanted to test that out, but the fact still stood.
It was very easy to kill them now, she just had to press a little and that's all it took. Thinking back, she can´t fully grasp how she´d struggled against opponents so... weak?
Well, she did make sure to get strong enough so her revenge wouldn´t involve any risks. Maybe she went overboard though? In hindsight, much better than the other way around.
Mari shakes her head in a feeling between disappointment and relief. 'Right, even though this is going very well, I shouldn't celebrate quite yet. Arrogance is what dooms the strong, after all. There's ten of them down already, about forty left. My [Mana] reserves are... not even a tenth used. That's a good sign.'
An evil grin creeps on her pretty face as the girl entertains the thought of taking the most out of the fight, which would translate into leaving the strongest [Lance Sharks] so she could absorb their Life-Essence. From what she knew, she could immobilize a [Lance Shark] with more than a hundred Life-Essence with one tentacle no problem. Her body shudders at how overwhelming it would be, because she should still have her [Feast] available.
The girl turns translucent – as her [Skill´s] control increased to the point were she doesn´t need to mimic other colors anymore – and slithers out of the black ink to get a better look at the fish that had gathered. Although she could still see their rough shapes when she was inside, this didn't allow her to check for their Life-Essence. But now, with them stupidly focusing on the point where they think she is...
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[Lance Shark] -- 49/49
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[Lance Shark] -- 56/56
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[Lance Shark] -- 46/46
...
´Let´s see, many weak ones. But where are... Aha! Those are somewhat bigger, and this one even looks different.´
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[Lance Shark] -- 113/113
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[Lance Shark Elder] -- 235/235
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[Lance Shark] -- 148/148
...
´Oh so the leader is an Elder? He´s actually a different species or what? How come it´s my first time seeing this after all those weeks of preparation...´ Mari grimaces. Over 200 Life-Force could turn out somewhat difficult to contain with one hand. Maybe not, she is over Level 90 now after all. She thinks a little, then shrugs. ´Well, two tentacles will do. Finish small-fry first, think later.´
It doesn't take long for Mari to sneak behind the unsuspecting [Lance Sharks]. Her eyes wander around from prey to prey, calmly deciding which one next to take, until she finds three smaller targets at the edge of their impromptu formation.
'Surprise, I was hiding,' she appears before their eyes, though for [Lance Sharks] it probably looks like she materialized out of thin air.
There isn't even time for the fish to realize they've been caught, or that their lives are no more. The others notice too late too, as the girl finds enough time to catch two more victims and squeezes them into a gory mess. The soft and mushy sensation feels amazing between her tentacles.
It takes too long for the veteran fighters to pull the stunned youths out of their – once again – devastated state and prepare a counter-attack. Some hope returns when it looks like this coordinated strike-back will connect, but the squid girl spews more black fume that fuses with the red. She becomes a shadow within it, only her eyes glistening for a bit longer, then disappears completely. Most [Lance Sharks] that were charging at her slow down considerably, their next actions reminding of small childs looking for their parents. Some brave ones don´t stop their charge and enter the cloud in hope of hitting the enemy in a stroke of luck, but they either reappear on the other side – nothing haven stopped them – or hit each other.
Mari almost loses control of her [Camouflage] due to laughter. She swears seeing the [Lance Sharks´] faces crumble in terror when she appears out of her invisibilty in front of them is the best. Exhilirated, she kills them too before disappearing from the view of the remaining [Lance Sharks], and then the massacre continues. With each fish falling to the ground, she can practically taste their despair growing.
Before long there are only a handful left. Though they are clumped together, Mari manages to catch their weakest member and positions herself a short distance away from the rest. She doesn´t intend to kill these last few, so she tightens her grip just strong enough so it can´t struggle itself free. The remaining few have a hard time holding their rage back. They look just about ready to blindly rush the squid girl, figuring her sole intent behind the cruel torment is provocation or some sick twisted joy she gets out of it.
In a way, they are right. Mari is fully aware of her prior words, that acting arrogantly and underestimating the opponent is never a good idea. But then, where´s the fun at?
One of them can't take it anymore and charges, but instead of running away, the girl smirks disdainfully. Her beautiful face turns vile. She takes the attack head-on and lets the [Lance Shark] penetrate her skin. Its needle-nose penetrates through the side of her stomach and the poison immediately begins to flow through her verins. But the girl seems unfazed. She clenches down on the stuck-in-her-body attacker with her muscles and traps the fish in place. The short-lasted victory about getting a hit in quickly turns into a struggle to free himself. Mari sighs and stretches her arms as she leans back in the water, pretending there´s a soft couch behind her. She takes her time to make herself comfortable and only then slowly moves her tentacle around the fish, so slowly that she's sure he can see too. When her limb touches his slithery scales, his struggle turns more primal. It's not about regrouping with his allies anymore. Though there´s not much he can do against her in a battle for strength. As soon as he landed his attack, it was already too late for him.
Mari's grip tightens and she pulls him out forcefully. With that two out of her four tentacles are occupied with delicious prey for later. That would translate into about 300 Life-Essence, a little less maybe. Her pitch-black eyes dart to the three remaining [Lance Sharks] that are keeping their distance for now. Though their hectic moves aren´t directed at Mari – as she would´ve initially expected – but against each other. She decides to observe their antics for a while. The Elder looks just about ready to commence his attack, but every time he does, the other two follow beside him. Then he seems to get furious and tackles into them, pushing them away, but they always swim up to him, again and again, only to get pushed away once more.
´What... the heck of a show is this exactly?´ Mari doesn´t seem to understand. Maybe it would be obvious in another situation, but not now it isn´t for the girl. After a while of back and forth, the three [Lance Sharks] appear to have come to the end of their little game. The two before the Elder slowly move back, then turn around and flee at full speed.
´Wow wow wait a fucking second that´s not-
The Elder finally makes his move and charges at the squid girl. She clicks her tongue and stops his futile attempt with her two free tentacles. The mingle can´t even be called a fight as the Elder´s consciousness fades before Mari´s strength.
She grabs his body in her two arms and dashes through the waters behind the fleeing pair. Though they established a lead when she was occupied by their strongest member, it´s not nearly big enough. Mari catches up to them in less than half a minute.
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[Lance Shark ♂] -- 187/187
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[Lance Shark ♀] -- 113/113
As soon as she´s in range, she immediately slaps them to the ground with her tentacles. The two [Lance Sharks] spit blood as they impact the ground beneath. The weaker one stops moving, but is still alive. Mari tightly wraps her in another tentacle and moves her head and eyes to the other fish struggling to move his fin in the sand. He, too, looks at Mari. Then his eyes stop at the [Lance Shark] in the girl´s grasp that was fleeing with him.
For a few seconds he seizes all movement, Mari is about to capture him so that he can await the same fate as his kin. Everything continues as expected, until he bursts out on her. The girl falls back a little, not having expected such resistance from the last of her prey. But the [Lance Shark] doesn´t let up. Instead of the usual pierce they go for, he swings his weapon like a sword. He slashes and cuts, but none of his attacks manage to connect. A last, futile resistance as Mari bashes him from above one more time and almost buries him in the sand. Through his wounds, he tries to get up once more, but Mari hits him to the ground. Again and again and again and again. Only when he´s at the brink of death and almost every part of his body is broken, she catches him in her last limb.