Born in Blood

520  A Bad Omen

The one-eyed fish looked pissed.

The Bulwark Barracuda that remained behind shook their tails in a synchronized, hostile fashion. But they didn't attack.

Their leader was dealing with the issue. Their involvement would escalate things.

Meanwhile, Liam smiled at the creature in front of him. Judging from the dark look in the Barracuda's eye, it was contemplating whether or not to lash out at Liam.

A brief silence followed.

"Tread lightly, mammal," the Bulwark said heavily. "The waters drown the weak."

"How're you still alive, then?" Liam retorted immediately, raising his brow. Silence.

Well.

So much for being respectful.

But Liam didn't lose himself in the moment.

Right now, he wanted to test out his abilities. He still hadn't fought underwater.

This was a good opportunity to test out his powers!

The silence ended. "GET HIM!" the Bulwark Barracuda barked.

More than twenty-one Rank 4 Bulwark Barracudas shot at Liam from all around him!

As they neared him with unnatural speed, they simultaneously unleashed a synchronized spell attack.

It was a perfect killing move.

Anywhere Liam would move or rotate, a wide-spread flurry of jagged, projectile teeth would pierce straight through him.

But the biggest attack came directly from their leader. An entire pillar of pure rock, which seemed to be a mixture of mud, dirt, soil and filth.

And its tip was riddled with jagged spikes and vicious looking protrusions, enough to rip into him even if he dodged.

SHING!

The Black Blade, the Dusks and the Breaker left Liam's ring and immediately curved to a sharp, combined slash, meeting the pillar's jagged tip with its unique edge.

Swinging his swords underwater felt… slower and stranger. He had to compensate for the lack of momentum and speed with brute force.

The pillar split in half.

But the razor spikes were just a millimeter away from ripping him apart from all sides! Just then, Liam used Shadow Blink.

Except, it didn't work!

It was lagging!

The shadows that meant to teleport him to safety were hectic. Right… the waters distorted Liam's shadows, too. The only problem was, Liam used the same amount of shadows and blood as he would above land.

And that was a mistake. Liam laughed.

It was too late to use his swords to defend. CHIG!

KRSH!

KSH!

CHKCHKCHKCHK!

The jagged spikes pierced through Liam's bodily defenses and burrowed into his flesh like bullets from a firing squad, painting the murky waters red with blood.

At the same time, another jagged pillar the size of a truck rammed into his chest, piercing through it and hurling him away.

As it watched the projectiles shredding Liam alive, the one-eyed fish laughed. It sounded… incredibly weird, visceral and disturbing.

But it was filled with pride of a successful kill.

Then, there was a crackling noise.

The fish looked at the spot where Liam was hurled at.

Gone.

Only a trail of blood streaked the waters… The Barracuda's gaze tracked the trail, its eye widening as he saw the path it took, past the lumps of filth and dirt.

It led to the side… then curved around him… then… Behind!

Panic seized the Bulwark Barracuda as he immediately turned his body around, only to feel something cold and sharp kiss its neck. Liam, riddled with holes with jagged spikes stuck to his body, had his odachi lined perfectly over the fish's mouth. With just a push, Liam could insert his blade into the barracuda and split him open. But he didn't. The barracuda growled heavily, not daring to move. Slowly, he gave his pack a disdainful glance. Why were they not helping!?

Was he betrayed?!

…Then, he realized why. Little, darkness-made creatures with the legs of a centipede, the stinger of a scorpion, and the jaws of a spider were holding them hostage. Hundreds of them! But they didn't kill the fish!

Immediately, the Bulwark Barracuda pack leader's attitude changed.

"I apologize," the fish said with an apologetic tone. Its voice was not as deep, either, which made Liam realize that it was faking it. "If you want a life, take mine. Let them live… please."

Liam remained silent, sneaking a glance at his Stingers.

Had the barracuda given the creatures a closer glance, he would have noticed how they were slowly melting beneath the waves. That didn't raise their survival chances in the least… but it was sad to see that even his White Matter and darkness didn't work as intended underwater.

A moment later, Liam removed the odachi from the fish's neck.

Despite Liam's want to kill the swarm and test his powers a little more in depth, killing them here was not smart.

It would only sully his, and Bill's reputation.

And below the waves, reputation was very important.

Besides, the entire mission depended on how smoothly he completed it. That involved no kills. How unfortunate.

A moment later, the Stingers had all melted, merging with the water before being swept away. As soon as Liam sheathed his sword, the barracuda's eyes widened with shock. Mercy?

He was being shown mercy?!

This… scaled, four-armed, tail-having human was not that bad of a person! In fact, the barracuda realized that he was quite a nice guy! "Thank you. Ask anything of me, I shall answer with only truth."

Liam pulled out the thick stakes jutting from his body and flicked them away one by one. "Pink Rosary," Liam said with a blank face, pulling out another and giving the barracuda a heavy stare. "Princess. Eels. Tell me everything."

The Bulwark was just a tiny bit scared now, seeing how casually Liam treated his wounds and how fast they healed.

"Right," the fish said with a wry tone. "If you'd like, we can discuss this in my nest. I… wouldn't want the others to hear what I tell you."

"Fine," Liam said. "Lead."

With Liam behind him, the barracuda turned around and hastily swam to a cavity towards the edges of the blocky, jagged stones.

As he swam by, the barracudas looked at Liam with awe and uneasiness.

They felt as though there was something wrong with this… human.

Like he was a bad omen of some kind.

my deepest apologies for the late uploads guys, I really am trying but its very hard with these conditions.

CovidCandy

Creator's Thought