In a Palace under the sea, a Mermaid Empress was attending to various matters from supply chain to troops training when her peaceful morning was interrupted.
"Your Majesty, the hum-- commander of the human infiltration is requesting an audience!" A guard clamored by the door.
The enchanting lady raised a slender brow as she authoritatively gestured for the man to let them in. She appeared so calm, and yet her heart was beating quickly.
This time she wouldn't lose her cool! This time she'd look at him in the eyes, show her usual grace, and this time for sure she'd impress...no, enchant him!
The crystal doors opened wide...
"Welcome, hero, you've done-- Gasp?!" She suddenly choked, unable to keep her cool. She had been so guarded against him that his companion utterly blindsided her.
Next to him was a girl that she had seen before. Back then, she had given her the impression of a gentle, shy human-looking forest creature. (Her Life mana was so pure after all.)
Shy? Gentle? Forest envoy? Nope!
She came crashing through, her aura one of a battle-hardened queen, her gaze stripping her bare, and with enough sex appeal to blind the sun!
Also, what was up with that position?! She was so close to Jack that his entire arm disappeared into a soft valley. It was as if she was eying a potential rival.
The before versus after was so shocking that the Empress found herself shaking in bewilderment. It got even worse when a powerful yet sultry voice came out of her full lips.
"We meet again. I hope you are doing well, Empress. Well, I guess you are since you've finally found someone pleasing to your eyes." Pumpkin Girl sweetly uttered.
The Empress found herself shaking once again.
All this because of a mere marriage proposal?! Who exactly was this girl...and what?! Could a regular girl really emanate such power?!
But then the Empress composed herself. What was she getting stressed about? She was the Mighty Empress of-- Never mind! She needed her for the Palace snacks!!! #Crisis!
"N-no, you see, I--"The Empress stopped herself as Pumpkin Girl's slight frown sent tremors into her' unsteady heart. She was suddenly faced headfirst with a complicated dilemma:
1. The proposal had been a joke: Wouldn't this mean that she had been toying with the man's heart? --> Get hated!
2. The Proposal was serious: This would indubitably create an enemy between the two as rivals. --> Get hated!
No, wait! There was another way! The Empress clenched her fist powerfully. Thank god all those years of diplomacy would serve her now!
With a victorious grin, she chose...option 3!
"I couldn't be more serious about my proposal, BUT I won't try to force his hand. He's already rejected me once too, and--"
"Yes, but now that I'm looking carefully at her, she indeed is very gorgeous. Her scales are so colorful, yet so delicate and...."
-- ASSHOLE!! --
Now, this goddess would definitely refuse to cooperate with anything in the future! What kind of deadly game was he playing?! Was he trying to undermine all her efforts?! She'd-- "W-what?!"
She wasn't angry at all. She was even beaming so much that it was eerily scary. Ah, this was all because of how he looked at her.
Even as he was complimenting the Empress with a barrage of flowery words, he only had eyes for the girl by his side. He was clearly enjoying that surprising bout of jealousy.
It was all a clever plan to test the Empress' true feeling, wasn't it? Pumpkin Girl had agreed not to monopolize him, but that didn't mean she'd go down without a fight!
He couldn't help but chuckle.
A Farmgirl overpowering an Empress in a duel of spirit sure was a great show! Max affinity sure was OP, wasn't it! But the fun ended, for they had official business to attend to.
"We've found a weapon that could help the water people in the upcoming war, but we'd need some material to retrieve it. How about investing in us?" Jack proposed.
"U-uh...S-sure... Up to 80 pearls of value." The trembling Empress signaled a few guards to escort them toward the treasury under close escort.
"Woo!" (Victory!)
Only once the Empress was out of their sights did Moon Moon return to life as it kept stealing glances at Pumpkin Girl.
She looked so peaceful with Jack patting her head, but had a monster hidden inside her, one that had to be even stronger than dragons! Better never anger it!
"I've picked up a few tricks along the way." She nonchalantly explained. Tricks, tricks?! Those were bulldozer-grade negotiation tactics!
"Hm, perhaps we could send you into the abyss to overwhelm whatever monsters lies within...." Jack couldn't help but tease her.
"Woo!!" (This wolf agrees! 1 Hit K.O.!)
"Pfft-- Enough jokes. Let's do this!"
They soon reached the treasury.,..and cried. The room was even bigger and messier than at the mansion. Finding Waldo would have seemed like child play in comparison.
"ARGGG! Why can't we just blow everything away! Whatever remains afterward will have the resistance necessary to withstand lots of power.
But as tempting as this was (very), there were so many guards eying them that trying anything sketchy would have meant a death wish.
As for the results...
Three despondent adventurers sat in the hallway, straight on the floor, their backs against the wall. Somehow they seemed to be sighing more than they breathed.
"Nothing! Bloody nothing! What kind of Palace is this?!" Pumpkin Girl complained while grinding her teeth.
"Woo!" (Do we head to another Palace then?)
The little wolf innocently asked. Nope, this wasn't a case of "your princess is another castle". It felt like they had explored every option and were at an impasse.
"What now?" Pumpkin Girl sighed.
"Time for a think tank! Remember, there are no bad ideas." Jack proposed.
Moon Moon was probably the one the most enthusiastic about the idea. Helping by giving ideas? It would do it!
"Woo!" (Red Meat Submarine!)
"Woo!" (Drink all the lake's water!)
"Woo!" (Use that training montage thing!)
Its tail kept wagging from side to side, its excitement way over the top. Sadly all those ideas did end up unreliable for one reason or another.
The poor wolf could only play by the side with every suggestion harshly denied. It had even found some small crabs, playfully returning them.
-- Tac! Tac! Tac! --
"Woo! Woo!" (so much fun!)
The hows full of happiness couldn't have been disturbing. Jack gave a wry smile. "Moon Moon, can you keep it down a min-- Gasp!"
"Woo?!" (What did I do?!)
"No, no! Never mind! That might actually work!" A bloodshot-eyed Jack suddenly went to grab the crabs as if looking at some godly treasure.
Without even saying a word, he hurriedly rushed inside the treasury, coming back with a few weird brown balls. Was this supposed to be valuable? It looked...plain at best.
"Let's hurry! Direction, Abyss!" He was akin to a new man, rushing forward under the puzzled gazes of his companions.
They journeyed far and wide....in peaceful water.
Then they journeyed far and wide in bandits-infested waters, hiding all the way through. Then they finally reached their destination: the Abyss.
It was dark and DEEP!
Someone could have thrown a water-proof glow-stick in there, and it would have taken decades for anything to reach the ground....then again, the pressure would have obliterated it.
The place was also utterly devoid of life. The seaweeds that could be found everywhere were missing, while not even the shadow of a fish could be seen.
"This place feels way too...empty, dead even." Pumpkin Girl's senses were screaming at her to get out of there ASAP.
"Dead? Not quite. Here, look at this." Jack didn't hesitate as he started digging the ground in a big rectangular shape.
At first, it seemed so cryptic, but then it turned downright crazy. He was digging a bloody hole to bury himself in! He even happily laid himself in there, seemingly awaiting his end.
"Woo?!" (That looks fun!)
"W-what are you doing?!" She couldn't help but be taken aback.
But Jack simply winked her way, patting the soil next to him, inviting her. "Won't you come by my side?" He gallantly offered.
It seemed insane, but she trusted him, quickly joining him. As for Moon Moon, not even a trace of hesitation! A few seconds later, the two were snuggling up to him.
He quickly crushed one of the brown balls, spraying it all over his body as if sun lotion. He then chucked: "Now we play dead."
"Woo!" (ARRGGG!)
Peace returned to the Abyss' surroundings. There was a moment of floating silence, but then it all happened at once.
-- Tremble! Tremble! --
The previously dead-looking soil began shaking so intensely it felt like an earthquake! But this was only the beginning.
"No matter what, do not move," Jack advised as something approached. No, it wasn't something, but countless little somethings that all formed a wave.
It was powerful, fast, and all-encompassing.
They finally realized what the whole thing was as it came closer. Crustaceans! Lots of and lots of them with dark shiny carapaces!
They looked just like centipede/crab abominations, with maws full of sharp teeth that seemingly could tear through the fabric of time itself.
Each was the size of a palm, but it didn't remove one bit of their terrifying factor! It didn't help that they were heading straight for them!
-- SHRIEEKKKK! --
Those things wanted to devour them!
But even faced with such a nightmarish scene, Jack remained utterly calm.
No, it was even worse than that. He even added oil to fire as he gestured toward the creatures. "Come here, little ones, come to daddy!"
-- SHRIEEKKKK! SHRIEEKKKK! --
Was there a need to taunt them?!...
