The opaque darkness that surrounded Ylvali and the others with her in the sea. Points of light were blocked as the beast stretched. The elders of the Dry Sea Sect displayed fear of this ‘great entangler’, a concern that Ylvali did not find unjustified. The beast was likely far weaker than a distortion beast, but also far less expected. She was not prepared. Adsila certainly didn’t seem to have expected this outcome either, though the old woman seemed resolved to take her death with stoicism, even as she searched through her same bags over and over- as if trying to find some poison that would work on a creature over a kilometer across.
The Dry Sea Sect took action first. Even as it appeared the best had already blocked off easy escape routes, they acted decisively. The strongest among them- a man who was quite young- shouted orders. “We break for the sect!” Then to their guests. “Brace yourselves for a sudden drop!”
Communication was always good. Ylvali was actually quite relieved not for the words but because it implied that the creature couldn’t understand them. Most wouldn’t, but it would make things far more difficult.
Though she readied herself immediately, she hadn’t expected precisely the way they would fall. She had expected the glass submersibles they were in to be suddenly accelerated in the same manner to which she was already accustomed, but as an afterthought she supposed they wouldn’t have needed to give a warning.
There were a rapid series of explosions around them. Ylvali felt the members of the sect reaching out their energy, and then… water simply disappeared. With nothing in its place, all of the surrounding water rushed in, creating massive shockwaves. Some of those were placed ‘behind’ them, propelling them forward. Others were angled seemingly to blast away parts of the great entangler, whatever they were. Ylvali was thinking squid or octopus… or maybe something with more limbs than either. Not being able to see or really feel it didn’t help, but trying to create a picture of it purely be negation was somewhat effective.
At the very least, it released various points of light beneath them as it was either pushed away or recoiled from the explosions. However, Ylvali could see the gaps rapidly closing once more. “Starstriker!” Ylvali called out to the crew. Those with her… and those further away. “Assist me!”
It was a shame that there were several kilometers of crust between her and the ship. Technically, the vessel could strike there- but she didn’t want to find out what would happen to the planet if its crust was pierced through. The best case scenario was accidentally pouring some of the ocean onto the surface, if they somehow managed to avoid the Dry Sea Sect. Not easy, given that their ship was docked on the sect grounds.
But while Ylvali was probably ten or a hundred times more effective aboard the ship, with crewmates around her and her own Integration cultivation she wasn’t useless. She hadn’t come to an unknown place unarmed. Her laser rifle unfolded from within her sleeve, and she pointed it in the direction they were moving. “Sorry about your ship,” she said to any elders that were listening.
Ylvali did her very best to bypass the glass hull with her attack, but ultimately it still absorbed a small fraction of the outgoing laser. She tried to keep her beam steady so there would only be one breach in the hull. Fortunately, none of those aboard were likely to die from the pressure.
Her laser focused on a small section, slicing through the waters. It curved slightly, oscillating back and forth in a slicing pattern. She cut something, and a moment later she was able to make out some actual form as the energy camouflage fell away from the severed segment. Suckers that indicated octopus. However, the width of that one limb made her think… hectopus? There were at least a hundred limbs forming the barrier in front of them.
Great entangler worked just fine. “Angle for the opening!” Ylvali called out.
Even as she said that, she could feel the space closing in around them. Further cavitation explosions were repeated behind them, more towards the body of their foe. Ylvali found it difficult to aim her weapon The ship was cracking around them. Then one of the elders punched the side of the vessel. Glass exploded outward and water rushed inward.
Hopefully the enchantments weren’t too expensive. But at least the elder recognized that it wasn’t helping them. The ship might be necessary for weaker cultivators, but for them it was more a convenience. The water was unusually restrictive, but at least with only one index of refraction to deal with and full range of motion Ylvali was able to cut out a triangular pattern in the approaching limbs.
Adsila seemed to have decided on something, clutching one particular pouch. Hopefully her techniques worked underwater. She certainly didn’t hesitate to latch her energy onto some of the Dry Sea Sect elders. The ones that had been in the same ship were pulling all of them together towards the opening, controlling the water around them. As the tightenting limbs drew closer, Adsila’s pouch flew through the water.
“Target around the pouch!” she urged one of the elders. “The detonations!”
Others vessels broke and cracked as the cavitation explosions got too close to the grouped up cultivators- or as the leading tentacles crashed into the ships. The provided some level of protection, but they were clearly meant for lesser threats.
Someone listened to Adsila, and the pouch exploded outward as water rushed in. Hopefully, whatever was in there did well with being superheated, among other things. Ylvali couldn’t help but think of tea.
Whatever else happened, Adsila directed her energy to the area and around one of the tentacles. Ylvali aimed her attacks elsewhere, focusing on saving her crew first and secondarily members of the Dry Sea Sect. It was simply practical, because her crew weren’t able to defend themselves properly while lending her energy. Besides, she couldn’t be responsible for what happened to a local sect in their territory.
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Her attacks helped all of them anyway. Soon enough the tips of enough tentacles had been burned away that the creature could no longer create a perfect shield. People began slipping through cracks, with little time to spare. It had already reduced the available volume to a fraction of what it had been. Most likely, teeth were on the way.
Ylvali broke through at the rear of the pack- that was a fortunate circumstance, as she was the best protected. The Dry Sea Sect cultivators had ceased their water deletion. Perhaps it was a strenuous technique- Ylvali imagined so- or perhaps it was simply no longer beneficial. They grabbed people and vessels up into one continuous flow. Ylvali whipped around and targeted anything she could sense coming for them.
It was one black mass against a backdrop of bioluminescence, so it was difficult to tell when something was coming closer. She just guessed. “Will it chase us?” she asked.
“They don’t usually. But if it does… the sect has weapons.”
Ylvali ceased her assault. It might provoke it further, and she could conserve some of her crew’s energy if it got too close. Her rifle could also use a few moments to stabilize, though at least the water was a great heatsink.
She kept two eyes on their rear the whole way. “Adsila. Your attack…”
“Might numb a single limb, if we’re lucky,” the old woman shook her head. “I don’t carry sufficient quantities to bring down something of that size.”
“Could get higher potency.”
“Hah. As if,” Adsila rolled her eyes. But Ylvali was serious. She didn’t know what Aconite used, but many of her poisons had to be synthesized in special labs off-planet. Then sealed containers had to pass through several decontamination chambers, including chemical and flame based. Then there was a stint through vacuum to be loaded on a ship, while charged to repel any grains of powder. If any stray bits ever reached a planet, they’d burn in the atmosphere.
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But that was something that would have to come far later for Adsila, if it was even safe for the woman. Aconite could verify some of that. Relatedly, if Adsila wanted for some reason to kill Ylvali she’d just passed up probably the best opportunity she’d ever get. Not that that would be the most value a spy or assassin could gain inside the Alliance, but it was still an important point to consider. Not even a hint of ill intent.
The great entangler didn’t follow them. However, it was small comfort with all the deaths. Only a few members of her crew out of several dozen, but even a handful was far too many. There were several times as many lost lives among the Dry Sea Sect.
“What a disaster,” Ylvali commented. She wasn’t trying to blame anyone- perhaps the Dry Sea Sect had been reckless, perhaps not. Either way, they’d faced the consequences.
“Disaster?” asked their elder. “How so? We could rarely ever expect to sustain so few casualties against a great entangler. And not having to fend it off from the sect itself… this is a great victory. I can’t imagine it will be eager to come after us any time soon.”
“I… see,” Ylvali said. Certainly, some groups had different metrics for what they considered a tragedy. The Scarlet Alliance still lost people, of course, but they cared a bit more about individuals while still prioritizing the group as a whole. That included weaker individuals or those with less talent, which many sects weren’t as likely to mimic. Not that the Dry Sea Sect had been particularly callous about their disciples. “Do you think it was drawn by my presence?”
That was what worried Ylvali the most. That she was at fault.
The elder pondered for a few moments. “It would have certainly sought out your novel presence,” he explained. “But the fact that it was there, barely a stone’s throw from the sect. Someone would have been attacked, and soon.” He looked upward expectantly. “And we can benefit from the situation still. Normally we don’t manage to cut much off of one unless it attacks the sect, but your light beams were quite… effective. Are you… willing to trade such weapons?”
“They won’t be as good for you if you don’t have a compatible cultivation style,” Ylvali explained. “However, we are willing to trade for weapons of this sort.” Not precisely the sort she carried. Aside from hers being custom, the Alliance enacted certain protections to make it more difficult to replicate any technology they traded.
However, given the conflicts they had been in the spread of technology was inevitable. A great number of ships and devices had been salvaged from various battlefields. Some had already begun spreading in the Exalted Quadrant before the great war.
“We might have devices more useful for the Dry Sea Sect,” Ylvali explained. “And if we don’t have them with us… we could bring them on a future visit. We also have access to diverse cultivation resources.”
Their cultivation methods were likely not going to be easily replaced, nor their techniques. However, sometimes they needed particular materials to grow. Referencing other methods could also be valid.
Whenever it was deemed safe, Ylvali did still wish to sea more of the strange underground sea. It was beautiful… even if it also appeared to be deadly. Adsila seemed content, at least.
Unsurprisingly, when it came to imbued lower energy for training disciples, the Dry Sea Sect was very eager for that. The Scarlet Alliance nearly had a monopoly on such things- with the one major source in the Trigold Cluster being their ally. There were likely still some invasions that happened on more distant parts of the lower realms, but the great powers had been significantly hampered in their gathering in that fashion.
It seemed counterintuitive to give them the thing they were lacking for growth, but assuming that all of the sects of the Trigold Cluster were united in their goals was a laughable prospect. Not even the Exalted Quadrant was like that, and they were vastly more organized.
The Scarlet Alliance would still place restrictions on what they would distribute… but if they could win groups over to their side or even bring them into a strong neutral stance, their future security would be improved. That was the actual purpose of Ylvali’s mission. Plus a little bit of spying, but there were people far better than her to deal with that.