With the tentacled creature falling towards him, Kaizen concentrated on his left hand, creating a burning flame. The fireball in his hand transformed into a flamethrower, shooting intense flames towards the tentacled creature. The flames wrapped the creature in a voracious embrace, eating away at its grotesque flesh and consuming it. The tentacles twisted and writhed in agony, emitting dissonant screams that echoed through the bowels of the sea monster.
The flames danced frantically, devouring the slimy flesh of the tentacles and emitting intense heat. However, the creature was not that weak. As the tentacles burned, the creature flailed violently, shaking its surroundings and trying to somehow hit Kaizen. At that moment, the walls of flesh contracted and relaxed in a chaotic frenzy.
Kaizen dodged the monster's erratic movements with ease, leaping and grabbing onto the protrusions on the walls of flesh to keep himself steady.
As the flames continued to consume the creature, a final burst of fire consumed the remaining tentacles, causing it to finally stop.
Kaizen watched the scene for a moment, gasping and covered in the slimy liquid that covered every inch of this disgusting place. The creature was not dead yet, but it lay motionless. Intense heat emanated from the destruction, mixing with the putrid air and the odor of burnt flesh.
The surrounding walls of flesh also calmed down, ceasing to contract and relax frantically, putting an end to the momentary frenzy.
The tension in the air seemed to have dissipated, and Kaizen took advantage of the brief respite to catch his breath and assess his situation. He knew he could not let his guard down, for the creature could still recover. With careful steps, he approached the charred remains of the creature, observing the burnt and twisted tentacles. The creature's residual energy seemed to float in the air, mingling with the gently drifting ash.
Determined, Kaizen reached down and cautiously touched one of the charred tentacles, pushing it aside with the Night Sword to see what this creature actually was beyond the tentacles. Then, as he tossed one of the tentacles aside, he saw a body that almost looked human, with a back, a head, and even eyes and a mouth, only this was charred because of the flames that had consumed it.
The smell of burnt flesh permeated the air, mixed with the nauseating odor that already permeated the room. The creature's charred skin disintegrated under Kaizen's touch, revealing parts of its distorted human anatomy.
The empty, almost lifeless eyes stared at Kaizen, as if begging for an answer that would never come. The charred mouth seemed contorted in an expression of eternal agony.
As Kaizen studied the charred body, he used <Analyzing Eye>.
[Creature: Corrupted Mermaid
Level: 200 | Attribute: Aquatic | Nature: Mutant
HP: 3000 | MP: 200
Attack: 200 | Defense: 100 | Speed: 199
Strength: 350 | Wisdom: 107 | Endurance: 111
Resistance to spells of: Stun and Water].
"A mermaid..." Kaizen muttered, surprised. "How did a magical creature like that end up in this place?" he wondered.
Then, to put the Corrupted Mermaid out of its misery, Kaizen plunged the Night Sword into the middle of the creature's chest, finally killing it.
The mermaid shattered moments later as a system window appeared before Kaizen's eyes.
[You have killed a Corrupted Mermaid. You have gained +6000 XP.]
And thanks to the experience boost, he was able to double his earnings. Now he was only a few steps away from reaching level 121.
With the momentary pause, Kaizen quickly assessed the situation. There was still much to explore inside the sea monster, and he knew that the King's Sword was closer than ever. Enjoying the moment of rest, Kaizen prepared to continue on his journey. His next step would be to continue advancing through the dark and disturbing bowels of the monster, facing the challenges that awaited him.
However, as Kaizen looked forward again, he saw a glow ahead, a unique and singular glow that he remembered well. This was the glow of the King's Sword, it was unmistakable in that it was very similar to the glow of the Ragnarok itself.
Kaizen smiled and thought aloud:
"Since the creature was moving, that must have loosened the sword from where it was stuck or hidden. That's good, no... that's actually great."
The glow was still deep in the creature's stomach, but it was reachable, even more so now that Kaizen knew roughly where it was.
With his goal clear in mind, Kaizen stood up, abandoning the charred remains of the mermaid. He headed towards the glow of the King's Sword, moving cautiously through the shadowy bowels this time, not to be surprised by anything anymore.
As he walked, Kaito found a few things that caught his eye in the sea monster's long stomach. He came across a number of bizarre structures and objects that had been swallowed by the monster over time. Fragments of wrecked ships floated in pools of stomach acid, their corroded hulls and broken masts testifying to the violence of the past. Ruins of buildings emerged from the stomach walls, like distorted memories of an outside world that had been devoured. Corroded columns, collapsed arches and broken statuettes gave an atmosphere of a long forgotten past that this sea monster literally swallowed.
Bones of other sea creatures and human beings were also present. Skeletons of different sizes and partially decomposed lay scattered on the floor of the ruins or stuck in the walls, giving a macabre feeling of a disturbing graveyard.
As Kaizen continued on his journey, he came across a diversity of strange objects and artifacts, mixed in an amalgamation of debris. Treasure chests, statues of forgotten deities, gemstones embedded in shells, and archaic relics were just some of the peculiar finds that captured his attention.
At that moment, Kaizen stopped to think for the first time about one thing, a phrase shouted by Morgaroth in his last moments.
"... The Eye of Hermodr is a force of nature, a will that cannot be stopped."
That phrase still resonated in Kaizen's mind, making him wonder how long these people had been acting and what they intended to do in the end with the King's Sword. There were so many questions and the answers Kaizen had were too vague to come to a conclusion.
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