Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires
Chapter 381 - 381: The Descent

'A meteor shower?' The blood in his veins cooled off, time seemingly starting to freeze.

One meteor, one single meteor had caused a mushroom cloud higher than a hundred meters, and the shockwave was enough to blow Luna off.

If one single rock of death can cause such devastation, then what about dozens of them?

Even the option of running — or in this case flying — away seemed hopeless. Even with Luna's incredible flying speed, she wouldn't be able to create enough of a distance, taking them to a safe place.

"What about going up?" he muttered, gaze lifting upwards, searching for any kind of hope no matter how trivial. Yet even this option would end in their demise. The higher they climbed, the harder it was for them to breathe, and this was not even taking into account the deadly smoke that would be emitted high in the atmosphere in devastating volumes once the meteors collided with the waves of the ocean.

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place, and the two were getting closer, trying to squash them into bloody paste.

Before he could fall into a state of panic, he felt a light nudge on his shoulder.

Still hyper-alert, he spun his head quickly, seeing Vera.

"Do you have an idea?" he asked, a small spark returning to his eyes.

"I do," she answered plainly, "But you will not like it."

"Whatever it is, I don't care! How do we survive this?!"

With a sigh, she simply pointed down, making Zaroth grimace.

'It's true. When we are deep underwater, the shockwaves of the meteors will not reach us… however, what if there is something worse waiting below?' He thought.

He still remembered the weird jellyfish that had come from nowhere. If creatures such as this were close to the surface, then what kind of horrors beyond mortal comprehension could be waiting down below?

He tightened his jaw, making his decision. 'Going deep underwater might kill us, while staying here will kill us. Potential death is much better than a certain one,' He reasoned, plan starting to form in his head.

The night sky shifted color again. The orange glow that had become a grim omen of incoming doom was even worse now — intensified by the presence of not one meteor, but dozens.

Giant waves, born from the impact, were still hurtling toward them, ready to swallow everything in their path.

Zaroth didn't have time to think. He had even less time to plan. 'How does one survive underwater... without air?'

"I hope this works!" with a flick of his finger, he summoned the serpent. Not wanting to waste even a second more than necessary, he scooped up Vera in a princess carry and jumped upon the beast's body.

Luna, sensing what he wanted to do, opened her maw and let out an inferno, before being dismissed, allowing him to save as much mana as he could.

The inferno flew toward them until Zaroth used fire control and made it move following his will.

In seconds, the fire formed a dome of flame around them. He held Vera tightly. A paradox, really — using fire, which consumes oxygen, to trap it. But he didn't have time to perfect the theory.

"Go down!" he barked, eyes glowing with power as he pushed his fire control to the limit. He commanded the flames to hold back the water, yet spare the oxygen within

ROOOAAAAAARRR

Letting out a mighty roar, the serpent obeyed, its body entering the deep underwater, going downwards with full speed.

Using the green flames that Luna had created to keep the water out and the air in was both a blessing and a curse.

While the dome would keep them alive, it would also give off a light — creating some sort of beacon. Where they were going was deadly dark, after all.

The potential for them to be attacked was very high, yet Zaroth wasn't able to focus on that fact.

His mana core felt like it was about to burst. It wasn't because he was supporting the serpent — it was the fire.

Using fire to block water while preserving air felt unnatural. The fire needed fuel to function, not to mention that it was going against its primal enemy — the water.

So the flames turned to the only other energy source they could find — his mana.

'How are they taking so much?!' He cursed, his knees buckling like a mountain had been settled on his shoulders.

Vera would have stepped out from his grasp by this point, but the way the walls of the dome began to shrink, giving out to the deep waters, made her not want to risk it.

'Master, you okay?'

While the dome was keeping both Vera and Zaroth safe from the cold water and keeping the oxygen in, it meant they were essentially blind. All they were seeing was the firewalls.

This meant the only one knowing what was happening outside was the summoned serpent going downwards full force.

"Do you see anything?" Zaroth asked between ragged breaths. At the moment, it was easier to speak than to communicate with their mental connection.

'No, the ocean's bottom is nowhere in sight,' The serpent relayed.

'This is bad,' He thought. The more they were in the middle of the ocean, the more likely to be attacked by a sea creature that is proficient in hunting in the deep waters. If that were to happen, there was a high chance Zaroth would lose control over the flames and drown.

"Can I take control?" Vera asked, referring to the serpent.

Zaroth simply nodded. She was an oracle — if someone knew how to get them out of this situation alive, she was the one.

"Change your course," she spoke directly towards the serpent. "Go five knots to the right."

The serpent flared its nostrils. In normal circumstances, it would not take orders from anybody besides its master, but the man had his hands full keeping the fire dome burning, so the serpent was going to overlook things just this once.

It changed its course according to her instructions.

"Now to the left."

It didn't take long for her next command, her voice steady and relaxed. Even in a situation like this, she didn't seem even the slightest bit worried.

"Stop."

"Full speed downwards."

"Stop."

"Right."

One after another, Vera gave instructions and the serpent obeyed at a moment's notice. It was clear she was directing them somewhere while keeping any potential foes away, so the beast didn't complain.

Thanks to Vera's command and the serpent's relentless speed, they descended kilometers in a matter of minutes. By now, there wasn't a single trace of light left.

'I see the bottom!' The serpent felt a subtle change in the surrounding currents, a sign that the ocean floor was near, and relayed the message to its master without delay.

A small smile crept upon Zaroth's red face. He was drenched in sweat. The dome had gone significantly smaller. Before, its walls were about five meters away from him; Now, barely half a meter remained. The air was about to run out.

And if things couldn't get any worse, the ocean's bottom began to tremble.

The meteor shower had begun to assault the ocean's waters.