The tiny drone quietly entered the bilge. All Donovan saw from the drone's point of view was darkness.
He turned on the drone's night vision, but there were still no Annihiliths! Donovan slightly shook his head, and continued controlling the drone.
After a full minute, the drone went back up, planting itself to his silver watch.
Nothing! Where could they possibly be?
The holographic map was still showing three red dots, and in the center was a blue dot, which represented Donovan.
…Underwater? It's possible…
Wait, I need to check the bilge myself just in case…
He opened the trapdoor leading to the bilge. Before he went down, he cast the ball of flames once again on his left palm. He descended down the ladder.
But just as Donovan was about to step down from the ladder, he saw the terrible, nasty sight of the bilge. And the foul smell had gotten worse too.
Yeah, I don't think the Annihiliths would stay here…
Feeling like he was about to vomit, he hurriedly climbed up the ladder. He closed the trapdoor, and suppressed the urge to vomit.
He went back up to the deck, and checked the holographic map once again. He shrunk the map so that no one could see it.
Definitely underwater…
Why didn't I ask Tiero for a partner for this mission? Donovan sighed as he ran and jumped off the ship.
Meanwhile, two drunkards caught sight of this.
"You saw that?"
"I did… Want to save him…?"
"No."
***
Using the original Donovan's memories, his umbrella had an ability for breathing underwater. It had a straightforward name: Water Breathing.
He felt air enter his lungs. He had also deactivated the disguise for him and his umbrella.
Looking down, he saw yellow light mixed with green. It was the three Annihiliths.
Finally!
Earlier, Donovan said to himself he'd finish this quickly, and so he will. Pointing the tip of his umbrella towards the light, which he assumed were the Annihiliths, a fast beam of light shot out. Light Beam!
It traveled through the water, directly hitting the three aliens, and creating a cloud of sand.
Suddenly, Donovan heard faint sounds. It was heavy and it filled him with terror. It was like the universe itself groaned, its gears of space and time turning and grinding.
Sound does not travel in space, but Donovan had heard this sound many times before. It was the sound of a distant black hole. But underwater, it was muffled.
Two Annihiliths exited the cloud of sand, rushing towards him. Their legs and arms weren't moving as they rushed towards him.
Wait, two? Where's the other one? Did it die from the blast?
Well… Heh, here goes nothing.
Donovan's breathing was steady and calm. The original Donovan had killed Annihiliths too many to count. "He" had survived countless Annihilith attacks. "He" had completed many missions, sometimes by himself, sometimes with others. "He" would not fail here.
Five spears made of light suddenly appeared, floating beside and above Donovan. It was one of his spells: Light Spears!
Seeing this, the two Annihiliths did not stop. They let out a terror-inducing screech, which shook Donovan just a little.
The five spears made of light traveled through the water one at a time at an amazing speed. The two Drone-type Annihiliths did their best at dodging, but it was weak, sloppy, and sad.
The Annihilith to the right was struck in the chest by a light spear, its head resembling a miniature black hole slowly disappearing right after.
Upon seeing this, the last surviving Annihilith "swam" away, heading to the direction where the other Annihiliths were.
Oh no, you don't!
Donovan pointed the tip of his umbrella to the fleeing Annihilith, and shot out another beam of light.
The fleeing Annihilith was immediately struck by the beam of light, its black hole-like head disappearing right after.
Three down, five to go…
He looked at the spot where he fired his first beam, and sure enough, there was the body of an Annihilith. After confirming the three Annihiliths were deceased, Donovan began to let his thoughts wander.
What were they doing underwater, anyway? Too bad that the original Donovan never paid any attention to details or information concerning the Annihiliths…
I need to act fast. I don't know if the use of my magic alerted the five remaining Annihiliths. If their sensitivity range goes this far, then I have to finish this quickly.
Also, I'm running out of Umbrella Fuel… Huh? Umbrella Fuel? Oh, right… Umbrella Fuel is the equivalent of 'mana' here… If a Visitor runs out of fuel, they won't be able to cast their spells… Light Beam and Light Spear are fuel heavy spells, how could I forget this?
With a sigh, Donovan reached out his right arm which he was using to hold his umbrella. Then, he went to the "Umbrella Settings" section in his silver watch, and tapped on "Hydro Sprint."
Then suddenly, he found himself swimming, or rather, traveling really fast underwater. This was another thing he remembered through the original Donovan's memories.
In just fifteen seconds, he had already arrived below the ship where the red dots on the holographic map were located.
Donovan looked down, and just as he expected, he saw yellow and green lights.
But the points of light, in Donovan's eyes, were only four.
Where's the fifth one? Donovan pointed the tip of his umbrella to the gathering of Annihiliths, and shot out a beam of light, creating a cloud of sand.
Four Annihiliths exited the cloud of sand with a muffled "screech" that sounded like a distant black hole. None of them died from the blast.
Donovan once again activated his spell or ability: Light Spears.
This time, six spears appeared, heading straight towards the four aliens.
Two of them were struck, while the other two were unscathed. The two who were struck died, and the other two continued their advance.
I'm running low on fuel! Donovan used Hydro Sprint once again, fleeing from the two Annihiliths. He checked his watch, checking how much Umbrella Fuel he had left.
Damn it, 100 left… I have a maximum of 500 Umbrella Fuel. Light Beam costs 60 fuel, while Light Spear costs 20 for each spear cast… I'll have to make this count!
He looked back, and the two Annihiliths were still following him. He cast two spears of light, immediately heading straight towards the two aliens.
But unfortunately, Donovan missed.
Damn it! 60 fuel left…
Donovan didn't dare to go far from the harbor, only swimming in a circular manner around the ship.
I don't want to face them head on… Like Ranger-types, Mage-types are also a ranged class. Mages have strong offensive abilities, but weak defensive capabilities. A glass cannon… Donovan looked back once again. He considered using Lightning Strike, but he wasn't sure how the spell would react underwater.
Should I risk it?
Gritting his teeth, he deactivated Hydro Sprint and turned to fully face the two aliens.
"Oh, screw it! You're only a Drone-type anyway!" he shouted, his voice muffled because he was underwater.
Donovan cast two spears of light once again. He grabbed one spear, while the other headed for the two Annihiliths.
He rushed towards them, and so did the two aliens. The light spear went past the two aliens, but secretly, Donovan controlled it to go back.
He clashed with the Annihilith on the right, and plunged his spear of light deep into the alien's chest, and green blood gushed out, mixing with the water.
Meanwhile, the other Annihilith was right behind Donovan. It raised its arms that had turned into sharp blades, and just as it was about to strike at the Visitor, Donovan lowered his head, and the black hole-like head of the Annihilith with the spear on its chest disappeared.
At the moment its black hole-like head disappeared, the spear made of light that Donovan sent out earlier suddenly came out from behind the dissipating head, and struck the Annihilith behind Donovan straight in the head.
Because of the green blood and the head of the Annihilith which Donovan struck with the spear, the other Annihilith from behind Donovan failed to see the spear heading straight for it.
The two spears of light disappeared, and the two deceased aliens slowly sank deeper into the ocean.
…One Annihilith remaining. I only have 20 fuel left…
Donovan hurriedly activated Hydro Sprint, heading to the location of the last Annihilith.