Something huge burst out of the water at monstrous speed, its body covered in slick, slimy scales. It soared into the air, and its blood-red eyes locked onto David.
As the water fell away, David saw it — a shark-like creature.
"A half-high demon… Shit, I can't escape from that thing easily…"
Looking back, David saw that there was still a full kilometer to the next island.
He dove into the lake and began swimming toward it. But the demon, seeing him flee, dove after him.
David swam with all his strength, not daring to look back. A wave from the demon slammed into him, sending him upwards.
The demon burst out of the water, ready to devour him — but David wasn't planning to die that easily. Just as it lunged to bite—
David grabbed its snout and, pouring all his strength into his arms, lifted his body up. The shark snapped its jaws shut beneath him.
Seizing the moment, David slashed the demon's snout and kicked off. The demon roared in pain. David landed back in the water and kept swimming.
The demon, disoriented for a few seconds, gave him a chance.
"Two hundred meters left… Come on!"
His strength was fading. Each stroke became slower, heavier.
The demon recovered and, furious, sped up.
There were only a hundred meters between them. In five seconds, the demon had caught up.
It opened its jaws and lunged at David.
David opened his eyes — he saw the demon moving slower, and thought to himself:
"Shit... I've got five minutes before my body gives out completely…"
Making a split-second decision, David dodged and grabbed onto the demon's right fin, letting it drag him forward.
The demon was stunned — David wasn't where it expected.
Meanwhile, deep below, something massive opened its eye. It was furious. Someone dared disturb its slumber.
Suddenly, something stopped the speeding shark-demon in its tracks and began dragging it downward. The demon thrashed wildly, but it didn't have the strength to fight back.
As the monster below pulled the demon into the depths, David let go and swam to the shore of the new island. Climbing out of the water, he wrapped his bandage back on.
"Lucky bastard underestimated me... Otherwise, I'd be dead. But what the hell was that? What could scare that demon like that? What kind of monster…?"
He turned around and kept moving. The sun still shone above. Looking up, David muttered:
"I've got three more hours. I need to find something…"
Not far ahead, he spotted a familiar rabbit. Killing it, he continued forward. He filled a vial with water — he had everything ready. Now he just needed shelter.
Looking up, he saw another statue.
He quickly made his way to it — this time, it was a woman.
"A woman… The last island had a man. What does that mean?"
Looking closer, he saw an inscription:
"Seven heroes will save us."
"What does that mean… seven heroes? If there's one person on each island, then… it must mean there are seven islands."
Looking up, he saw the sun already setting. Climbing up the statue, David lit a small fire and, closing his eyes, fell asleep.