The lesser-imp watched the party scramble in the dark, calculating his next move, though he was uncertain.
The humans will move to the light.
Deep in his mind, a raging desire to charge and tear the five apart, confront them head-on in his bloodlust emerged; but he had to suppress it.
He was no animal, though, unlike many beasts or others born of his species.
He was different from them.
He would wait, strike when the time was right and reap their lives in pure killing efficiency.
Thus, he waited.
And though his desires tried to rise up as he watched the distraught party descend beneath the waterline, he knew better.
Additionally, he needed them to probe the creature living at the bottom, to judge its strength and weaknesses.
As the last party member, the girl Syme, submerged completely, the lesser-imp breathed out a long, cold breath, sitting himself down near the edge of the water and watching the play unfold.
If someone turned to look around, maybe, just maybe they could catch a glimpse of his face in the light, but in their angst, no one had the thought.
*****
The party approached the first lesser-deep hunter.
They knew they couldn't avoid it because the cave was too narrow, and the senses of aquatic monsters were exceptionally high within their own domain.
It was likely that the shelled creature at the bottom was already studying them, as at the second stage most creatures had intelligence even if just a little.
"Get ready to fight."
They could sense the eel creature.
It was showing itself off afterall. It moved like it was the king of this water column; and other than the sedentary shell-creature at the bottom, its arrogance was justified.
Seeing the approaching humans, it dashed at them.
Fast!
With a swing of its spiny physiognomy, it cut deep into the side of the ranger who was caught off-guard by its agility.
But with its over-aggression, it left itself open to a jab by the female duelist's estoc.
In its rage, it wrapped around and tried to bite off her head, but was blocked by a heavy swing from Daryl, offsetting its path of attack and leaving a concussive head wound.
This creature was fast, it was strong and ruthless, but it was still a beast driven by simple instincts.
We can do this…
Syme thought. Hope was slowly creeping back into her heart, and she had almost forgotten about the timer that was ticking before it reminded her of her place.
…
"Mages, fire when we repel its next attack!" Commanded Daryl.
And soon, it came again.
It came straight at the ranger who it noticed was weakest vanguard, as his bow was rendered useless in the water, forcing him to use a pair of short daggers unfit for the slaying of larger monsters at this low power-level.
Its coming
The ranger thought. It was fast, but he saw how it moved before.
Right swing
He was right, and he dodged back and left, avoiding the swing.
"Hey! Careful!" Daryl shouted, aware of something the ranger wasn't quite keen on.
What was he talking about?
He had clearly avoided the strike.
Just because he's stronger doesn't mean I'm weak.
As he watched his party members close in for the counterstrike, he felt it.
A great force exploded from the eel's tail swing
What?!
However, it was too late that he realized.
Mana
The beast had coated its tail in a layer of water mana that propelled forward.
Beasts of the second tier had a chance to understand the utilization of mana, especially those that have lived a long time.
He knew that, but he had judged his opponent incorrectly based only on its probing strikes.
And now he faced the consequences of his complacency and inexperience as the jet of water mana slammed against his ribs, shattering them to dust and sending him flying into a nearby wall.
Blood welled up in his lungs.
His organs were rearranged by the force of the strike
His heart beat erratically.
Pain
"Karl!" Daryl shouted.
Yes, that was his name. But it would no longer matter as the life slipped out of him in a puke of putrescent blood and bile.
Stunned by the sudden fall of their comrade, the party tensed; the counterstrike had not been executed due to the shock of the situation unfolding.
Regaining their footing, they realized the eel was rearing for another strike.
"Focus up! He's already dead! We have to worry about what's happening now!"
Daryl's commands snapped the three other remaining members back to reality. This was really life or death.
The eel was charging again.
This time, however, they were prepared.
Using his own mana, Daryl faced the strike head on with an overhead swing.
The force of the clash sent ripples through the water, forcing both Daryl and the eel back.
Using this opportunity, the mages fired their spells which successfully pierced into the body of the eel.
Blood now soaked the waters. The eel was nearing death's door and it had no more tricks left.
This would be its final bout.
It channeled all its mana reserves into its body, aiming to take down as many puny humans he saw with his own destruction.
Yet, before he could unleash his final gambit, an intense pulse of corrosive mana erupted from the inconspicuous purple shell.
What the hell is that thing!
The party members thought.
They had not noticed it due to its stillness, but now it made its presence as clear as anything.
It was the ruler of this pool.
With a strike as imperceptible as lightning, it pierced the weakened eel with a serrated purple spine that erupted from its body, taking the little life it had.
And just like it was before, it returned to stillness.
What the hell just happened!
They couldn't even see the strike!
"Motherfucker…" Daryl complained.
"Come down."
"What?" exclaimed the earth mage.
"I said come down. Time is running out."
"Are you crazy? Did you not see what that shell creature just did?"
"If it really wanted to kill us, it would have already. And even so, do you have a better idea?"
"..."
The earth mage stood silent.
Cautiously floating down, the four descended down the blood-mistened water.
"Go grab the illuminator, and stay away from that shell." Daryl requested of the ice mage.
The ice mage nodded his head and went.
He wanted to complain. Why was he the one that had to do this? But he was too scared to deny this tacit command.
Slowly, very slowly, he descended to the bottom and hoisted the illuminator–which had now dimmed considerably–with shaky hands.
"Let's go, quickly, and be careful"
Damn it.
Daryl knew the mission was a failure. Two of his party members had died and they wouldn't even be able to retrieve the treasure.
He looked at it. He could see it with his eye.
It was a hexagonal crystal glowing incarnadine. It seemed to feed on the blood of fresh kills and he knew it was an absolute treasure that could sell for an exorbitant wealth–more wealth than he would ever need.
But alas, he could also reason why the creature struck the eel; it was protecting and nurturing the stone.
If they approached it, the wrath of the shell-creature would certainly descend upon them.
"We'll deal with the surface creature once we get up and leave." He reaffirmed his remaining team members.
However, unbeknownst to them, there was no longer a surface creature for it had long since joined them in the water.