"M…m-ma…s-ster…"
"Hang in there and remain steady, Emma! It's just a few more meters ahead! Control it!"
I can feel Emma's breathing getting heavier by the second. Naturally, running nonstop while brute forcing herself through the surrounding kerfuffle would wear her out physically, but demi-humans tend to have incredible stamina…it must be the mental stress she's enduring right now. I might have to brace myself in case she loses control, though how would I efficiently manage that when I can barely hold on to Lily as is?
"Vex, I suggest you brace yourself and Lily for a little moisture–we are about to arrive at the entrance."
"The entrance to the massive temple…that we are currently passing now?"
"Do you think I'm mad enough to retreat into the most obvious place for an apostle to abide in? If that woman is willing enough to go this far, I must assume that she is well-prepared and act accordingly. Even despite the fact that we are hardly anything more than strangers by now…"
A low-pitch grunt bellows from Emma's throat–sounding like a hybrid of beastly and feminine. Has she lost the ability to muster up somewhat intelligible sounds?
Why am I asking myself? The answer is obvious.
"If I handle it like this…this shouldn't be too tight for her, I hope. Can never be sure with kids…"
I clenched my body–focusing on my arm that is carrying Lily and my hand that is the only thing keeping us both from scraping our faces against the concrete.
"Yes, it's straight ahead to the left! Don't hesitate for even a second–jump as far as you can towards the stone wall without crashing into it!"
Even though the wind created from Emma's momentum nullified about half of what he was saying, I could still piece together some of Zateon's commands. There's an upcoming stone wall that's…
"Straight ahead to the left?...!"
Repeating Zateon's words to myself, I quickly realized the impending situation. Though it is not as if I could miss it if I tried as Emma accelerates even faster towards the railing that separates the solid road from the roaring river below.
"Zateon! Are we about to–"
"All you need to do is hold your breath for a couple of seconds, and I will handle the rest. A man of your caliber and occupation should have plenty of experience that would make this trivial."
"That's…not the issue here."
"As for you, Emma, as soon as we are submerged in the river, release yourself from your current state of–"
SPLASH
Thanks to the great momentum from Emma, we all are able to propel forward without needing to accelerate individually much at all. The current is pulling us towards a sea wall. The wall blends in with the underwater environment, but it's obvious that it is not natural to the trained eye. Though to be fair, I'm only hyper-aware of it because of Zateon bringing attention to it.
Jetting himself ahead of all of us, displaying surprisingly athletic swimming skills, Zateon pulls out some kind of small object from his robe–perhaps a device–rubs his thumb across it. Not a second later, a smooth boulder that was part of the wall shifted downward just enough to reveal an entrance. A narrow entrance at that.
A narrow entrance that creates a strong vortex, sucking in Zateon, his now partially transformed servant, Lily who I can barely hold onto, and of course the helpless floater, me.
"?"
Out of nowhere, I feel a push against my backside–a push strong enough to get Lily and me inside just before the entrance conceals itself.
Undoubtedly, it was courtesy of Emma; I don't need my eyes to confirm it. I would give her thanks, but it's better to wait until I have unlimited air access…and better lighting.
Once the entrance is completely sealed shut, the "warm welcome" we received is from the hard, cold floor of a dark chamber. Before I could even shiver, an intensive draft of dry air blew over us, rapidly draining the moisture from our soaked clothes.
The deep blue hues, the only colors available that prevent the chamber from becoming pitch black, makes the sole man standing upright in the center of the room seem like a floating head.
"Good, most of the water has been drained, so feel free to breathe as needed if you haven't already, that is. I know that the lighting is not convenient for anything productive besides resting, but that won't be an issue once we ascend. Might I suggest taking the next minute to gather yourselves? For my own mental sake, I must do the same."
"...right."
Following Zateon's speech, what I can only describe to be a calm silence overtakes the room, solely accompanied by the ambience of mechanical upward motion.
I've never seen something quite like this…an underwater elevator? To where exactly? Forget pondering about my location, what really matters is finding the best way to deal with this situation forced upon me…
Feeling rested enough, I finally rise on my feet, and join Zateon as the only species who are up. The two demi-humans, which are the other species, remain grounded, their bodies quietly resting. The way Emma is spread out on the floor…the cost of maintaining such power is unreasonably high. While they technically do not have curses like humans do, to think that demi-humans are not just as cursed as well is utterly foolish.
This very world is cursed–and there is not one person unaffected.
But I'll let my mind rest for now. I'm already fatigued…deep breaths…deep quiet breaths…
"...sigh…"
The elevator chamber reaches a metallic ceiling after ambient silence. Finally, a deep breath–an audible breath unlike mine just a moment ago–breaks through as the rising sensation begins to halt.
"And here we are at last."
In just the right timing to Zateon's announcement, the metal ceiling opens above us, letting in illuminating light. With one final maneuver, the platform we're boarding pushes through, freeing itself–and us–from the endless darkness below.
Now that I can clearly see Lily, and the fact that we are going to move very soon, I'd better pick her up again.
"I know that seeing such a sight is overwhelming, so I will give you a moment to take it in. Briefly."
"..."
I was so close to retorting to his "consideration" sarcastically. But now isn't the time, so I'll bite my lip. Moving on.
I'll give Zateon credit, this place is indeed a lot to process so suddenly. From what my observation skills can gather, we are in a circular room of moderate size that gives the feeling of being isolated from the world outside–the only glimpse of life coming from the sea life that can be seen from the glass window at the far side of the room. Though within the room itself there isn't much in terms of furniture, save for the cushions on the floor surrounding an altar of sorts.
"Welcome to my aquatic base, or as most of us apostles tend to call it, "aquatic refuge". This room was not optimized for lounging outsiders, so I ask that you make do. Take a gander at the underwater scenery outside–rest assured thanks to the material, nothing on the outside can see in. However, I do ask that all of you get settled in sooner rather than later–immediately, in other words. I need to address some important things that will take quite some time."
...…
Zateon's eyes directly shift towards me, then gradually descend downward before returning to my face. Whatever question he's preparing to ask, he'd better do it before I pretend not to notice.
"Is Lily still…?"
"She's out cold. Still breathing, of course."
"My, you really did a number on her–the fact that she has not awakened after all this time is a testament to your prowess. Perhaps you will be the key to assisting me with Klia's madness."
"Slow down, I have yet to fully agree to help you with anything. This is your private bunker, right? Surely you now have the time to explain everything that I need to know."
"...yes, this is indeed a secretive location that serves a special purpose. Only my fellow apostles have access to this–I couldn't even tell Emma the details. Oh, and before it escapes my mind, you mentioned that Lily is still breathing despite being unconscious. Tell me, was that before we dove underwater or after?"
"It was...I'm an idiot."
"Emma, if you'd please."
"Yes, master."
At the command of Zateon's typical gesture, Emma gracefully extends her open arms towards me, offering to take Lily out of mine. I slightly hesitate in consideration for her condition, but Emma looks like she fully recovered in a short time.
Then again, I let Lily's lungs get flooded with water while in my grasp, so between me and Emma, it's evident who's she is safer with.
"Thanks, Emma."
"My pleasure, Vex."
With my gratitude conveyed, I feel free to pass Lily over to Emma's bosom. Wasting no time, she takes Lily to a resting area nearby and performs CPR.
My ears are picking up every little cough. Every single one makes me feel more and more guilty.
"Ahem, are you prepared, Vex?"
"Yeah, my mind just drifted off a bit…"
For the first time ever, I am genuinely thankful to hear Zateon's overpowering voice.
"Feel free to take a seat over here and get comfortable; the testimony that I'm about to tell you will be anything but."