Donovan finished brushing his teeth. He still had a hangover because of the beer from last night, but was more than ready to get back to work. He will not let a hangover keep him from working.
Dressed in a brown suit with a dark green necktie, he grabbed his umbrella and left his apartment.
It was currently 6:34 a.m.
Upon stepping out of his apartment building, Donovan let out a yawn. I didn't get enough sleep last night… Damn it…
Suddenly, he stopped. He saw a car parked in front of his apartment building. A familiar car. With a familiar plate number…
Immediately after that, he heard familiar voices. "Mr. Donovan!"
Turning to see who the voice belonged to, he saw the familiar faces of Ava, Nico, and Arden. The terrible trio. They were all wearing formal suits.
Donovan didn't want to believe it. No, no, surely, this isn't their car…
Ava and the two walked towards him with a giggle from the former.
"Mr. Donovan, it's good to see you! Oh, right, good morning!" Ava smiled.
Nico nodded, and said a simple "good morning." Arden simply nodded.
Donovan smiled. "Good morning, you three. What's the matter?"
Ava smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. "Well, actually… Mr. Tiero has another difficult mission for us, and we wanted for you to come with us… He insisted that you come with us, as well…"
Heh, are you already missing me, Mr. Tiero? Ugh, what the hell? Why'd I think that? Donovan nodded. "Alright."
"Awesome!" The faces of the trio lit up with joy.
It's so fun watching these three. Donovan couldn't help but smile. But his smile would disappear from what was going to happen next.
Ava, Nico, and Arden walked towards the car with the plate number "TTT3."
"…"
After getting inside, Nico—who was seated at the driver's seat—asked, "What's the matter, Mr. Donovan?"
This was his moment to ask. "Nico. Do you recall… somewhere from ten days ago, where you almost ran over a person? That was me." In truth, Donovan wasn't really going to "punish" them or anything. He just wanted closure on who almost sent him to the hospital.
Ava, Arden, and most specifically Nico, felt their hearts drop to their stomach.
"Um… Uh, I…" Nico was at a loss for words.
Suddenly, Donovan chuckled. "I'm just messing with you. No one got harmed, so all is well. But drive safely next time, hm?"
Ava gave Nico a good smack on the head. "See? What'd I tell you?" she said.
Arden sighed. Nico rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Donovan…"
Donovan then entered the car from the back seat, sitting beside Ava.
With that, the car started floating, and its wheels were brought inside the car. As the car drove, or rather, flew, Nico was lost in his thoughts.
How… did he know? Is Mr. Donovan actually very smart? No, he might just have a really good memory. Oh… the plate number! Eureka! He snapped his fingers, having come to a triumphant discovery.
Meanwhile, Donovan was rubbing his right temple with a thumb. Goddamn it… No more alcohol, no more beer, no more liquor! No more! I f*cking hate hangovers!
The ride to the Portal Chamber was a quick and quiet one. The car was parked nearby, and everyone exited.
Tiero was seated on a metal bench. Beside him was a cup of coffee, and in his hands was a simple ham sandwich. He was dressed in only a white shirt and black pants this time.
He noticed Donovan and the others. He finished his ham sandwich, and took a sip of his coffee. Calling out to them, he stood up.
"Donovan. You were absent yesterday. Hangover?" Tiero asked.
Donovan nodded his head. "My bad. Hangovers are terrible…"
With a laugh, Tiero handed the four of them the Planet Cards for the planet they were going to go to.
Hearing Donovan's and Tiero's conversation, the trio imagined a drunk Donovan walking and stumbling, but even their imaginations failed them. They could never see Donovan acting that way.
"401-Leyura-29. Your mission today will be to confirm that a Devourer is on the planet. After confirmation, you are to quickly leave. Do not engage. That's all." Tiero sipped on his coffee after he finished speaking.
Devourer… Donovan recalled his first ever Devourer encounter on the planet Kolun. He remembered the dread and fear he felt from it.
"…Huh? That's it? I thought we were going to fight it… Turns out, this mission isn't that difficult after all," said Nico.
Don't jinx it… Donovan sighed. Also, what do you mean "fight it"?! I can't even beat that thing!
"Devourer… It'll be my first time seeing one." Ava said. After she spoke, Nico and Arden realized that it'll be their first time seeing a Devourer too.
Tiero cleared his throat. "You'll be teleported on a boat from somewhere around the area where we think the Devourer is located… Remember, only confirm that a Devourer is indeed on the planet. Do not engage."
With that, he said his trademark words, "Be quick and precise. Remember your training, and good luck."
Donovan and the trio disappeared with a bright flash of blue light.
401-Leyura-29.
Upon arriving, the four of them found themselves standing on a small boat. Before them were the vast, blue sea. There was no sight of land anywhere. Orange moonlight was shining down on them. It was currently nighttime for this planet.
Suddenly, they heard someone clear their throat from behind.
It was a man with thick eyebrows with gray, stubble beard. Johnny White!
Mr. Johnny… Donovan was momentarily surprised.
"Huh? Mr. Johnny?" asked Ava. It seems the three of them also knew the messenger of Tiero.
The man, Johnny White, was wearing a white shirt with brown suspenders and brown pants. Then, he nodded. "Donovan, Ava, Nico, and Arden… It's been a while." His voice was rough.
"I'm the one operating this ship," said Johnny.
It's barely even a ship… Donovan sighed inwardly.
Suddenly, Johnny said, "I suspect that the Devourer is directly below us, but I am not sure. These waters are deep, very deep. My equipment does not allow me to go too deep into these waters. But you, Donovan, are a Mage."
"Truth be told, even if I had the right equipment for this, I would not venture any further. I simply… lost my nerve. Take one look underwater, and you'll see what I mean." Johnny's voice had a slight tremble to them.
Johnny's words shook Ava and the two to the core. Donovan was slightly disturbed. He felt compelled to ask, "Have you discovered any of this planet's underwater creatures?"
Johnny shook his head. "No. But this planet is an ocean planet. It is very likely… that there are monstrous sea creatures. Be careful, Donovan. Make sure to use night vision."
Donovan nodded.
"Be careful, Mr. Donovan." Nico said, and the two said the same thing.
Donovan activated his Flight and Barrier spells. Then, he slowly submerged underwater. This reminded him of his mission on the planet Karlon.
Taking one look underwater, Donovan felt dread grip his heart. It was complete darkness! It was as though he was staring into the abyss, and the abyss was staring back at him.
The barrier didn't let water enter.
He then used Eyes of the Sun, making his eyes glow bright. He could see better now, but it didn't completely expel the darkness.
Eyes of the Sun barely helps… Damn it, this reminds me of the days as a child when turning off the lights before going to bed, and having to rush back to the bedroom…
Donovan went deeper. With a sigh, he stopped casting Flight. Then, he went to his watch. Hydro Sprint.
Nothing happened.
He realized that because of the barrier, his body wasn't wet, making Hydro Sprint register that he wasn't underwater. A few centuries, and they still haven't done a thing about that…
Valuing his safety more, he scrapped the idea and went back to using Flight.
The deeper he went underwater, the darker it became.
Will the pressure crush my barrier? I hope not…
This was the most tense Donovan had ever gotten. He would rather fight a Reaper-type than do this.
With a tsk, Donovan used Light Blitz to speed the mission up. Light Blitz only lasts for half a second. He used Light Blitz five times before coming to a stop. Donovan swore he heard something.
What was that? Damn it, Eyes of the Sun, work, will you?!
The noise sounded more like a low roar.
Creepy. I should really finish this quickly—
Suddenly, he froze.
From down below, he saw two points of red light. At that moment, the duration of Eyes of the Sun ended, making him use it again hurriedly.
Upon using Eyes of the Sun again, the two points of light had become bigger!
Fear gripped his heart. He couldn't move.
One, two, three, four, five seconds…
The two points of red light were slowly getting larger and larger.
No, not larger…
Closer!
After three seconds, Donovan finally saw what he was facing.
In actuality, the two points of red light were actually a pair of eyes! And a large sea creature was headed for him!
Donovan gasped. He then "flew" away, towards the surface.
But then, what seemed to be the sea creature's tongue, had grabbed hold of Donovan's barrier, bringing him closer to its mouth!
He used Eyes of the Sun's laser eyes to melt off the creature's tongue.
As the sea creature got closer, Donovan saw more of its features. It was similar to a piranha. It had very sharp teeth, but its lower end was similar to an octopus!
The creature's tongue regenerated! As it tried to grab hold of Donovan once again, he quickly used Light Blitz.
Then, using this opportunity, he pointed his eyes at the gigantic sea creature.
The creature roared, feeling intense, scorching heat. Donovan had used Eyes of the Sun to directly strike its belly.
But after a while, it regenerated!
Damn it!
Its pairs of red eyes stared at Donovan. The creature opened its mouth wide, and charged straight at him.
Light Blitz. He used Light Blitz two times.
Then, Donovan summoned ten spears of light. The spears were headed for the creature's eyes. Unfortunately, it missed.
Light Beam!
Ineffective. The sea monster regenerated.
Donovan was tempted to use Lightning Strike, but just like in Karlon, he didn't know how the spell would react underwater.
How the f*ck do I kill this thing?! It's the first time I've faced a regenerating monster… The one at Tosla doesn't count… What do I strike? The heart? The brain…?
The creature charged at Donovan once again.
Frustrated, Donovan used Light Beam along with Eyes of the Sun. He didn't move from his spot. The two beams of light went in the opposite direction of each other. One went up, the other went down.
In the surface, Johnny and the others were surprised by the sudden appearance of a beam of light rising up from the surface of the ocean.
"He's fighting something!" shouted Johnny.
"Mr. Donovan…"
"What is he fighting? The Devourer?" asked Arden.
"I'm not sure…"
***
The sea creature was split in half vertically. For a moment, its flesh was attempting to reconnect with the flesh from the other part of the creature, but as the two split parts got further away, the regenerating stopped.
The intensity of using two fuel-heavy spells at the same time had given Donovan a slight headache, and it made him stop casting Barrier.
Running out of air, he activated his umbrella's ability, Water Breathing. Feeling air entering his lungs, he let out a long exhale.
Hopefully, that's the end of it… I now understand the frustration that comes with fighting regenerating enemies…
Donovan went to his watch, and used Hydro Sprint, going deeper underwater. His body was still bursting with adrenaline.
He cast Barrier once again.
Donovan got deeper and deeper. Suddenly, there was a slight tremble underwater.
Although he was underwater, making sounds harder to hear, he heard the sound of a distant black hole.