Donovan stopped.
The sound of a distant black hole… An Annihilith… Is it the Devourer?
As he was about to activate Hydro Sprint once again, his eyes widened.
Two points of red light.
Not again! F*cking hell!
Determined to finish this quickly, Donovan used Eyes of the Sun and Light Beam at the same time.
One, two, three, four seconds…
The two points of red light, or rather, the pair of red eyes slowly disappeared.
Phew… I should've done that from the very start… And I'm kinda running low on Umbrella Fuel.
As Donovan was about to venture further, there was another tremble. The water around him shivered.
Then, he almost felt his eardrums burst from the sudden roar from deep below!
Agh!
After the roar, Donovan calmed his nerves. Then, he squinted his eyes.
What is that?
There seemed to be… two points of green light coming from the darkness deep below. It was very tiny.
Below the two tiny points of green light were a larger point of green light.
For some reason, Donovan felt a strange fear gripping his heart. He didn't know what this was, but it seemed very… familiar…
Another roar.
The three points of green light seemed to be getting larger. No, closer!
Donovan gasped once again.
He recalled his time on the planet Kolun. The Devourer he encountered there had green eyes and a mouth dripping with green liquid.
And its roar… was very much similar to the roar of this one!
Donovan felt air get removed from his lungs, even though Water Breathing was still active. Adrenaline surged throughout his body, and he activated Hydro Sprint, heading towards the surface.
Not good, not good, not good! F*ck, f*ck, f*ck! We need to leave, now!
Meanwhile, up on the surface.
Johnny was sitting on top of a wooden barrel, smoking a cigarette.
"I hope he's alright…" said Nico.
Arden then said, "Relax. All Mr. Donovan needs to do is confirm there's a Devourer, head back to the surface, and tell us to leave. Simple."
"You say that as if it were so easy." Ava said with a tsk.
"Heh. I've been scuba diving since I was a kid," said Arden with a chuckle.
Nico stopped looking at the ocean to say something to Arden, but at that moment, Donovan surfaced from the water.
He flew to the small boat, gasping for air.
"Mr. Donovan!" shouted Ava.
Nico and Arden approached him, concern etched into their faces.
"Donovan. What happened? Is there a Devourer?" asked Johnny. He had stopped smoking his cigarette.
As Donovan calmed down, he shouted one word that shook them to the core, "Leave!"
But before they could even activate the teleportation sequence, "something" rose up from the ocean, knocking the entire boat and everyone away.
Everyone was sent underwater. Nico hit his head on the part of the boat, losing consciousness. Arden was dazed, also losing consciousness. Ava was sent deeper underwater, but she was conscious.
Confused, scared, shocked, and filled with fear, she swam upwards.
The boat couldn't withstand the impact. It had been completely destroyed, with bits and pieces falling from above, and scattered in the ocean.
Johnny floated up into the surface. After an ear-piercing roar that came from somewhere, Johnny regained consciousness. His head was bleeding. Then, as he tried to swim, he winced in pain. A wooden part of the boat was stuck in his stomach. He was bleeding very badly.
He searched for his umbrella, but he couldn't find it because of the darkness. He was a Fighter-type, having chosen Berserker for his first Path. If he had his umbrella, he could stop the bleeding.
He couldn't even swim because of the pain. The cold was spreading throughout his body. Johnny White was nearing the end of his life.
Suddenly, his body surged with adrenaline!
One of the traits for the Fighter Class were: "At the verge of death, adrenaline will quickly and greatly rush throughout the body…"
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to swim. Then, he felt something touch his arm. An umbrella.
Meanwhile, Ava rose to the surface, desperately searching for the others. She was panicking.
She submerged underwater, but couldn't see anything because of the darkness. She shouted, "Nico! Arden! Mr. Donovan! Mr. Johnny!"
"Where are you?!" She looked everywhere in all directions for something, but couldn't see anything. Nico, Arden, Donovan, Johnny, and her umbrella…
Ava swam in a random direction. She didn't know where she was going, exactly.
The ocean was raging wildly. It was getting harder to swim, and water kept entering her mouth. Ava was never good at swimming.
As she was about to lose hope, someone grabbed her arm! She was pulled out from the water, rising into the air.
It was Donovan Volgard. Using Eyes of the Sun, he spotted Nico's floating body, and fished him out of the water as well.
He slowly dropped the two to a small, destroyed part of the boat.
Ava shouted, "Mr. Donovan! Arden, he's—"
"I know."
At that moment, Donovan submerged underwater, using Eyes of the Sun to desperately search for Arden.
But then, he saw something rising from deep below.
He readied his umbrella, but after a while, he calmed down.
Johnny rose up to the surface with the unconscious Arden in his arms. Donovan rose up to the surface as well, grabbed Johnny's right hand, and dropped the two off to Ava and Nico.
Johnny then performed CPR on Arden. After a while, Arden coughed up all the water he had swallowed.
"We need to leave… I'm very badly injured, and so is Nico, our only Healer…" said Johnny.
Ava coughed before speaking, "I'm missing my umbrella, and so is Nico's and Arden's…"
"Don't worry, I have mine." Johnny activated the teleportation sequence. Ava carried Nico on her shoulder, and Arden was on Johnny's shoulder. She put a hand on Johnny's shoulder. This way, the four of them would be teleported.
Ava looked at the stunned Donovan who was staring off into the distance. "…Mr. Donovan?"
Donovan was in a daze. Using Eyes of the Sun, he could see through the darkness, and see the Devourer in the far distance.
It was way larger and more colossal than the Devourer on the planet Kolun. It was as though he was staring at a walking, living mountain.
Suddenly, the Devourer's pair of green eyes landed on him. This got Donovan out of his stupor.
Johnny yelled, "Donovan! Get in here! What are you—"
As Johnny was about to reach a hand towards Donovan, he was too late. The four of them were teleported back into Umbrellas.
Donovan turned around. Earlier, he hit his head on something blunt, so he was trying very hard to stay conscious. The back of his head was bleeding. "Guys…? Where'd you go…?"
***
"Sir! Tiero's team confirmed that there is indeed a Devourer on the planet Leyura."
"Have they returned to Umbrellas?"
"Yes."
"Blast that monstrosity to Hell already."
***
Donovan fell underwater because of a large wave. He activated his Flight spell, flying out of the water and high into the air.
He heard another roar that almost shattered his eardrums. "Ugh…"
My head hurts… I think I'm losing consciousness…
But amidst his daze, he managed to activate the teleportation sequence.
Suddenly, the dark sky turned dark red.
Shortly after that, a colossal red beam descended from the sky.
Donovan teleported away just in time.
With an earth-shattering roar, the Devourer was devoured in pure destruction, creating a tsunami larger than a mountain after the impact of the colossal red beam.
Portal Chamber, Umbrellas.
Donovan appeared in a flash of blue light. He fell to the ground, losing consciousness.
Tiero, Johnny, and the trio quickly approached.
"Donovan!" shouted Tiero.
A woman in a white suit with a yellow necktie approached. She then cast a simple healing spell, as well as a spell exclusive to the Healer Class, God's Embrace.
Donovan woke up with a coughing fit, and the bleeding on his head had stopped.
"You'll be alright now," said the woman.
"Mr. Donovan!" Ava, Nico, and Arden approached.
Donovan was still in a daze. "What happened…?"
Suddenly, he felt a smack on the head. It came from Tiero. "Johnny told me. Next time, stop being so absent-minded and pay attention to what's happening around you."
Bits and pieces of what happened were starting to return to him. Donovan chuckled awkwardly. "My bad…"
Nico helped Donovan stand up.
Tiero nodded. "Mission's a success. But the five of you almost died. Ah, but I'm not giving you extra—" Ava quickly put a hand on Tiero's mouth. "Ah…!"
"Hm? Extra what?" asked Johnny.
After Tiero removed Ava's hand, he said, "Nothing, nothing…"
"Man… I don't want to face a Devourer ever again! No more!" shouted Ava.
Nico rubbed the back of his head. "Agreed…"
Donovan let out a sigh of relief. I'm glad everything worked out fine… Devourers are really a scary thing to encounter… Do they just spend years sleeping underground or underwater? Wait, come to think of it…
Back in Kolun, a bunch of Drones were digging on the exact spot where the Devourer was sleeping…
And in Karlon, there were Annihiliths underwater as well… Were they… also digging…?
If so, then… there might be a Devourer on the planet Karlon!
Donovan felt air get knocked out of his lungs. But… should I tell Tiero? If I tell him, then the higher-ups will know… And they might send a team to Karlon to confirm this… If they do, the Devourer will wake up, and the city on the planet Karlon will be reduced to dust…
I should keep this to myself… Don't wake a monster in its slumber… Wait a minute, was I… the one who woke up the Devourer from earlier? With the Light Beam and Eyes of the Sun…? Haha… Ah…
Suddenly, he was released from his thinking by the voice of the white-suited woman in a yellow necktie.
"Thank goodness I was passing by. Am I still needed here?" She had long, white hair with streaks of gold, and her skin was very pale. She had a gentle smile on her expression, and her eyes were pure white with a bit of yellow.
She was holding onto a silver cane. On her right shoulder was a white cape.
Tiero pressed his right hand on his chest, and bowed. "My sincerest gratitude, Ms. Isabelle."
Johnny bowed as well. Donovan, Ava, and the others were confused as to who this woman that healed them was, but they bowed anyway.
"Raise your heads, don't be so tense and formal around me," she said with a gentle chuckle. Her voice was soft and gentle.
Some of the Visitors passing by around them were in awe and amazement, while some were confused as to why they were in awe.
Isabelle turned to Tiero. "Tiero, a moment, please."
Tiero nodded, walking away with the woman named Isabelle.
After that, Ava asked Johnny, "Mr. Johnny, who is she?"
The messenger chuckled. "Her name is Hana Isabelle. She is a Shade of Umbrellas."
Upon hearing this, Donovan and the others were shocked.
A Shade…! A Shade?! This is… my first time meeting one! She's a total powerhouse! Donovan forced himself to calm down.
"Woah… A Shade of Umbrellas…" Arden was in awe. Now he understood why those passing by were surprised.
Johnny continued, "Her title as a Shade is 'Sunrise.' She's a Healer-type, and a very strong one at that."
Nico's eyes widened at this. "Healer…"
"That's so cool…! Man, I want to be a Shade too…" said Ava.
"Still got a long way to go, Ava," said Donovan. My only goal is to return home, so reaching the level of a Shade is out of the question for me… Heh, is it even possible…?
"Anyway, I'm very tired… I'm too old to be doing this kind of mission…" Johnny walked away.
"Same… I wanna hit the bath right away." Nico said.
With that, everyone went their separate ways.
As Donovan walked, he couldn't help but think, Was Benedict a Shade too? Or was he a Raincoat? Right, the Visitor Records…! I will not delay this any longer.
He turned back, walking towards Tiero and the Shade.