Swallowed

Kei was swallowed

It was dark, Kei didn't know where he was disoriented he we was rolling on the ground or at least what it seemed like it, the surface of the ground felt like hard leather, Kei rolled on the ground which turned into a slope which turned into a steep fall, Kei turned around and pushed his blade inside the leathery flesh ground slowing his fall, he barely managed to lodge it deep enough for it to not slip off, it was only possible because the Culling Jian was of a rare quality and quite sharp.

'Yep, I should've stayed home, why did I ever decide to go on that field trip'

The air was pungent and thick, Kei's eyes was slowly adjusting to the dark, he saw tiny bioluminescent insects flit about, illuminating the darkness, he saw the pulsating walls which was covered in mucus like substance surrounding him from all sides, below him in the darkness was a pool of pitch black tar like acid, there were countless bones of creatures littered around in the bottom.

Above him he saw something, It was a silhouette of a young girl falling towards him,

'oh shi.. Ayumi, she's gonna fall'

Kei swung his body and launched himself into the air dislodging his blade, Kei caught Ayumi with his free hand, their bodies interlocked as they spun together, surrendering to the dizzying sensation of free fall.

Kei tried to lodge his blade into the pulsating wall meanwhile Ayumi did the same, they were suddenly very close, Kei was holding Ayumi around her waist, her body was pressed up against his, he could sense the warmth of Ayumi's body against his, even in the dim lighting Kei could see her face up close, he could feel her breath with the cool air around them.

'how, what aaaaaahh, I'm holding Ayumi, Calm down calm down, not the best situation right now,,,,, I take it back going to that field trip best decision in my life'

Kei's whole body was in turmoil especially his heart, an electric feeling jolted his body, he tried to calm himself down despite his raging heart.

"Are you ok" he asked, his voice steady despite the turmoil.

"I'm fine" Ayumi nodded but her face seemed flustered a hint of redness came across her face "umm, you can let go now"

Kei didn't realized he was still holding tightly onto her

"oh yeah, sorry" he lessened his grip enough for her to stabilize herself

*****

In the battlefield in an instant, a massive shadow loomed over the rest of the party, The creature that had swallowed Kei and Ayumi was there it seemed gigantic, its grotesque form a swirling mass of tentacles and countless protruding limbs. It resembled a grotesque blend of a cephalopod and a worm, pulsating with a sinister energy. 

Its whole body was covered in seemingly endless carapace of bone, Countless arms extended from its undulating body, each one moving independently, lashing out with frightening speed.

It pulsated an sickening aura, enough to make a mundane human fall unconscious by being in its general vicinity.

It had countless bulging eyes that locked on to the small humans in the battlefield, its maw seemed like the size of its entire head ready to consume anything in its path.

The creatures attacking the party also halted seemingly stricken fearful of the newly emerged predator, A palpable tension filled the air as they instinctively took a few steps back, their earlier aggression was replaced by an instinctual urge to retreat.

In a matter of moments, their chaotic assault turned into a disorderly retreat. The creatures backed away, their eyes wide with dread, as they sought to distance themselves from the looming threat.

"What is that?, where's Kei?" Chrome exclaimed, sitting on the ground in absolute shock, he had never seen such an appalling creature in his life looming over the entirety of the battlefield.

"This aura..." Hilda was standing between the Chrome, Yuna and the creature, gritting her teeth "It's a fiend-class creature" she declared, her voice steady despite the overwhelming terror surrounding them. 

As she focused her energy, Hilda felt a flicker of hope amidst the chaos. "But... I can still sense Kei and Ayumi," she continued, her brow furrowing in concentration. "They're still alive! We have to do something!"

Donnes was the first one to react leaping in the direction of the ginormous creature, he was the only one who could square up against the fiend being a Sentinel himself, they were on the same level of power, at least on paper

The fiend did the same it turned its grotesque towards Donnes, seeing him as the main threat in the battlefield, The creature's countless bulging eyes focused on Donnes, its sinister energy pulsating with a renewed intensity. It sensed the challenge he posed and prepared to retaliate.

There was a deafening clash as Donnes met the charging abomination whit his warpick, countless shards of bone carapace was flung in the air, while the ground Donnes was standing on shattered under the overwhelming force of the assault, The earth trembled as he stood resolute, the weight of the assault reverberating through his bones, a testament to the sheer might of his adversary.

The rest of the party shortly joined the battle, the battlefield was transformed to a standoff between the fiend and Donnes and his party, the air crackled with anticipation, the scent of sweat and fear mingling with the acrid odor of the shattered carapace. 

"Don't try to kill it, they are still inside the creature, we need to immobilize it, Ella, Gord you know what to do" 

"Bad day for you to eat my students, now you've pissed me off"