How to Get Yourself a Familiar (2)

The fight was draining out the water demon. He was practically attacking to an endless repetitive fight. As much as he fought, the giant octopus woman grew as much stronger on each attack.

For some time, I had suspected that something wasn't right—or rather, something wrong with her attacks.

Blue blood rippled from her bleeding limbs, but her face didn't show a hint of pain. Instead, she looked satisfied. Those attacks from water demon managed to scratch her tentacles, but there was a gap in each time she struck him. In fact, it appeared as though she was luring him to take the bait.

After getting a few hits from the water demon, she rushed a few steps behind. I caught a glimpse of grin on her face. She suddenly swirled, extended her limbs as she crawled up. My stomach felt the urge to vomit, but I gulped it back, leaving bad aftertaste. I knew she was holding me as a hostage, but please be considerate. Damn. Enough with the sudden toilet flushing and spinning!

She then squirted her toxic ink like a powerful arrow on the water demon's direction. As the water clouded with black ink, she took her chances by striking again with her limbs, slashing him repeatedly. The view before me was still murky as ever, and I could hardly see a thing. I could hear the sound of water demon hissing in pain.

He plummeted though the sea levels, before landing on a giant rock away from the ink exposed area. The octopus woman followed him out, lumbered towards him. Even from where I was, I could see his body had a few large cuts, almost covered by blood, but it rippled, blending with the sea.

"So, what now, bratty snake? Feeling to save the human or save yourself?" A sneer touched the edge of her lips.

It irked him that the octopus woman could wound him badly. He was furious enough to let his guard down.

Excited by her provocation, her tentacles constrained me tighter. Simultaneously, pain lurked in that demon water's eyes. He reflexively grabbed his left arm exactly where my left arm felt the pain. It seemed as though, himself, was having the same feeling that I suffered. He gave out an irritated hissed. "What have you done, eight-legged? What dirty little tricks are you playing?"

"Nothing," she sneered at him. "Looks like I got your weakness first. Human and mythical beast, two lives bundled with each other. Fascinating, indeed."

She licked her lips as her pitch black eyes dropped on me. She brought me closer to her, with a hard grip. The octopus woman curled her lips into an evil grin, whispered to my ears ravenously, "Human, you're no ordinary one, aren't you? You smell different from any other human. Tell me, if I eat you first, what taste will you bring to my senses?"

Dammit. If she dare to eat me, I'll bring the hell out of her! As if she could hear the retort in my head, she was tightening her grip on my body. A growl of pain, escaped from my mouth. It just wasn't fair, her grip was too strong for me to escape. But still her words chilled me to the bones, because an evil spirit like her would really mean it. She would stake me out down here in this deep water, crunching and munching every bit of flesh and bones with her beak—like an octopus—until there was nothing left of me, not even for a memorandum.

Augh!

The sick, horrid thought made me want to vomit, but I forced myself to just breathe—in and out, in and out. I couldn't give in to the panic, if I did that I was probably dead. Calm, I had to stay calm.

I may be a devouring food in this creature's eyes, but I could think—working and developing brain cells. That was the only way for me to survive.

Think, Huayu. Think.

Wait...

Every creature has a weak point, she said that out loud on purpose. She sardonically wanted to give oppression to the water demon. Which means, her weakness could be seen!

For the first time, I felt lucky she took me with her limb. That way, I could be up close to the octopus woman. My mind opened to a myriad of possibilities. Her weakness could be anywhere. I ran a quick scan over her, hoping my prediction was right.

She fought mostly with her limbs, so basically she let her opponents focused on attacking them. There must have something hidden, something unseen...

And then I saw something that made me freeze in astonishment. A surreptitiously marking, that innocuous-looking rune had a dim light behind her neck. It looked pretty harmless. One thing was for certain. Only to try it out.

But the more I pulled myself, the more her grip tightened. My situation was basically trapped. How was I supposed to hit it? I couldn't just yell it out to water demon, it would literally be a suicide squad. What a dumbass idea.

Come on, brain juices! Think, think, think...

She did say something about bundle... A bundle?!

Yes, bundle! Me and him, bundled like a package. At first, he probably didn't feel my pain because he had yet wounded. Although he wasn't all bloody or broken-looking, but he was badly injured—and he could feel my pain simultaneously. She said this was his weak point, but there might be a possibility to change it. Maybe, we were somehow connected. I figured out a way to try my assumption.

What did the TV's yoga instructor always said again—Right, close your eyes. Clear your thoughts, let all the negative emotions and thoughts poured away. Breathe in, breathe out. Find peace in your mind.

Gearing up, I was full and focused on that water demon. I remained calm. On my head I was screaming, "Water demon!"

I peeked with my right eye. He didn't budge an inch. Okay... Maybe the first try wasn't that much successful. Closed my eyes again, I thought of nothing. Blank. "Water demon!"

Um... Well, this was kind of awkward. I tried again. Heavens, why did I feel like there was no signal between us?

If I failed again to call him—then all the squeezes of my brain juices efforts would be useless.

"Water demon! Yo-ho!! Waterrr demonn!" I yelled, it felt like I was chanting mantra of some wacky cult. I even added my own sound of tambourine, "Water demon! Bum, bum! Water demon! Bum, bum!"

For a moment, water demon looked livid, I thought it was because of the octopus woman. He waggled his eyebrows. Then to my surprise, he gave an irritated flick with his tongue, and yelled back on me in his head. "Who are you calling water demon?! I have a name! Who are you?"

Yes! It worked. If only I was on the ground, I'd probably hop in excitement. I cocked my head back and forth, widened my eyes, blinked them a few times—literally using eyes as if waving my hands at him, "I'm the human, here! Human-hostage!"

He swiveled his head left to right. Then his greenish eyes roamed my face, looking in disbelief. "You... called me? How is that—"

"Urn... Yes, that's possible," I cut him off in my head. "Well, Mr. Water demon, we don't have much time. I have a proposition for you. I think I know her weak spot. There's a rune behind her neck, if you can hit it, maybe we can survive."

"Hey human, the name is'sss NOT water demon. I'm the great mythical beast, Huashe." Even on his head, he couldn't miss his hissing habit.

"And my name isn't human. It's Huayu," I quipped.

"Alright, Huayu," he accidentally emphasized on my name, "on what basis I have to trust a mere mortal?"

"You're wounded, and I'm trapped—we're practically on the same boat. A group of two is always better than a sole fighter, right? It's a win-win solution for both of us," my voice was full of conviction and persuasion.

He frowned at me thoughtfully for a moment, then said, "How did you notice?"

I snorted, "I can't just be a hostage for nothing."

He gave me a deep chuckle. "I can't believe I actually accept a human's help. Alright, you must have a plan in mind. Tell me."

"I do, but first—" I bit my lips, hesitated, "—do you mind if you broke one your beautifully sharp nail?"