50. Entering the Lair of the Bamboo-Woven Mat Monster

The young man instinctively drove his twin Taraka daggers deep into the body of Lulun Samak. A fierce struggle erupted as the creature thrashed wildly, fighting to launch itself at Arkana. Only then did he notice the intense heat radiating from the creature's scales every time they touched his skin.

But he ignored this strange sensation, as his position in the water was already precarious. The young prince considered calling one of his vines to pull him up out of the water. His breath was nearly gone, and he was feeling the strain of holding off the monster any longer.

As one of the vines shot down toward him, a belated assist suddenly slammed into the creature with tremendous force.

Casildo's hammer, Wira, spun through the river depths, smashing into Lulun Samak with a Rampaging Smash that unleashed a torrent of blood. The blow produced a crackling sound as bones splintered, teeth flew out of the creature's gaping mouth, and its body was forced from the water, tumbling toward the riverbank.

At last, the figure behind the hammer revealed himself, plunging into the water with a mischievous grin aimed at the young prince—a clear taunt, almost as if Casildo was savoring his revenge.

Arkana felt a surge of irritation but offered his hand to his annoyingly lucky friend. He grasped the waiting vine and, along with Casildo, pulled himself out of the water.

Standing above the river, they watched as the Wira hammer pinned Lulun Samak to the stone wall, its sharpened spear-like spike holding the monster in place, leaving it helpless.

"It looks like Lulun Samak is barely hanging on; should we head down now?" Gavin asked the others in their makeshift shelter.

Trisha glanced over at Arkana and Casildo, clinging to the vine outside. "We should get down there before the whirlpool fades," she urged them with urgency.

"But the fish isn't actually dead yet. What if it breaks free and comes after us again?" Zacky said, his eyes filled with dread at the sight of the weakening Lulun Samak.

Everyone turned to assess the creature, whose body was battered by the relentless assault of their weapons. Its sharp teeth were nearly gone, and broken bones protruded from its flesh. Even if it did manage to escape the grip of Wira's hammer, it seemed unlikely to pose the same threat as before.

After weighing their options, Arkana was about to release everyone from the Rootbound Prison. But the river water suddenly took on a murky green tint, making him reconsider.

"Why did the water turn green all of a sudden?" Casildo wondered aloud.

"Look at Lulun Samak's body—there's green liquid seeping from between its scales!" Trisha exclaimed, spotting the thick green substance trickling from the creature's wounds.

"It must be causing the water to change color," she said, watching the green liquid drip into the river.

"What is that stuff?" Baron asked, puzzled. "That can't be blood; the blood we saw was red."

"No matter what it is, we need to know if it's dangerous," Trisha replied firmly.

The muscular young man immediately took action, testing the liquid with his terra-control abilities. With a swift motion, he launched several stones from the riverbank directly into the water.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

"Damn! It's poison!" He cursed as the stones dissolved the moment they touched the water, as if they'd entered a pool of sulfuric acid capable of melting anything it touched.

Realizing the grave danger, everyone grew uneasy. "What now? Swimming into the monster's lair is impossible now," Gavin muttered, realizing that entering the poisonous river meant risking being turned to human mush.

Arkana's eyes narrowed as he looked directly at the fish monster. "It's not impossible if we can neutralize the poison."

"But we don't even know if there's an antidote," Casildo argued.

"When Lulun Samak wrapped itself around you, did you feel any unusual heat?" the young prince asked his friend.

Casildo nodded. "Yeah, so?"

"Just now, when I touched its scaled body, I felt that same heat. But when its tail struck me, there was a cold sensation that spread through me," Arkana replied, frowning. "It's like poison and antidote in contrast."

"So you think the monster's scales carry poison, but its tail might have some kind of antidote?" Trisha chimed in quickly.

Instead of answering, the young prince instructed Casildo to hold onto the vine suspending them. "Hold this."

"For what?" Casildo raised an eyebrow but complied, gripping the vine tightly.

In the distance, another vine shot toward them at Arkana's command. He leaped onto the vine, which coiled securely around his waist, allowing him more freedom without needing to cling to it. With both hands free, he hurled his twin Taraka daggers toward Lulun Samak.

The two spinning blades soared through the air, and at one point mid-flight, they fused into a massive silver-gold dagger, sharp and powerful.

Seeing his successful weapon transformation, Arkana swung himself toward Lulun Samak with impressive speed, while Casildo cried out in surprise, "Hey, bro! What are you doing?!"

Ignoring his friend's outburst, the young prince reached for the handle of his dagger. With less than a foot separating him from his target, he swung it down.

Splat!

Growlll!!!

Lulun Samak's final roar filled the cavern as the Taraka Golden-Silver Unification dagger struck its life-ending blow, severing the tail—its greatest weakness. The creature's battered body slumped into the water, and its severed tail fell in after it.

A pale blue glow radiated from the severed tail, unfurling like hundreds of shining blue tendrils illuminating the river's surface.

The whirlpool began to disappear, replaced by a massive blue wave that crashed through the river, clearing away the toxic green liquid in one powerful sweep.

As the wave receded, the underground river gradually drained, as if it had been forcibly dried up, leaving a vast, soft riverbed with a large hole at its center.

"That's the entrance to its lair," Arkana announced.

The vine around his waist loosened, and he jumped down, followed by Casildo. After landing, Arkana raised his gaze, motioning to lower the Rootbound Prison like an elevator, releasing the others inside.

The intertwining roots and vines unraveled, finally opening up and freeing the people inside.

Once everyone was gathered, they stepped across the drained riverbed, heading toward the large hole they'd been seeking.

"I'll take the lead; Casildo, guard the rear," Arkana instructed, and everyone agreed without hesitation.