Since the last battle, our expedition to the unknown had become really dangerous. Nothing was as it seemed; the structure that looked peaceful was never peaceful.
I stared at Peter's unconscious body. Due to his help, we were able to escape from the Gatekeeper and the Kraken. Quinn left both me and Peter, leaving with Mark and Edward.
The reason was simple: he thinks Peter is a dead weight, even though he saved us, and I won't accept that, so he left us.
And there was another reason we parted ways.
****
The submarine dashed through the entrance while the Gatekeeper fought the Kraken. From the first few exchanges, you could see that the Gatekeeper was more powerful than the Kraken.
I hated being on the receiving end of the battle. From what I could observe, the Kraken wouldn't last more than 5 minutes. I could feel the Kraken's death stare as it saw us passing through the entrance. From that stare, I could guess it was trying to say, 'If I ever survive this, I would hunt all of you down with my last breath.'
The Kraken was still struggling to fight Scylla, but the same couldn't be said for its subordinates. Both of them were dead even before the battle began.
The Kraken launched its tentacles to wrap around Scylla, only to have them cut off by one of the dog-like heads. Scylla just smiled viciously towards her attacker.
"It has been a century since I've seen someone entertain me," the sea goddess confessed as she battled the Kraken.
The Kraken retaliated with another strong attack. The battle was heated, and the Kraken was on the losing side, but that didn't shake its confidence.
The Kraken attacked again, this time puffing out ink in all directions, blocking both my view and its attacker's view.
"I like feisty ones," she commented on the Kraken's attack.
Nobody knew where the Kraken was, but there was one thing everyone knew: it couldn't escape due to the tornado barrier.
'That could be its trump card,' I thought.
Initially, I thought Scylla would have defeated the Kraken easily, but the Kraken was like a cockroach that refuses to die.
When the ink dissipated, the Kraken was following us into the entrance but was stopped by Scylla.
Even though the gap between the two fighters was great, Scylla was able to close it effortlessly. She was like a seasoned warrior who excels in the art of war.
There were no gaps or mistakes in her movements as she fought the Kraken. This was most likely due to the countless battles she had fought. She finally caught the Kraken as we moved closer to the entrance.
With a last peek, I saw the Kraken being crushed and eaten by the dog-like heads. This was inevitable, and it would have been our fate if not for Peter's help.
Speaking of Peter, after he had turned on the autopilot, he immediately fell to the floor unconscious due to exhaustion.
Thanks to his help, the submarine was able to move far away from the Gatekeeper, allowing us to regain control of our bodies.
I rushed towards him, picked him up, and laid him on my lap. I gazed at his perfectly sculptured face and his alluring lips.
I couldn't take my eyes away from his face; it took about 2 minutes to steel myself not to look at the beautiful, helpless face.
'Why am I suddenly attracted to him?' I asked myself that question.
There was nothing I could do but pray that he eventually wakes up.
The submarine finally passed through the entrance, and the once-shrouded structure finally showed us its appearance. The building was really big, and there was one thing we noticed: the color.
The building was painted grey all through, almost resembling the color of the sea. It was evident that the person who painted it didn't have an artistic taste.
The building was like a royal castle in the medieval period. It had grand, fortified stone buildings with thick walls, towers, and sometimes moats. It had tapestries, banners, and ornate furnishings showcasing the wealth of its once-prestige owner. Several large windows with stained glass in lead frames were fixed on various sides of the castle. The roof was stoned, sometimes lead for grandeur.
This revealed the date of the construction; it was most likely created during the medieval period when kings and queens were highly sought after.
In the present age, the word 'king' had no relevance in the position of the world; nobody even knew what it meant, except those who were knowledgeable about the topic. So, it was quite a sight to see a castle for all of us.
All of us took in the sight as it was our first time seeing one, but that was cut short due to distressing news.
"Oxygen level has hit critical level; please engage emergency procedure," the system said.
All of us thought that was the end of our lives until the submarine landed heavily on dry land.
"What just happened?" Edward worriedly asked.
"We landed on dry land, but how?" Mark answered.
There was no way to answer that question, and we couldn't be cautious due to our situation; each one of us bolted for the door.
I took in the fresh air as I exited the submarine while carrying Peter on my back. What greeted us first was the harsh reality of the sun.
'How could a sun be here?' I wondered as I stared at the sky, confirming my thought.
That was another mystery that couldn't be solved. I stared at the front of us and was given another surprise.
What was at the front of us was none other than a desert, and the castle was like a distant silhouette.
"When did that happen?"
We didn't immediately begin our journey towards the castle. First, we packed our resources and rested for some hours.
After escaping from Scylla, we were both physically and mentally drained. I glanced beside me only to find that he was still unconscious.
'I hope he wakes up soon.'
We began our journey towards the castle with renewed strength and hope.