Molting the Mortal Coil

Chapter 848: Collection

Since there no was no direct fighting allowed in the cities of the Depths, then Sage had no need to leave any powerful bodyguards at the Prosperity Company theater. The only real downside of doing business here was the expensive transportation fees. If their goods werent produced locally then it would be very expensive to ship them in from the Lang Clan. While he was here it would be extremely simple for him to bring things out from the Inner World, but there was a limit to the amount of goods he could leave them. They would need to be most self-sufficient so he chose to create a presence that could make money without needing a large supply of materials. Hopefully in the future, others from the Lang Clan could also come to the Depths to train, but there was no telling when that would start so it was best if they could survive here on their own.

With the business in the capable hands of some of the most skilled managers from the Inner World along with the top works from a film industry spanning thousands of years, they would really have to be foolish to fail.

Days later.

Bubbles surge around Sage, rushing past him with what sounded like a roar. The immense quantity of small bubbles made it feel like hed momentarily entered another world halfway between above and below the sea. This strange situation only lasted for a moment before his speed pulled him out of a rapidly rising trail of bubbles. All around him he could see wide beams of bubbles and even more of them were being constantly formed. In the distance the source of these bubble trails was reorienting itself and spinning to face him once more.

It was another immense beast, spanning a couple hundred feet wide but with a height of only thirty feet. This creature was very wide, with the majority of its body made up of two huge wing-like fins. They werent the sort of wing that was traditionally thought of used by a bird or a bat, but the thick undulating sort used by a manta ray. In fact, this giant beast looked much like the giant manta ray that Sage knew from Earth, yet blown up to more than ten times their already immense size.

Unfortunately, this giant ray did not seem to be a peaceful filter feeder like its cousin from Earth. Instead of having a smooth mouth with a lower palate covered with specialized filter gills, this giant ray had a huge circular mouth that was thirty feet high and stuffed full of ten foot long fangs. These long pointed teeth were placed all around its circular mouth and their many staggered rows meant that passing through the gap in one row would head directly into the fang on the next. A closer look even showed that these fangs had a triangular profile so their front facing edge could carry a sharp edge like a blade. The rest of the beast wasnt all that different from a manta ray with the exception of its tail. Rather than a simple smooth sort of whip, this beast had ridged plates on the top and bottom that reminded Sage of a Stegosaurus back. After its first attack upon him, Sage had found out that the rays tail could swing perfectly well above or below its body. This thing used it like a flail on anything that could dodge its huge mouth.

Sage had almost been caught unaware by this giant beast, and he was actually very thankful that hed made it a habit to constantly swing his head to observe in every direction while he was swimming. It took a bit of effort to be constantly scanning his eyes in every direction, but he was convinced that something like this might happen. He was definitely not happy to be proven correct. Foresight gave him just enough of a warning for him to dart out of the way. It was only after it swung itself back around to face him again that he recognized what was going on and what was trying to do to him. The Hellmouth Ray was extremely fast and its ominous name was earned by way of its vicious reputation. It was notorious for its strafing runs, though that isnt the name that the locals used for this maneuver. It moved at such high speed that it became very difficult to avoid its giant mouth. If you were caught by this huge mouth youd likely run into the front of a blade-like fang and then the giant mouth could close down upon you and its sharp fangs could rip and tear you to bits.

When its mouth was open its passage caused a huge trail of small bubbles. Sage wasnt sure why such a thing happened. It could be because of how fast it was moving, maybe it spit out air as propulsion? Or maybe it was because it had its mouth open and bubbles formed in the water that was sucked through it? Maybe it just made the bubbles on purpose to disorient its prey? He really had no idea, but it made for quite the impressive sight. There must have been millions of tiny bubbles in range of his vision, acting as a visual reminder of how fast the Hellmouth Ray was and how much ground it could cover. These bubble trails showed the rays path, but they were also more and more inaccurate as time passed and they dispersed upwards.

After the initial ambush, Sage had a much easier time taking on the gigantic Hellmouth Ray. It would have been really bad to be caught unaware as the giant creature would have swallowed him up and used those huge fangs to tear him to pieces. He felt very lucky and grateful to have once stumbled upon the legacy left behind by the Timeless Master as it had saved his life many times. At this time though, his Foresight was only marginally effective. The Hellmouth Ray was just too fast and if he didnt immediately flee hed be in grave danger.

While Sages straight line speed underwater was faster than most of the sea life he ran into, this giant ray had him completely outclassed. It took everything he had to avoid its furious charge, but it was not that one dimensional. When it passed by him, its tail swung down and smashed against his shoulder. The portion of the Jade mantle at this place was suddenly covered in giant cracks, and lost three quarters of its thickness in an instant. Sage resisted the urge to vomit from the internal damage he suffered and focused instead on neutralizing the speed of the Hellmouth Ray.

For a moment he thought about falling into that nightmare pit that was its mouth, but then he realized he had no idea if his plan of attacking it from the inside would even work. He really did not want to figure how long he could last against those giant sword fangs twice the height of a man. If it closed its mouth and started chewing how long could Sage last? It was a much better idea to just wait and not get caught.