The Octo-man’s tentacle lashed out with unnatural speed, striking Cromus square in the shoulder. The impact sent a jolt of force through his body, throwing off his balance as his boots slid across the loose sand and jagged coral beneath him. Instinct kicked in before he could even process the hit—his talon-clad hand snapped up, claws digging deep into the rubbery flesh, tearing into the sinewy muscle. The resistance slowed his fall, buying him a split second to counter.

  “Not pushing me away this ti—”

  Before he could finish, something slammed into his face.

  The severed tentacle from earlier—still twitching, still slick with dark briny blood—whipped across his cheek with a sickening smack. The force snapped his head to the side, sending a fresh wave of pain rippling through his skull. Thick, viscous blood splattered across his face, stinging his eyes, coating his tongue with a salty, metallic tang. His footing completely failed him, and he felt himself tipping backward, vision blurred, balance thrown.

  Cromus clenched his jaw, flexing his left hand, the talons digging deeper into the tentacle he had already torn into from the first attack. His grip was firm, the hooked claws anchoring him in place as he yanked himself forward, refusing to let the Octo-man regain control.

  Raging Boar thrust forward, aimed straight for the creature’s core. The blade found no resistance, piercing effortlessly into the Octo-man’s sternum with a sickening squelch.

  The force carried Cromus inches from its face, his breath coming out in sharp, uneven bursts as he found himself locked in the creature’s unsettling, milky gaze.

  No pain. No panic. Just a slow, silent acknowledgment.

  The suction cups along its arms twitched, its grotesque limbs shifting in unnatural, rigid motions, its body processing the sensation without panic.

  Cromus barely had a second to react before the two tentacles sprouting from its face flexed—then lashed out, coiling around his throat in an instant.

  The suction cups latched onto his skin, clamping down tight, pressing in like a vice. His breath hitched. The blood surged to his head, his face burning, his vision blurring at the edges. Instinct screamed at him to pry them loose but if he did anything he would relinquish one of his holds.

  He jerked his head side to side, the tentacles tightened their grip restricting the movement even more things started to go dark and an old video on octopuses came to his mind. Their organs. Their structure.

  As his vision darkened, purplish black sparks danced around Cromus’s neck before jumping to the Octo-mans tentacles, it’s pupiless eyes widened as it’s tentacles darkened and went numb.

  Two eyes appeared far off in the cavern “Oh? that shouldn’t be in here…. interesting.” A voice spoke to itself as it observed the fight.

  Cromus inhaled, the cool air rushing to the back of his throat filling his lungs. his hand tight on Raging Boar—still buried in the Octo-man’s torso—as he coughed he jerked upward with every ounce of strength he had left.

  For the first time, the Octo-man showed emotion as it tried to pull away from Cromus, in pure, instinctive horror. It jerked back, trying to retreat, but it was too late.

  Raging Boar tore through its chest, ripped up its throat, then split straight through its bulbous head.

  The creature went limp immediately, the tentacles slacking, falling away from Cromus’s throat as its lifeless body collapsed to the ground.

  Cromus gasped, coughing violently, sucking in ragged, desperate gulps of air. His entire body trembled, his lungs burning like they'd been scoured from the inside out. His fingers barely held onto Raging Boar, slick with blood.

  Between wheezing breaths, he forced out, “USH—KAAZZ—” another coughing fit shook him, “Their organs—head! Go for the head!”

  The remaining Octo-man’s eyes snapped to him, its tentacles curling inward, slow and deliberate—no longer acting like a mindless beast. It had seen what Cromus did. And now, it was angry.

  Its shoulder tentacle swelled, grotesquely ballooning with pressurized force. Then it whipped downward in a devastating arc toward Cromus. But the ground beneath its foot pulsed with red—Kaazz’s trap.

  A column of fire erupted like a volcanic spout, blasting upward with a roar. The creature lurched backward, its tentacle missing wide as fire licked across its lower body, blistering patches of its slick flesh. But this time, it didn’t retreat. It roared—not a shriek, but a wet, bass-heavy bellow—and retaliated.

  Its siphon flexed and blasted a jet of water straight at Kaazz, the stream moving like a battering ram. It struck him mid-step, slamming him back into a coral wall with a sickening crack. He grunted, the air knocked from his lungs as his staff fell from his grip.

  Ush charged in, daggers flashing, but the Octo-man was ready now. A smaller tentacle lashed across her ribs but she managed to get one dagger strike as she was sent staggering, the shadowy viper struck the tentacle. She hissed in pain as she finally came to a halt.

  The Octo-man not done aimed his siphon into the air, spraying water to the roof, causing it splatter and come raining down in a massive area covering Ush, Cromus, and Kaazz.

  Then the siphon collapsed inward, dragging air into the Octo-man’s body. A moment later, it exhaled in a violent burst of freezing mist, spinning as it sprayed. Frost clung to their soaked skin, locking joints and chilling muscles, weighing them down.

  Another jet fired from the creature’s siphon, this time spewing a thick, black ink that clouded the air around it the stench was briny and foul.

  Kaazz growled, stumbling back to his feet, blood trickling from his temple. He reached for his staff, but the Octo-man lunged—closing the distance, striking with a flurry of limbs. Ush quickly-thinking used the Octo-man's ink to allow her to use her abilities to counteract the slow on her, appearing between the Octo-man and kaazz her dagger between them kept the creature from crushing them outright. She parried another strike, but it didn’t flinch this time. It powered through, tentacles crashing down like hammers.

  “DAMN IT!” Cromus snarled. His breathing more under control, but the frost weighing him down, he moved one foot, then the other, slowly gathering speed. He sprinted, blood pounding in his ears. As a tentacle arced threatening to smash Ush and Kaazz.

  Cromus slammed into the creature’s flank, Raging Boar stabbing deep into its ribs they toppled over, Cromus's heavy body laying on the creature. The creature reeled, gurgling in fury. Another tentacle crashed down, glancing off Cromus’s shoulder—he grunted in pain, but didn’t move.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “NOW!” he roared. Ush struck again, pushing past the pain. Three clean hits, all aimed for the head. Poison bloomed beneath the skin, staining it dark as night. Kaazz limping over teeth gritted, drove his flaming staff straight into the creature’s eye.

  It screamed—a real scream this time, shrill and desperate. Its tentacles flailed wildly, but its body was failing. Between poison, fire, and fury. The gurgling ceased. Body twitching… then still.

  Kaazz leaned heavily on his staff, chest rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath. Ush dropped to the ground, collapsing onto her back, her limbs limp from exertion. melted frost soaked her, but despite the exhaustion, both Ush and Kaazz were smiling.

  A notification flickered across all their vision:

  YOU HAVE DEFEATED: KRAGGURIDS – LEVEL 7!

  Cromus let out a long breath, the weight of the moment settling into his bones. He leaned back slightly, glancing around. “How’s everyone holding up?”

  Kaazz raised a hand weakly. “Still standing. Just… not used to moving like that, that fast. Give me a second.”

  Ush, barely lifting her hand from the ground, gave a slow thumbs-up. “Stamina’s at ten. Just need to breathe.” Her voice was ragged, but not strained.

  Cromus allowed himself a brief, well-earned smile. Athas stepped forward, nuzzling his hand under Cromus’s palm like a dog seeking praise.

  “Hey, buddy,” Cromus murmured, ruffling the Asalisk’s head.

  The moment was warm–and what he thought he needed.

  Then a splash echoed through the chamber.

  The smile vanished from Cromus’s face.

  A familiar, haunting melody drifted through the air—soft, beautiful, and deadly. Another mermaid had emerged. Just one this time, her head and shoulders rising gracefully from the lagoon. Her song was laced with power, subtle and deadly, her eyes focused hungrily on the shore.

  “Shit—” Cromus began, but he was too late.

  His words caught in his throat as his vision blurred. Kaazz’s staff fell from his hand. Ush’s limbs twitched, then went still. One by one, they stood—eyes glazed, bodies swaying—as the mermaid’s song pulled them forward like puppets on invisible strings.

  The spell gripped them completely.

  But not Athas.

  The Asalisk’s head whipped toward the water, eyes locked on the singing mermaid. A growl rumbled deep in his throat, low and dangerous.

  Athas ran to Cromus first, slamming into his leg with all his weight. Cromus stumbled, but continued forward, unfazed. The trance held firm. Athas tried again, biting down—gently, but firmly—on Cromus’s leg. Still nothing.

  Panic built in the little creature’s chest. He let out a series of frantic snorts and grunts, then sprinted ahead, placing himself between the group and the water.

  The mermaid’s gaze drifted toward him, her lips parting in a cruel smile. Her voice didn’t falter—in fact, she sang louder, a predator savoring the final steps of the hunt.

  Athas snarled, never breaking eye contact.

  His golden eyes widened.

  And something ancient stirred.

  A connection sparked between them. A battle of will. A duel not of body—but of mind.

  The mermaid tried to look away.

  But it was too late.

  The bond was sealed.

  Her song wavered, faltering into something cracked and strained. She tried to resist, tried to assert her control. But Athas—born of cruelty and captivity, tempered by pain—held firm. He had survived far worse than pretty songs and fish-witches. And Cromus… Cromus had pulled him from the darkness.

  There was nothing in this world—not pain, not fear, not even magic—that would make him fail now.

  ‘NO DUMB FISH WILL BEAT HIM!’

  The mermaid’s beautiful face twisted in panic. Her scales lost their shimmer. Her hair dulled. Her lips stopped moving. A grey, stone-like sheen began to spread across her skin, starting from her eyes and creeping outward—fast, relentless.

  She let out a final, distorted scream and then she was stone. Frozen mid-song.

  Her petrified form fell backward into the lagoon with a crack, vanishing beneath the water like a statue tossed from a ledge.

  The spell broke.

  Cromus staggered, blinking rapidly, and shaking the confusion from his face. “The fuck…?” Cromus muttered, blinking hard as the last tendrils of the trance faded from his mind.

  He turned, eyes sweeping the area in alarm—only to see Kaazz and Ush blinking back to awareness as well.

  They were safe.

  He looked down at Athas. The little Asalisk sat still, shoulders puffed out with pride.

  Cromus crouched beside him, gently placing a hand on his head. “What… what did you do, buddy?”

  “I made the bad fish not matter,” Athas said plainly, voice calm. “Turned her to stone.”

  “You… petrified her?” Cromus asked, wide-eyed.

  Athas tilted his head. “Petrified?”

  “You turned her into stone.”

  “Oh. Yes. She rock now.” Athas beamed.

  “And you’ve never done this before?” Cromus asked, incredulous.

  “I don’t like doing it,” Athas said, frowning. “I’ve seen others like me try and fail. They turn to stone instead. I have to want to live more than the thing I’m fighting.”

  Cromus stared at him for a long moment.

  “And you did it… for us?”

  “Yes.” Athas said simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  Cromus swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, petting the Asalisk’s head again with quiet reverence. “Thank you, Athas.”

  “You are welcome,” the Asalisk said simply, eyes closing as he leaned into the praise, clearly soaking in every bit of affection.

  Cromus turned to check on the others. “Hey—you two alright?”

  Ush and Kaazz made their way over, still a bit unsteady, but mostly recovered. Ush brushed some hair from her face and asked, “Yeah... I think so. What happened to the mermaid?”

  Cromus smirked and gestured down at Athas, who was still basking in his pride. “Athas happened. The little guy petrified her.”

  Ush blinked, then dropped to her knees beside Athas, immediately lavishing him with praise and gentle scratches. The Asalisk responded by rolling onto his back, tongue flicking out in contentment, tail thumping softly against the ground.

  As Ush continued petting him, she mumbled without looking up, “Cromus... what’s petrified mean?”

  “Turned her to stone,” Cromus answered with a slight chuckle.

  Ush’s eyes went wide. “That’s awesome.” She resumed praising Athas with even more enthusiasm, though he seemed utterly oblivious to the weight of his actions—just enjoying the moment.

  Kaazz came to stand beside Cromus, his expression thoughtful but pleased.

  “What?” Cromus asked, noticing the look.

  Kaazz’s lips curled into a knowing smile. “I told you he’d be a great ally.”

  Cromus, thinking back to the day they first took Athas in, let a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah… yeah, you did.”

  A realization came over him, there was three the first time and only one came this time. “Maybe we should get away from the water.”

  Once they made a decent amount of distance from the water they all relaxed, Athas not wanting to let the praise go yet, laid across Ush’s legs as she continued to pet him.

  Cromus took the moment to look at his alerts and character sheet, the alerts mainly told him he had defeated the Kraggurids, but the shocking one was.

  YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!!!

  “Kaazz.” Cromus looked at the old goblin grabbing his attention. “Did you level?”

  A smile almost split the goblins face in two.