Unfathomable [Gate in the Deep]

[Gildarts]

The tactfully potent words rolled off her tongue as smooth as luck. She watched the wave of reaction pinch the corners of his face with tension. He blinked slowly, as though trying to be sure someone as little as her had said that to him the Fiendlord. Surely not. But alas, surely she was right. Magus blinked again, his mind recoiled at the pressure he added to snap back a witticism at the woman in front of him. His mouth moved, but no words exited. Interesting.

For now she would let him be, but the serpentine woman pulled out her mental notebook and etched in this new fun-fact. Because indeed, it would be fun.

“Eh? What is that?” the captain keenly interrupted, whether out of his own foolish audacity, or the simple fact that he was curious.

Suddenly, the alarms on the boat went red, and crimson strobed before their eyes. Alex’s gaze was pulled away from their conversation, and unto the more pressing demands of their fate in this submarine. Surely, they hadn’t been going at least five minutes and something had gone wrong? Alex secretly did hope for mermaids, every one she’d met was always such a- well, let’s just say she never got along with them.

The five hundred year old demon checked the controls of their busty rig, and tilted her head at the verdict that she concluded after assessing all of the screens. The verdict that nothing was wrong. Radar, clear. Engines, running. And their oxygen was being amply supplied.

“Did one of you sailors accidentally hit the self-destruct button, or something?” she grumbled, but no such button was giant, red, and cased in broken glass. Not that she thought Magus would be foolish enough to forge a ship with one anyway.

But, she thought as the treads in her boots squeaked in the puddle of her own blood, two contrasting commands could’ve been hit. A scowl grew on her lip as gravity pulled her face into a frown, out of the corner of her eye, Magus had only just started moving. Now, whether that was because of her demonic speed, or because of the shattering impact of her words on the blessed virgin’s ears, she didn’t have the time to figure out.

Finally, the hunk of junk announced what was wrong in a computer’s automated voice, “Security breach, Classification A. Security breach, Classification A. There is a dangerous creature on board. Classification A. Please use caution. Attention, there has been a security breach, the vessel will now go into lockdown. Attention, there has been a security breach, Classification A, highly dangerous creature on board, the Leviathan will now be going into lockdown. Remain calm, there has been a...”

Her icy voice continued to grind on Alex’s ears as the doors of the ship became reinforced with another set of steel doors, dropping down from above. Alex growled to herself, “What the hell is aboard the ship? Magus, what is cla-”

“Classification A is a creature that is deemed more dangerous than a hundred men, they do not have a humanoid cellular structure, and are very dangerous to the integrity of the ship. Species that fall in this classification could sink the Leviathan without even thinking about it...” the robotic voice droned on.

Alex’s eyes narrowed before she gulped and looked around the control room full of panicked sailors who’s eyes told her that they were facing certain death. The demon thought of her annihilation of that last boat, and she was able to concluded aloud, “It’s me.” This sealed their vindictive expressions. The crimson strobe hit her face just so, bringing out the darkness in her eyes. Temptations of mutiny leaked in their minds, filling their desires that had once been so easily controlled lust, into that of fear and anger. And worse for Alex, that cat was out of the goddamned bag. Shit, “I’m within Classification A,” she announced again, her eyes tilting to Magus whom she was unable to read, meanwhile she reminded that by speaking this truth that she was indeed human, opposite from the monsters that crawled under their beds at night.

“Attention, there has been a security breach...” the robot’s voice blared on. Alex’s eye twitched, annoyed by the reminder to the sets of eyes that she was indeed a monster.

“And well, I don’t know what sealing a threat like that in would do anyway,” she grumbled to herself, thinking of Classification A’s ramifications.

“Commencing stage two of lockdown,” the voice boomed over her head, while Alex cursed and the lights went out. “Attention, there has been a Class A security breach, please remain calm, the doors to each deck have been sealed and the lights terminated. The engines will halt, and there will be a systems check to locate where the threat is. Remain calm.”

The voice stopped now, giving Alex some time to think, Wow. What a b- the boat lurched to a stop as the engines jarred with sizable effort. The sub was shaken, and they lay dormant in the boat leagues below the surface, marooned in their own, destructive island as they waited for the diagnostic check. This was, at the very least, a setback. She wondered if she could hack the system and override it.

Suddenly, out of the all-consuming darkness, Alex felt hands clasp around her shoulders. The hold was tight, unforgiving, and shook her with enough vehemence to rattle her bones. Her nocturnal eyes looked up, seeing the pale Fiendlords’s face just above hers. Simmering in his eyes was something more than anger, but pure, unadulterated loathing.