The lesser imp had sat at the water's edge, watching the five descend to retrieve the light. He knew he would likely lose in face of the much stronger second tier broadblade wielder in their party.
So, as they engaged the party engaged the eel, he gracefully dove down into the water, hiding behind rock protrusions and aquatic foliage.
He was naturally attuned to the water, being formed from the drowned souls and malice of miner workers, thus the water was no obstacle and he breathed as naturally as he did on land.
After slowly creeping down, the party was only a short distance away.
And suddenly.
BANG
A body slammed into the wall to his left.
Dust erupted around the explosion.
Small rock shards shot off but quickly fell down the water column.
The lesser imp looked from behind the rock where he hid, worried that his cover may have been blown.
And as the debris settled to the bottom of the pool, the broken body of the ranger laid there.
The lesser imp caught his sigh in his throat when the ranger turned his head to meet his eyes.
They looked at each other, and the ranger's eyes dilated.
He wanted to shout, to warn the other members of his party, but only blood came out as he gurgled his last breath; and the lesser imp's sigh uncaught in his throat.
Few
That was close.
If that human had not died, then his presence would have been known.
Lucky.
He was lucky again.
But luck is a gift after all, and he would dwell on it for long.
It was not long after when the eel monster fell. He had watched it all unfold before his eyes.
The party was strong, especially the two remaining vanguard; but the mages were no laughing matter either, able to provide support and cover the downtime in between clashes.
Despite their relative weakness to the rest of the world, the lesser imp was aware of his own ineptitudes regarding strength.
Victory would be slim in a direct confrontation, especially when they had the advantage of numbers.
But despite overwhelming odds, he understood one thing from experience: from his first kill and from the fight he had just bore witness to.
Humans at this stage were fragile.
They were pitifully fragile, making up with their intelligence, coordination, dexterity and flexibility that many non-humanoid races lacked.
But, if he could take those things away, say, with the dark, he could play his own game.
A game where he had all the power.
He was a devil after all, and by nature, honor was a sin.
So, he continued to watch a little longer.
"Let's go!" Daryl shouted as usual.
Everyone was anxiously tense at this point.
If they held their arms stiff in front, they would see visible tremors running through.
With the dimming illuminator in the hands of the ice mage, the team swam up at full force.
Yet, 40 meters until the surface, a white figure shot out from seemingly nowhere straight towards the ice mage.
"Watch out!" Daryl screamed as he dashed towards his ally, knowing he wouldn't make it.
And the ice mage in a fit of self-defense let go of the illuminator to cast a defensive spell to preserve his life.
But at the last second, the white figure shifted his path slightly, slashing the illuminator that was dropped and quickly retreated to the comfort of the darkness.
Perfect.
"Everybody stay close! And swim up!" Commanded Daryl.
He was shocked, in fear, unsure of what had just transpired.
He was sure there was nothing there just a second ago, unless…
Unless the surface monster followed them down.
And he had seen it before the lights went out. It was white like a Northern winter's day, with a single horn from the left of his head. It had one purplish eye he saw, and truly, if he had not reasoned him to the killer of his friend, he was honestly quite a pleasant sight for a devil.
Now, in the darkness, they were isolated.
"We need to get to the surface!"
If they could reach the surface, they would be able to cast an elementary ember every mana-attuned human could use as a light source.
That was their only hope.
'What's going on?' Syme thought.
She had had a about this whole ordeal and it seemed like her need for pleas had come true.
'Please, lord have mercy and…' her prayer was interrupted by Daryl rabid shouting.
They were desperate.
She had heard stories of adventures gone awry and she was now the prime example.
'Is this how it ends?'
Yet, despite being in the complete darkness, she and the other members of the team still clung to hope, swimming fervently to the surface.
"Here! Come! Repeat after me if you're okay!" Daryl ordered as he swam.
"Here!" the rest of the team responded in unison.
Every 10 seconds…
"Here!"
The interval between calls now dropped lower and lower subconsciously as the tension rose.
Every second that passed by was a second of grace and every one in the future was an unknown danger.
"Here! We're almost there."
When they were only ten meters away from the surface, the lesser-imp struck again.
This time: the earth mage.
And it was fast, decisive.
Magic took time to cast; and right when the words were about to leave his mouth of his living state, five sharp claws pierced his throat followed by another vicious tear through the stomach that disemboweled his ventral cavity.
"Davis?"
"Hey! Davis are you there?!"
"Davis! Fuck, Go! We're almost there."
That was the name of the earth mage, now dead, insignificant he was.
Good. The lesser imp remarked mentally.
He had done it right this time, though he could have waited for the words of assurance to leave his mouth before taking his life.
"Get up! Get up!" Shouted Daryl in great fear and adrenaline as he pulled his wet body onto the cave floor.
"Daryl! Are you there?" Syme followed right after, climbing up, trying not to slip back in.
"Syme! Thank god."
"What about Lloyd?
"Lloyd! Hey, Lloyd are you there?"
Silence.
But after a bit "Hey! Help! Help me up, damn it!"
"Lloyd, you're fine." Both Syme and Daryl sighed before returning to reality.
"I know you're not good with fire but give us a light." Daryl requested.
It felt like the first victory they were about to take despite all the losses.
The fire slowly accumulated in Lloyd's hand which revealed him to be farther from the other two than initially anticipated due to the echoes of the cave.
And just as the fire was bright enough to light his face,
A barrage of bone needles erupted from the dark, piercing the side of his neck and head.
"Hrugh" he tried to yell but the sound was only drowned out by pain and blood.
"LLOYD!"
The two came rushing over as the fire dimmed from his hands.
Daryl was first and swung in a broad arc, unfortunately fighting air.
It was too late.
He fell to the ground suffocating in his own hot blood.
Daryl and Syme's backs pressed against each other in the dark, shaking.
It was just them now and the mysterious creature which had taken the lives of their three other friends.