Into the Depths: Investigating the Shimmering Shore Tunnels (Group 3)

Gilgamesh's launching attack is only met with thick, protective tendrils that cover up the worm's now revealed mouth. Bouncing off that shield and back onto the dirt floor, he skids back a foot or so. Shoulders hunched, paws splayed, ears flat, eyes glaring upward at the monstrosity that looms over them. Enraged spittle flies through the air, covering his face and back in a shower that felt warm and sticky. Absolutely disgusting. Truly gross, but as he stared, he felt no fear. Even with the others yelling and continuing to try and pummel the beast, Gilgamesh wasn't afraid.

Maybe it was the rock that had collided with the back of his head. Or maybe it was the fact that he was growing older. He wasn't really sure. Possibly it was a combination of things. But standing there, facing the thing of nightmares, all he felt was a fierce protectiveness. If he could kill this thing, it wouldn't be able to go after his family. They could be safe. It had nothing to do with the wolves around him. They could sacrifice themselves all they wanted, but he had to be sure that he did everything to keep those he loved safe. Every moment this fucking thing was alive was another moment they weren't.

He watches for a moment as the doe head butts the worm's exposed belly. The pup clambers away at the dirt at the base of the worm. Fable even presses her fire stick into the soft underbelly of the worm, but he can't see what damage it does in the now even dimmer light. Even the little guy was digging his long talons even deeper into the worm's skin, but that still left one part. Its mouth. That flowery ugly head that still zoned in straight for him. There had to be a weak spot. What if he... pulled a Hercules?

You know. The part in the Disney movie Hercules? Where he fights the hydra, gets swallowed, and then slices the neck open to finally slay it and save the day? Yeah, what if Gilgamesh did that? There would be only one way to find out.

Inhaling deeply, letting it rush out in a whoosh, Gilgamesh surges forward. His heart thunders in his chest, his mouth goes try, his stomach tightens. Everything in him is tensing for what happens next. He would either live or die, there was no turning back. Gil barely registers what's happening around him as he leaps through the air. As he's airborne, he brings up a memory of Modesty. Of the day they met when she fell from the tree atop of him. Seeing her perfect, beautiful, smiling face for the fist time and knowing that she had to be his. The day they had their first litter. How happy and then how torn they had been to lose Jett. The day he was crowned Raid King and formed the Raiders. And every other day since that has led him to this moment. It was safe to say, he would die happy.

I'll always love you. He thinks to himself with tears brimming his eyes. This was it. His front paws land upon the worm's sticky tendrils that are even more frightening up close. Gil aims to be eaten intentionally. If the worm will swallow him whole, he would have a chance to use his fangs to slice through the interior of the worms neck toward the outside and lop off its head. It could work, right?

"speech"