Karathen stopped struggling altogether.
His tentacles drooped. The vortex of energy between his fangs scattered into tiny points of light, and his clouded golden pupils trembled violently in the blue glow. At last, he slowly lowered his gaze.
He bowed his head.
At first, it dipped slightly. Then his entire skull lowered, along with his mountain-sized body, like a ridge bent beneath an immense weight.
The seabed cracked under his prostrate form, and silt that had settled for countless years billowed from the fissure.
"Master, I beg you! Have mercy and let Karathen be your pet!"
Yongye lowered the Water God Halberd, and its blue glow receded into the weapon. He glanced back at the dumbstruck Atlanna, pulled his phone from his pocket, and took a close-up of Karathen.
"All right. You're my pet now. If anyone bullies you, tell them my name."
"I'm Yongye, President of the Eye Society!"
Karathen let out a muffled rumble. Two names flashed through his mind.
Poseidon, lord of the seas. Zeus, king of the gods!
If those two bastards came after him, would dropping Yongye's name help?
He strongly suspected it wouldn't.
But he was a mature sea beast, so he kept that to himself.
Atlanna finally recovered from her shock.
She stepped out from behind Yongye, her bare feet landing on a reef coated in seabed silt. Looking up at the monster that had haunted her nightmares all her life, she found him crouched at Yongye's feet like a tamed giant deep-sea hound, his tentacles still swaying uneasily.
"He really listens to you?"
Yongye stepped onto Karathen's lowered head and held out a hand to her. "Come on up. Let's take him for a ride. I bet it'll be more exciting than riding a dinosaur."
Karathen gave an aggrieved growl.
Atlanna looked