Liquidation: From Big Boss to Bloody Demon Sauce Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Her Stench

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I was about to turn to ask Grimora about the sheer scale of the biological asset I was seeing, but before I could vibrate a single word, the atmosphere in the tunnel completely collapsed. A massive, localized vacuum of wind suddenly started to pull us forward into the seemingly infinitely big cavern. It wasn't just a gust; it was a violent shift in barometric pressure, as if the cavern itself had suddenly drawn a massive breath. The suction was immense, overriding the laws of physics I had just begun to understand. There was no way to resist. Grimora screamed as she was violently spun around in the air, her leathery wings rendered completely useless against the chaotic draft. She tumbled head over heels, unable to find any aerodynamic purchase. Below her, Grimjaw fought desperately for traction. The two-headed beast barked in panic, his heavy claws tearing deep gouges into the stone floor, sending bright orange sparks flying into the dark. But it wasn't enough. Despite my panicked attempts to flood my gelatinous form with refined Earth Ether to anchor us like a heavy paperweight, the sheer volume of air moving past us overrode my density. Grimjaw and I were dragged helplessly along the rough stone floor, swept directly into the void alongside the flailing succubus. As we rushed forward, sliding uncontrollably into the open expanse, I finally started to understand exactly what we were about to face. My carefully constructed corporate confidence waned significantly as we hit the smooth cavern floor and skidded to a painful halt. The space was less of a cave and more of a subterranean biosphere, easily large enough to house a sprawling human metropolis. But the sheer square footage was dwarfed by the occupant. The creature resting in the center of the cavern was the size of a capital ship. It was a biological dreadnought resting in a drydock of ancient stone. Its scales were the size of bank vault doors, layered in impenetrable plates of dark, iridescent crimson and charcoal. Thick, jagged spikes ran down the length of its spine, each one looking like a ruined siege tower. It rested atop a sprawling mountain of gold, glittering jewels, and ancient, rusted weaponry—a hoarded portfolio of assets that would have instantly bankrupted entire nations back on Earth. "Why has a succubus trespassed in my lair? Other than to request a painful death like no other?" The words weren't just spoken; they were deployed. Just the sheer atmospheric pressure of the voice shook my entire being down to my core. The feeling was not just a physical vibration rattling my gelatinous body; it resonated down into my very soul. The air in the cavern compressed, hitting me like a solid wall. My cellular structure vibrated violently, threatening to lose its cohesion entirely. This feeling explicitly told me that this creature looked at me—with its singular, glowing, ten-foot-tall eye—the exact same way I would have previously looked at an ant on the pavement just before I stepped on it. I wasn't even a threat. I was inconsequential. A rounding error on its daily ledger. Regardless, I couldn't afford to show weakness. In a negotiation where you have zero leverage, perceived confidence is your only asset. I forced my fluid form to stand tall, pulling my mass upward until I resembled a rigid, red-and-white pillar. I directed my focus solely to that one massive, slitted eye, because the creature's heavily armored skull was so impossibly huge that I could not even see its other eye from this angle. "My name is Visthal, and I am the one that has come to speak with you, not the succubus," I said. I pushed every ounce of Earth Ether I had into my vocal vibrations, projecting my voice in as resolute a tone as I could muster in the face of such a titanic entity. An emotion heavily resembling amusement flickered deep within the dragon's molten pupil. The massive iris expanded and contracted, glowing like the core of a nuclear reactor. "You?" The dragon's voice boomed, t