The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

"Arright, we haven't got a lot of time to chat, so tell us what you know about the lost souls!"



"SOULS? WHAT SOULS. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT."
"Those bits of belief, floating around this trench! There's one right in front of your face!"
"OH. I DON'T KNOW. I THOUGHT SOMEONE LOST THESE OR SOMETHING. THEY'RE TASTIER THAN MOST BELIEF, THAT'S ALL I KNOW."



"Are you SERIOUS?! You just-- You- didn't!"
The water around Mermaid is boiling. She seems to have lost her ability to form a sentence.

Um. Mister Dragon? Could you possibly spit out the souls you ate, so we can have them? We'll leave you alone afterwards.


Obviously sensing a fight, Dragon retreats into his shell, claws snapping at the front.
"I'M NOT GOING TO VOMIT ON COMMAND FOR YOU. NOW GET OUT BEFORE I BISECT YOU."
"NO! WE NEED ALL OF THE SOULS, AND SO HELP US You're going to SPIT OUT THE ONES YOU ATE!"


Mermaid charges forward, fencing with Dragon's multiple claws.
She isn't making a lot of progress though, and if she gets to Dragon's body, she wouldn't be able to harm him because of his shell.
You can sense that it would be difficult trying to absorb him from here, too... unless you got a good shot with your harpoon.
You might as well try.


Just a small bit of belief can go a long way...


CRACK


"AHH, WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
"Your shell's open, Dragon! We can see the souls in your guts! We could probably rip you open and take them, right now!"
"NOOOOO, DON'T DO THAT! I CAN SPIT THEM BACK OUT FOR YOU! JUST GIVE ME A CHANCE!"
"Hah! Why would we do that? You don't deserve it. What do you think, Alex?"


Uh... Well, there's a few different ways this could go...
We could:
A. Let him give us the souls
B. Rip him open and take the souls
or C. Absorb all of him and take the souls.

What sounds best?