Aaron's head slammed against the ceiling as the Ghostship shot into the air, lifting from the aquatic waves into the heavens above.
The sound of cracking wood and explosive roars from underneath his feet filled his ears while drowning out his own shout.
His eyes wavered as the entire world twisted and turned, an immense pressure forcing him to the ground.
CRASH!
Water sprayed everywhere as the vessel collided with the sea, soaking the blond boy's clothing with the salty liquid.
What the hell was that!?
The entire cabin was a wreck, papers flung everywhere, every piece of furniture except the central cabinet had been thrown aside and drenched in water.
Whipping around searching for the threat, he felt the groaning of the Ghostship beneath his feet, a warning for what was to come.
NOT AGAIN!
Summoning his sword, he slammed the blade into the brown wood that cracked and bent under the force.
Placing every ounce of strength into his hands, he felt the creature slam against the hull again, sending the Ghostship hurdling off course.
Any normal ship would've capsized immediately, plunging the boy into an early grave at the edge of the Abyss.
This turquoise vessel, however, was nothing short of extraordinary, bursting with mystical light runes that latched to every inch of the deck.
Aaron gritted his teeth as his body was nearly flung against the wall due to the force of another attack soon to come.
Scanning the room, he caught a glimpse of the map table, which had been flipped over on its side, and the parchment was safely sprawled out.
On the map, the coin-shaped symbol darted around in madness, circling the ship faster than the boy could see, tossing and turning the waves.
Its size indicated that it was a mid-level terror, close to high, with a strength superior to the blond boy's own.
This is bad… Penelope isn't awake, and my mana isn't nearly high enough for an ambush…
Scowling ominously, the boy lunged forward, grabbing the map before another bombardment of undersea assaults could overtake him.
Kicking open the cabin door that was wedged shut, he felt the warm rays of sunlight wash over his face, allowing his eyes to adjust quickly.
The whole Ghostship was lopsided, and waves lapped against the edge, filling the main deck with water.
Mr. Crab was nowhere to be seen, along with both fishing rods, leaving only the two glowing cannons to roll around the deck.
As the vessel rocked back and forth, awaiting another strike from the creature, Aaron ran forward, kicking open a crate he had found in the laboratory room of the ship.
Nearly two dozen cannonballs of varying shapes, sizes, and colors glowed back at him with a single familiar ball sending shivers down his spine.
The Ocean Rifter, the one whose use would've killed him without the immediately defensive procedures activated by the Ghostship.
And now, after he had already been spared once, the ship was unlikely to save him again, leaving him to the icy grips of death.
Ignoring the dangerous ball, he reached forward, pulling out a ball he had tested on the Ningyo, the terror that had granted him the forecast core.
As he felt the cold steel brush against his fingers, the wood beneath him shifted because of the massive terror that stirred under the waves.
Turning his eyes to the water, he watched with a stern gaze as large spikes poked out from the surface.
They were that of a shark, yet almost rock-like, razor sharp, and deadly, with the ability to slice a person in two.
With a rough assumption, he guessed the shell to be nearly fifty meters in length, the rest of the body hidden under the sea.
Dammit! A Tarasque near the Abyss? This is absurd!
Rubbing his face angrily while pulling at his hair, he kicked off the ground, launching himself towards the shining cannon that awaited loading.
Ahead of him, the large creature slowly rotated around, facing its body towards the turquoise vessel that glowed with magical runes.
Aaron's hand worked at speeds faster than he thought possible, loading and preparing the ball to fire before lighting the fuse.
However, the terror began to wiggle around, twisting and contorting its body in such a way that made aiming the shot impossible.
Damn reptile!
Slamming his foot into the cannon's wheel, the blond boy summoned his blade, holding it carefully between his hands.
The sound of the wind whistling like a hurricane drowned out the sizzling of the fuse, leaving him to only guess.
Five…
He trained his eyes on the creature, tracking its past and present movements like a hawk.
Four…
Solidifying his stance, he raised the blade towards his shoulders.
Three…
Wrinkling his nose, the boy heard the world go silent as he cut all distractions away, only locking in on his target.
Two…
The waves roared as the creature broke the surface, revealing its hideous face covered in spiky pillars as sharp as spears.
Two tusks jutted out from its head like horns and sparkled with lightning like the inventions he had seen in Corvassa.
One…
Its arms split open the surface, winding up a strike that would decimate the Ghostship if it connected, ripping the wood to shreds and sending it to the bottom of the sea.
The claws dripped with seawater, coming down at breakneck speeds, preparing to crush the boy along with the boat.
Zero.
Pushing his feet off the ground so fast he vanished from sight, he appeared midair, slamming the quieted sword into the claws, deflecting them with one strike.
Szzzz… BOOM!
At the same moment, the smell of gunpowder spread through the air as the ball shot directly towards the terror's chest, cracking its iron-thick shell.
Blood dripped from its mouth, filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of microscopic teeth that oozed with saliva.
Its roar of pain could be heard for kilometers as it fell backwards, sinking beneath the waves.
Aaron, silent and with a stern look on his face, fell back down to the deck, feeling his feet connect with the wood and his muscles relax.
His breathing was erratic and tense; every ounce of strength he had exerted had been put into one attack that would protect him from death.
Et, not for a moment did he drop his guard, instead pulling out the parchment he had stuffed within his jacket.
Keeping the silent blade at a ready, he unfurled the paper, watching as the map slowly appeared on its surface.
"I must be cursed with bad luck…"
His words were followed by a sigh as an explosion of water erupted ahead of the Ghostship, where the monster surfaced yet again.
Its skin was slightly charred from the fiery ball of destruction that had collided with it; however, all bleeding had stopped, and it charged forth once again.
Hurriedly re-rolling the scroll and stuffing it back into his uniform, he pounced from where he stood, appearing at the bow in an instant.
Breathing slowly, he opened his mouth while tensing his leg muscles intensely.
『Dawn's Wave』
A flash of turquoise enveloped the sea as he swung the blade across the edge of the water, aiming directly at the creature's hard scales.
The pain in Aaron's arms shot to life again, yet the sheer power he could unleash after endless hours of training was immense.
As the arch of pure destruction sliced across the horizon, the terror kicked its legs across the water, attempting to dodge, only to meet the attack head-on.
Its leftmost leg was nearly cut in half, while a large gash was left across its chest, leaving blood to ooze out further.
The scream it uttered was bone-chilling as it leaped forward in one last desperate attempt to strike the Ghostship.
Aaron's strength, nearly sapped from the unaided attack, waned as he prepared to parry the terror's claws only for another sound to echo on the horizon.
The noise was unlike anything he had ever heard before, something so vile and vicious that his blood ran cold.
Losing focus, he felt the Tarasque slam its hand against the protective barrier around him, sending a jolt of pain through the blond boy's body.
Backlash seared through his muscles, sending him backwards into a barrel that rattled around and then fell off to the side.
His head spun as he looked up, meeting the terror's gaze with his own, watching it pound relentlessly on the barrier.
W-What was that noise…
Glancing downward at the water, he momentarily caught a glimpse of his own reflection, a smile stretching wide across his face.
However, as he brought his hands to his lips, he felt no such grin arching across, only a deep scowl.
It was as if the whole world was contradicting itself, unable to grasp its own concepts for one brief, yet horrifying moment.
Ignoring the feeling of the mana draining from his core and his bones rattling under the pressure, he scanned the horizon.
At the farthest reaches of the ocean waves, he witnessed a small parting in the fog cover that shrouded the Abyss.
For one brief instant, he felt his entire body convulse in absolute despair as he gazed upon something beyond even the Naelith that lived within his mind.
It was a monster that stood on two massive legs that dove deep into the sea, seemingly touching the ocean floor that lay tens of thousands of meters below.
Two arms sprouted from its elongated torso in a mockery of anatomy, stretching both outward and inward, as thought space itself struggled to grasp its shape.
Moving his eyes upward, Aaron watched as its face was revealed through the fog, a hideous mess of tentacles and bone.
That thing wasn't normal.
It was not a mere Apex, nor was it anything at the level of a Sea King.
The terror gazed back at him through the mist, towering into the heavens above, with the presence of a god, simply watching.
The glowing runes on the hull of the Ghostship dimmed, as if the vessel itself wished to escape the view of the monstrosity.
And for the first time, Aaron felt something he could only describe as the ship holding its breath.
Swallowing every ounce of fear that urged him to turn around, run away, and hide in a corner, Aaron stood up, feeling the pressure consume him.
Near the bow, the spiked creature had noticed the humanoid monster's presence, making its body tremble in fear.
For a moment, there was complete silence; not even the ocean waves could draw the attention of the world.
Time seemed to slow as reality bent, yet, as soon as it had appeared, the misty fog of the Abyss reclaimed it, shrouding it in its veil.
It vanished without a trace.
Aaron's heartbeat was so intense that he felt like it was going to burst with even the slightest of movements.
Looking upward at the terror in front of the ship, he could tell it felt similarly, absolute despair clouding its judgment.
If there was ever a time to strike, it would be now.