"CAPTAIN!!" So of the crew mbers scread as loud as their voices could carry them. But it wasn’t like that would do any good.
Captain Garrick had been drawn into the water and none of them had the guts to go after what had just practically kidnapped the man.
Water crashed upward as his body vanished beneath the surface, dragged down with such force that the Grimhorn lurched violently to one side. Several crew mbers were thrown to the deck, weapons clattering away.
For half a heartbeat, there was only stunned silence.
Then panic.
"A squid! No... too big!"
"Grade Three! That was a Grade Three!"
"Turn the ship! We need to get him back—!"
The water churned violently where Garrick had disappeared, dark shapes twisting beneath the surface. More tentacles breached, slamming against the hull, sending splinters flying.
"We can’t afford to turn back and risk the life of everyone here for the captain! We all know what he would’ve said!" One of the more powerful crew mber shouted and then turned to the navigator. "Full speed ahead!"
Damien didn’t care though. He was already moving the mont Garrick was taken into the sea.
He didn’t shout and he didn’t hesitate either.
Mana surged as Damien raised his hand sharply.
" Summon Aquila."
The summon answered instantly.
A violent gust of wind tore across the deck as Aquila materialized above them, wings unfurling with a thunderous boom. The great griffin screeched, eyes locking onto the chaos below.
"Protect the crew," Damien commanded calmly. "Intercept anything that breaches."
Aquila didn’t question.
She dove.
Wind blades tore through the air, severing a tentacle mid-swing and sending it crashing back into the sea. Another beast tried to rise but Aquila slamd into it with crushing force, talons ripping through flesh and bone.
At the sa ti, Damien turned.
"Summon Fenrir."
Light flared again.
The great white wolf manifested beside him, imdiately baring his fangs at the water with a low, furious growl. Fenrir’s hatred of the ocean was near-instinctive but so was his loyalty.
"Guard them," Damien said, already moving toward the rail. "Kill anything that reaches the deck along with Aquila."
Fenrir snarled in acknowledgnt. As long as the wolf wouldn’t be going into the dark waters, it was fine on board.
Then Damien jumped.
Thwap!
Cold slamd into him like a hamr.
The sea swallowed Damien whole, the world instantly turning dark and crushing as pressure wrapped around his body. His clothes weighed him down, currents pulling at him from all directions.
Luton expanded instantly, wrapping around Damien’s torso like living armor, stabilizing his descent and pushing back the crushing pressure.
Above him, the surface distorted from light fractured and broken by turbulence.
Below him, he could sense and see it. Movent.
A massive shadow twisted in the depths, its form barely contained by the darkness. Long, writhing tentacles coiled and uncoiled around a central bulk the size of a small fortress.
And there, entangled in one of those tentacles was Garrick.
The captain was alive. Barely.
His blade flashed underwater as he hacked at the creature’s grip, but each strike slowed as oxygen ran out and pressure mounted. Blood trailed from multiple wounds, dissolving into the black water.
Damien’s eyes hardened.
"Luton," he thought. Hold steady.
The sli responded instantly, anchoring Damien against the current as he kicked forward with explosive force.
The giant squid noticed him.
One enormous eye, one that was larger than a wagon rotated toward Damien, pupil narrowing as demonic essence surged.
A pulse of corrupted energy rippled outward, stunning nearby currents and threatening to crush Damien’s lungs.
Luton absorbed the shock. Damien pushed through.
The creature was monstrous.
A true Grade Three sea demon, its body riddled with demonic runes burned directly into flesh. Its tentacles moved with terrifying intelligence, several peeling away from Garrick to intercept Damien.
Damien twisted mid-water, his mana filled blade flashing as he severed one tentacle cleanly. Black ichor burst outward, clouding the water.
Another wrapped around his leg.
Luton reacted instantly, absorbing the tentacle into its body, restricting its movent. And then devoured it almost instantly.
Damien didn’t slow.
He surged forward, closing the distance in seconds even with the density of the sea already restricting his speed.
The squid opened its beak which revealed a massive, spiraling maw lined with rotating serrations. Water compressed violently as it prepared to crush him.
Damien struck first.
He drove his blade straight into the creature’s eye.
The squid scread. It made a soundless vibration that rattled through the water and into Damien’s bones. Its grip on Garrick loosened reflexively.
That was all Damien needed.
He shot forward, grabbing Garrick by the collar and wrenching him free as Luton expanded again, cushioning the pull and preventing the captain from being torn apart by the sudden force.
The squid thrashed wildly, tentacles flailing.
Damien kicked off its body, propelling himself upward.
But the creature wasn’t done.
A massive tentacle wrapped around Damien’s waist, yanking him back with brutal strength.
The pressure was imnse.
Bones creaked.
Luton thickened, reinforcing Damien’s body, but even then, the pull was overwhelming.
The squid dragged them deeper.
Damien felt the cold bite harder, darkness closing in from all sides.
Then, a howl cut through the water. It wasn’t sound.
It was mana!
Fenrir’s presence slamd into the depths like a falling star.
From above, a shockwave of raw force tore through the water as Fenrir leapt from the deck into the sea. Sothing he had never willingly done. Not even Damien has anticipated this turn of events.
The wolf’s body burned with essence as he collided with the squid’s tentacle, jaws clamping down with titanic force.
The tentacle snapped.
The squid recoiled in agony.
Damien didn’t waste the opening.
He turned, blade flashing again as he infused it with an absurd level of fire magic to cast one very deadly attack.
His blade glowed red as it moved forward toward the squid. It carved a brutal path across the creature’s central mass as Luton surged forward, engulfing part of the demon’s body.
The sli began to devour it alive. it continued to expand so it could engulf the squid completely while the squid convulsed violently.
Fenrir tore free, paddling back toward the surface with ferocious strokes despite his obvious hatred for the water.
Damien followed, dragging Garrick upward as the squid thrashed behind them, its movents growing weaker as Luton consud more and more of its essence.
They broke through the water in a violent explosion of spray.
Crew mbers rushed forward, hauling Garrick onto the deck as Damien climbed over the rail monts later, soaked and breathing hard.
Fenrir dragged himself up after them, shaking violently and imdiately distancing himself from the sea with a furious snarl.
Aquila screeched overhead, driving the last of the beasts away as the waters finally and rcifully began to calm.
Garrick coughed violently, expelling water as healers rushed in.
He was alive.
Damien stood there, water streaming from his clothes, Luton slowly retracting back to its usual size on his shoulder.
The crew stared at him in stunned silence.
No cheers this ti.
Only awe and fear.
Far beneath the Grimhorn, the remains of the Grade Three squid dissolved into nothingness as Luton finished its feast.
The sea withdrew.
But Damien knew. This was no coincidence.
The waters guarding the Forest of Twin Disasters were waking.
And they were testing anyone who dared approach.
~~~~~
For the first ti since leaving port, the sea gave them a mont of silence.
No shadows churned beneath the waves. No distant roars echoed through the storm clouds.
No demonic pressure gnawed at the senses.
The Grimhorn drifted forward on weary waters, her sails torn, her hull scarred and bleeding seawater through hastily sealed cracks.
The deck was a ss of broken planks, dried blood, and shattered runes that had burned themselves out under repeated strain.
Crew mbers moved slowly now.
Not with fear—but with exhaustion.
So sat slumped against the railing, staring blankly at the horizon. Others worked on ergency repairs with trembling hands, driven by habit more than hope. The healers moved from one injured sailor to the next, their mana reserves dangerously low.
Damien stood near the bow, cloak drying slowly in the salt wind. Luton was nowhere in sight. At least for now. Damien could still sense its essence and existence so he knew it was alive.
Garrick erged from below deck, bandaged heavily across the torso and one arm held stiffly at his side. His face was pale, but his eyes were clear.
He had survived.
That alone was a victory.
He stopped beside Damien, following the young rcenary’s gaze toward the endless sea ahead.
"We can’t continue," Garrick said quietly.
Damien didn’t respond imdiately.
The captain exhaled slowly. "The ship’s too damaged. Even if the sea stays calm—which it won’t—we won’t survive another wave like that last one. My crew..." He clenched his jaw. "They won’t make it."
He straightened, shoulders squaring despite the pain. "We turn back."
There was no sha in his voice.
Only resolve.
Damien glanced at him, then nodded once. "That’s the right call."
Garrick looked at him sharply, searching his face. "You’re not disappointed?"
"No," Damien replied honestly. "You chose your people."
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