Xard raced ahead first before they could even look at the beast causing the commotion. Its grand entrance had caused another problem: not quite a tsunami, but still a wall of water had been displaced and was primed to crash right down on the beach and docks, along with the unfortunate inhabitants who had yet to return home for the night.
The Artillery pushed his body to the limits, bursting towards the water as fast as he could. Right before the wave was about to crush him, he flung out his limbs and unleashed his Curse, shooting out of his sides and the front of his body. It created a curtain of energy, draped in front of the shore of the island, protecting it as it disintegrated the wall of water, blasting it to mist, not letting a single drop hit those behind him.
He managed to stay conscious after such an explosive gambit, but was forced to land since he was too drained and couldn’t sustain his own flight any longer. Xard collapsed onto the sand, staring up at the giant monster before him. It was dark at first, shadowed by the mist he’d created and the starless night sky.
But then it lit up, spotlights shining onto the beast from across the island, the soldiers taking action so that they could see the foe they were up against. A giant squid?! was Xard’s first thought, but there was something more going on. Its coloration wasn’t normal, not that the lad had seen many squids in his time. The face was ghostly white, but the rest of its body had a silver gradient more akin to a fish. Clearly the squid was the base, but what was this monster mixed with?
The answer came when it raised one of its tentacles out of the water. Thankfully, it didn’t cause another erupting splash, but it still displaced enough water that Xard was quickly up to his waist in water that almost towed him back into the sea with it. But attached to the end of the tentacle was a long, slender point, like it was wielding a pristine rapier.
So a swordfish then. Which meant it would be named something like a Giant Squordfish. Xard, who was still in awe of the Squordfish’s splendor, wasn’t expecting to have to react so quickly when the tip of the massive blade came skewering right towards him.
The weapon was massive, like being hit with one of Archlave castle’s towering spires. And the force behind the stab was nothing to sneeze at. Hell, it was possibly more energy than Xard could absorb at once. But he’d have to try since he couldn’t risk dodging and having the Squordfish pierce the island.
He braced himself, crossing his arms in front of his chest in a grasp at security. It wouldn’t actually help him, since that wasn’t how his Curse worked, though it made him feel sturdier and ready for the impact. But all that he felt when the attack finally reached him was a light tap against his skin—the point pressed up against his arm, unable to penetrate because of his power.
Liquid sand had sprouted up in front of him, wrapping around the massive blade and shooting up along it towards the tentacle, grabbing the attached weapon and holding it in place. The sand solidified when the attack stopped and Kada suddenly popped out of the ground next to Xard.
“Hey there, looked like you could use some backup,” she shot him a smile. “Two things. Drim gave me and you the order to protect the island. Don’t worry about attacking the monster, just keep it from turning this place into a modern day ruin. And secondly, he said not to kill it.”
“Seriously?” Xard found that hard to believe. Drim was usually against killing, but he had little sympathy for murderous monsters and this thing was clearly aggressive.
“Yeah, I guess something else is going on. He said he’d tell us later,” the girl provided little clarity.
“Well, I guess we need to get these people out of here first and—”
Xard’s words were cut off by Victori’s familiar voice echoing in their minds. “To the civilians and occupants of Archlave, the situation is not as dire as it seems. A monster has approached the island, but the Fiends For Hire are here to stop it. The best thing you can do is seek shelter and keep safe. This will be resolved shortly.”
And then there was a followup message, “To the soldiers and police of Archlave, and anyone capable of helping others. The monster is more than you can handle. Your time and bravery would be best suited helping with evacuations and keeping the populace calm and safe. They are in your hands.”
Before the two Fiends could start with helping people themselves, all the citizens who were still around them suddenly vanished. “That must be Phon,” Kada pointed out.
“Yeah, Tize must be helping her see through the crowd,” Xard had to guess, and then went to scratch his arm from where the pointed needle had touched it. Even though the skin hadn’t been pierced, it felt off and irritated for some reason.
It was good that the citizenry was out of the way, because they’d likely have to deal with more incoming attacks soon. The blade that was still in front of them finally wrestled free of its restraints and reeled back towards the Squordfish. This caused the binding sand to collapse around the Fiends and kick up, sticking to their skin and coating them in muck.
Xard’s arms flared up again in itchiness, but it wasn’t just him. Kada began scratching at herself too, trying to wipe the irritant off of her. “What the mawhg is with this sand?! she writhed in agony.
“I don’t—” Xard was trying to complain but then he suddenly sneezed and his eyes started to water. “It’s like we’re allergic to it.” Through his blurry vision, he could barely see both his and Kada’s skin starting to break out in hives.
“Let’s get out of this zjik!” she suggested and they scrambled up to the nearest boardwalk. Kada then melted any residual sand off of them and they started to feel some relief with all of it dissipating shortly afterwards, their Fiend constitutions likely neutralizing the rest of the problem.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Well it must have been the Squordfish that caused that,” Xard deduced. “I don’t get how either of those monster components have anything to do with allergies, but just something to deal with. So save the island without getting too close to the mawhging thing, got it.”
“Maybe easier said then done…” They both looked in awe as the other tentacles lifted up out of the water. One giant blade was a problem, but every single writhing appendage had a sword just as daunting as the last.
The Squordfish raised them all high, angling the points down at the island. It looked like a swarm of missiles preparing to rain down death. That was going to be a lot of attacks to stop, possibly more than they could handle. But they didn’t have to face it alone.
The still nameless ship that brought them to the island flew right over their heads, charging straight at the sword-filled sky.
◆◆◆
Mallea piloted the craft as they flew at the beast, and Nachi stood out on the deck, pelting her polearm towards the Squordfish’s eye as soon as it came within range. They were on distraction duty. Ideally, they could bother the beast so much that they could get it to turn around and chase after them, but any heat they could take off the island could save countless lives.
Nachi’s first throw missed the eye by just a hair, the monster having turned slightly to look at the new annoying bug. But she recalled the polearm and threw it again, hitting right on the mark. Squids traditionally don’t make too much noise, but there was a deafening wail as the monster flailed in pain.
That was certainly enough to get its attention. Two tentacles still attacked the island—few enough for those on the ground to manage well enough. And all the rest targeted the ship.
While the vessel was fast and adaptable, it wasn’t the most nimble craft. But Mallea still did her best to dodge the incoming attacks. The first six blades grazed by, narrowly missing as they scraped the barrier. But it seemed this monster’s intelligence was on par with its ferocity, learning from its mistakes and adjusting its aim.
Most of the attacks were coming from above, so Mallea was descending as fast as she could, but it wasn’t quite enough. One of the swords pierced the barrier directly, shattering through it and sweeping across the deck of the ship, making Nachi have to duck for cover. Unfortunately, due to the size of the barrier generator, it wasn’t nearly as strong as the one back at the compound, clearly not suited for attacks of that magnitude.
And then the last tentacle loomed overhead, the giant spike aimed straight down towards the deck. If it wasn’t stopped, it would surely pierce right through the ship and shatter it asunder, most likely killing or maiming all those on board. There was no way Mallea could move the ship in time, and the attack was too oppressive for Nachi to counter, but there was still hope.
The third passenger stepped forward, still adorned in her wedding dress. She drew her blade from its sheath—a slender ceremonial longsword that had been passed down through the Sulatrieve family for generations. It was to be gifted to her on her wedding day, as was tradition. None knew of its origins, but the design and material was very reminiscent of a certain knight they knew.
Strong and durable, Rusa was certain the blade could withstand the attack, but the question was, could she? Measuring angle of attack. Calculating trajectory and velocity versus descension rate. Adjusting location to compensate. Widening stance. Lifting arms, positioning sword, downward 48 degree angle. Scratch that. 47, no 46.6. Estimating output required, comparing to muscle density. It might not be enough. Chance of success 81%.
“But it will have to be enough,” Rusa said aloud while she was in her hypnotic, calculative daze. “I will protect my friends and my country. Execute deflection!”
The tip of the monster’s sword clashed against the flat of the Fiend’s own blade. Sparks flew, but Rusa was able to close her eyes in time to block them. She was holding her weapon at a very specific angle just above her shoulders. This caused the angle of the Squordfish’s attack to divert and slide along the length of the sword, altering its course.
Rusa grit her teeth, her arms screaming in pain, her legs wanting to buckle and collapse. But she had to push through and resist with every fiber of her being. And soon relief came. The continued descent of the ship alleviated some pressure and the Squordfish began lifting its tentacle when it realized there’d been a problem.
This led to the blade shooting straight off one of the sides of the deck, narrowly missing the railing. Fortunately, the monster wasn’t one of the fastest, and it would take some time before it was able to attack again after thrusting all its blades. The beast began reeling back its tentacles, preparing for its next set of strikes.
All ten now were aiming towards the ship. Mallea had begun to alter their course to try and dodge most of them, and Nachi was back to pelting her polearm to try and do more damage to the creature’s eyes and lower its accuracy. Rusa had also begun pre-emptive calculations to see which tentacles would actually be a threat that she might have to intercept.
But something else was wrong, and Rusa began to blink rapidly, her eyes starting to water. Then the itchiness came, swarming her entire body from the neck down. Evaluate, what’s causing this? Irritant is not coming from the air. Exposed skin is receiving minimal effect. Areas around the wrists and neck are more distorted than the rest. An article of clothing then.
Focusing on nerve receptors. Majority of epidermal coverage is inflamed and scratchy. Reduced symptoms near the inguinal region, must be protected by the underwear. Analysis complete. Result: I have developed a spontaneous allergy to the dress I am currently wearing. It must be removed at once.
Rusa raised her sword again, pushing the edge slightly against one of the seams of her dress. Commencing incision. She didn’t want to touch it directly with her hands since they were mostly unbothered and didn’t want to spread the allergen further. So like a surgeon making a precise cut, she sliced her dress wide open.
The wind took it immediately, but currently there was no one who could see her shame. Both Nachi and Mallea had their eyes puffed and runny, impossible to make out anything through that debilitation. They didn’t have the Fiend resistance to suppress and tolerate the aggravation as Rusa did, and she did analysis on both of her companions.
Mallea seemed to have it worse, collapsed to the deck and writhing in agony, barely able to breathe. By Rusa’s best guess, she’d become allergic to the very ship itself, or at least the wood. Nachi’s certainly wasn’t as severe. She became allergic to just her polearm and it looked like the bracelet used to summon it as well. The Lesser clawed at the jewelry to strip it off and then threw it down on the deck of the ship, stabbing it with her polearm so that she wouldn’t lose it.
So no more pilot, and Nachi has lost her main weapon. I need some assistance. “Tize, help me!” Feyjrusa immediately felt guilty about her desperate plea. It meant she’d be weakening Phon, but she had hopefully finished most of the evacuations already and was moving on to the next step of the plan. Rusa had to act a little selfish, protecting her own life and saving the country at the same time.
『Incompatible host, synchronization can not be completed.』