"Drown."

[What?] The inky black creature lowered its massive hand toward my boat. Its fingers were wriggling joyfully for it had found a new toy to crush and sink. As the hand inched closer and closer I yelled out at the top of my lungs.

[WAIT!]

Upon hearing my loud scream, the creature stopped all movements and extracted the approaching hand. "What is it, sailor? Do you want to give me another barrel? Yaa yaa!"

[How about a song?]

"A song?" The creature's glowing white eyes closed and its hand began rubbing its chin. "Okay, one song and then I will drown the boat."

[You won't regret this choice!] I entered the cabin in a hurry and I immediately woke up Orio. I grabbed them by the shoulders and shook them with all my might.

"Aaahhh. Stop it." Once I heard their mostly emotionless voice I quickly began to open the cupboards and rummaged through the sacks around us. [Orio, I have a very special role for you!]

"Is it morning?" Orio rubbed the area where their eyes would be in the helmet while yawning and then stretched their arms and body.

[No it's somewhere past midnight! But still, I need you to put on your tap dancing shoes and go outside.] I gathered all the fish I could find and stuffed them down my pockets.

"Zzz." Orio slept comfortably under their blanket.

[Orio! I said get up!] I awoke Orio with a powerful scream. "I don't want to work during the night. Can this wait?"

[No just go outside and you will see!] I picked up the goblin's tapping shoes and threw them at Orio. [A prick is trying to drown us.]

While Orio stood up and approached the cabin door, I quickly took out some seasoning, specifically a bottle of salt, and rushed outside. Orio was standing motionless outside, directly looking at the massive sea giant.

"Scarlet, why is there an enormous monster in the ocean?"

[That thing was here when I woke up, heads up you're going to perform until I find a way out of this situation.]

"I see." Orio walked towards the middle of the ship, the rain showering them heavily. They took a deep breath. "Greetings, my spectator."

"Hello, sailor."

Orio stomped on the ground, producing a massive thud and spike in front of them. "I will survive!"

As Orio continued to sing and dance, I ran around the edge of the ship. My feet tried their best to not stumble but the wet floor and strong winds kept me slipping. I dived onto the floor and grabbed a dagger off the ground. The dagger wasn't particularly sharp but it was enough to maim when used with enough force.

[See you later Orio!]

I then climbed up onto the ship's rail and plunged down the anchored ship. My face slammed onto the water and it quickly entered my nose and mouth. I flapped my arms up and pushed my head out of the water.

I took a deep breath and pinched my nose. I dropped down into the deep abyss. I swam down and down blindly through the water. The cold was chilling to my bones, my lungs felt heavy like they were about to be crushed.

Using my free hand I snatched some fish out of my pocket and scattered them around. I waited and waited but there was nothing. I tried going farther down and trying the same thing. There was nothing again. The sea was silent.

Damn it!

I wielded my dagger and slashed at my shoulder, my blood seeped out instantly. The cold water touched my wounds, giving me a freezing and salty welcome.

[...]

What?! Seriously there was still nothing. This is so irritating, not only am I freezing down here, but I'm also about to pass out. How annoying. Stupid damn calamari.

"Hello."

A tentacle wrapped around me. I finally found the creature that will help me. "I couldn't help but notice your emotional complaints out here in the sea."

Another tentacle emerged from the bottom and rose in front of me, glowing and providing me with vision. "Correct me if I'm wrong but your body isn't suited for underwater breathing is it?"

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I nodded repeatedly up and down. "Would you like it to be?" I shook my head left and right because I wasn't a fan of getting disfigured. "Well, you seemed to be close to passing out any time now so let me pull you up."

At extreme speeds, I was lifted out of the water. [Graah! Hah ah ah... Air!] I inhaled deeply as I observed my surroundings. The giant was clapping and Orio was still dancing. They were singing something about

surviving and proving someone wrong.

Oh, wait never mind. They fell to the ground, shaking. Woah that was so sad. They were doing excellently as well. Oh well.

[Put me down.] The tentacle lowered me into

the ship and I brushed my hair using my wet hands. "This was a nice meeting but I have to go now."

[Excuse me for a second.] I reached for my pocket and presented a cloth-covered container. I twisted the cap off and poured a single drop into the ocean. [How's the taste?]

A tentacle shot up and slashed at the spot, before immediately submerging. "Aaaahhh!" Orio crawled on the ground towards me. [You look rough.]

"How is the taste you ask? Delightful, it's a wonderful treat. Give me that will you?" Multiple tentacles sprouted around the ship, grabbing it and rocking it like a cradle

"Hey!" The giant yelled. "Back off squid. This is my ship to drown. And speaking of drowning, times up."

The creature let out a scream and lifted its hand into the air. [Hey quick deal, I'll give you this if you go kill that thing for us.] The hand soon dropped down at a fast speed.

"Deal accepted." The tentacles unraveled and appeared in front of our ship, stopping the attack. I grabbed a cloth-covered bottle from my pocket and threw it into the water. [Pleasue doing business.]

"It's my pleasure."

I ran to the ship's steering wheel and tried to spin the ship around. I then ran to Orio, lifted them, and ran back to the steering wheel. After forcing Orio to turn the ship around and lifting the anchor myself, we soon set sail away from this storm and battlefield.

[See you later scum!]

"I'm gonna pass out."

----------------------------------------

The 140 feet tall umibōzu was entangled by multiple humongous tentacles. All the tentacles were working their hardest to pull down the struggling stormy beast.

"Give up now Umi, you don't stand a chance against me." The tentacles tighten around the umibozu's arms, squeezing them with enough force to crush ships with ease.

"Drown." The giant dispersed into storm clouds and water. The tentacles all fell to the sea upon losing their grip. The mantle of the tentacled beast peeked up from the waters, sending out a tidal wave to its surroundings.

The mantle was certainly slimy, round like a coconut, and full of scars. The beast further rose, revealing its two beady eyes. "Where are you?"

Right behind the Kraken, the umibōzu formed, wielding an excess amount of mass in its right hand. The hand dropped down onto the Kraken, punching it down into the sea.

The impact rocketed the Kraken away, pushing its massive body down which created a vortex due to its sudden submerging.

"Goodness me. That was unsportsmanlike." The Kraken swam further and further down the sea, leaving the umibōzu alone.

"Coward. I would drown you if I can. Yaa yaa!" Its bulked-up arm began to shrink, returning to its size. The umibōzu's eyes glowed powerfully, creating a beam of light that pierced the dark seas.

"I see you! Aitatata!" Two massive dark arms made of clouds and water dived down the sea. They grabbed something circular and lifted it high in the air. It was a boulder.

"But I was certain."

*Rattle Rattle*

A maraca smacked the body of the umibōzu. The maraca shook with flames, sending out fireballs and a wall of flames that burnt its enemies. The maraca was tightly gripped by one of the Kraken's tentacles and it was shaking nicely.

"Die!" The umibōzu cried out while trashing around. Lighting struck everywhere as tsunamis formed around the rampaging beast.

*Rattle Rattle* Another maraca slammed onto the umibōzu. The force created a shockwave on the impact point and scattered the clouds that formed the beast.

The inky black clouds exploded everywhere into the air. After some time, the clouds gathered and spun creating a tornado aimed at the sea. The tornado had the same two glowing white eyes and it was as black as ink.

The two maracas were raised to clap the tornado. A mixture of flames and gusts of winds decimated the umibōzu's body.

The storm above gathered and formed a nexus of rain and thunder. "Good night my dear umibōzu." A third maraca collided with the nexus, freezing the storm.

"Good riddance, what a noisy fellow." The Kraken ascended and began to search for its reward. Its tentacles flap with great speed and delicacy, trying to locate the bottle thrown by Scarlet

After some time searching the Kraken had obtained the goods. It happily raised it into the sky like a proud parent with their child. It then lowered the bottle onto the water and swallowed it whole.

"................"

"GODDAMN! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS! YOU GAVE ME-

----------------------------------------

"Salt. Where is the salt, Scarlet?" Orio grumpily crouched at the cupboard. " Did you move it?"

[Who knows."] I devoured the flesh of my, this time, not so burnt fish. It was tasty but I do have to agree with Orio. Salt would have been great.

"Honestly." Orio grabbed two black rectangles and placed them both on top of their helmet's visor. They were positioned at an angle that looks like an angry person's eyebrows. "How could you?"

[I'm just a big troublemaker I guess.] I stretched my body and tossed my fishless dagger to the ground. [Let's try and find an Island or someplace populated. I need a new guitar.]

"'Aye-aye saltless captain." They saluted me with their grumpy eyebrows and continued to look for salt. "Wait dont you have a spare guitar?" They asked with their voice filled with curiosity and emotions equivalent to a wet sponge.

[Tch tch tch Orio. That guitar is no spare. It's my crew's perfect guitar! Memories of fun times and hardships, all placed into that wooden instrument.] That guitar really was important to me. It was a reminder of my old bandmates and our travels out here in the sea.

"That sounds precious to you. It must be one of a kind. "

[Yes, it is. It's like no other guitar because of our four wonderful un-replicable signatures... Which means I can sell it when I get extraordinarily desperate for cash.]

"Give me back my admiration please."

I sat on my chair outside and lifted my feet into the air. Maybe it's time to reflect on what I did. Nah, that calamari deserved that for messing with me and Orio.

I took out a cloth-covered container and spun it in the air. [This bottle is too special for you, ink splotches!] I hid the bottle again and gazed at the morning sky. Maybe this day will be a peaceful one. I hope it is.

But let me tell you, I'm as ready as I'll ever be to come and fight for my life. Send me all your hardships world for I Scarlet will drown them all away with my music!