I darted my gaze around the deck, searching for a good perch to observe the battle from. Something about the battle was off, though I couldn’t quite place my finger on it. My eyes landed on the arched metal Eliza had perched on earlier, and I made a quick, w whispered switch to the doctor class before casting electrolyte boost and switching back to mage. With the physical magic I’d learned, I boosted my strength even more, flexing my legs and focusing on that one spot. The next time the kraken blinked, I jumped, clearing the height of a building and landing precariously on the beam.
I made the mistake of glancing down as the ship tilted beneath me and met the shocked and confused glances of the others. I raised a finger to my lips, praying they’d not bring the kraken’s attention to me. Cove nodded and ran to the other side, shooting another blast of fire at the kraken, drawing its attention with the support of Eliza and Sinbad.
Rather than attempt to stand on it while the ship still thrashed and heaved, I straddled it like a saddle, sacrificing my comfort for a good view of the kraken’s monstrous form.
One of the tentacles whirled dangerously close over my head, and I ducked, ignoring the biting pain as glass dug into my hand as I swung over the edge, hanging onto the jagged edges until the immediate threat had passed. The suit protected me from the worst of it, turning the dangers of sharp glass into the annoyance and irritation of a stone digging in uncomfortably.
I climbed back on, ignoring the glass stabbing into the side of my legs. The suit protected me from the worst of that, as well.
Sinbad, Eliza, Cove, and the crew tossed attacks at the kraken. Many attacks bounced harmlessly off. Those that landed, like Eliza’s heavenly sword, lasted seconds before something dark and red filled the gap and then shifted to fully restore the kraken.
Using mental magic, I reached out toward Cove. I’m going to get closer. I need you to get Eliza to strike when I’m in position. I followed it with a mental image of what I was hoping to acheive.
Got it. He replied, tapping on Eliza’s shoulder and leaning to whisper into her ear. Our eyes met, and I crouched down low on the beam, inching closer when I thought the kraken wasn’t paying attention, ducking as the occasional tentacle approached too closely.
Close enough, I raised my hand to signal Eliza’s attack. The giant kraken eye jerked back, and it caught me in its sight, it’s horrifying beak opening as it bent over to snap at me. Eliza’s heavenly sword struck it in the side of the face, and it reared back, but not before I noticed the red smoke filling the gap between the skin.
Three of its tentacles flung in my direction, and I cast a quick teleport, reappearing next to Cove.
“I think it’s an Ilbis!” I shouted over the chaos. The highest class of Genii, an Ilbis could transform into the fiercest of creatures, such as the kraken before us. Like all genii, and the djinn I’d encountered before, it wasn’t limited to transforming into a creature that was the same type of monster.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The realization changed everything. Our attacks hadn’t been so ineffective because the kraken was simply that strong–it had been because the kraken was a creature of fire as well weak to water. The Ilbis had attempted to trick us, and it had nearly worked.
Cove put together the implications quickly, sending ice daggers toward the Ilbis, who quickly realized its mistake. It had sipped, and the tentacles unwound from where they were wrapped across the ship.
It was preparing to transform and escape.
Transform, I thought. All forms of Genii were adept at and particularly interested in transformation magic. If I cast transform on it, did that mean it would be weak against that particular magic or strong against it? Would it even work?
I licked my cracked and dry lips and tried it anyway. In the corner of my vision, my ability points dropped to near zero, exhaustion striking through my body as the spell took hold, costing far more than it had to apply the spell to my allies.
Black smoke swirled around the fleeing kraken. The tendrils shrunk, turning tentacles into legs and claws, the smoky threads forming into pitch-black fur and bared silver teeth. The smoke dissipated fully, dropping a massive Dark Wolf, perhaps double the size of the one Sinbad and I had encountered previously, to land on the deck. The force of the impact shook the deck, and a low growl reverberated around as the Ilbis pulled back its lip, baring its newly formed teeth at us with its back hunched.
[You’ve discovered the secret weakness of the Genii!]
[You’ve cast transform on the Ilbis]
[Transform increased to lvl 3!]
[The Ilbis has been transformed into a Dark Wolf]
[Transform will only last five minutes. Force the Ilbist to surrender to obtain a special reward!]
Perhaps used to the transformation magic, the Ilbis didn’t hesitate. He lunged forward towards me, his massive jaw revealing rows upon rows of jagged, painful-looking teeth. I stumbled back my hands flying in front of my face as I was caught unaware.
There was a loud clang, and I pried open my eyes to see Eliza standing before me, smacking the wolf’s massive jaw with the edge of her blade, throwing it off to the side. It landed with a thud, and crew members pounced on it, sending sword strikes and pouring down water spells, which we now knew to be its true weakness.
This time, the wounds didn’t heal. The beast howled in pain. The sound echoed over the deck, sending a fury of renewed energy through the dozen or so people on deck who realized victory was finally within reach.
I huddled back, magic spent as we doubled down on our efforts, the timer counting down. The beast found the space to swipe at us a few times, each blocked by a crew member’s sword or knocked over by a spell. Everyone worked in great synergy until the beast was down on its knees, blood pooling beneath its feet and sliding between the slotted hardwood of the deck, iron permeating the ocean air.
Cove lifted his hand, ice dagger forming before him as time grew short.
Mixed red and black smoke billowed up, knocking aside the daggers and swelling, tossing dust and other particles into our faces. The harsh wind died down, and over a dozen feet away from my eyes was the golden bangle-covered red skin of the Ilbis, whose foot was longer than I was tall. I craned my neck, staring up at the gigantic face that poked through where the glass ceiling had been.
His arms were crossed in front of his massive chest, and a deep frown marred his face.
“HERE IS YOUR PRIZE.” His voice hung in the air like a knife, sharp and demanding.
A thin, leather-bound book formed in the red smoke, the pages fluttering as it fell to the ground, the Ilbis vanishing between one second and the next.
“He was chatty, wasn’t he?”