The Zersiks started to pound on the magic shield crazily with their powerful front legs. However, their actions didn't yield any kind of results.

"Is everyone in position?" Liam asked as several crewmen aimed their flare guns at the Zersiks.

"Ready captain!" The crewman answered.

Liam nodded slightly, "Right! Fay lose the shield in three...two...one!"

The shield suddenly disappeared, and the Zersiks were now free-falling. (A/N: And I'm free! Free fallin'! I wonder if anyone knows that song?)

The crewman pulled the triggers of their guns, instantly sending balls of light into the air.

*Scree!!*

The nocturnal creatures were momentarily stunned by the blinding light, leaving them defenseless.

"Now!" Liam shouted as several other crewmen armed with spears instantly stabbed towards their hearts located in their abdomens. These seasoned fighters were able to pierce the Zersiks hearts while they were still mid-air.

*Screeeeee....!*

Each of them struggled violently before ultimately dying, and their bodies were disposed of in a controlled manner as if it was natural.

"Too easy!"Fay said with a smile as she pumped her fists into the air.

The entire process only took several minutes, and I couldn't help but admire the planning involved. I looked for the one responsible for the plan and noticed Derek was the only one who wasn't happy.

"Derek?"

"Not now kid. Just keep an eye out. There is bound to be more."Derek quickly disappeared into the lower deck.

"What was that all about?" Ellie asked with concern.

I shrugged my shoulders before looking up at the ceiling, thinking for a moment.

(Hmm...What would put Derek on edge like that? Usually, he is always carefree....)

I spent the next few hours thinking of the reasons, but nothing came to mind. We would meet Zersiks one after the other, but we quickly dispatched them as we continued traveling deeper into the cave. I even joined in on the fight as Ellie used her powers to move our sails. Fay was usually the one to control the ship, but she put her entire attention on the magic shield.

Using the booster was out because unfortunately, I can only go straight, and the path wasn't exactly one way.

For a while, we didn't meet Zersiks anymore and decided to take a slight break on the main deck.

The cave really did look as if it was human-made and I honestly started wondering why exactly it was made. It just all looked too perfect.

"An escape route?...No, it doesn't seem rushed at all."

"Maybe it was made for quick access to the Gayle Ocean?" Ellie asked.

"No, it couldn't be. I looked at the map, and this route is more out of the way than the official way to Myra's Ocean."

"Hmm...It really does make you think a bit. Although I do know the name Arin." Vivian said gently.

"Tell us!" Fay said as she flew on to Vivian's head.

"Well, I believe it has to deal with a war that happened 40 years ago."

"A war? He must have been pretty memorable for something to be named after him." I said.

Vivian nodded, "Mhm...I'm not quite sure about all the details, but my mom spoke about him several times."

Vivian sighed as she started recalling the memory, " Arin Branimir, a man who was forced into the fighting once his village was under siege by the Imperials. He was a peaceful man, but he was blessed with unnatural strength."

"Arin was also one of the strongest mages of that time. My mom praised him to no ends. I could go on but...long story short. He doesn't have a good ending...And his entire village was eradicated after his death."Vivian became saddened as she thought about her mom telling the story. She vividly remembered her mom actually cried that day.

Vivian never thought it was possible as she always saw her mom with a great big smile on her face.

The atmosphere was quite grim after Vivian had told us about Arin.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Phew...That was a downer. " I sighed as I leaned back against the mainmast.

"So, what? Does that mean that this tunnel is some kind of monument for Arin?"Ellie asked.

"A monument? Don't ya think it's a bit too much?"

I learned a bit later how close to the truth Ellie was...

*Booooom!*

I instantly turn towards the noise as a crewman screamed his head off.

"Holy shit! Yeah...That's my heart..."The crewman said as he clenched his chest. A single Zersik attacked the shield from the side, hoping to catch the unsuspecting crewman, but luckily Fay had her shield on at all times.

It took a minute for him to calm down as the Zersik crazily pounded the shield.

"Captain...come look at this," the crewman said.

"Hmm?"

Liam slowly walked over to get a closer look at this Zersik noticed it looked a bit different from the others. It for starters was a bit smaller than a normal-sized one, and this one color scheme was off.

"It looks... familiar...But.."

"Huh?" I decided to look at the Zersik too. It was mostly purple, but each of its legs was a vivid red. I studied it a bit more as I crossed my arms, and suddenly it stopped moving.

The Zersik stared at me in silence with its strange yellow eyes. Its eyes seemed to be looking at something on my hand...

"Wait a minute!"

*SCREEE!!*

The Zersik instantly jumped off and disappeared into the darkness.

"Was it scared of you?"Fay asked.

Vivian furrowed her brows, "It didn't look like it was scared...as if.."

"It was confirming something..." Liam said solemnly.

I slightly frowned as I turned to Liam, "What was it confirming?"

"I'm not sure...It-"

*BOOOOM! SCREEEEE*

My eyes instantly widened as hundreds of Zersiks landed on top of the shield. I quickly noticed they also had red-colored limbs, but how many they had differed from each other. The Zersiks started slamming their entire bodies against the shield crazily as some were even smashing their legs into a bloody mess to get through.

"What's happening?!" Ellie shouted in horror as she stared at the violent scene.

"C-captain!"Fay shouted as her brow became drenched in sweat. In small groups, she could manage the shield, but with so many attacking at once she couldn't last for long.

"Captain we only have a few flare guns left! There is too many!"One crewman shouted.

Liam grabbed his two-handed axe, twirling it around with one hand before slamming the handle down against the deck, "Gahahaha! Well, I suppose I get to stretch my limbs now! Everyone draw your weapons! We are going to fight our way out of here!"

"Aye captain!"

Fay landed on my head to rest as the shield suddenly disappeared, and hundreds of Zersiks came rushing onto the ship all at once.

The eyes of Liam became fierce as he gripped his axe tightly. A red aura instantly covered his body as he released his killing intent.

"Burning...Lion's.." Liam raised his axe overhead and instantly sent waves of power with a flick of his wrist."Barrrage!"The waves burst into flames and turned into a majestic lion before slamming into the Zersiks above.

*SCREEEEEE!*

The Zersiks were set ablaze as they screeched in pain, instantly dying as their bodies were blown away while burning into ashes. However, many soon took their place, but each time they were obliterated by Liam.

I noticed Vivian crushing the spiders with her bare hands. One would think she should be scared of things like spiders, but Vivian wasn't your typical woman. She dealt with way worse before! And even when parts of her body were covered in spider blood, she continued fighting!

Vivian suddenly lifted one into the air with her left hand, and started sending punch after punch towards its face, "Stupid! Spiders! Die! Die! Die!" The Zersik long stopped moving as its face was now nothing but a bloody mess.

"A-ah...V-vivian?"I said with a shaky voice.

Vivian turned to me with a frightening scowl on her face, "What?!"

I shrank back in fear."It's dead already..."

"I know that! AAAAAH!!"Vivian slammed the corpse against a nearby Zersik, hurling it off towards the unknown along with the corpse.

*SCREEEE!!!*

I sweated bullets as I watched Vivian fight so brutally. And now I wasn't so sure about her being scared of spiders...

"We will handle this up here. You two get to the bridge with Ian!"Liam roared as he continued killing one Zersik after the other with a single slash of his axe.

"Y-yes, captain!"

I snapped out of my daze and madly dashed towards the bridge with Ellie following close behind.

"Alright fight till you drop!" Everyone one on deck roared with their weapons drawn and started killing spiders at a more accelerated rate as they climbed onto the ship.

I drew my gun-blade out and started unloading bullets into every Zersik that blocked my way.

"Ellie?!" I turned to look to see if Ellie was still following me.

"Ian don't stop!"Fay warned me a bit too late before I was suddenly swept off my feet, falling onto something soft.

"Huh?" I was stunned to see Ellie's face close to mine as we stared into each other's eyes for a moment.

"...Ian! Get off of me!"Ellie shouted as her entire face turned crimson.

"O-oh I'm sorry..." I hastily climb off of her as I started running again.

"What were you doing?!" Ellie was behind me once again, her face was still red from just a second ago.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know you were right behind me!"

"Hmph!"

I sighed gently as we finally make it the bridge. I ran over to the console once we were in, slamming my hand on it as my eyes turned multicolored.

"Captain key confirmed!... Bzzt system startup!"The robotic voice said as the symbol on my hand started to glow.

"Ok...protection...where is it.." I swiped through numerous options on the console screen, and a lot of it didn't make sense. I was drained of my power both times I used the ship, and both times I wasn't in complete control. So I never had time to learn about this ship properly.

"Skull Rush?...No...Luminous wings? No...Drill?...Fay! Help me out!"I shouted in frustration as Fay flew off my head to look at the console.

Fay looked at all the options and started to get a bit dizzy, "Uh...try...Um.."

A loud beeping noise sounded off before the robotic voice spoke, "Warning! A large entity detected! Activ-"

"Huh?"

*BOOOOM!*

Suddenly something slammed into the ship from the side. The tremendous force was enough to catapult the Gaultier out of the water.

The vessel was big enough to hold over a hundred people, and something forced it out of the water with a single push!

The ship crashed into the ground hard, pieces of it flying off whichever way as skidded across the rocky surface.

I could hear screams all around me, but I was knocked off the console before I could react, bashing my head against the sidewall of the bridge.

"Ugh.." I groaned in pain as blood started to drip from my head. I found myself on the floor.

"Ellie...Fay.." I muttered, but there was no response from the two.

"What...hit..us..."I said before I suddenly passed out from the damage.

The only thing I could fairly remember was being carried off the ship in warm hands.