The dim, fog-filled sky above was pulled further away as Cahira laughed; her gut tightened with the cold grip of death, drawing her into oblivion and on to another turn in their adventure.
Jack called for her, yet it was far too late for anything to be done, and the earth around them folded back in to shut out what little light passed through the haze—no laughter or sound followed in the tomb that had drawn them in.
The pit looked endless due to the enhanced, shadowy mist that leaked out of the walls. Nemesis and Mara had been dragged below quicker than her, but she wasn’t going to just wait for this ghostly hand to take her without a fight.
Teeth flashing in the dark, her body lit with sapphire flames—she could call a weapon or cannon, but that didn’t seem appropriate for this trap-like occasion—a 160-meter-long blue fire erupted below her as Cahira screamed, “Take me if ya can!”
Bright-red hair flying above her in the swift descent into the grave, the light cast by her summoned Dreadnought gave her a glimpse at what Mara had sensed below—dozens of cursed, skeletal giants, drawing them in with their ethereal powers.
As if the entire island’s army had been called to contend with them, the ground seethed with movement, yet they were still only halfway to the moist earth below with the various-sized undead goliaths army waiting to swarm them.
Seeing the hands pulling the Lion King and Mermaid in with the few men that hadn’t escaped the ghostly hands, she took the gloves off and prepared to dump every bit of treasure she was worth—all 43 guns entered Destroyer Mode—her ace in the hole.
Before touching the soil, four tubes unloaded torpedoes, bathing the monsters below in fire as five Maxim machine guns unloaded 7.92mm rounds into the sky, ripping the ethereal hands to shreds.
Ropes shot at each of Bonnet’s crying sailors to pull them onto the screaming warship, and the grip around her waist vanished as all attention went to her lovely behemoth.
In auto-mode after her sacrifice, Cahira watched the show in awe as, for the first time, she saw what her Dreadnought could do when fully activated, lighting up the space like fireworks.
Her hull struck the earth, making her wince at the price it would take to repair, yet the cost was well worth the show; ten 12-inch, magic-infused twin turrets maneuvered into position as her twenty-four 3-inch quick-firing guns spun the opposite way—shockwaves rippled through the air and through Cahira’s frame as the giant shells unloaded.
The goliaths’ arms were shattered in the volley as hellfire rained down on the sea of the dead, and Cahira was drawn to the deck, swinging to break her fall before sliding across the smooth metal; she could feel the vibrating steel shake her bones.
Leeway given to the Mythickin, and her spotlights illuminating the dark space, she saw Nemesis break free of the weakened hands—most of the arms holding them being devastated by her bombardment—and Mara created a vocal stepping point for the lion to leap to her ship.
Shakily getting to her feet, she summoned a remote radio to her hands to yell over the loudspeakers to Bonnet’s men, but it was still hard to hear past the volleys.
“Get yer ass’ up, lads—they be comin’ over the sides soon—pick up a weapon from any crate and fight fer yer lives!”
Smile brightening her lips as the monster duo landed several meters away, Cahira pulled out a pistol and took aim at a skeletal bird of some kind, destroying its skull; her machine guns and 3-inch armaments were handling the flying, wyvern-like fiends, who were using some dark force fo fly with their bony wings.
“Hehe. Quite a day, eh?” she shouted, flaming rapier appearing in her left hand as her ship used ropes to whip undead off its sides. “Mi boy has a bit of a temper, eh?”
Nemesis’ black lips peeled back to show her a grin, ears flicking a bit as he sat the shaky-legged mermaid down. “Mind watching Mara?”
“I… don’t need—ack…” the moss-haired woman croaked, clearly having problems with her throat after overusing it.
“Leave the emerald beaut’ ta me, mi fine-maned friend!”
Jogging over to help stabilize her on the rocking ship, frame under stress from the continual fire of the enormous projectiles sent from its surface, Cahira’s eyes widened when a black miasmic mass seeped through the soil from around the few fallen giants, pulling in five others to create a skeletal abomination.
“Well, damn… This place always has ta one up me!”
Nemesis laughed as he rolled around his neck, eyeing the new undead horror’s ten arms and bony sickles. “I’ll handle the big one.”
Forcing a chuckle while moving to guide Mara to the interior, Cahira winced as it somehow ate her 12-inch guns’ rounds, seemingly only causing minor damage. “All yours, love!”
The Lion King roared with excitement before jumping off the side to plow through the advancing army, paying no heed to the enchanted flames that charred their bones.
Shooting the few enemies that managed to make it past her ship’s continual barrage, Cahira took the sweating Mythickin into the ship and shut the door; she didn’t much care how Bonnet’s men were faring, but she’d given them a fighting chance, and they’d probably draw most the attention.
“Ack… my throat burns,” Mara mumbled, fingers trembling at her throat. “I probably contracted—argh—some kind of curse from those hands.”
Not liking the sounds of that, Cahira shifted her weight a little in supporting the woman to brush her hair out of her face. “I don’t have any curse-breaking things… Got a plan?”
“I can handle it… It’s not going to be fun, but… get me to some water.”
Fingers catching on the Mythickin’s bikini strap to help keep her grip around the woman, Cahira redirected their path to the nearest bathing area that had an adequate bath.
“Heh, just so ya know—I be plum outta firepower after this show—cost every copper coin I got ta get this beast operating on its own ghostly crew; a special feat from our time in Cuba!”
Mara forced a smile, not wanting to use her voice, which was understandable.
Making it to the area, she helped the woman into the tub and started the water; cold or hot didn’t seem to matter with the Mythickin.
“Anything I can get ya ta drink—vitamin water, warm water with lemon and honey, ginger tea?”
Mara waved her hand, telling her whatever, so Cahira summoned a grounded table that would remain still during the barrage; magical items were useful.
Cahira placed the ginger tea, lemon-honey water, and vitamin water—along with chamomile tea, peppermint tea, a berry smoothie she quickly whipped up, and a chicken noodle soup to cover all the bases—on the table, filling almost every little space; she’d have to thank Selvaria for stocking everything up before they left port.
Once done, she realized the outside sounds of battle had dampened with a gentle, semi-strained hum that vibrated from the glowing pool of turquoise water; Mara seemed to be utilizing some kind of recovery method that required her to be submerged.
In fascination, Cahira watched the woman’s bikini bottoms rip away as light masked her lower half with her long tail curling in the large bath; the big tub was meant for multiple men to use, not to waste water.
Deciding she’d be safely locked in the area if placing the hull on lockdown, Cahira summoned another pair of bikini bottoms and placed it on the side of the table with a bright smile and nod; they wouldn’t match her spotted green top, but the new solid-style pair was close enough in shade.
She exited through the multiple hatches to reach the outside, sealing them along the way, pausing once again as she set foot on the deck again. Bones lay scattered around as many of Bonnet’s crew had rallied together near where she’d exited.
It was mildly impressive at how serious and reliable they seemed to be, now they had decent magical gear that could cause damage to the fodder undead her guns allowed past, focusing on the bigger game.
Flipping around her rapier, she sliced the neck of a climbing assailant to send its skull plummeting below with the host of zombies and skeletons using the ladders to get up the vessel’s steep sides.
“How ya be fairin’, boys?!” she called out with a wry grin.
“Dammit!”
“There’s no end to ‘em!”
“George, Nick, get to the other ladders—if we can create a choke point, we can manage it!”
“What if they start making a pile to get up here?!”
“We deal with it! Go!”
Cahira chuckled and cut her way toward the men as they split up to find the places they were coming up. “Good luck, boys!”
They didn’t seem to hear her with blood running through their ears, fighting their way through in pairs to defend their one place of safety.
Clear from attackers with the boys’ efforts against the fodder—thanks to them using magical shotguns and rapiers—Cahira leaned up against the side to stare down at the clearing field of death below them.
Her ship was clearing out the heavy hitters like the wyvern riders and mounted undead, yet she could feel her ammunition depleting fast; her 12-inch guns were ripping into the giant, black-boned skeletons, but her powerful Dreadnought was practically shooting BB gun pellets at the titanic, skeletal abomination.
Luckily, Nemesis had taken its focus; golden aura flaring around his bright fur, he broke it apart bit by bit, shrugging off its undoubtedly potent curse.
“Damn,” she whispered, feeling the rush of the sudden ambush fading as her machine guns finished taking out the aerial units and started working on the ranged attackers peppering her ship’s hull. “Ugh… this is going to cost so much to fix.”
Vision drifting up to the dark ceiling above as the ropes on the deck deflected any cursed arrows sent toward her, she puffed out a long sigh. “You better be alive, Ward… I’m gonna charge ya big for this favor.”
A part of her hoped Bonnet lived, too, even if he was likely plotting against them in some way with Blackbeard; she needed his connections to the UK government to show Rachel she was more than just some convenient, all-terrain vehicle.
She jumped as something shot past her face, distracted in her own mind; wind whipped her hair back as she spun around to see Nemesis pulling himself out of a not-so-nice indent in her wall.
“Huh?”
“Hehe. This thing doesn’t hit as hard as Rachel,” he grunted, crinkling his nose a few times while flexing his fist. “It still has a hefty weight behind it, though.”
“If you’re here… Shit…”
Turning around, she grimaced as she saw the skeletal behemoth—roughly the size of Selvaria but now with 3 arms left—looming over them.
A blurred sickle curved to cut the lion in half, forcing Cahira to scream and dive right.
“It’s fine!” Nemesis laughed, catching it with both hands as his feet sunk into her steel.
“Get the bleedin’ thing away from my ship—dammit!”
Nemesis dove at its second attack, causing yet another dent in her precious, damaged ship, but redirecting its slash to carry just over the top of her vessel; unfortunately, the third destroyed one of her dual-gun turrets.
“Kill it already!”
She could see a few of Bonnet’s men to her left practically piss themselves and collapse to the ground as the giant stumbled back to continue contending with the Lion King as he moved to crush the inside of its last head, not caring about the noxious fumes and red flames inside.
Jogging over to defend the unconscious men, she soon felt the weakening wave that the giant emitted—the real reason they probably passed out—and one of many abilities Nemesis was likely combating.
Damn… this must be the last thing this place has to attack us—hopefully, it is.
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Fighting through the noxious sensation gripping her belly, Cahira cut the next four undead before falling to her knees with the next wave of skeletons as thousands of horrific screams made her head spin.
She thought her whole ship trembled—or maybe the ground and air—but when her mind cleared, she saw the beautiful, large golden lion standing over her with a big, toothy grin.
He held out a hand to hoist her up. “Hehe. That’s more like it!”
Cahira’s hand felt like a child in his as he pulled her up; her legs shook a bit, prompting his strong grip to close around her waist, making her body heat like a girl in love. “Hehe. A little weak on the ankles right now… Wooh!”
Without hesitation, he scooped her up with one hand to lean against his furry chest, making her heart sing; this was a worthy reward!
Leaning her head against his neck, she released her pent-up air. “Haaa… Mara should be healing inside; I made sure to lock everything tight so she wouldn’t be bothered.”
“She’s a strong woman,” Nemesis hummed, focus wandering across the now silent field; black mist lingered on the ground and seeped out of the giant bones of the fallen abomination, showing a large, claw-shaped gash in its skull. “Hmm. Was that the end?”
“Nope! Umm. Now, we need to find the exit, and I’m totally tapped on goods—unless…”
Lips drawing in, she scanned the battlefield; the dead were slowly converting to treasure. It probably wouldn’t cover the cost she’d spent unless the bigger abomination had something extraordinary, but that would more than likely be more attuned to Nemesis’ treasure.
Not wanting to indulge too much in the lion’s care, she tapped his muscular pec as a sign to put her down; plus, she didn’t want to appear too weak—there was a healthy balance a girl needed to keep. “I’m better now.”
Once on the floor, she summoned a large crate. “Uh, mind helpin’ ta gather up the loot? All ya gotta do is toss things into this crate, and it’ll be transported to mi hull—even if mi boy isn’t in the best of shapes,” she mumbled, examining her vessel and wondering if it would still float to get them back to Miami.
“Sorry about that,” he sighed, lifting the box with one hand and tossing it over the side to splinter apart. “Oops…”
Cahira leaned over the side of her ship to glare at the broken transportation crate before shooting a dull look at the sheepish lion. “It’s fine… I have one left.”
Summoning it, she added a strained smile. “Please don’t break this one!”
“Sure thing! Uh… what about that chest from the big one?”
“Hmm.” She followed his claw to the skull, practically the size of a small ship. “Bring it over, and we’ll see what booty ya got!”
A gleam of excitement touched the Lion King’s yellow eyes. “Mara said the big ones will drop the best stuff. What kind of stuff, though?”
He jumped off with the crate, making Cahira hold her breath; he landed safely to set it a ways away, and she eased out her pent-up anxiety.
Too much power can disconnect people, I guess. If this were Zippy, that’d be something else, but my stuff isn’t invincible, people! she internally grumbled.
Cahira’s attention swapped to the shaky pirates to her right as they gathered, some praying or crying that they made it through the gauntlet; to be fair, they had kept attention away from her and her inner ship.
Nemesis leaped back up sooner than she anticipated, bringing a big chest. “What do I do—smash it?”
Glad he wasn’t acting impulsive or rashly after his earlier mess up, Cahira nodded.
“You don’t need to go crazy. Just tap it or touch the lock—seems specific to you.”
“Hmm. What… is this?!”
When the lid opened, Cahira peeked inside, shoulders drooping as the lion gasped in awe; she couldn’t believe what she was looking at when the muscular beast man removed the two articles of clothing.
Shorts that probably wouldn’t rip or be destroyed so easily, and to Cahira’s chagrin, a fitted tank top, tailored to him in more ways than one—the devilish, smirking face of bad-girl Rachel showed across the front.
Mmh… What will the hare fiend herself think of this when we get back? Cahira wondered as the lion slipped the tank top over his bare chest; it matched pretty nicely with his fur, almost looking like a tattoo of the girl. I hope she doesn’t blame my ability for this, but it proves my theory… Treasure is tailored to the individual’s definition.
The thought brought interesting questions regarding Nia’s addition to Rachel’s party, but the devilish outfit seemed close enough to home; then again, Moongmor had been involved in their first Legend’s Quest.
Her head hung as she groaned, scanning the empty interior before it vanished. “No gold, gems, or precious goods to be sold… I’m in the red!”
Recruiting the men to help gather her treasure as Nemesis went to go check on the mermaid, Cahira tried to find some joy in the things she had been able to get. It was probably enough to repair the Dreadnought with everything that washed up on shore and restock her nearly depleted artillery.
If she were lucky, maybe at the end of this, she’d be able to upgrade her Dreadnought again, but this was Ward’s quest, which meant he’d likely get a good vessel.
As much as she needed to find some way to restore her coffers, she couldn’t take Ward’s first shining hope at getting freedom; Cahira cursed her good heart.
Cahira approved of the Lion King’s cream shorts that didn’t leave much to the imagination at first glance but couldn’t get over seeing the devilish hare’s unnerving, eclipsed, multi-mooned eyes with their four-leaf clover.
The bottoms were resistant to just about everything—giving him moderate Infernal resistance for obvious reasons—while the top provided decent defenses but was mainly more in line with Rachel, increasing his strength and speed a great deal under moonlight. It was tailored for a fight against the Lunar Hell Hare.
It took a good thirty minutes to gather all the goods together since they combined together into more valuable items after a time; she had the men do the labor while studying the damage to her baby boy.
It would probably still sail, but she’d need to seal off a few areas.
Mara felt better after her soak and underwater cleansing song, but her voice was still feeling the stress; she was good enough to read sound waves and guide them, though.
Sighing after everyone exited her ship, Cahira snapped her fingers to return it to its internal storage dock. She’d need to go to a Pirate’s Cove to enact repairs, which would have varying prices, depending on how lucky she got in navigation—although, she did have the mythical map that would take you to a desired destination, and that could be quite useful in finding a discount.
Mara stretched out her chest, pulling her elbows over her head and leaning left and right. “Mmh… I’m feeling much better. Humph. It took nearly an hour to remove that ridiculous Decrepify Curse.”
Cahira smiled as the pretty, moss-haired woman gave her a thankful look. “The soup and teas were wonderful; there was even a place to brush my teeth after, and your ship accommodated my desires superbly.”
“No problem! I’m glad ya be feelin’ sweet as honey!”
“Hehe. I wouldn’t go that far, but I’ll be fine. Now… let’s see we find our way to the center of this nightmare.”
The men behind her mumbled their agreement, showing a few cuts on their skin, yet they didn’t seem cursed since they’d only faced lesser undead.
Nemesis was too focused on examining the face plastered across his chest to listen as he mumbled, “It even has her left ear lower than her right in that testing smirk she has… The accuracy is amazing!”
“Haha. I’m happy for you,” Mara mused. “I don’t know how Rachel will see it, but it does… come off strange, Nemesis.”
“Why?” he asked, scratching past his silky mane to get at his neck. “I saw many men and women wearing faces of people they admire in Cuba.”
Mara waved her hand to dismiss the topic, and Cahira couldn’t blame her for not wanting to explain the nuances. “We can discuss it after—hmm… A sealed trap,” she muttered, scanning the colossal space of stone walls and dirt floor.
“Nemesis, smash through that wall,” she directed, pointing a few meters to her right after placing a hand against the black, rocky surface. “I should be able to discover a route once we get to a more open tunnel.”
Complying with the mermaid’s instructions, the lion smashed through wall after wall, bypassing traps and monsters with her echo-location and wave-sensing abilities; a consistent ripple soon created enough of a disturbance to give her a view of the maze’s core.
Busting their way through, they were met by a chilling mist and a massive hole above them; a thick sheet of ice layered the long, angled shaft, electricity still sparking around the surface.
“I wonder who this is,” Cahira snickered, hearing the reverberation of voices rebounding off its slick walls.
“Selvaria!” Melissa came sliding down with a short scream as Nemesis jumped forward to catch and cushion her fall. “Oh—h-hey! You guys are okay?”
Cahira was impressed by her new outfit, and she seemed to be a totally normal cat girl with black ears and tail; well, except when Nemesis sat her down for a tentacle to sprout out of the back of her sweater to catch mini-Selvaria and wolves followed to guard their rear.
Bonnet and the rest of his men were next; Jack behind them, who tumbled across the rough stone floor, yet somehow jumped to his feet without a mark on him. Curiously, a monkey followed him, climbing up his shoulder.
Galatea floated in after the company, holding the black, masked skull of the skeleton that had tossed them into the abyss; the body came soon after, dashing into pieces on the ground before inching back together as their group recovered.
Melissa sat the child-like figure of Selvaria down; the Leviathan had probably used a lot of her water reserves on making this incredibly long tunnel.
“How was your adventure?” Cahira chimed, jumping forward.
Selvaria brushed herself off as Mara eyed them critically. “Pirates turned into zombies, backstabbings, curses, slime monsters… monkeys,” she mumbled, looking up at Jack’s gold-toothed wave and grin. “Just the typical. You?”
“Giant abomination skeletons with sickles, an army of the dead, zombies, skeletal wyvern knights… curses—lots of curses—yeah, the normal.”
“Cool. Boss room?”
“Probably,” Cahira pushed her lips to the side while examining the undoubtedly important area they’d come to the entrance of. “My ship’s wrecked, you’re tiny-Selv, and Mara’s got a stressed voice… What could go wrong?”
Selvaria marched over to the 18-year-old tentacle girl to put a hand on her shoulder and give a thumbs up. “My lil’ sis is strong now; she’ll be as bad as me in no time with my training.”
Melissa returned a strained smile. “Hehe. I don’t know about that, Selv; you’re really something else.”
“Humph. I know. So, if I’m saying you’re hot stuff, it means you’re something else, too.”
“Aww! Sweet,” Cahira cooed, eyeing the trembling bones of the chief as it tried to reconstitute itself. “What’s up with this dude?”
Jack hopped forward with an arm around Bonnet’s back. “Bonnet can test out the room—he do be the immortal type, after all!”
“Huh?”
Cahira lifted an eyebrow as the gentleman pirate hissed in a low voice to the pirate legend, making her laugh when Jack steered him toward the bloody altar at the center of the room, yet the man dug in his heels.
“Ward! I won’t be your guinea pig!”
Seriousness coming over Cahira, she studied the space with a deep frown with the others.
Around the blood-painted altar were rotten body parts of nameless beasts and horrors—full skeletons that would obviously reanimate—gibberish signs, created with brush-like strokes of a dull, neon-green color decorated the walls.
Dozens of sickle-fashioned effigies of multi-headed skulls hung from the ceiling, but the ominous aura of the place didn’t stop the Lion King.
Nemesis grunted and strode forward, yet the moment his feet touched the black ash that littered the floor, black energy passed between the effigies, lifting the dust into a whirlwind and creating a prison, locking the man inside its prison.
Galatea cried out when the force exited to connect with the black skull of the chief, pulling it in to connect with the swirling corpses of the horrors; it fused over the altar, releasing a horrific, furious roar that caused everyone but Nemesis to freeze.
“Too much talking,” Nemesis sighed, arms crossed while waiting for it to complete its ritual. “What’s your deal?”
“Nemesis! Don’t be impulsive!” Mara cried out, yet her soundwaves didn’t seem to reach him as the dark force fused to create a semi-transparent barrier, locking them out. “Shit.”
Selvaria punched her fist into the shell before it repelled it, making her shake out her arm. “Ack… I could get through if I had more water…”
Cahira hissed, knowing she couldn’t do a damn thing. Jack smacked Bonnet on the back, sending him into it.
“Wha—no… eh?”
“Figured,” Ward muttered as he passed through without an issue, showing the undead creature the man now was that made Cahira smack her forehead.
Idiot!
Nemesis turned to see their panicked faces and laughed. “Don’t worry about me. I like this, actually.”
“Nooo!” Selvaria emotionlessly cried, seemingly just realizing something. “I need my end-of-quest reward—I need my super-suit—Nemesis, get me a super-suit.”
He shrugged as dark pulses of energy radiated from the amalgamation that revealed itself from the rotting flesh and flaming-eyed mask. “Sure. Whatever that is—”
“Space stuff—lasers—infinite water storage—uh-oh.”
“Nemesis!” Mara cursed. “Melissa, force your way in!”
“W-What’s happening?”
Cahira’s folded arms tightened under her bust. “Shit.”
Haunting laughter and a deep, demonic echo rattled in their skulls. “You shall never leave this place…”
Nemesis looked down in surprise as his golden aura began to dim with the powerful necrotic force that filled the space, beginning to blacken his fur, yet the Lion King’s focus wasn’t on his failing resistances—the tank top with Rachel’s face on it began to disintegrate into black dust.
“No! No! Stop!”
The air in Cahira’s lungs caught as a red pulse erupted around Nemesis, dying his fur and removing the decaying effect against his body; the furious aura didn’t extend to his clothing, and in a matter of seconds, the smirking face of the Lunar Hell Hare was scattered dust on the wind.
Nose twitching and tight fists shaking, the low rumble of Nemesis’ growl sent chills down Cahira’s spine as he walked forward; floating sickles struck, giant skulled heads bit, cursed hands gripped his limbs, and beams of necrotic force emanated from the mask’s hate-filled eyes, yet the Lion King would not be stopped.
Meeting the other-worldly abomination at its altar, Nemesis’ foot split it in half while throwing it against the opposite wall to crumble; shaking off its attacks, decaying skin and fur regrowing with his rage, the Lion King’s fingers entered its eye sockets to smash it against the floor and disrupt its ethereal, floating form.
Free fist pulling back, it came down with a thunderous blow as he bludgeoned the masked skull—one, two… seven—every strike only increased in power.
“I—shall never die!”
Nemesis seemed beyond words.
“Give… me… another… SHIRT!”
Cahira grew more frightened by the hit as the whole cavern started to quake with the ramping blows of the Lion King.
“You… cannot kill DEATH!” the mask cracked with the obsidian floor, releasing screaming wisps of trapped souls underneath. “Impossible…”
“I will break this island in half! Give me another shirt!” Nemesis roared as his fist drove through the mask and skull, creating a fissure that split through the entire room, freeing tens of thousands of spirits to release wails of relief at their release.
Chest huffing and puffing as the red aura began to dissipate, Nemesis struck the earth one last time, splitting his knuckles. “I… just got that shirt…”
Selvaria fell to her knees with a depressed huff. “There goes my power suit.”
Trying to ease the chills running down her spine, Cahira saw glimmering light far below in the fissure and recalled Raguna’s tip about going below the final room. “Heh… I wouldn’t be so sure.”
Nemesis gave a weak cheer as he opened the chest to pull out a duplicate shirt. “Yes! It’s even better than the last—Rachel’s face on both sides.”
“Congrats…” Mara sighed, chuckling as she strode past the broken barrier to put a hand on his back; he’d likely expended as much energy as he had fighting Rachel. “You’re ridiculous.”