Black Sea, July Lapunta year 1258.
The ship had been sailing in the Black Sea for two months straight. They all stood by the side of the boat, sticking their heads out to feel the sea breeze licking their skin. Oh, it's been a long time since they've known this feeling! But they also managed to make one thing, that they were about to face Xoncenork - the ocean nightmare.
Hargnes stood proudly at the bow of the ship, her eyes fixed on the path La Delpostre was turning. Her hand gripped Trikestion with great vigilance. Hargnes sensed something billowing just beneath this deep ocean. Something terrible is about to wake up.
Jon stood in a corner on the side of the ship to enjoy the sea breeze alone, he didn't talk to anyone. Jon was sure people from all over the Arglohandre were on their way to the Realm by now. Before they boarded the ship, Jon had conveyed to the people of Arglohandre, that on August 23rd, they would have to be here to witness a historical fact. Sometimes he believes himself to be a weapon of the gods. Jon has magic, and he has used it to find treasures, as well as transmit this message or foresee the future. But Jon couldn't see his destiny, as if he didn't exist in this timeline. What should this power be called? Is it a gift, or a punishment?
The rest of them sat and chatted with each other, taking advantage of the time they had left before the final battle. But he didn't care. Jon had seen the whole game, as well as the results. But how can you say them? Looking at the bubbles on the sea surface, he couldn't stop thinking. Jon glanced at all of the people on this legendary ship, then thought again that the entire future was on their shoulders. This timeline is as fragile as a butterfly's wings, just one detail goes off-center, the butterfly will fall and can only be bait for the ugly spider. The more he thought about it, the harder it was to calm down. The sound of the water hitting the side of the ship made it impossible for him to concentrate, adding to the raindrops that kept ticking like a countdown bell.
"I should have said it earlier... But I'm sorry..."
Somehow, Reind came to stand beside him. He leaned his hands on the side of the ship, his eyes also fell to a faraway direction with no support. Jon looked up at him, and then followed his father's point of view. He replied:
“Even I am not sure of myself…”
"But a father should have believed in his son, shouldn't he?" he turned to look at him, his face sad. “I am not a good father…”
Jon was silent. He looked closely at this poor man. All his life holding swords and shields to protect his land, he kept thinking, what did he get in the end? But he only answered him with a small smile, then hugged him. The big body made it impossible for him to hold it all with one arm. Jon bugged:
“You are Jon's best father.”
Just hearing this short statement is enough to warm any parent's heart. He ran his hand through the boy's jet-black hair and laughed.
"Really?"
“Yes.” Jon looked up at him, nodding. “One day… You will do things for me and mother that you never thought you would do.”
He froze for a moment, Reind didn't understand what he meant by saying this. But then his face relaxed, he smiled lightly:
“You and your mother are my family. I will do anything for us, whatever it is”, then he paused, thinking something in his mind. Jon saw him take a deep breath. Mom said that if catching someone talking, then pause and take a deep breath, then they will definitely say something, or do something that they normally wouldn't do, or they wouldn't dare to do. Jon tried to guess what he was going to do. Then Reind looked at him, smiled and let out a sentence he hadn't dared to say for a long time. “I love you!”
"I love you too, father!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the ship suddenly moved strangely, and everyone began to stir. Hargnes at the bow of the ship slammed Trikestion to the floor, shouting:
“It's Devil's Bay!”
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Everyone had a look of fear on everyone's face at this time. Thirteen of them also quickly ran to the bow of the ship to observe. Right, in front of them is the whirlpool of Xoncenork, which means that the evil monster has woken up. It never misses any free prey. Hargnes turned to Jon, who asked anxiously:
“Jon… how are we supposed to deal with this?”
Jon, on the other hand, was calm as usual. There was no worry or confusion on his face. Jon simply replied to her:
"Don't worry everyone… it'll be fine."
“Do we need to do anything?” Victoria asked.
"Yes," said he, taking his mother's hand and heading for the way down to the battleship's basement. "We'll all go down there."
La Delpostre still leisurely parted the water, getting closer and closer to the "bottomless mouth" of Xoncenork. A giant vortex swirled and swam across the sea, sucking everything into its always-empty stomach. But La Delpostre seems unafraid of its violence. Rolling like a storm, it "burped" out a deadly aura with so many wrecked ships left to pieces from the tornado shot straight up into the sky, and then fell like pieces of stars in the sky.
“Hargnes alone up there… will it be fine?” Victoria asked nervously.
From the basement, hundreds of people were already sitting and waiting. Everyone was safe inside the solidity of La Delpostre, completely unaware of what was outside, so they had no idea what had happened or was happening. Jon could feel the anxiety in her face and the pounding of her heart. Jon grabbed his mother's hand tightly, looked at her with a confident face as if to reassure, calmly said:
“She is now the heart of La Delpostre. She has to be up there, steering La Delpostre in the right direction. Everything will be okay."
Everyone just stared at each other in silence, not knowing what to say. Is everything going to be okay?
Hargnes alone with his staff in hand, stood at the wheel of the ship, fighting the sea demon about to awaken. The waves of the sea pounded against the side of the ship, like arms waiting to drag the ship down to digest. The sea growled deafeningly, the ocean writhed like a leper, bumping into pieces like a rotten dry stick. The sky seemed to pull mourning, crying into raindrops for the next painful death.
Sifting oak from the depths of the ocean, Xoncenork awakens in the form of a giant octopus. Xoncenork rose from the whirlpool, revealing two eyes larger than a chariot's wheel filled with ferocity, with blood-red tassels that were disgustingly sticky and the stench of rotting corpses. It roared loudly, overpowering the sound of thunder rumbling in the sky, and then, without saying a word, fiercely wrapped its deadly tentacles around La Delpostre. Compared to Xoncenork, La Delpostre is probably only a grain of sand in the ocean. The beast curled around the ship as if it just wanted a quick goal, but somehow the more it entangled the more effort it took, and La Delpostre seemed unharmed. Xoncenork snarled again as if gaining momentum, this time using its remaining six limbs to break the ship in half, but still as before it could not get any results. The beast was furious and let go. It roared once more and then dived. Not long after that, it decided to attack from below the bottom of the ship. All eight of its limbs rose up close to the sides, shot straight up into the sky, then slammed down on the ship, trying to entangle itself from both sides. But this prey is not as easy to eat as it thought. There was no way it could bring down this sturdy ship.
Perhaps the defense from now on is enough, it's time for the legendary La Delpostre to counterattack! From either side of the Xoncenork entangled side, La Delpostre hurled hundreds of silver arrows through its thick skin. The sea demon Xoncenork let out a scream of pain, then immediately let go of the ship. The huge tassels they smashed against the sea surface caused the water to shoot up into tall columns, sounding like a broken mountain mass crashing into the sea. But that's not the end, Xoncenork still couldn't believe it couldn't do anything about La Delpostre. It decided to emerge from the bottom of the ship to push it over. La Delpostre did not like that. The sea seemed to stick to the bottom of the ship. No matter how much Xoncenork pushed up, the sea level rose, as if it were inseparable. The sea demon let out another angry roar. It frantically attacked La Delpostre, but the ship remained calm. Xoncenork blew up a huge tornado, sending the ship dozens of meters into the air. On the contrary, La Delpostre seems to be riding on whirlpools but leisurely. It just spiraled the water on the vortex and went from the lowest point to the highest point. Then, La Delpostre went straight into the heart of that writhing vortex. No longer needing water to stay still, La Delpostre hovered in the air as if it possessed invisible wings!
A layer of magical light suddenly enveloped the whole ship in the air, and then illuminated an entire sky. The whirlwind immediately disappeared and turned into raindrops and sponges, flying all over the sky like early winter snow. La Delpostre was still in the air, looking down at the sea where Xoncenork writhed like a giant sea snake. Without waiting for Xoncenork to turn, thousands of silver arrows from the sides of the ship aimed directly at the beast, pouring down like water from a high waterfall. Xoncenork's scream echoed across the sea, a black water turning deep red. The beast struggled painfully in the water, while the rain of arrows continued to massively aim at the ill-fated monster. After a while, the blood was still splattered on the surface of the sea, but its movement was no longer visible. Is it dead already? No one knows what happened to Xoncenork after that. Just know that the sea has calmed down again, the cloudy sky has disappeared. The sun was finally able to shine on the sea surface reflecting the clear sky.
A "squeak" sounded just above the door leading to the basement. Hargnes stepped down solemnly with the Trikestion. Upon seeing everyone's expectant faces, Hargnes only smiled softly:
"Let's go get Lapunta's head!"