Bone Drake [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczObiidQWNM1ZoxqMUTPqN5CDyl81nA2RnN9VzzClNOeuL6WvJc0XQs0VYtcGGioRRb1e7jqzypSwmUsGyzUA6BUxXViR8XS9DcAfNUW4himzFSxvSEC-mCxOrTokJNjlzfdBYLXFh3yRMErnpCGYtzq=w661-h992-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Once Dazien made the call and the others on the ship spotted the threat, Captain Clisson took over, barking commands to the few crew members and utilizing her own abilities to protect the ship and its occupants.
A humming sound began as the runes along the ship’s edges began to glow, and a momentary shimmer of brilliant blue in the air was the only visual indicator Phoenix had of the force field being in place. She was fairly certain it would have normally been invisible if her eyes hadn’t allowed her to see the flow of magic.
She had gotten to learning the specific colors of magic since then and was familiar with that particular bold blue as being pure Arcane magic. Other colors came from the runes of the ship, but most were various shades of blue, indicating both Water and Ice magic as well. Water was the darker shade, and Ice was lighter, but it was hard to tell the difference sometimes when mixed with Arcane.
The harpoon-like weapons that rose up along the edges were definitely formed from some sort of Ice magic though as some of the crew began to prepare wielding them. That reminded her of her own longer range attack and she turned to ask Dazien, “Which ship do we need to take out first?”
He frowned but admitted, “I’m not entirely sure which might be the bigger threat. That red one slightly behind the black was flying a flag with the symbol of a wine glass with a rose inside.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. She actually knew that symbol, and by the look on Dazien’s face, he remembered it just as vividly. “The Scarlet Banquet is all the way out here?”
“Likely the ones that escaped, if I had to guess, but perhaps this is just another way for them to get meals. The other ship is one I don’t recognize the symbol for, but it’s where the bone drakes came from, so I’m assuming some kind of necromancer is aboard that one.”
She frowned, then glanced over at Uriel. Both groups were likely the largest threat to him, remembering how susceptible he was to Corruption and how the Scarlet Banquet would likely send him back to the DOD if they managed to capture him. After Paul had been cursed, she had gone out of her way to stock up on cleansing potions specifically. She had things that could save him from Corruption now… she didn’t have anything that could protect him from the horrors of being a prisoner again.
“You have Spells that can help him not get captured in the first place,” Tala pointed out in her mind.
With that thought, she turned back to target the red ship and began chanting, “From the depths of the universe, I summon forth the shards of annihilation. May the wrath of the cosmos descend upon all who dare to oppose me.”
It was difficult for her to try and gauge the distance and timing of the moving ships, so as her three meteors appeared from their rifts in the sky above them, she triggered their fracturing to widen the affected area and hopefully take out the red ship of cannibals.
She wasn’t certain exactly how much damage was dealt, but she knew at least some of her attacks managed to hit it as the sails caught fire. Another shriek from the air above her had her refocusing on the closer targets, who were now the more immediate threat.
The drakes were smaller than Phoenix anticipated but large enough to be worrisome as they got closer and began screeching once more, causing their entire party to cover their ears.
“Uriel! Can you protect the ship within the eye?” Dazien called out in question.
The still-nauseous cinderen shook his head. “I don’t think I can make the center big enough; the edges would be caught in the storm.”
“Keep to single target then, they’ll be able to fly out of your area spells. I remember your book said they’re usually Sapphire Caste, so don’t be upset if your Banes don’t stick; just keep trying. Lady Saiya, go get Rayna and then stick with her and Uriel. We’ll need her damage if they attempt to board us,” he commanded as his armor was conjured around him from his [Armory] storage ability.
Then he turned to her as his sword and shield appeared in his hands. “Phoenix, do you think you can go sky dragon?”
All of them turned to look at him with wide eyes as she clarified, “Really? You want me to solo Sapphire Caste monsters in mid-air? You know I can’t fly, right?”
He grinned cheekily. “That never stopped you before. Besides, aren’t you always telling me to let you use your more risky abilities more often?”
“Yeah, but you usually tell me ‘no,’ and when you do say ‘yes,’ something usually goes wrong that proves you were right in the first place,” Phoenix pointed out with increasing annoyance.
“So, you should trust me now since I’ll probably be right,” he replied with brash confidence.
She groaned in frustration. “That’s not what I meant. I just don’t think sky dragon is really the way to go right now in the middle of the sea against two Sapphire Caste flying undead mini-dragons!”
“Are you saying it’s too challenging?”
“No! I just… I mean…” She hesitated, searching for more words to argue with.
Dazien seemed confused by her uncertainty when it came to fighting monsters that she would normally have already lunged at before he even gave the order. His eyes narrowed at her as he asked, “Then what exactly is the problem?”
“I can’t swim! Okay?” she finally admitted, throwing her hands up into the air in exasperation. “I never learned how in the hospital!”
He stared at her for a long moment, then laughed, catching the nearby crew members off guard and earning glares for finding humor at such a time as danger headed straight for them, “Then don’t fall in the water, Princess. Quit worrying and get up there to do some damage!”
She shot him a glare and retorted, “Fine! But if I drown, it’s your fault!”
Dazien rolled his eyes at her. “You don’t breathe anymore, remember?”
Phoenix blinked at him for a moment, then tried to cover up the fact that she had forgotten about that and said, “I’m pretty sure the ocean waves or underwater pressure or whatever can still crush me to death…”
Pale violet flames splash against the barrier surrounding their ship, bringing their attention back to the undead drakes circling the vessel. A few loud booms echoed as the crew took aim and let loose harpoon bolts that looked made from ice at the monsters, but most missed their mark or only landed a glancing blow against the bony fliers.
Another shriek filled the air as Uriel’s spell, [Frost Touched], finally stuck to one of the drakes, starting to cover its bony wings in a layer of magical frost in an attempt to slow the undead monster.
Since that one was starting to become slowed now, Phoenix decided to let the sailors handle that easier target and aimed herself toward the other drake as she moved to the edge of the ship.
“Hey,” Dazien called out to get her attention before she could begin her attack. When she turned with a quizzical look, he simply smiled and said, “Stick to the staff or chain for these.”
She laughed, nodded, gave a little salute, and jumped off the ship while triggering her [Ruler of Relativity] to make herself get flung towards the larger Sapphire Caste monster. As she got dragged through the air, magically tethered to her target, she first expanded her aura all around her, causing a small army of starlight companions and night wisps to appear over each crew member’s shoulder to offer them some protection.
Then she conjured her weapon and transformed it into a staff, gaining the boon for that form.
Status Effect: Holy Pilgrimage
Type: Boon (divine, radiant)
Effects:
* Stamina is increased.
* Attacks made against Corrupted or Death-Attuned targets have increased effect.
* Movement abilities have reduced cost.
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Right before she impacted the flying bone monster, she triggered two effects; the first being her [Nemesis] Bane to get better loot and keep track of the monster, and the second being her [Avatar of Bakunawa]. This was the first time she had used it since it had been upgraded by the Synchrony Spirit Gem she had found in the family vault, and she was grateful for its new method of sustainability.
Class Ability: Avatar of Bakunawa
Type: Transfiguration (recoil, magical, dark, dimension, light)
Cost: High mana.
Cooldown: 30 minutes.
Crystal Effect: Take on the characteristics and abilities of the moon-eating dragon Bakunawa, increasing all attributes by a significant amount and unlocking the abilities [Eclipse Breath], [Cosmic Talons], and [Soul of the Celestial]. When this effect ends, you are temporarily debilitated, suffering a reduction in all attributes.
Sapphire Effect: You can extend the duration of ongoing effects by channeling [Starlight Qi] into them. When [Eclipse Breath] is used in conjunction with other channeled attacks, inflict an instance of [Synchronized Vulnerability].
* Eclipse Breath (channel, magical, dark, light): Breath a stream of Magical flames inflicting Dark and Light damage.
* Cosmic Talons (magical, dimension): Grow metallic claws that inflict Dimension damage.
* Soul of the Celestial (passive, aura): Increases Strength, Mind, and Magic attributes of allies within your aura.
* Synchronized Vulnerability (bane, elemental, magical): Resistance is greatly decreased for each type of Elemental or Magical modifier used to trigger this bane.
Her body shifted rapidly as she was dragged higher into the sky. She felt the surge of power flooding her as she swung the sacred weapon with her boosted strength and momentum.
The creature roared in annoyance as the metallic staff made contact, dealing additional Radiant damage along with the force of her strike against its exposed rib cage.
As the monster turned to snap at her once she began to fall back, she was saved from the vicious set of very pointy teeth by Dazien’s Familiar, Rex, as it went straight for the drake’s skeletal face.
The [Royal Raksha] wasn’t usually manifested since he was so large and gave Dazien fairly good bonuses while merged with him, but she was grateful for the giant chimera being present now as he helped protect her in the sky. She wasn’t particularly fond of losing a limb to the boney maw that seemed much bigger now that she was getting an up-close look at it.
His large golden eagle-like wings shimmered even in the bleakness as they kept him aloft, and his golden-scaled dragon-like tail landed vicious blows that she knew were inflicting additional Gem damage with each strike. His claws were even making the bones themselves bleed from his Bane, and he let out a deafening roar that inflicted Song damage.
One of his golden stag-like antlers glowed brightly for a moment, and she felt a Boon land on her.
Status Effect: Benevolent Presence
Type: Boon (magical, covenant)
Effects:
* Abilities have decreased resource cost.
* Innate resistances are increased.
She had needed to ask Dazien earlier what “innate resistances” meant, and apparently, it specifically referred to what someone was attuned to. In her particular case, that meant her Dimension, Fire, Light, and Radiant resistances were all boosted now.
Instead of letting herself fall further, Phoenix added another burst of mana to pull her body back toward the monster and shifted her staff into a chain. She wrapped it around the creature’s far wing and attempted to pull herself atop it to attack from its back. The weapon’s boon in that form took effect instead, and she was finally grateful for the fact that every form included a boost against Corruption.
No wonder Paul was said to have liked this weapon since he had hunted the Corrupted for a living for most of his life. Divine wrath was right up his alley, and she could appreciate the anti-undead sentiments at that moment while battling the very not-living bone drake.
The retribution effect specifically granted by the chain form reminded her to cast her [Call of the Abyss], and she muttered, “Gaze into the abyss.” She grinned as she felt the Bane take hold. If it did achieve taking a bite out of her now, it would pay for it with its own blood.
She almost laughed aloud in a mixture of disbelief and incredulity as her poor little [Shadow of Azazel] that got summoned with it plummeted through the open air to crash into the rough waves below. She wasn’t sure if she could unsummon it at all and save it from the pain of trying not to drown.
Despite the less-than-useful effect from that summon, she did enjoy the [Void Hunter] Boon she received for being transfigured when she had cast it, granting her another form of tracking and a way to deal Void damage with each attack as dark black scales crept across her hands and up her arms.
As she managed to grapple the drake with a claw and her chain, she had Tala appear beside her and used her draconic form’s [Eclipse Breath], and the [Cosmic Phoenix] Familiar added her own [Star Fire] breath attack. They coated the undead monster in a torrent of colorful flames that caused the [Synchronized Vulnerability] Bane from her form’s new Sapphire effect, making the monster even less resistant against Dark, Light, Dimension, and Fire attacks.
The bone drake decided now was a good time to do some barrel rolls and dive bomb towards the icy water below them, trying to both dislodge its parasites and quench the burning pain. Tala seemed to notice the shift and re-merged into her to offer the increased mana regeneration and attempt to generate more [Starlight Qi] to spend on her prolonging her dragon form to postpone the inevitable recoil effect that would leave her weak and vulnerable.
Phoenix released the drake and sent her weapon back to her collection, letting herself freefall through the air at a much slower rate as the monster dove into the ocean. Perhaps her little summon would get to fight its target after all. She took the lull in the fight to survey the rest of what was happening and grimaced upon seeing the enemy ship and their Victor’s Tribute side by side in pitched combat. Her side didn’t seem to be the ones winning either, considering most of the battle seemed to be taking place on it.
While she fell, she started to target the enemy Crystal Casters she could sense within her aura and began pulling them each towards her with [Ruler of Relativity] until they either fell on the deck or went overboard —not dead, but at least out of the fight for a little while. That was her goal at the moment: support and give her allies some breathing room.
The last gravitational pull she did on an opponent made her crash into them as she sank her [Cosmic Talons] into their flesh and dealt more Dimension damage as she attempted to rip out the enemy’s heart in a brutal end to the threat that had been about to stab Saiya.
“You might be going overboard with that kind of kill, but thank you, Phoenix,” Saiya said and finished casting her own healing spell on one of the downed crew members.
Phoenix didn’t laugh as she looked over her friend, checking for injuries, and said through a mouth full of sharpened teeth, “I won’t let you get hurt by that monster. Rayna would yell at me again for anything less.”
She didn’t argue, simply nodding in understanding, and asked, “How much longer on that form?”
“Maybe another half minute before I have to start spending [Starlight Qi] to keep it going.”
Saiya glanced around and then asked Dazien over the communication network, “Should Phoenix drop the form now while I can watch after her, or should she burn through the Qi to keep it going?”
“If that drake is down, go for it now. I’d rather keep it managed than have her get caught among the enemy when she runs dry. There’s not enough starlight shining through this gloom for me to feel confident about her regeneration.”
They both nodded in agreement despite him not being anywhere near them. As soon as Phoenix felt her [Nemesis] and [Mark of the Void] fade, signaling the death of her drake, she let the duration of her transfiguration end.
Saiya moved to her side as she dropped to a knee, shaking slightly from the debilitating costs of the empowering ability. No matter how many times she used that ability, she never seemed to get used to the sensation of dramatically shifting from being much stronger than normal to much weaker from the recoil.
Rayna was suddenly next to them, asking, “You both good here?”
“Yes. She’ll be fine in just a couple of minutes,” Saiya answered as she tried to help Phoenix regain her feet. “Can you stay close until then to defend?”
“Sure thing. Daze has his hands full over there anyway, defending Uriel, who is laying down the hurt on that ship. I doubt it will survive at this rate,” the bard said, gesturing towards the enemy boat that now matched Phoenix’s bone drake with how much fire was raging through it. “Despite the enemy Captain being low Emerald, that ship itself is definitely made from Crystal Caste materials.”
A large boom sounded, and Phoenix turned around just in time to see the heavily singed enemy ship take a cannonball, which looked more like an orb of Arcane plasma, to one of its masts and completely shatter in an explosion of wooden fragments, reminding her that it wasn’t just her party having to battle the threat.
Just as her hope for victory began to swell within her, of course, fate had to crush it. The ship abruptly rocked underneath them, causing them all to fall to the deck as the last thing she wanted to see in the ocean appeared. A large blueish-grey tentacle rose from the depths, followed by another and another, and they soon found themselves in a small forest of tentacle monster limbs.