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The Golden Hind, a prestigious beauty of a ship, is now filled with four new members. However, once he set foot on the ship, Malzeno quickly cleaned the interior, as he wanted to avoid Ritsuka or Mash being in such a filthy environment.
Seriously...it was a mess.
Now, in the present, the crew was on the deck, enjoying the sea breeze as the winds seemed to favor them today. The sky was free of clouds, letting the beauty of the sunlight reflect on the surface of the ocean.
Yet, not all things are as they seem beneath the surface: a few hundred feet away, a spiraling whirlpool began to surface.
"Hmm."
"What's wrong, Lad?"
"That whirlpool up ahead, it just appeared out of the ordinary," Malzeno addressed his concern with crossed arms.
"A giant fish, perhaps?" Cu added his thoughts.
"No, much bigger than that. I'll scout ahead."
"Be careful!"
Malzeno turned his head to see Ritsuka and Mash approaching. They were also worried about the sudden appearance of the whirlpool, their expressions conveying the seriousness of the situation.
Malzeno nodded, his shirt disappearing into particles of light as he jumped off the ship's bow, a pair of wings sprouting from his back as he flew ahead.
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.
Flying above the whirlpool at a safe distance, Malzeno's red eyes studied the intense water trap. He was well aware of how dangerous the waters were. Coming from a world where such creatures like Narkarkos existed, he needed to be alert.
The sound of crackling electricity entered Malzeno's ears, overcoming the sound of the waves. Malzeno's eyes widened as a lightning-fast attack sprung from the depths of the whirlpool.
Malzeno's body was covered in dust, with his arms showing bruises with slight sparks of electricity. Amidst his recovery, Malzeno's figure was shadowed before he was slapped into the ocean.
Malzeno's body spun in the water briefly before regaining momentum. His heart began to beat in his chest as he was submerged in water.
Thanks to his senses, he could pick up on the slightest sounds, even in water, allowing him to react by spinning his body.
Malzeno's body rolled on his attacker's hide, allowing him to figure out who this was, and unfortunately, it was a more powerful family member of the "Lord Of The Seas."
Lagiacrus.
However, this Lagiacrus wasn't the common Lagiacrus or even the Ivory Lagiacrus, but the Abyssal Lagiacrus. Its sheer size ranges around 130 feet. If Malzeno were to transform, he'd still be outsized!
Abyssal Lagiacrus's shell is a lustrous black, and unlike its cousins, it is bio-luminescent. As such, its body is covered in vivid blue points of light, a color-matched by its electricity-producing dorsal spikes and hood spines. Its eyes are a striking red that appears to glow among the murky depths, and the inside of its mouth is a vivid electric blue. The horns and spines on its head and upper neck are longer and more prominent than those of other species of Lagiacrus.
"Shit," Malzeno muttered as he met the gaze of the giant Leviathan.
A blue surge escaped Lagiacrus, spreading like an EMP through the ocean. Malzeno was not adept at fighting underwater, and there was currently no land in sight for him to beach such an astonishing foe, so he needed to get out of the water immediately.
As the surge spread, Malzeno quickly used his teleportation to dodge the electricity by a hairs breath. The Lagiacrus blinked as Malzeno seemed to flicker in and out of existence, but this beast was not like the rest!
Rearing its head back, the Lagiacrus released a haunting roar that shook the oceans, controlling it to its will and creating swirling tornadoes underwater.
Malzeno took this chance to fly out of the water. He summoned his trusty bow alongside a large lance that shrunk into an arrow. The Lagiacrus summoned dark, heavy clouds and multiple twisters.
Half of Lagiacrus's body was over the ocean surface as its jaw was opened. It was charging a dense, blue ball of electricity.
The large arrow was pumped with red light, forming a red line that would cause a rift through the ocean. However, with Lagiacrus's powerful attacks, the collision would amount to untold destruction.
After a brief stare-off, both monsters release their attacks. The lance-like arrow pierced the sky like a sword while Lagicrus shot a high-pressure laser beam that howled with the velocity of a lightning strike.
Malzeno wasted no time and conjured a large shield as both attacks collided. It took a full minute before they imploded, causing a massive explosion that shook the heavens.
Malzeno braced for impact as the winds blew everywhere. The Lagiacrus retreated to the depths amid the storm, leaving behind an exhausted Malzeno.
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"So that beast was from your world, eh?"
Cu was impressed by the battle; his eyes as a Servant worked better than a standard human's. Even though he wanted to test his mettle against such a beast, he knew he was outclassed at sea.
"Lagiacrus, I would've preferred to fight the regular leviathan," Malzeno and the rest sat around a table as they feasted on some quick grub Malzeno cooked, despite Mash's initial complaints.
"There's more than one of those?" Ritsuka wished to learn more about the infamous Leviathan from Malzeno's homeworld.
"Of course. The one I fought is an extremely powerful variant, with the other two being more tame. Ivory Lagiacrus is a subspecies of Lagiacrus, while Abyssal is a rare species," Malzeno explained solemnly.
"Lad, be honest, what're your chances of beating that?"
Malzeno blinked. His eyes wandered across the table before he sighed. "It's slim."
With that answer, silence reigned over the table.
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AN: That's it for this chapter. The fight was short here, and that's to give me time to make the next few fights better. I decided to go with Abyssal Lagiacrus as it's an Elder-Level Monster. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.