Reviews:
Guest: A calling card is about as friendly as someone could describe it, nothing good would ever come of it no matter what.
Quatermass: Yeah, Isma finally showed up. I plan to have elements of her story in this chapter as well as give an insight as to how the whole Se God incident went down without Guts and the crew there to help the first time.
Pyromania101: Goblins can be very nasty when it comes to their products, but even they'd be hard-pressed to try and openly take it back at a later time. But Sirius did make the right choice of just staying away from that memory; it'd be something he'd regret later on.
Hairul The Nightrage Beast: I hope for the fight to feel new and familiar with the addition of Skull Knight and Sirius both. But allies are going to be needed for sure if they hope to take on Falconia.
Necrogod: Not a problem, hope you enjoy this one as well.
Tero7323: Merry Christmas to you as well and a happy birthday!
OBSERVER01: Yeah, that fight was the highlight of waiting to get to Elfheim and I hope to have it feel familiar and new with the addition of characters like Skull Knight and both Harry and Sirius.
Disclaimer- Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Berserk is owned by Kentaro Miura. I own nothing.
Ever since the first interaction with the merrows, Harry noticed a change in the ship's captain, Roderick. It was nothing to do with any major personality changes, he was still the all-smiles, good-natured man as before. They were more surface-level changes that seemed to be taking place. While Roderick still put on his usual ever-present smile, the corners of his mouth seemed to be twitching like a second instinct was fighting to take hold over his expressions.
He was also taking the helmsman's duties as they sailed. His fingers would tap against the wood of the wheel as he kept them on the course and every now and again he would tap his foot against the deck in a small sign of anxiety.
It was a side to their captain that Harry had not seen much of and it had Harry worried. While Roderick was a seasoned man of the sea, the threat of something as ancient as the Sea God roaming the waters freely was enough to make any sailor feel the cold sting of fear.
"Captain?" Harry approached the helm where Roderick steered. He didn't seem to notice him until he had spoken.
"Hm? Oh, hello Mate. Magnifico chasing you around again with all his talk of money?"
"He did earlier," Harry recalled nearly as soon as he had woken up. "He was complaining that I could have at least withdrawn my savings before we were suddenly transported back here."
Roderick offered a small laugh at that. "Yes, that does sound like my friend. Known him for years and he hardly seems to have changed. But I like to think there's hope for him. Money can't be all there is for him."
"If you say so."
Harry seriously doubted that. That was practically all Magnifico ever talked about. Well, that and complaining how dangerous something was. He was an odd one to their small little group, but he did have skills that had helped them out when negotiating. Aside from that, he was relatively impassive about all other activities. If it wasn't for his blase attitude about things, he could actually be useful in getting into Falconia without suspicion. The son of a prestigious banking family, that would be someone who Neo-Griffith would love to have on his side to strengthen his own standing.
But that was thinking and hoping for way too much, Harry knew. As opportunistic as Magnifico was to try and get into Harry's good graces - and financial backing, he was far too concerned for his own sense of being.
There was a moment of silence between the two of them that was eventually broken by Roderick. "This has been pretty exciting, you know?"
"What has?"
"All of this!" Roderick spared a hand from the wheel to gesture over the deck as well as the open sea. "Just how many people can claim to have been to an entirely new world, meet merrows, and be engaged to a witch in the making?"
"I think that last one only applies to you."
"True," Roderick looked happy about that. "I should consider myself lucky then. A little motivation never hurt."
"Looking to study magic yourself?" Harry asked but doubted that was the case.
"I'll stick to what I know." His hand patted the wheel. "I meant it would be beneficial for a wife to know how to turn me into any animal of her choosing if I become unfaithful."
"Right."
Roderick could probably tell from the tone of his voice that Harry was mildly offended by that. Farnese was his student, after all. "I jest, I jest. Farnese is a rather magical girl." Harry rolled his eyes at that one. "But my womanizing days are behind me, I assure you." His voice had lost a bit of the jovial tone and sounded more serious.
"Good to know then. I doubt that your lord father would want a dolphin for a son if you did something to upset her."
"A dolphin?" Roderick seemed to play with that idea in his head. "I don't know, dolphins are notoriously smart but if she was feeling merciful, I'd entertain the idea of a shark. Besides men and whales, no creature alive could- er, well you get what I mean."
Yeah, Harry understood. Roderick's mind was back to thinking about the Sea God. Honestly, Harry didn't blame him.
He doubted that the Sea God was an actual deity like the Greek and Roman myths of Poseidon and Neptune. It was just a legendary sea monster that grew too big to be content with preying on smaller fish. So, if anything, it would be better compared to sea beasts like the Kraken or Leviathan of mythology. Harry wasn't too polished in his own world's myths, but he had a general knowledge of them such as Jonah and the whale and how that ended. Thinking about that made Harry wonder what the Sea God actually looked like. It was large enough to fit under an entire island after all. He would hazard a guess and say it would be similar to a shark, maybe like the ancient megalodon during the time of the dinosaurs.
Roderick's eyes traveled down to the bow of his ship and the corner of his mouth twisted up in amusement. "Although I think Isidro would be inclined to keep bothering your good friend Schierke in the hopes that he might get turned into a fish of any kind."
Sure enough, down by the rail near the bow, Isidro was in the middle of a very animated discussion with the young merrow girl from the other day. She was leaning over the side of the rail, her tail lightly waving from side to side before she would drop back down into the water before launching herself back out and up to the side again where she resumed her conversation with Isidro.
From the looks of it, they both seemed to be getting along quite well. Harry was both happy and concerned. Happy because someone actually seemed to be up to the task of actually tolerating Isidro and enjoying it. But concerned that Isidro might accidentally say something offensive and offend their merrow guides. At Skull Knight's request, they were granting them safe passage on the sea, but it would prove useless if the Sea God came their way.
Normally Harry wouldn't do this to listen in on a conversation, but given how loose-lipped Isidro could be sometimes, he was willing to make an exception. So, via thought transference, he was able to hear what exactly what was being said.
"So then what happened?" the excited voice of Isma asked with anticipation.
"Well then this guy, Father Mozgoose I think his name was, yeah, he grew wings out of his back and tried flying off with my now-teacher Casca. But before he could fly out of there, I jumped from the side of the tower and burnt his wings with my trusty Salamander Dagger!" Isidro proudly displayed the glowing dagger for the merrow girl to see.
"Wow! And you did all of this just after you met up with them?" Isma sounded curious which only prompted Isidro to keep on talking.
"Yeah, I wanted to make a strong first impression. We got into all sorts of crazy happenings, but I really don't want to bore you or anything. What about you?" he actually seemed to want to know more about her.
"You kidding?" Isma asked, sounding disbelieving. "I can tell you my entire story in just a few sentences. I want to hear more about these monsters you were talking about and this other world."
"Oh, uh, alright. Well we met Schierke-,"
"-The cute girl with the green hair!" Isma interjected to show she had been paying attention.
"Not really sure about cute, but yeah. We met her and her teacher in this cursed forest. Well, it wasn't really cursed, but it kinda was but we cured it by killing a bunch of trolls."
"I thought that trolls were shy and lived under bridges," Isma said.
"Not these ones. They were all hairy and teethy and smelled like rotten meat."
"Teethy?" Isma repeated.
"Uh... yeah. You know, they had big teeth." He tried his best to come up with a good excuse.
"Oh. I get it."
Seeing his cover work, Isidro went back on topic of describing the journey so far to the blue-haired girl. Harry found that Isidro exaggerated a lot, especially where he fits into all of it considering that in Isidro's version of things, he was already a master of his craft and was the major turning point of several battles. It was also around that point that Harry decided to mentally exit the conversation and just go down there in person.
As Harry left the helm, he took one last look back at Roderick who had gone back to tapping his fingers against the wheel with the same smile plastered onto his face. When Harry was out of earshot, he went over to the one person who could perhaps get Roderick to open up a bit more.
Farnese was seated off to the starboard side with Serpico kneeling in front of her as they both examined something. "Ah, hello Harry." Serpico greeted with a polite smile. "I would call it a coincidence. Lady Farnese has been looking for a final inspection of her staff."
That was new news. "You finished?" Harry asked, amazed that she had completed it in such a short amount of time.
"I did have two very skilled mages helping me," Farnese replied modestly. "Would you care to see?" Farnese presented the completed staff to him for his approval.
"You shouldn't downplay yourself, let's have a look."
Whereas his and Schierke's showed the signs of worn usage, Farnese's was a fresh flower in comparison. The wood was made from the masthead at the front of the ship, giving it a sea-salty smell along with its fresh and sleek look. A layer of polish had been applied as well, making the already impossibly smooth wood look and feel like it was its own type. Harry suspected Serpico's calm hand had something to do with smoothing it out and making such precise cuts such as the top which looked like the wood had taken on the appearance of a living flame design.
"Well?" Farnese moved closer to him, eager to hear his reply.
"This is far nicer than anything I could have ever come up with," Harry honestly admitted recalling all his previous failures before he had completed his original staff. And even before Slan had destroyed his back in the troll cave, it hadn't been anywhere as nice as this one was.
"Now you're the one downplaying yourself," Farnese smiled bashfully at the praise from one of her teachers.
"A teacher should follow his own advice," Serpico sided with Farnese's assessment.
"And that makes me a hypocrite, I know," Harry handed her back her staff. "You'll have to show Schierke later. She'll want to test you out with it, see what spells you can cast and how to safely astral project now." He could already picture the look on her face once Farnese showed her. "There is one more thing though if you were up to it."
"Hm. What would that be?" Farnese asked. "I'm confident I followed all your instructions on how to make it and-,"
"No, it isn't about that," Harry said so she would not think she had done anything wrong - quite the opposite really. "I was wondering if you could talk with Roderick."
"Talk with him about what?" she asked.
"Just... maybe try to reassure him, I guess. I don't know if you've noticed it, but ever since he found out about the Sea God, he hasn't exactly been how he usually is. It's like he's putting on a mask to try and appear confident." For the unspoken obvious reason, Harry thought she would be able to relate to that.
"I have noticed a change in our good captain as well," Serpico agreed. "Betrothal agreement aside, the captain has shown in his own way that he does value what you think of him."
True. He did let her carve off a piece of his ship to make her staff. Harry didn't know many captains who would do that. Well, he didn't really know many captains at all, but the sentiment was still there.
"If you believe that he could use the company then I would be willing to see what I could do." She gave a light smile but one that held traces of uncertainty. But if Farnese gave her word then Harry trusted that she would keep it.
"Thank you." He gave a nod to both of the blondes before walking over to where Isidro was still talking with Isma.
The blue-haired merrow seemed to notice him sooner than Isidro and raised an arm to bid him welcome. Harry kept his eyes locked on the merrow's joyful face as she was still bare of any clothes. She didn't seem to mind it and neither did Isidro, but that was something that made them different - one of many things.
"Oh hey!" Isma exclaimed, happy with the additional company. "You're Harry right?"
"Yeah, that's me." He saw her tail swing lightly about as she leaned over the side of the rail.
"That's funny. You don't really look all that hairy to me."
That earned a laugh from Isidro and a vacant expression on Harry's behalf. Are all merrows like this? he couldn't help but wonder.
"Isidro was just telling me about all the adventures you guys had gotten into along the way," Isma filled him in on what they had been talking about much to Isidro's nervousness.
"Well..." Isidro rubbed the back of his head. "I might have exaggerated a lot of that stuff. You know, for dramatic purposes and all that."
Isma tilted her head. "So does that mean you didn't fight a hundred dark wizards at that Hogwash place?"
"Y-yeah, that wasn't exactly true," Isidro honestly admitted. "It was more like fifty. And my nose was broken too; did I mention that?"
"Tis true!" Puck flew over. "I can vouch for the whole thing."
"Aw, you didn't have to make that up," Isma told the rusty-haired boy. "You've still had more excitement in just one week than I have my entire life. I love hearing about all of this even if some of it is made up."
"Well being a merrow can't be all that boring, can it?" Harry asked. From the other merrows who were swimming alongside the ship, they all seemed pretty joyful.
"Oh, no, it's actually pretty exciting!" Isma confirmed. "It was before I found out I was one that was the boring part."
"Before you found out?" Harry parroted her words.
"Oh yeah! I didn't even know I was one until a few months ago." Isma said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
It was evident on Isidro's face that even she had not mentioned this to him yet. "Uh, you didn't know you were half a fish until a few months ago? Did you ever stop and look below your waist?"
Puck was the only one who didn't seem confused by it. "You're half and half, aren't you?"
"Well, of course, she's half and half," Isidro said. "Just look at her."
Puck was shaking his tiny head. "No. What I meant was one of her parents was a merrow and the other was a human."
"Yeah! That's exactly it!" Isma exclaimed.
"Humans can do that?" Harry asked Puck. "They can have kids with magical creatures?" Harry recalled the trolls that had been abducting women from Enoch Village to forcefully breed them into giving birth into more baby trolls that ate the mother out from the inside before bursting free.
"Of course, it's rare, but it can still happen. When they do have a kid, their inhuman side is usually hidden away until it comes out at a certain point or activates. But you wouldn't even be able to tell, for the most part, they'd look just like every other human."
Isma nodded her head. "Yup! Me ma's the one who was speaking with your bony friend over there yesterday." On the other side of the bow, Skull Knight was as still as a statue. He probably heard Isma mention him, but he made no indication to offer a response. "And since I'm part human, my legs will be real legs if I get dry or go on land."
"So were you just living with your dad then?" Isidro asked.
"Kinda." Isma made a wavy hand gesture. "When I was old enough to be on my own, he got me my own hut far away from the other people of the village."
"Why?" Harry asked. "He just expected you to live on your own?"
"Well he did teach me all he knew about fishing," Isma added. "But aside from that, it was just me. I guess he did that because he was worried for me. Before I knew the Sea God was real, the other islanders kinda worshiped the old legend about it and kinda viewed creatures like merrows to be bad for trapping it in the cave."
"So what happened to everyone else on the island?" Harry wanted to know.
"Not really sure," Isma admitted. "One day this huge burst of white light came rushing by and I felt this sort of change in the island. Whenever I saw a villager on my way back home, it was like something was off about their eyes, like they were all part of the same being. Weird, right?"
"Their belief in the Sea God was too powerful for their own minds," Skull Knight finally spoke. "Right now they have already become a part of the Sea God itself, fueling its enormity and hunger."
"You, ah, know that from experience?" Isidro nervously asked referring to the time of Gaiseric.
"Many ships and men were lost in sea expansions. Survivors told tales of the beast controlling entire ships that it conquered with its body. But this would have an advantage now over then. Cannons had not graced the Kingdom of Gaiseric."
"And you have us too!" Isma lightened the mood. "My ma told me us merrows have power with our voices. It was our song that put the Sea God in the cave the first time."
"So if you sang a song right now you could put me to sleep?" Isidro asked. "Not to say you're a bad singer or anything! You have a nice voice already so you probably have a really nice singing voice too!" he waved his hands like he thought he had offended her or something.
"I really don't know," Isma shrugged. "I've never really used the power of my voice yet since joining the other merrows once the Sea God got free. My ma says that it's a powerful gift and should be handled with care."
Harry found it a comforting thought that Isma was having some sort of guidance with her newfound powers. Before finding Flora and Schierke he had been a clueless novice with barely any control or idea over the full extent of what he was capable of doing. Plus Isma did seem a little too much like Isidro in certain regards and being less ignorant could really make a world of difference in knowing the limits and the full extent of what she could do.
"Anyway," Isma rolled her head, "that's all I really got for my story, keep telling me about yours!"
"Ah, well, if you really insist," Isidro rubbed at the back of his head once more in seeming modesty at the fact that this girl wanted to continue to hear about their travels.
Found the first person you want to spread your growing legend with? Harry asked via thought transference. The merrows seem friendly enough to take it at face value.
'C'mon man!' Isidro communed back to him. 'I'm not even thinking about that!'
Uh-huh.
'Hey! Even if I was you got no right to judge me! Guts has Casca, you and Schierke are happily weird together, and Farnese is engaged to Roderick. Besides, she actually is pretty awesome herself and she likes hearing my talk. Should I repeat that? She likes hearing me talk!'
"C'mon!" Isma bobbed her head. "Tell me another crazy thing that happened!" Harry didn't bother to offer a mental rebuttal to Isidro's last statement as it was being proven true at this very minute.
"Alright!" Isidro quickly agreed with vigor. "What about the time when my teacher Casca and I killed like four giants in under an hour. That's when she got that fancy sword that she has now."
Harry rolled in eyes without discretion although he doubted that they would have cared if they had noticed. Yeah, they're getting on a little too well.
As Harry supervised the two free-spirited individuals, Farnese watched them from the back by the helm where her betrothed still steered, following the path the merrows were guiding them. He greeted her with a friendly smile, but Farnese could see what Harry had been talking about. The smile seemed only surface level to the ship's captain and his eyes didn't quite have the same confident shine that they used to hold.
"Lovely to see you, Farnese," Roderick greeted.
"Might I join you up here for a moment?" she asked, observing his reaction.
"Of course. No need to ask for such a thing."
Nodding, Farnese stood to his side to join him. She could tell he was clearly nervous and agitated about their travel across the sea now but that couldn't just be the only thing that was bothering him. The idea of coming across the Sea God had them all on edge and it wasn't as though Roderick hadn't become acquainted with encountering weird and supernatural happenings since joining up with all of them. No. This was something different entirely.
It was nervousness for sure, but this seemed far more general or, at least, more personal.
"Has my brother been up to see you as of late?" Farnese began with a tentative question to break the ice of silence between the pair of them.
"That he has," Roderick nodded. "He wanted to know how soon we'd be making landfall. It seems he's the most frightened by the concept of the Sea God, but if the land is really as horrible as it was described, I doubt he'll find much solace there. But in the case of your young mentor, Magnifico seems to have momentarily forgotten about the large sums of gold he has in his family name."
"How do you fair with the idea of this Sea God?" Farnese asked. "With magic, Guts, the merrows, and a being such as the Skull Knight, I'm confident that we would be able to defeat such a foe."
"Oh, I've no doubt about that," Roderick earnestly replied. "I suppose the idea that scares me the most is the fact that the Sea God has been swimming around since the time we've been at that Hogwarts castle. All that time for the best to devour as much food as it could."
His words sent a spark of recognition through Farnese. What he had been saying before about the land and his confession of concern just now coupled with their general location, she was starting to understand what his real worry here was.
"You worry for your people back on Lith as well." Farnese didn't really bother to say that as a question. The look on Roderick's face was confirmation enough on that front.
"The people of Lith's true and best strength lies in our naval power," Roderick evenly stated. "Back in the time of warring empires, Lith possessed the strongest fleet but were little more than raiders and pirates. When Emperor Gaiseric's fleet invaded, he was stated to only have conquered by way of land tactics coupled with an unorthodox naval strategy." Farnese couldn't see fully, but from down on the bow it looked like a certain helm was looking their way.
Roderick continued. "For centuries the name Gaiseric was considered an omen for the cause of our defeat, but once Lith's enlightened age came about, the name gained a more positive look. Scholars said that before Lith was conquered our ancestors were as treacherous as they came and that we owed our new civilization to Gaiseric's tactics."
"That sounds highly controversial," Farnese spoke.
"Oh, it was. Many who said that were drowned. That was the way of things until a previous King of Lith decided those people might have had the right idea. Since his rule, Lith adopted some tactics used against them during that time and it even became commonplace to have the name Eric included in many names in tribute to the Emperor Gaiseric." He paused. "What I mean to say is that those tactics have never failed against enemy ships and soldiers. But, we aren't just dealing with humans anymore."
"There is a chance that many of your people would have gone to the mainland if Lith was plagued by monsters," Farnese tried to offer some sense of comfort. "Your family could be among them."
"It is possible. But with the Sea God in these waters, I don't know if any ships might have been spared. Unless I go myself, I'll never really know."
"So, you mean to sail back to Lith once we reach the mainland?"
There was no imminent response from the captain as he eyed which direction the merrows were swimming. "I suppose that doesn't paint me in the most selfless of lights then, does it? But if you so choose, it does mean your status as Farnese de Vandimion, doesn't it?"
"I'm afraid that I don't understand."
"Well, from the way I see it, I'll be back in Lith looking for my family or other survivors. And you'll be with the rest of your companions." His eyes briefly shined with cunning mischief. "I've no delusions about this betrothal of ours. It began as nothing short of a business arrangement by my best friend; my ship for travel to an island out to sea for your hand in marriage. Given our little sidetrack, we never did arrive at our intended destination, did we? By my honorable standards, I have not exactly held up my end of the bargain."
"Roderick, are you actually saying-,"
"If that's what you want it to mean," Roderick told her. "I can't make that decision for you. If you want to continue with the rest, I won't and can't fault you for that. But I would consider myself a damn lucky man if you want to follow in your brother's plan by your own fruition."
Farnese really had no idea what to say to that. A fluttering feeling began to take root in the pit of her stomach. He was offering her freedom. She didn't think she would be tied down if she did end up marrying Roderick, far from it. He had been nothing but courteous and encouraging about her and her studies in becoming a full-fledged witch. Marrying Roderick would be a huge step up from any other member of the nobility who would no doubt frown upon having a witch for a wife. It also didn't help that many, if not all, the nobles are living in the demon city of Falconia.
"That's... Roderick, I-,"
"You don't have to decide right now," Roderick sensed her hesitation. "It isn't exactly fair to spring that on you so unexpected. But I guess that's just the gentlemen in me."
"Well, uh, thank you, Roderick. That... that actually does mean quite a lot. You certainly do have a silver tongue about you."
The previous look of confidence briefly ignited back in Roderick's eyes. "Believe me when I say, I've been told."
Guts did not have to be a man of the sea to know something was out of the ordinary. Call it paranoia, call it whatever you want, but he felt uneasy being on board the Sea Horse at this moment. The sky was only partly cloudy and the waves lapping against the side of the ship were nothing short of being ordinary. The wind even seemed to be on their side since arriving back.
But that feeling - that tingle on the back of his neck that made his hair stand on end did not dissipate.
He glanced around at some of the crew on deck, observing their reactions as well. They were all going about their daily tasks as per usual, but there were a certain banter and chatter that was absent now more than any previous occurrence. These were men who had spent their entire lives either on an island or sailing out at sea. If their instincts were telling them there was something off, he was heavily inclined to believe them.
Passing by Serpico, Guts said, "Head up to the crow's nest, will ya? See if you can spot anything."
The blonde man must have also felt the discomfort in the air. "Of course." A breeze seemed to follow in his wake as Serpico ascended to the top of the center mast.
Guts cast a glance out over the side of the ship down to where their merrow escort was. The half-fish half-human beings were. They were still swimming close by, but they seemed much less sporadic and light-hearted than they had been previously. Occasionally when they would pop up out of the water, they would remain afloat there instead of submerging right away. Something had them on edge and Guts had a pretty guess as to what.
As he was gazing out at the water, he spotted another thing out of the ordinary. There looked to be a small wave coming in toward the stern of the ship. It seemed different from the other bouts of small waves that lapped against the hull. This one seemed more like a ripple of sorts. Like something that would happen if someone dropped a stone into a pond, or when a frog jumped out of the water onto a lilypad.
He made his way down towards the bow. "Hey, Bonehead, You know what's coming our way?"
"Why ask a question to which you know the answer?"
"Guts," Schierke approached where the rest of their group was assembled at the bow, "there's a new source of od that's fast approaching."
Isidro looked over the rail to where Isma had joint the rest of her merrow brethren. "H-hey, if you can grow legs when you're not in the water, want to actually come up here for a bit?"
The girl who had been all smiles and jokes since her appearance seemed to be lacking in both at the moment. "I don't really think that would do much good at the moment."
"Captain!" Serpico's usually even voice yelled down from the top of the center mast. "We've spotted something coming in from the stern!"
The ripple-like wave Guts had spotted moments earlier happened again, this time in a more abundant state. These waves were strong enough to actually feel like they were the cause of something else in the water.
"Keep us in favor of the wind!" Roderick ordered out. "Everyone keeps to their stations and have all cannons loaded and ready to fire! Bosun, fetch a spyglass."
A spyglass would not be necessary. All Guts had to do was lean over the side of the rail to see what looked to be a giant wave heading in their direction. The rest of the dark water seemed to part like a curtain as the wave shape made a beeline for their ship.
All the merrows were surfaced now and were eyeing the incoming shape with worry. "We will use our songs to disorientate the beast," Isma's mother called up to them. "We will not be able to kill it, but we can buy you enough time to gather some more distance." She submerged herself, her merrow brethren following in her wake.
"You're actually going after that thing?!" Isidro asked Isma who was the last to submerge.
"Don't you worry about me," she told him. "I've been a fast swimmer since before finding out about all of this. You try not to fall overboard." Her blue hair dipped down into the water, her form was just barely visible before she dropped to a deeper depth in pursuit of the rest of the merrows. Their shapes were merely dark blurs racing off through the water toward their yet unseen foe.
"Keep us in the winds favor!" Roderick ordered. "Value our speed over our strength!" There was nothing wrong with the strategy when against an enemy fleet or a pirate ship, but this was an actual monster of the sea and an ancient one at that. Human tactics did not mix with pure instinct honed after hundreds of years.
The Sea Horse did manage to put more distance between where the wave had appeared, special thanks to Serpico who was using his influence over the wind to strengthen the sails. The merrows also seemed to be putting in their effort as well from underneath the waves. The sea seemed much more at ease than before, despite the clear signs of nervousness from everyone on board. Their singing song must be doing something to weaken their pursuer.
"Keep her steady!" Roderick handed control of the wheel back over the helmsman. "Mr. Serpico, try focusing your effort on the other sails as well. Too much stress on one will detract over time." Via his Sylph cloak, Serpico was able to glide between the roping to traverse between the ship's masts.
There seemed to be a collective holding of breath as they continued to put more distance between them and where the Sea God was distracted by the swarming merrows.
Stillness. An eerie silence seemed to fallen over their spot on the ocean. Not even the ocean seemed to know if it wanted to stay still or explode into a sudden violent storm.
It seemed to decide on the latter.
With a sudden Fwopsslsh! a giant burst of salt water suddenly shot up into the air, far too large and violent to have been caused by a whale coming up for air. Then came the wave again. The giant ripple was back on the move, charging straight toward their ship.
"We're being charged, Captain!" the first mate cried out.
"Keep the focus on our speed!" Roderick ordered. "With the rate it's traveling, we won't be able to land a decent shot on it. We'll be even more screwed if we wast a volley for the beast to submerge completely."
But despite the best efforts of Serpico's manipulation over the wind, the wave seemed to match their speed.
"We'll be needing more wind!" the first mate announced seeing the shape creep ever closer.
"Know any wind spells?" Harry asked his godfather.
Sirius looked a bit insulted despite the looming presence of danger. "I might not use magic the same as you, but I still graduated Hogwarts, you know. Just tell me where you want me to be."
"Take the one by the helm. Serpico has the center mast, Schierke and I can handle up front here."
Nodding in affirmation, Sirius went off to assist where needed and the two students of Flora made ready to call upon the power of the Spirit King of the Wind for assistance.
They never got that far.
A violent lurch rocked the entirety of the Sea Horse causing someone like Guts to even stumble from the force of the impact. The impact also cost them a sudden loss of speed as well since it felt as though the entire ship had been lifted up out of the water for a brief second or two before coming crashing down sending a wave of seawater spraying up onto the deck, sparing no one.
"What's the word from below?" Roderick demanded. "Do we have a hull breach?"
"Isidro, out of the way!" Casca had her sword out and pushed the young boy out of the way of the dark shape that had been creeping up from the side of the bow from behind him.
It was serpentine in appearance with a greenish-grey coloration to its fish scales and was at least as wide as a grown man. The head of the monster resembled the palm of a hand with eight appendages stemming out from the side. In the middle was the "face" with two orange eyes that swirled with malice and a round, narrow mouth that was filled with rows of pointed teeth.
Casca's sword was a blur as it cut into the side of the monster, nearly cutting it into two separate pieces. Dark blood squirted out as the top half remained attached to the main body by a small sliver of slippery meat as the monster thrashed around in pain.
Serpico floated down from the top of the mast and with a swish of his sword, a slash cut across the air, severing the two halves fully. With a gush of blood, the head half flew free and dropped down onto the deck where it continued to flop and writhe around in seeming pain.
"Gnh!" Isidro yanked his foot away as the head came close to touching him. He pulled out his Salamander Dagger and used the flaming blade to pierce through the head. The beast stopped squirming as Isidro pulled his blade free and kicked it over the side of the deck and back into the water where it made a splash. Isidro stared out over the side where he watched the severed half float and bob, unmoving.
He threw his arms above his head and gave a cry of victory. "Yeeehhaaa! Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! We just killed the Sea God. Man, I sure hope Isma saw that from underwater."
That couldn't be it. Guts knew that couldn't be it.
The thing that they had just cut in half now was a beast to be sure, but it was nowhere close to being as large as whatever could have made that wave or that splash from before. This had to be some sort of lesser beast. One look over to the Skull Knight told him he was on the right thought pattern.
"Struggler," Skull Knight addressed him. "How proficient have you become with that armor?"
"I have partial control when Schierke is on me in her astral form," Guts answered the question.
"So you have made progression. You and the Witch should prepare then. I will offer my guidance as well."
Before Guts could process the idea that Skull Knight was going to offer additional insight into the armor, he understood the need for the warning.
From both port and starboard sides, tentacle shapes like the one that had been killed before shot up from the depths and attached themselves to the hull by sinking their teeth into it and using the finger-like appendages to get a firm grip. The hull creaked and groaned under the strain that was put on it and Guts feared that they meant to crush the ship between them.
Dragonslayer was in his hands in an instant and Guts wasted no time in cleaving through the nearest tentacle that was within his sword's massive reach. For some of the lower ones, Guts equipped his repeating crossbow and started firing volleys down at them.
Serpico appeared at his side and cut at the air with the Sylph Sword and blades of air cut down some of the more pesky ones that refused to let go even after being struck multiple times by his crossbow bolts. Elsewhere on the deck, everyone else seemed to be pulling their weight into fighting back against the invading tentacles.
Harry and Schierke were putting forth an offensive/defensive combination of fire and water magic, Sirius was moving around the deck using spells that either got the tentacles that were latched onto the ship to instantly release or a spell that made a cut across the scaley hide. If a tentacle attempted to pop up and snag someone when their back was turned, Casca would rush over and cut it with her sword and getting the sleeves of her armor dark with spilled blood. Even the stout Sir Azan was wading his way back and forth across the deck, slamming his ax down onto any that latched there.
"Hi Ho!" Sir Azan yelled at one point. "For what might does the sea hold over those who reside on land?" the question was left unanswered as he swung his ax down and cut the head off of one.
Even the ordinary members of the crew had gathered a few swords and spears which they used to stab at ones that were trying to wrap around the masts. Their weapons were effective to a degree, but they weren't doing enough. And that was where Skull Knight came into play.
His sword was a blur, even for someone like Guts who watched how dozens of warriors had fought during battles. The horse he rode seemed to know exactly where to go without even being urged to do so. It made massive leaps into the air, granting Skull Knight the opportunity he needed to cut the invading tentacles into tiny ribbons.
It became clear that even though the tentacles were still trying to latch on, they weren't trying to outright crush the ship. Rather, they were attempting to pull it back.
For the second time that day, another huge wall of water was blasted into the sky, dousing those present on the deck with more seawater. Guts looked and thought a giant bubble of some sort had risen to the surface, but the shape that he was seeing was far too solid to be any sort of bubble and smelled far too horrid.
It was round, almost a perfect sphere with a dark coloration that was so black that it might have actually been a navy blue. And it was wide; wide enough to have fit under a small island and to shake the foundations when it moved. There were no eyes, none that Guts could see on this side of its enormity, just a smooth polish surface that had a split where the dark color became a more yellowish-white to signal the start of a chin or an underbelly. The split was wide about the quarter of the body itself which turned out to be the maw that was filled with pointed teeth the size of boulders. As it slightly closed the gaping maw, Guts saw stems protruding from the chin and made the connection between them and the tentacles. But the worst thing about the beast was the smell.
Even for someone like Guts whose senses were starting to fade, he knew that this thing smelled bad. He had never really been too keen on fish smell but this was something else entirely. Dozens of dead fish washed ashore on a beach in the middle of the hottest day of the summer wouldn't even come close to matching the smell that came from the monster or even when it opened its maw wide and let its rancid breath free.
This was the true Sea God.
"And so our foe has breached," Skull Knight's voice was the same as ever.
"What are your orders, Captain?!" the first mate asked of Roderick.
"Helmsman, turn us to starboard side!" Roderick ordered. "Once we have a clear shot fire all starboard cannons!" Guts felt the ship begin to turn to the right as they lined up the shot. "Fire!"
Baboom!Baboom!Baboom!
Smoke and fire filled the air, distracting everyone's smell from the stench of ancient fish as each and every cannon fired off. Luckily, they had a very wide and open target. The shots all struck true, some finding soft spots on the massive hide and others just bouncing off and splashing into the sea. More than a few shot straight into the massive gaping maw, but that seemed to have the most minimal effects. The Sea God had swallowed enough to not be bothered by a few small objects going down its gullet. That didn't mean that it didn't get the beast agitated.
The Sea God opened its gigantic maw and the foul stench from before became even more prominent. "Wrrrrrrrghhhhh!"
More of the lighter underbelly was exposed as the Sea God seemed to almost rise partly from the water before it came crashing back down until only the top portion was visible. By doing so, it sent out a massive wave which slammed into the side of the Sea Horse and threatened to tip the ship over and capsize it. Many clanking and cluttering was heard from below deck and it wouldn't surprise Guts if everything that wasn't nailed down was scattered all over the place.
"Cannons will serve well as distractions, provided no direct interference will occur." Skull Knight looked right at Guts. "There is but one sure way to defeat a beast of this size. You know of the manner in which I speak, Struggler."
Yeah, he had a pretty good idea. "Schierke," Guts called to the green-haired witch. "Are you ready to help me with this thing?"
"If you're serious about using it, I'll access my astral body and help ease your burden," Schierke nodded in affirmation.
"We'll keep your body safe," Casca assured the green-haired witch. "And Guts, don't lose yourself." Schierke was closing her eyes as she took a seat on the deck as the ship rock to the side as the Sea God opened its wide maw once again and began swallowing torrents of water, trying to draw the Sea Horse in with it.
"Do you feel it, Struggler?" Skull Knight asked him. "Do you feel the fury inside of you? Do you feel the burning of your blood, the beast ready to go for the kill?"
'Yield to me,' Guts heard the voice speak from inside his head.
"Yeah, I hear it." The beast wanted to be set free.
"Listen to it."
"What? You want me to lose control?"
"That anger is just a facet of your whole, Struggler. It is made of only anger and desperation. If it were so strong, it would have overpowered you long before today. Is that the only thing that binds you, Struggler? Rage makes you stronger, but it only through your desire to kill? I am here before as a face of the rage to continue to survive, to persevere."
'He is naught but a fool,' the beast growled inside of him. 'You kill and I kill. That is all we have ever done. There is no plan for you, no dream, you exist to be the end for others who have mattered. You, an unwanted bastard, a motherless freak, you enjoy the feeling of the kill because it is all you know.'
"I call you Struggler, so what will you do? There is no time for hesitation. You have always chosen. So choose."
'You will yield. You're body and senses are fading already. That is me. You grow weaker without me to guide your-,'
Shut up!
'Guts!' he could hear Schierke's voice like she was speaking directly into his ear if he were to offer to carry her on his back. 'What happened? I was calling to you but I couldn't find your od. I thought you had been consumed!'
Me? No. I was just putting a dog on a chain, no need to get worried.
'The armor... it feels different.'
Guts noticed the same thing as well. Before, no matter if he had some control or not, he could always feel the beast urging him on from the darkest corner of his mind. Skull Knight's words and Schierke's voice were the only things he was concentrating on at the moment. But he had other thoughts on his mind as well. For every mocking insult, the beast had spoken to him, he had felt compelled to prove it wrong.
He killed, yes, but to live. Guts could find value in those who had wanted to live in battle as well even if they did die. The dream he thought he would find turned out to be right in front of him the whole time, his life was valued enough by Griffith, enough to warrant a branding. He might have never known who his mother was, but the child he had with Casca, that would be different. He knew the armor might claim him at some point, only being a matter of when and not if seemingly. But until that actually happened, he was the one in control.
Not the Godhand, not causality, and certainly not some mutt. Just him.
"You remain yourself," Skull Knight observed. "Gaiseric had assistance as well before he was able to better understand the armor. Think of yourself as a wild stallion and the young witch as the one to reign you in. She will hand the reigns to the owner eventually until then, feel the control you have. You will need it." His glowing sockets sought out the rest of the crew. "The Sea God's body will be aware of our presence. Keep its attention drawn out here."
The Sea God opened its mighty maw again, swallowing more of the sea and dragging the ship ever closer. Skull Knight swallowed his sword and pulled the blade out covered in the familiar behelit designs. His slash cut the air vertically and his horse galloped through with Guts following behind to a space inside of the belly of the beast.
"Can we get one of the lifeboats lowered down?" Harry began strategizing as Guts and the Skull Knight disappeared.
"You'll be capsized for sure in a boat that small!" the first mate argued.
"What do you hope to accomplish?" Roderick asked, seemingly more open-minded to the plan.
"If we make a sail and attach it to the lifeboat, I can sail around to distract the Sea God away from the Sea Horse. Even if this ship is bigger, it'll be bound to go after the thing doing more damage to it."
"You're not going it alone!" Casca reprimanded him and would have said more if not for a timely interruption.
"I'll go with him as well," Serpico volunteered. "If there's a sail, you could use the wind on your side no matter what direction you go in."
"Count me as a second," Sirius trotted over. "More magic means more damage, right?"
"Teacher, what about me?" Farnese sked. "What do you need me to do?"
"Do you remember the protection spell of the Four Kings?" Harry asked.
"Of course. It was one of the first you and Schierke showed me how to do."
Harry nodded. "Then I'll need you to do that. You have your staff now so it should be no problem if you stick to what we showed you."
"J-just me?" Farnese appeared nervous in the face of a trial by fire and Harry hated to have her do it so soon, but it would be stronger if she remained within the cast barrier around the ship. Since the Sea God was a supernatural creature, it would not be able to penetrate it with its physical body. What had him worried was that wave attack that it used that nearly knocked the ship over.
"I know it must seem overwhelming, Farnese, but magic is going to have to be used to help protect the ship."
"B-but I-,"
"You won't be alone," Casca assured her similar to how she did Schierke. "I put my trust in you as Elaine, trust that I can help return the favor now."
"Well if we're going to do this, we'll have to do it fast," Sirius gestured to the Sea God which seemed to just be bobbing on the surface emitting a low rumbling sound from within. Had it already discovered Guts and Skull Knight from within?
With some spare lining and wood from around the ship, Sirius magically crafted a makeshift sail which he then attached to one of the lifeboats. Serpico cut the ropes attaching them once they were a safe distance above the water and then got to work on crafting up a breeze strong enough to get their boat moving.
They circled around the stern of the ship, keeping eyes on the Sea God and Harry searching for its od in case one of its many tentacles decided to come popping up at an unexpected moment. A bright white light caught Harry's attention aimed back toward the Sea Horse.
A circular pillar of white and golden light seemed to be touching down on the deck before flickering a bit and fanning out to extend to all contours of the much larger vessel.
"Lady Farnese has pulled through with the spell?" Serpico asked, his voice hopeful.
"Yeah, for now," Harry answered. "It's her first time doing it alone so it'll be a bit weak, but she seems to have gotten it." He would have to properly congratulate her once they got back. Schierke would no doubt be filled with praise for their pupil as well. He also hoped that Schierke did not have a sense of smell while helping Guts with his armor. Harry had caught more than a whiff of that monster's breath and it had made him want to vomit over the side.
Serpico kept up the breeze, easily carrying them on a path around the side of the Sea God and away from its wide maw. If they strayed even a little too close, they'd risk getting eaten alive.
Sirius readied his wand as they further traversed along the side of the Sea God. "Just tell me when you're ready to do this."
"Serpico, can you take us a bit farther?" Harry asked. "If this thing can turn as fast as it can swim, we're in trouble." With a pull of a rope and a swish of his Sylph equipment, they sailed a bit further away. "Here." With a nod over to Sirius, they each cast their respective spells.
Sirius fired off quick bouts of the bombarda which sounded like miniature cannons firing off as they struck the side of the Sea God while Harry was focusing more on the astral aspect of his spell. He was calling the power of the Elemental King of Water for this one. The Sea God was just an overgrown fish compared to something that had actual control over the water, but even still, he wasn't about to drown a fish, not with Guts still inside somewhere.
No. He had to do something that would prevent the Sea God from moving completely and through water, he sought to freeze it.
The power of the water was in no short abundance here and with his will, Harry could feel a power emanating from his staff. The emotion and desire he was feeling for the spell. As he exhaled, Harry felt he could almost see his own breath in the air the dark water surface seemed to grow a bit lighter, a circular ring of ice started to form and creep toward the gargantuan Sea God.
Normal ice would normally stop at a certain point or shatter and crack when coming into contact with a much larger object, but this ice sheet kept expanding and growing larger, cutting into the Sea God's side and continuing to press itself further along until dark blood started to leak out from it. The Sea God roared in pain and frustration at feeling the cold chill of the ice that continued to cut deeper along the entire circumference of its body.
Smoke filled the air again as the cannons from the Sea Horse fired another volley at the enormous monster.
Feeling fear for perhaps the first time in its existence, the Sea God desperately tried to move the only tentacle appendages it had at its disposal - those that weren't frozen in or under the ice. With the tentacles, the Sea God rapidly beat at the water around it, trying to either sink its attackers or even shatter the ice which at this point had grown to a mass that prevented the fish from going back under completely.
The waves caused by the splashing were large enough to nearly capsize their own boat. Sirus would have fallen overboard if a pair of hands did not shoot up from the water to push him back up.
"Sorry for the delay," the merrow that was Isma's mother addressed them. "But we had to scatter due to the Sea God's charge. Although-," she eyed the current state of the Sea God, "-you look to have set it up just right for us."
From all across the water, more merrows began to surface and as a collective unit, opened their mouths and let out a sound. It was not a sound that Harry could hear himself, but one that he could feel - like a vibration all throughout his body, giving him a serene sense of bliss. It seemed to have a more negative impact on the Sea God.
The monster reacted like it was doing everything in its power to resist being put into a trance. It was roaring and trying its best to trash about, but its tentacles seemed to be going limp. The Sea God was failing.
Bathump! Bathump! Bathump!
That was the sound that assaulted Guts' ears upon exit of the Skull Knight's portal. They were somewhere inside the Sea God, that much was evident by the smell alone. It was a cavernous chamber with fleshy lining over the thick walls. And with that constant rhythmic beating, he had a pretty good idea as to where they were.
Just past a wall of flesh, Guts could discern the outline of a massive shape that was as big as a grown man and three times as wide. The heart of the beast.
Schierke, you still there?
'I'm here. How're you feeling this time?'
Better than before. I'll still have hell to pay for when this is done though.
"This way, Struggler." Skull Knight was already on the move toward the wall which he cut to pieces with two swings of his sword. Guts' enhanced speed found him matching pace with the Skull Knight even on horseback.
The chamber they entered now was even more cavernous than the one previous and this one had variations of veins and arteries lining the walls which were as wide as a child's arm. There in the center of the chamber was the heart. A twisted mass of blues and purples and black, pulsating with a loud beat that made Guts glad that he couldn't feel pain because he was sure he would be bleeding from his ears if he didn't have his armor equipped.
"Continue on. I will deal with these pests."
The natural defenses that the Skull Knight had mentioned were rising from the fleshy floor of the chamber. They were similar to the multitude of tentacles on the outside, but these each seemed to have a unique aquatic animal for a head. There were sharks, whales, hagfish, and eels. Perhaps the Sea God integrated them into its body instead of digesting them. Whatever the case, they all seemed to share one goal; protect the heart.
They launched out and Skull Knight was quick to knock some to the side with his shield and sever the heads of the others with his sword. Guts' armored feet kicked off from the ground and launched him forward toward the heart, Dragonslayer held firmly in front of him.
Bathump!
A shockwave force knocked him back before his sword could strike true.
To keep from being pushed back further, Guts instead drove the blade down into the fleshy floor and he felt a shudder go out through the entire body of the monster. He picked himself back up and launched forward again. He was met with the same result as last time.
Bits of membrane and blood coated the gauntlets and boots of his armor as Guts forced himself to stop before he could be sent flying any further. Damn heart!
'Guts! You might not feel pain, but that doesn't mean that it isn't there. Charging this thing isn't going to work.' Schierke's voice was a calming presence at his growing frustration.
You're right, I know. Just trying to figure out a way to do this.
'Why didn't the Skull Knight just do it? He wouldn't need to worry about destroying his own body.'
No. He wouldn't do that. He thought back to what Skull Knight had said. It was his choice, his struggle. He would help where needed, but what mattered was that he finds the strength to do it himself. That's what it had always boiled down to even since he was a kid. He could have the most powerful ally on the globe but that didn't guarantee anything if he wasn't going to aim to be better himself. The Sea God stood in their way, it was theirs to kill.
Guts eyed the pulsating heart from his distance. He was here to kill. That's what he was good at. That's all he's ever known. He raised Dragonslayer horizontally.
You're od... it feels... like your own.'
With his enhanced strength, Guts threw Dragonslayer with all his might, the throw timed between the beating of the heart.
A plethora of dark blood spewed out like a geyser as the heart was cut in two.
The whole cavern seemed to momentarily freeze in place before a fit of violent spasms took it over and the roof seemed ready to condense in on itself.
"So be it, even gods can fall." Skull Knight yanked his blade free and made ready to swallow it and pull out the behelit coated one as Guts rushed to pick up the fallen Dragonslayer. Blood started spraying from veins that were bursting and with a swish of a sword, Guts found the fleshy floor to be replaced with a water-soaked wooden deck.
"Guts!" he very vaguely heard his name being called as the feeling of having Schierke's essence on his back lessened and he felt weariness take over him. Before his vision faded, he caught sight of what looked to be a deflating Sea God covered in ice.
The rest of the journey to the mainland passed without event. The merrows continued acting as a guide although, with the Sea God out of the picture, there really wasn't much of a threat anymore. Harry suspected it was more out of respect than anything else for killing the deadly predator. Isidro was elated to see that Isma had survived and instantly went into detail about how he had tied up three of the Sea God's tentacles with nothing but a ball of yarn with Puck nodding his head and supporting all of his claims.
For the next few days, Guts was ordered to stay in his cot and recover from the wounds he had sustained. Compared to the usual, these weren't all too bad. He would take his time answering questions as he claimed it was like there was a constant ringing in his left ear. It was yet another side effect of bearing the Berserker Armor. Even with Skull Knight's advice on how to better activate and control it, there still seemed no curse for the effects that it had on the body.
Casca was at his bedside near constantly either berating him or spending time with him as he recovered. But mostly berating him. With the ringing in his ear, Guts probably didn't mind all too much.
The day after, Skull Knight made it known that he was leaving. "The merrows are a valuable ally to have. The Sea God may be dead, but other smaller threats that may owe alliegence to the Godhand could remain."
"Is that where you're going?" Casca asked. "To hunt more monsters?"
"You are all arriving at the crux of your journey. To achieve what you wish to accomplish, you will need more allies. The witch Flora came from an island rife with magic. If there are still those there that call her friend, I would have them come to your aid."
"Elfheim!" Puck squelled. "Make sure to mention my name too. I'm a pretty big deal back there."
Skull Knight didn't seem to acknowledge the blue chestnut.
"Land ho!" the man in the crow's nest called out one morning at the sight of the brown sand beach that marked the southwestern shore of the continent.
"Oh thank heavens!" Magnifico happily sobbed into his sleeve. "Take no offense Roderick, but I much prefer land over this ship of yours."
Roderick gave his friend a playful pat on the back. "You've still to earn your sea legs. So there's always next time." Magnifico groaned but held a slight trace of a smile as he climbed down into the life boat that would take them ashore.
"Hate to say it, but I kinda agree with the ponce on this one," Ivalera whispered to Schierke whom Roderick offered a hand to for the lifeboat.
"It was a pleasure having you aboard, Miss Witch. I'll be sure to spread the word on Lith that some of the more traditional practices have far more truth than they appear."
"You really don't have to do that," Schierke told him. "People will believe what they want to, and it'll take time to open up the idea of magic."
"Perhaps. But if they learn that magic helped kill the most ferocious sea monster of legend, I think anyone from Lith will be inclined to listen then."
Serpico gave a polite bow after offering a hand to Sir Azan. "Thank you for your hospitality, Captain."
"Still soft-spoken," Roderick shook his head. "With those wind items of yours, we could use you in the Lith navy one day."
Serpico gave a wary smile. "Maybe if we meet again someday. But thank you for the offer."
Harry was next to bit farewell. "Well, Mate, having you as a passenger has to have led to the single strangest trip of my entire sailing career. And for that, I thank you." Roderick offered a hand to shake and Harry took it.
"Took me by surprise to," Harry shot a look over at Sirius who whistled to himself and climbed down to the waiting boat. "You turned out to be a lot cooler than I ever thought you would be."
"I shall take that as a compliment."
Isidro offered a wave and a "Sorry for thinking of you as a jerk before we met," before going back and talking with Isma. "You sure you don't want to come ashore with us?"
"I'd love to, but there's still a lot I want to know about being a merrow before I come on land. I hope you can understand that."
"Me? Pfft! I'm like the most understanding one here. One we win this thing, I'll be sure to come back to this spot and tell you all about how I helped save the day!"
"That sounds amazing!" Isma exclaimed as she planted a small kiss to the side of Isidro's face. "I'm going to hold you to that, ya know!"
"Uhhh, uh-huh, sure, yeah, totally," Isidro rambled out.
"Does he need some elf dust?" Puck asked. "Did his brain stop?"
"It can't stop if it never started," Ivalera said dryly.
"Chief," Roderick addressed Guts next. "Miss Casca." He extended a hand. "May your journey bring good fortune."
Guts eyed it and gave a firm shake. "Thanks."
Casca shook as well. "You're alright, Roderick."
The captain shrugged. "I do aim to please."
That just left-, "Farnese."
Said girl walked over and stood before Roderick and the ladder leading down. "You've made your decision?"
Farnese nodded. "I am... truly sorry."
"I'm not surprised. Far be it for me to take you away from where you belong."
"You could still come with us if you choose," Farnese offered.
"Tempting, but... a prince has his duties to his people." He took her hand. "Just know that I would have considered myself a very lucky man to be married to a lovely witch." He kissed her knuckles before releasing her hold. "You have good people with you."
Before she climbed down, Farnese said, "Roderick." He turned. "When this is all over with... maybe our paths will meet again."
The Sailing Prince gave a true smile. "Then that is a day I look forward to indeed!"
With a two finger salute, Roderick bid them farewell as his ship sailed proudly out to sea.
Harry really had no idea what Roderick and his crew might find when they return to Lith, but if it was anything like how it was on the mainland, they were in for a very rude awakening.
Shortly after arriving on land, they were attacked by a creature that resembled a walking tree with a mouth filled with pointed wooden teeth. A fire spell made short work of it but it didn't stop there. There was two ogres just an hour walk from there which Guts, Serpico, and Casca were able to bring down. Then there were the bugs. They weren't pixies or elves like Puck or Ivalera, they were actual giant insects that crawled among the trees and tried picking off Isidro and Schierke when their backs were turned. And that was only on the first day.
They spent several more grueling days of traveling and fighting monsters of all different shapes and sizes, barely getting any sleep in the process. Harry was reminded of the days before he got the rune drawn over his brand and the sleepless nights he had had then. They each took watch every night in shifts and it didn't matter what time of night, something always happened.
All sorts of magical creatures were now roaming freely in Midland, some kept to themselves and avoided them like a unicorn Farnese had spotted, or others tried to eat them on sight like a giant toad near a stream. But really, that wasn't the most unsettling aspect of all of this. It was the villages.
Most of them looked mostly intact with only minimal signs of damage. But they were completely empty, devoid of life. The homes they looked in had meals set at tables, laundry in a wash, toys scattered across the floor. It really was like everyone had just left all of a sudden.
Falconia was to blame for that, but the idea that a lone city was the only civilization for all of humanity on the continent seemed way too far-fetched. But, that was where all the evidence was pointing.
"Is it worth checking out then?" Sirius asked Harry as they climbed a wooded slope on the side of a mountain. "Do you think these people of yours are still here?"
"Rickert has always been resourceful," Harry told the other wizard. "If anyone could have found a way to survive out of the city, it'd be Rickert."
The journey that had taken days on foot was nearing its end as Godo's old forge and mine was just over the next ridge.
"Erica will be excited to see that you can talk," Guts said to Casca as they neared the final climb up.
"And Rickert?"
Of course he will. He'll be wanting to see your sword and armor, see if he can try and replicate it."
"These were made by goblins."
Guts shrugged. "Won't stop him from trying."
But as they neared the Hill of Swords, it was apparent that no one had been tending to it for some time now. The damage done from their one fight with Zodd was still very evident from the dozens of broken swords lying around on the ground. The spot where the apostle had rammed into the mine was still there as well with no signs of having been patched up. It was deserted.
Did that mean that Rickert and Erica were in Falconia already? Or... had a different fate brought about their disappearance.
"Gneeghee!" there was a cackle as from the hole in the mine two hairy trolls emerged.
Everyone got their weapons ready and just as Guts was about to go and cleave them in half - wheeeooosfff!
Two metal disks soared through the air slicing through the tops of the trolls head and leaving them to drop dead to the ground.
"My, it would seem my patience has been rewarded," a soft accented voice spoke. "I was beginning to think that no one was going to show up. But that blacksmith boy we took in was insistent that a group of wanders would show up here someday." A man wearing the attire of someone from the hot climate of the east revealed himself. "I was hoping it wouldn't be the same people who have caused me so much stress. Yet sure enough, even when you're not here, my life is still somehow on the line. And as loathe as I am to admit it, the Bakiraka clan extends its hand to you."
"Hello to you too," Harry said in mild annoyance. "Silat."
A/N: Happy New Year everyone. Only a few more chapters left until the finale. Thank you for reading.