Chapter 37: Whala
Whala was born 1300 years ago to Mare and Marina, the Black Sea-Life Akujin rulership under Nefarious. Almost all of the children of the family are in the Black Faction. Aqua is the sole exception, being a coward, leading to her being estranged from the family. Whala pities her, but overall acknowledges that weakness like hers isn't needed for the family and Akujin as a whole.
She used to live in the Center Continent till the Center Akujin were forced to retreat to the West for the sake of survival. Forced to live in toxic Orichalcum caves alongside the West Akujin who are at best ambivalent to them. Whala desperately wanted to return home eventually.
She is well-liked by the Akujin of the Black Faction for her skill even if they find her too kind at times. She overall is seen as a big sis to the group while having a massive crush on Necron, the Black Avian Akujin heir.
She is lusted over by the White Faction for her appearance, but she dislikes them generally for being underhanded cowards.
Whala is a curvy-figured humanoid resembling a young adult fair-skinned woman with long aquamarine hair that reached her waist, and a whale fin emerging from her back; she wore a black biomechanical corset over her otherwise exposed, curvaceous figure with a long chain mail cloth made of obsidian metal covering her legs. A large whale tail emerged from behind from the tailbone.
Her personality is that of a very mature and quite knowledgeable woman, especially when it comes to survival and general common sense. Whala is a kind and caring person but can become quite irritable and aggressive sometimes, particularly when dealing with belligerent or uncooperative people. Despite this, Whala is a person who can endure and even handle most situations while maintaining a level head.
Whala prefers to think things through before charging head-first into a battle and is easily one of the most rational members of Malice's future Royal Guard. Whala is also shown to be a very protective person and cares deeply for her teammates and friends. She vehemently dislikes the White Faction, especially Marli for his ideology of bullying the weak and being sadistic without purpose, believing this corrupted Aqua.
She also dislikes Solar-Flor for getting the Akujin involved with human affairs, being their secret hired thugs to do their dirty work. She also dislikes Solar-Flor on a personal level for his suspected involvement in the disappearances of the Queens of the Center Akujin- the wives of the Center Akujin Great One- Nefarious, his insufferable personality of unnerving small talk, and being a massive pedophile to young boys.
Whala Mission No. 004
This is one of Whala's many missions.
800 years ago, a pirate ship had been seen off the shores of Berli, they were responsible for trafficking sirens- relatives of Mermaids with more dolphin-esque motifs.
"Wait, don't you want to hear about Amerike? It's got a lot of treasure-," one Siren with twin-tails begged before she was killed by a swab of the crew.
"We do not need information about other lands like yours. Who needs inferior trash when we can just kill you to get your properties?," explained the swab.
"We can make armor for this creature to take advantage of its siren song" replied his ally.
Both were then impaled by Whala's spear- she was a much younger girl at the time.
Whala's eyes narrowed as she surveyed the ship, her heart pounding in her chest. She had heard the sirens' cries for help echo through the waters and had followed them here. The sight of the pirates casually discussing their heinous plans had only fueled her anger. Her mission was clear: she had to free the sirens and bring the perpetrators to justice.
She was accompanied by her aunt on her mother's side, Ursula, a tall female Akujin of curvaceous and well-endowed frame. She has olive skin, aqua green eyes, thick eyelashes, and short golden blonde hair; which she usually keeps messy. She had a narwhal tail emerging from her backside and a long horn emerging from her forehead.
Ursula is calm, taciturn, level-headed, and analytical, preferring to not engage in combat: she is content with silently observing both parties until the fighting reaches its conclusion. While she liked fighting, Ursula strongly opposes the notion of killing others, especially if done to gain power, viewing it with reluctance, but isn't openly pacifistic about it like Whala's future sibling, Aqua. Whala looked up to her aunt.
"Whala, remember, we're not here to slaughter them all," Ursula whispered urgently, placing a gentle hand on her young charge's shoulder. "We need to find out who's behind this and get the sirens to safety first."
She nodded before seeing a cabin boy with dark blue hair and blue iris eyes. He was wielding an odd weapon shaped like a squid.
"Time to take out these Demons, partner.," said the youth.
Sinbad's Past
Sinbad, this dark-blue-haired young man had been shipwrecked by an attack of vicious Mermaids and was saved by a Squid humanoid, who referred to himself as being a member of the Jizenjin, what people call angels.
"Fuse with me and we'll gain great strength so I can avenge my master. You'll get great power and regenerate." the squid replied.
"Will I retain my consciousness?," asked Sinbad.
"Yes, but you won't be a normal human being. Our power will manifest in the Majin-Butsu: Kraken." replied the squid.
"What about your consciousness?," asked Sinbad.
"I don't care. If it means her happiness. The Akujin have caused harm to Ranee, my friend, and her family for generations ever since the West gained the Center Contienet Akujin as allies.," replied the Squid as he merged with the youth. The only remnant appearing as an odd squid-shaped bracelet.
Sinbad then swam back ashore with his newfound physical enhancements to see a girl with blond hair in regal attire tending to his wounds. For some reason, she seemed instantly drawn to him. She had aquamarine iris eyes and a scar on her face. Sinbad was saddened over this small detail on the face of a woman.
"You'll be fine," said this girl as she bandaged him up.
"I have to work for you. One must always repay the debts they receive from others." Sinbad replied.
"As long as you have power, you're free to do what you want. There's a Royal Navy you can work for. People call them pirates, but you'll be able to find your place there.," she said.
She then slapped his butt as he blushed.
"You're a man. Toughen up.," she said with a wink.
Current Battle
"Fighting the one with boobs is boring. Can't there be a man amongst them? It's bad luck for a woman to be aboard-," said one of the plump members as he appeared behind Sinbad, Ursula without hesitation, lunged and impaled the man through the throat by ramming her horn into it. She then backtracked back to Whala's side.
Sinbad glared at her with contempt.
"Do you remember a ship you sank?," he demanded, his eyes glinting with a fiery determination that made the pirates around him nervous.
"It was an order by Our Majesty. And even if it wasn't, your kind overhunts our kin to extinction for not only food, but for petty accessories you can make of our corpses. And worse if it's allowed.," Ursula remarked.
Whala was proud of her aunt for dealing with these "evil" humans. But it wasn't the time to be gushing over her. She took a deep breath and focused on the mission at hand. The pirates had not expected the Akujin to be so formidable, and their confidence was quickly waning.
Ursula used Vehemens as the black rotting liquid zoomed towards members of the crew, but Sinbad activated Kraken, generating a sea-green armor with multiple tentacles, slashing away at the technique.
"Kraken...you wretch...lowering yourself to be a human's tool.," Ursula cursed as she saw the armor and understood its meaning.
"Ranee suffers because of you! Her family is having to deal with your selfishness!," shouted Sinbad as he pointed at his enemy.
Whala, who had been quietly observing the exchange, felt a twinge of unease. The hatred in Sinbad's voice was palpable, and she knew that the situation was escalating beyond their original mission.
Ursula, not wanting to prolong the fight, activated her Gula, turning into a narwhal mermaid as she immediately rushed and hit Sinbad from all directions. She then used her Hubris to summon a parallel dimension where it was a deepsea ocean surrounded by sharks.
"What sorcery is this?!" Sinbad exclaimed as he was bombarded by water shots from the sharks.
"Our existence is built upon the noble sacrifices made. I lost sisters in arms that day of the ship attack, your parents were strong, but my sisters' will is inherited in me to allow me to continue the mission. To create a world where Nature doesn't have to fear being destroyed by Humans. If I lose, their sacrifices would have all been for nothing I hold within me the resolve of those who sacrificed their lives.," Ursula explained to her opponent.
"Your cause is lost, Akujin," Sinbad spat, his tentacles lashing out in a frenzy. "I've seen what your kind does to humans, allowing them to be enslaved by your human allies, using them for your wars. The Royal Navy is the only hope for those like me."
"It's dirty business, but eventually, we'll get rid of the humans. And return to our land in the Center. These missions are just a means to get there.," explained Ursula.
Whala's gaze flickered between the two combatants, her heart torn between her duty and her sympathy for Sinbad's plight. The pirates had begun to flee in fear, their ship now in disarray. She knew that the sirens were counting on them, but she also understood the depth of pain and anger that fueled Sinbad's vendetta.
Suddenly, the bosun took advantage of the confusion and pulled out an odd device- an anti-Akujin sound emitter- made from the same material that would create the Teigu-destroying Teigu, Erastone. Ursula was suddenly depowered as Sinbad skewered the olive-skinned Akujin through the heart. Her dead eyes as the dimension dissipated traumatized Whala.
Whala, now enraged beyond belief, had to choose between saving the sirens or avenging her aunt. She chose to free the sirens first. With a powerful swing of her trident, she sliced through the wooden bars of their cage, freeing them from their watery prison. The sirens looked at her with a mix of fear and relief.
She then swam away with the sirens, hoping one day to avenge her aunt.
About 10 years in human time. Sinbad had replaced the portly former captain as the head of the Royal Navy and become Ranee's fiancé. He then spotted an angered Whala, who had signs of intense training from her father on an island he was sailing through but did nothing at the time.
From her training, she gained the ability to generate blinding bio-luminescence to temporally deprive her enemies of sight via intense flashes, manipulate the waters from puddles to the ocean to her own blood in order to increase its viscosity to make her body harder to hit her or make the blows softer; reflecting attacks on her enemies; turn herself into water to avoid attacks; separate water from an area; creating floods and tidal waves; riding on water; make water constructs/manipulate water pressure to burst/explode on target; generate water from nothing; walk on water; drown targets internally/through large bodies of water; use liquids as surveillance; internally rupturing her enemies from the inside-out; dehydrating enemies by absorbing their water; controlling the enemies' motor skills via the liquids in their bodies; create dimensional water portals to travel through; heal via water; manipulate bubbles; and the seven Divine Waters- is manipulating higher concepts of water including Dark Water that boils/corrodes enemies alive as well as increasing their pain receptors; Death Water that kills enemies/resurrects them via necromancy; Pure Water that cleans/purifies targets; Holy Water that exorcises targets; Hell Water that increases mental torment enemies as well as a mutilating their souls; Cosmic Water that summons rains from outer space and White Water, which allows her to separate water from boundaries- allowing water to not be affected by heat, freezing, etc. Her Trump Card is manipulating Storms, including rain, lightning, and hurricanes.
Whala had become a formidable warrior, feared and respected even by the most powerful Akujin. Her skills had grown to the point where she could manipulate water with unparalleled finesse, bending it to her will in every conceivable way. Her rage towards Sinbad and his Royal Navy had not waned, however, and she longed for the day she could face him again, not just to avenge her aunt but to protect her kin from his kind.
One fateful day, as Sinbad's ship docked at the port of Berli for supplies, Whala's keen senses picked up his presence. Her heart raced as she prepared for the confrontation she had been waiting for. She approached the ship with the grace of a silent predator, her aquatic form blending with the waves as she observed from a safe distance. The sight of him, standing tall and proud on the deck, only fueled her anger. She knew she had to be careful, though. Sinbad had proven to be a dangerous adversary, and she didn't want to underestimate him again.
As she approached the shore, she saw Ranee by his side, her heart wrenched at the sight of her aunt's killer holding the hand of someone she had once considered a friend. She had heard whispers of his heroic deeds, how he had risen through the ranks of the Royal Navy to become its fearless leader. The humans looked up to him, but she knew the truth. He was nothing but a pawn in their game, a weapon they wielded to keep the Akujin in check.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of a splash, as if the ocean itself had decided to announce her presence. Sinbad's gaze snapped to the water, his eyes narrowing as he searched for the source of the disturbance. Whala took a deep breath and allowed herself to be seen, rising from the depths with a fury that could only be matched by the storm clouds gathering overhead. The crew scurried about, recognizing the danger that had just emerged from the sea.
"Sinbad," she called out, her voice a mix of rage and sorrow. "You've forgotten the day you killed my aunt. But I have not forgotten. I've come to settle the score."
Sinbad's eyes widened in recognition. "Whala," he murmured, the memory of their first encounter flooding back to him. He had not anticipated this meeting, but he knew it was inevitable. He took a firm stance, his Kraken armor pulsing with power.
"Do you still kill not because they're dangerous or eating, but due to this warped goal of yours?," asked Sinbad.
Whala's eyes flashed. "Your kind stole our lands, made us refugees, and killed my family. This isn't just about vengeance for me, it's about survival!"
She then clashed with Sinbad as Ranee watched on, Sinbad had mastered the usage of the armor over the decade, but still Whala had 400 years of combat experience, further improved by her intense decade of training in anticipation of payback.
Whala used her newfound water manipulation abilities to create a whirlpool around the ship, attempting to pull Sinbad into the depths. However, Sinbad's Kraken armor allowed him to resist the pull as he grabbed onto the ship's railing, his tentacles lashing out and slicing through the water with incredible precision.
"You know about how the White Faction traffics young children to have their superiors rape them? And the people you save are indoctrinated into your cult-," Sinbad attempted mind games, but Whala used Cosmic Water that summons rains from outer space.
The droplets turned into shards of ice, cutting through the air towards Sinbad and Ranee. He raised his Kraken-covered arms to protect her, but the shards pierced his armor and sunk into his skin, making him roar in pain.
Whala took advantage and used her Trump Card to summon Lightning, a giant spark of electricity in the atmosphere or between the atmosphere and the ground by using ocean water to alter the positive/negative charges in the clouds hanging in the sky. In the initial stages of development, air acts as an insulator between the positive and negative charges in the cloud and between the cloud and the ground; however, when the differences in charges becomes too great, this insulating capacity of the air breaks down and there is a rapid discharge of electricity that we know as lightning.
Sinbad was charred from the inside, the armor protecting ironically being a conductive rod, but he endured the pain, thinking of Ranee. His love for her had grown over the years, and he would not let Whala harm her. With a snarl, he activated his Kraken's regenerative powers, the tentacles wrapping around his body, repairing the damage from the lightning strikes.
However, it was a distraction as Whala impaled Sinbad via her trident. But instead of killing him, she threw him into the ocean, where she dragged him to the bottom of the sea. Where the waters' pressure as they went deeper and deeper into the abyss crushed his organs including his brain and heart.
Whala swam back as the Deep sea Danger Beasts proceeded to maul his corpse, feeding on the lifeblood of the one who threatened their peace. Ranee looked at the scene in horror, having lost the love of her life she spent ten years with and had birthed children with.
"How could you?!," Ranee screamed at Whala as she approached the shoreline, tears streaming down her face.
Whala not wanting to acknowledge the ramifications of her actions, swam away as Ranee's descendants hardened their resolve in wanting to take the Akuijin in the following centuries. For Whala, it was finally avenging her loved one. Both sides had loved ones, but both had caused harm to each other. And Whala's case was not unique as several Akujin lost their loved ones to humans.
Whala continues her missions for the sake of Akujin peace.
Next Chapter: Dorina
Author Notes: Whala's past is very similar to the heroes like Tatsumi and Hinowa, it's just that she happens to be fighting for literal Satan and Satan ironically is fighting for the survival of nature.
Next up is Dorina who has connections with Cosmina of Akame Ga Kill's Wild Hunt
