433 CHPT 433: Lupine of The Sea

Water was a beautiful thing. Unless you were fighting in it. Also unless the person was so dangerous that deaths ambience split your eardrums with its intensity.

Claude didn't know how long he was under. Surviving the ocean woman's onslaught took up too much of his mental capabilities as he fought her with Ma.

SHLCK!

[60% HP Remaining]

A soundless roar escaped his lips, tossing bubbles up into his vision as she tackled him, sending him deeper below. Her limbs felt boneless. Like it was simply hard muscle wrapped in fatty skin, it made her hard to grasp fully, but he did what he had to.

Once the bubbles stopped rushing from his snarling mouth, her face became visible as they rocketed towards the ocean floor.

"[Claude, I'm afraid this battle may be a terrible investment. You are nearly Gold Rank— considering your added stat points your very much Gold Ranked….. and she's still overpowering you. You need to get out of the water.]" Arne explained.

Claude knew that fact the moment they started fighting. And now that he was looking at her, he couldn't see anything else. Nothing but power.

Her eyes were pure black— the faintest ring of blue irises glowed in the blackness. Her hair was jet black with silver strands and dreaded from poor grooming that failed to hide the gills on her neck.

Beneath the armor derived from sea creatures and fish skin, she was lined with tribal tattooing everywhere and as far from human as one could get while still looking as such. Good thing Claude wasn't either.

He pulled the woman in close and bit the area between her shoulder and neck. She stopped swimming and tried to wriggle out again. Claude wrapped his arms around her and tore open her back with his claws.

SHLCK!

"AUUUUHHH!!" She screamed a cloud of bubbles from a mouth lined with three rows of jagged teeth.

Claude kicked her off before she could bite him again and let out a Sonic Howl. She tried to rush him again only for Ma to screech in her ears adding a stunning effect to the howl.

The ocean waters vibrated and twisted into a small deep sea hurricane as wild magic was sucked into the ocean like a vacuum. Claude transformed further and borrowed the traits of the aquatic creatures that moved to answer his call.

Oddly enough, the hazy outline of the ocean woman did the same, letting out a feral vibratory scream that didn't come from her mouth.

The sea stilled, the stampede's she'd caused with her presence scared away most simple minded creatures. It seemed she could call them back as well.

Following that discovery, three thick bodies forms slithered up behind her, circling like black eyed and grey skinned hounds.

Sharks.

From deeper into the ocean, his backup arrived. Hesitant, but intense… experienced.

He saw them in himself before they truly arrived. His skin darkened— going almost full black aside from sharp white designs lining his arms and face. And his teeth sharpened like that of a shark. But the most egregious shift was his size. He was massive. But they were still larger.

Only two. But larger than all three of the ocean woman's sharks possibly combined. Scarred and bartered like himself.

Orca's.

Claude found his boat closing in above, blotting out the sun. Ursula leaped and bound across the surface, freezing it in splotches.

He had an idea.

Claude whistled and lunged at the nearest warrior Orca, grabbing into it's dorsal fin as it charged the enemy. Ma did the same with the other Orca.

It's massive body wiggled and blasted them through the waters like a missile. The ocean woman didn't flinch.

Before she could rip through him and the Orca, Claude kicked it off towards one of the charging Sharks and swam closer to the surface.

His massively muscled legs gave him a new brand of deep sea speed.

WOOSH!

Obviously not enough. The ocean woman blasted past him and spun around to slash at him.

Claude dodged the blow and felt it shake the waters around them for nearly a mile. She was psychotically powerful. But she didn't fight humans. She was struggling to get a feel for him.

Claude preyed on that fact and did what he knew best as a combatant. Wood-Weaving, made worse by (Second Frenzy).

In the water it felt odd. As much for her as him. His movements became more bizarre to her. He began stepping instead of swimming, punching and spinning into slashes instead of primal lunges and bites.

Even so, she kept up.

Claude's blood reddened the water, and as the woman took in more and more of it, she began to change.

FWSH!

She cut him with the claws on her feet. Barely a graze, but more blood.

Claude watched the vermillion spirals rise into her nose. The action changed her expression in those moments. Her muscles bubbled— especially in the neck, and her skin darkened to a shade similar to the sharks being dominated by the Orca's. Even beneath the water he could hear her skin and tendons shift as a serrated dorsal fin burst from her spine.

Not human at all.

"[By the gods….. she's a WereShark.]"

Claude activated his skill (Strength of the Jotunn) and began glowing with god gifted power in the dark ocean depths.

She lunged for him suddenly. The scariest part about it was the absolute lack of sound and inhuman movements.

Claude wasn't suited for her sudden burst in speed and nearly received a hand through the chest before he was shoved out of the way.

He rolled and spun through the water, steadying himself just in time to see the WereShark eating the Orca that saved him.

Claude reached up for the boat and swung at her.

FWWWSH!

The wooden tendrils and spikes lining it's underside moved like lightning and cut through her in the midst of her bloodlust.

Claude didn't stop, skewering her once, twice, four tim—

One of the Sharks took an interest in him. Maybe it was all the blood spewing from his cuts.

With a single push of his legs he flew over it's open jaws before flipping and sending himself rocketing towards its head.

SHLCK!

His claws sunk into its head and he ripped and tore through it until pieces of its small brain floated in the dark waters.

[+250 EXP]

Silence finally fell inside the Tendread Sea. At least where he was.

Two Shark Corpses floated to the surface along with one Orca. Ma's song took on a somber tune of sorrow.

The WereShark was held in place by the wooden tendrils running through its chest arms and legs.

Claude swam over to her. The remaining Orca swam beside him. He could feel it's sadness. See it in her deep blue eyes.

His hand found it's way to her rounded head.

He couldn't speak. Not to the Orca. Not while she was watching him.

Why wasn't she fighting? She was beyond Gold Ranked— or at least high gold. But she never used any Class Skills….. maybe she was just an Old WereShark, but did WereSharks even have Lunar Evolution? She transformed in broad daylight.

He had so many questions. But the loss of blood muddled his thoughts and spotted his vision. He needed to wrap things up. If she let him he needed to get back to the surface.

Yes. The surface.

Claude broke the wooden binds connecting her to the ship. She floated off, slowly transforming back to her human form, broken by stamina drain he assumed. But Sharks had nearly infinite stamina. Why wasn't she moving.

"Why….."

Her voice traveled across the water perfectly as he rose to the surface.

Claude was too stunned to speak. Too ready for another round.

That was a lie.

"Why do you smell like him….inhuman shifter? To be what you are and smell like him would mean you survived his might. That isn't possible. You aren't strong enough. Why…. Why do you smell like him?"

Her accent almost sounded like somewhere from the Leva-Sunlandian Province down south. Old World Australia or New Zealand.

"Like who?" Claude found himself mouthing the words as he drew closer to the surface.

The WereShark straightened, "Why do you smell like Ronin?... do you know where he is? Have you hurt him?"

Claude felt his stomach convulse.

He didn't want to ask the question because the answer made literally no sense. He did anyway as the surface grew closer.

"How do you know him?"

"I am Gizagiza, Ronin's OceanLord."

Fuck.

Before Claude could say anything else, the WereShark's head looked up at something in the distance before she shuttered.

"No human casualties allowed."

Then she took off, breaking apart the wooden shards impaling her as if they were nothing.

Suddenly a hand gripped him and pulled him out of the water.

He found himself laying on a glacier in the middle of the ocean as his ship approached.

"Claude! CLAUDE!! Are you ok? You're bleeding from….. everywhere?" Ursula's voice was like a breath of fresh air. He wanted her to talk more.

"I'm fine….. no I'm not." Claude mumbled. "Things just became….. terrible."

The sound of yelling in the distance grew louder.

"Well it's only going to get worse." Ursula said, "You need to heal yourself. I think we're being chased by Raiders."

"At sea they're called Pirates!" Cassidy yelled from on top of the boat above them, "You kill that fish lady, wolfman?"

Claude shuddered, "No. no I did not."