Lurking Sea Critter

The feast came to an end. Timothy, Yumiko, Kou, Ralphie, and Kyora returned to their ship and discovered the people took good care of it. They secured the vessel to be clean of snow, dried, and devoid of holes.

"The Sanguine Rose. I haven't seen her in years. I'm surprised it's still durable enough." Timothy climbed the ladder, followed by the others, "But it won't hold on for much longer. It's going to fall apart very soon. The wood's already rather soft." Kyora explained, touching the squeaky wooden planks.

She hauled up to the deck while Ralphie and Yumiko dropped the sails and raised the anchor. Timothy clutched the wood and checked its durability, "As long as there aren't any hazardous storms, I'm sure we'll make it to the east." Timothy admitted, ensuring to be as confident as possible for others to trust him, "What about when we arrive in the east? Surely our voyage won't end there."

Timothy leaned on the wooden rail and laughed in retort, turning out to be composed, "I met two friends when I sailed there with Chiaki. They are shipwrights, and Kheer did us a favor and considered using these two years to formulate the perfect vessel for us. With Tarot's help, I bet the ship's gonna be awesome."

Aside from Timothy, the rest of the crew members showed bewilderment as they lacked wisdom concerning the people he cited. "Tarot's a funny guy. He also happens to be an amazing shipwright for our crew. I can't wait for you guys to meet him." Kou glimpsed at Ralphie, smirking in joyful thoughts, "Finally! It's been ages since one of the guys joined our crew. At last, we'll have more man muscles for the crew."

"How'd you meet the guy, Tim?" Yumiko inquired, standing beside him, puzzled and fascinated to know the tale, "He's from Itto-Itto Lands — the western island. It's where the most proficient shipwrights operate and an ideal island to find a shipwright if you're missing one. But, I personally met him on the east, during our road to the Cyber Refuge. He's super cool and has a flying cloud to traverse the world. It's *way* more fun than streaming on the ship."

Their curiousness skyrocketed; they knew flying would be more effective. Kou looked impressed the most. He couldn't restrain himself from asking, "Does that mean we can ask him to ride the cloud ourselves? I'd be 'more' than up to saying yes." He pumped his arms and extended them in the air. "I don't actually know. I don't even know if we had the talent to ride that cloud." He pondered, sitting on the bench. "Either way, it doesn't matter. We can ask him once we meet him."

-

They left Winterpeak Island shortly and used the heavy wind to accelerate their ship into the clear-as-day ocean. They entered the brighter part of the ocean in a couple of minutes, where the fresh air soothed their cold skins.

Their way toward the east became peace of cake thanks to Kyora's proficient and enhanced navigation skills. Timothy never properly saw her doing her job, so he grew intrigued by how much easier it was to sail the ocean.

On their way, they communicated without a break. Everyone had their curiosity climax. Timothy spotted a unique wristwatch on Yumiko's right arm. "Yumi, why do you need the watch? Does it help you in combat, or is it just an aesthetic?" She gyrated her wrist into Timothy's view, boosting her arm in the air.

"I bought it from the store in Survista Island. It's mostly to see the time and helps me know many calories I use up when working out. It's a handy gadget produced from the eastern waters."

Timothy set his hand on his hip, examining the device around her wrist to see its construction. He scratched his itching forehead and folded his arms afterward. "Are you trying to impress me? I don't recall you 'ever' working out. Is it just a new hobby?"

Yumiko smugged at him with a cute giggle to not appear cold. "Unlike you, I don't possess any extraordinary abilities. I prefer swordplay. It makes me look all cool and stuff. I can't rely on 'superpowers' to beat the crap out of my opponents. Power and speed is the most vital attribute in swordsmanship."

Timothy remained muddled and observed her body carefully. "I noticed your knockers grew. But I didn't understand the logic behind the sudden transformation." Yumiko got ticked off, leaping onto her feet in seconds and pounding the top of Timothy's head. "Idiot! That has nothing to do with my exercise! I went through a growth spurt!"

He seized the bump he received from Yumiko's aggression and had a mild tear drooping from his right eye, "Ow, don't you know how to hold back some of your force? Why do women get so ticked off about a compliment?" He shook his head, noting that Yumiko folded her arms in vexation and glimpsed away from him to the side. "You weren't kidding when you said you've gotten stronger. Usually, that wouldn't hurt."

Everything appeared normal, but Kyora's senses tickled. She detected strange surges vibrating through the air at an unforgiving pace. "Something's near us..." She surveyed the ship, noticing that everyone seemed coolheaded. They did their own interests, but nobody acted oddly.

She looked at her exposed arm, feeling chilly winds tickling her as a sign of something violent. "Guys! Something isn't right!" She rushed into the hub of the deck and shrouded herself with wind, using it to propel herself up to the crow's nest.

Everybody followed her footpath and peeked up at her in bafflement. "What's wrong, Kyora? Did you see something?" Timothy inquired while Kou listened and uttered to himself, "I didn't know she could do that..."

She held a spyglass utilizing it to scope out the ocean before them. "There's something bizarre heading our way." She accurately observed the front but couldn't catch a single thing. "Is it a storm?" Yumiko wondered, running up to the forecastle and locking her view into the distance while Timothy grasped his hip. "No, something else entirely. Something more ominous than a storm. I can't seem to tell what it is just yet."

Ralphie did the same as Yumiko, looking behind them as if somebody or something intended to attack from the rear. He found nothing, and Phalris materialized next to Timothy. "Tim... You and your friends should stay on your guard. There is a powerful critter lurking deep in the ocean. And it seems hungry. You should warn them and prepare for the counterattack. It'll be here any second, so hurry up."

Phalris couldn't display herself to everyone due to her weakened state. Only Timothy could see and listen to her. "A sea critter? Guys! Be careful! There's a monster on its way here! Ready yourselves to fight!" Everyone locked their eyes on him in bewilderment. "What are you on about, Tim? Are you sure?" Yumiko asked, seeing him nod in response while Kyora only substantiated his account. "No, he's right! Now watch out! It's here!"

A loud, ear-damaging screech resounded through the ocean, forcing the sea to intensify its tides and forming whirlpools that bounced their ship around.

The streams beneath their vessel grew faster and heavier. They began forming elongated, limbless, and carnivorous reptile which surfaced from the depths and grew high in the air.

It was a serpent of huge yet reasonable size, and it seemed to have a hard-scaled physique with a dragon-like head and a long tongue. It was blue, with some of its body being colored golden.

Kyora and Kou's faces started sweating from surprise, while the rest kept a grave expression, observing the roaring serpent, screeching and breathing out strong gusts. Its strong, sharp teeth were menacing to look at and initiated them to fight.

Kyora hurriedly vaulted over the crow's nest and onto the deck behind Timothy. "Everyone! Get ready! It's one of the Sea Lords!" He commanded, setting his hands on fire.

Yumiko spread her arms, swinging one behind her, summoned a sword out of pure blue light, and instantly altered her clothes into her battle uniform. "Cutting it down could give us some spicy meat."

To be continued...