Takoyaki

Ed and Captain Fang climbed a rope ladder to board the ship. Sailors were scrubbing the deck. Three large pipes were positioned in the front, center, and back of the ship. No steam was released from the pipes since the ship was currently stationary.

Ed followed behind the captain. He looked at the large cannons throughout the deck with curiosity. They came in various sizes. What was odd was that the cannons weren't all positioned on the edges of the ship. The top deck of the ship slowly elevated in height by steps as you got closer to the center. There were cannons positioned every few steps higher.

Fang noticed him staring and smiled. "You're curious about the odd setup, right? Sea mutants are far more dangerous than ordinary ones. They get past the first layer of defense sometimes. When they do, we just fall back to a new row of cannons and keep firing. Works like a charm."

"Wouldn't that damage the deck?" he questioned.

"Not if you aim properly. Even if they miss and hit the deck, it would only cause a small dent at best. This ship is solid steel after all."

The two walked towards a staircase near the center of the ship and headed below deck. This entire floor was covered with cannons sticking out of gun ports on both sides of the ship hull. They walked towards the back end of the ship and went down another staircase. Several hallways appeared with rooms lining each side. They headed for a door that had a sign with a red cross on it.

Fang opened the door and spoke, "Hey doc. I need you to take a look at his arm. Poor bastard got shot by a stray bullet."

Ed glared at him angrily before turning to the doctor. "Right. The captain really needs to work on his aim, haha! First time I've ever been shot by a stray bullet."

The doctor looked back and forth between the two men. He was an old man with a whiteish-gray beard and mustache. He wore thick glasses and an ordinary doctors coat. He grinned, "You shot another one, captain?"

"Another one?!" Ed yelled in surprise. "How many people has he shot?"

"Mm. Let's see." The doctor rose his trembling old hands and began to fold one finger at a time as he counted to himself. "1, 2, 3… Right. I think you're the 6th one."

Ed looked at the captain. "You've shot 5 other people like me before?"

"No, no!" Fang waved his hands in front of him defensively. "The circumstances were different each time. I wouldn't make the same mistake twice."

"I can't believe you haven't been demoted yet." Ed sighed.

"I think you're misunderstanding something, boy." The doctor grinned. "I meant the 6th time this week. I stopped keeping track of the total a long time ago. Still, he gets good work done for Sinless. I doubt we'll see any demotions in the future over some minor gunshot wounds. Not like it was fatal."

"I see…" He replied with a blank look on his face. 'Is Sinless that laid back? Or is the captain so amazing that they overlook his odd tendencies? Maybe I should have started a sinner organization instead…'

"Now then. Let's take a look." The doctor removed Ed's long sleeve shirt. A small hole could be seen in his shoulder. The doctor used a pair of tweezers to pull the bullet out. He poured some kind of liquid into a gauze and applied it to the wound. Then he quickly sewed it shut. The whole process only lasted a minute.

"Fast as always doc." Fang commented.

"Haha, I'm just that good!" He grinned. "This lad had some really strong muscle density. The wound wasn't even that bad. Well, I'm taking a nap. Shoo off now."

The duo left the room and continued down the hallway before reaching another staircase. Fang spoke, "We'll be leaving most of my men here to maintain the ship. However, I plan on bringing the doctor to take a look at your people. I'll also be bringing some mechanics, engineers, and machinery. It's all on the bottom floor. Follow me."

The bottom floor was divided into three sections. The back of the ship had a large steam engine for running the ship. The middle section had several forges and men working at them. The front section, where they were now, had a large amount of cargo.

"Attention!" The captain yelled. The men who were working stopped and lined up in front of him. "Get topside. We're moving all the cargo to shore. Those on the shore team will be coming to the local base with me."

"Yes!" The men saluted. The men climbed into dozens of nearby mechs. These mechs were 3 meters tall just like the ones Ed's men used. However, they were not geared towards combat. The bodies were thicker and lower to the ground. They had little to no combat capability. The mechs began to carry large boxes of cargo upstairs one at a time.

"Let's go back." Fang said. "They should finish soon."

Suddenly, the ship began rocking back and forth heavily. A loud siren sounded throughout the ship. A small mana-radio on a nearby wall had a voice come through. "A mutant flood has appeared. All men report to deck. I repeat. All men report to deck."

The nearby mechs set down the cargo and opened their hatches. The men climbed out and began running upstairs. Ed and the captain followed behind them.

"Captain, why aren't they bringing the mechs?" Ed questioned.

"They aren't good for naval battles. Besides, they're noncombat mechs. They're practically useless on land as well." He grinned. "Trust me. We won't need them anyways."

They reached the top deck and hundreds of men were already firing the cannons. Large blasts of fire, electricity, and wind slammed into the mutants climbing aboard. The mutants varied in size, but each one looked like some type of octopus. Some were only 1 meter tall, while others were over 5 meters. They were blue and their tentacles easily climbed the ship. Blood exploded in the air as they failed to even breach the 1st line of defense.

Ed winced as he watched this. 'How much mana-powder are they burning through? They must have already used 10 times as much as I've ever owned…'

A bright white light suddenly appeared underneath the water. The light steadily grew bigger until it was over 25 meters in circumference. Large white tentacles sprung from the water and wrapped around the ship.

"LIGHT KRAKEN!" Somebody yelled.

"All men. Dark grenades overboard." Fang calmly ordered.

"Yes captain!" The men each bent down over their ammo boxes next to the cannons. They picked up black cylinder objects that were twice as long as their hands. They each pulled a pin from the top and tossed them overboard.

There was no large explosion or flashy fireworks. Instead, the ocean began to bubble as the water quickly turned black. Steam rose from the ocean as the water corroded. A loud roar rang out as the kraken began to appear above the surface, its tentacles dancing wildly in the air.

The kraken was pure white, like an albino animal. Its red eyes glared angrily at the men on the ship. Its body was covered in small burns that continued to bubble. It opened its beak and a small white orb appeared. The orb steadily began to grow bigger.

The men fired their cannons at the kraken. Large explosions of dark mana corroded its body, but the orb of light continued to grow.

"Shit!" Fang ground his teeth. "Such a goddamn waste!" He pressed a small button on his helmet to turn on his mana-radio. "Activate the burst. Full Power."

"Captain, are you sure" A voice questioned.

"Do it!" He ordered.

A loud sound began to rumble from the back of the boat. Ed looked over curiously and saw the large wheel at the back of the boat begin to spin rapidly. Green wind began to form strong gusts that propelled the ship forward. Then a large wave of fire appeared. It cut across the ocean waves like a large sickle and the ship blasted forward as a result.

Right when the ship shot forward, the kraken shot its orb of light. It was over 10 meters in circumference. It looked like a white laser beam as it shot through the water. The ship narrowly avoided the beam as the wave of fire and wind propelled it forward. The light evaporated the seawater into nothingness as it sped past.

The ship rapidly slowed down after dodging the wave. The wheel at the back of the boat looked damaged and it spun at a much slower speed. "Kill the fucker!!!" Fang screamed in anger. He took a nearby cannon and fired it himself. A black cannonball slammed right into one of the kraken's eyes, causing it to roar in pain. The eye began to corrode from black-mana at a rapid pace.

The cannons continued to fire. All of the smaller mutants had already died, and only the kraken remained. It continuously backed off as its injuries increased. It was covered in blood and burns. Several of its tentacles were cut off and remained attached to the boat. It finally stopped attacking and dove back under the water.

"LIKE HELL!" Fang dived right into the water after the octopus.

"Captain!" Some of the men screamed in fear.

Ed watched silently as this all happened. 'I see… No wonder he shot me. The man's completely insane. Well, I can't help him without exposing myself. I'll just sit back and enjoy the show.'

Fang swam underneath the water. He pulled a large knife from a sheath behind his back. He pressed a switch on the knife and it lit up with a black aura. It rapidly vibrated back and forth while releasing a small humming sound. Steam blasted from his boots and propelled him forward as quick as a fish.

The kraken saw the man and threw a tentacle towards him. The tentacle easily constricted the man and began to crush him. Small cracks appeared on his exo suit, but gel poured out and sealed those cracks just as quickly as they appeared.

Fang swung his knife towards the tentacle and cut through it like butter. He grabbed onto the tentacle still attached to the kraken and began to pull himself forward. The tentacle waved wildly in different directions to try shaking him off. Several other tentacles headed for him. When they got close, he let go of the tentacle and shot forward due to the steam shooting from his boots. He appeared directly in front of the Kraken's face.

The mutant tried biting him with its beak, but he easily dodged. He swam towards the Kraken's eye that had been blasted by a cannonball earlier. He grabbed ahold of some flesh and began swinging his knife. He easily dug a path inwards. He felt like he was trapped in a whirlpool as the kraken flailed back and forth wildly in pain.

'There it is!' Fang smiled. He dug through the large brain and reached a large mana-core glowing with a bright white light. He grabbed it and tore it from the surrounding flesh. The kraken instantly died and begun to sink towards the ocean floor. Fang swam out the eye and reached the surface.

"Huff! Huff!" He breathed heavily.

"Captain!" A voice rang in his ear. "Are you alright?"

He switched off his knife and put it away. Then he sprawled his limbs out in all directions and floated on his back while grinning. "Yeah, I'm fine. Killed the bastard. Haha, looks like we'll be snacking on takoyaki and grilled octopus tonight. Drop anchor and send some men down to fetch the body. Get the men to repair the wheel."

"Understood. I'll give the orders." A voice came back.

Suddenly, a small tentacle wrapped around Fang's neck. He grasped it as he tried to breath. A 2-meter-tall mutant octopus surfaced behind him. It glared furiously at the man. The men on the ship saw what was happening and began to panic. They couldn't use their cannons to save him. They might shoot him on accident if they tried.

"Tsk. Useless bastards." Ed complained. He took over a nearby cannon. He loaded a dark cannonball in it, aimed, and fired. It completely missed both the captain and the mutant by a meter. However, the cannonball exploded into a dark miasma as it slammed into the water. The seawater began to bubble and corrode. The mutant roared in pain as the miasma reached it, causing it to let go. It quickly fled in the opposite direction.

Fang swam away from the corroding seawater and climbed back on board. His exo suit became slightly distorted from the corrosion. He glared at Ed. "Are you trying to kill me?! What if you hit me?!"

Ed placed his hands behind his head and grinned. "Then we'd be even for you shooting me earlier. Just be glad I missed."

"You!" The captain walked over and pulled his arm backwards. He swung forward and landed a strong punch on Ed's face, causing him to fall to the floor. A large red spot was left behind on his face.

"Bastard!" Ed stood up and glared at him. He ran forward and swung a fist into Fang's stomach.

"Ugh!" The captain groaned as he threw up a little and grabbed his stomach in pain. He grinned, "Quite a strong punch. Even if my armor is damaged, it's hard to hurt me through it. Seems the doctor was right about your muscle strength." He placed a hand on Ed's shoulder. "I like you, kid!"

Ed brushed the hand off his shoulder and frowned. "Let's go. My men are waiting."

"Haha, sure." Fang laughed. "We'll go as soon as ship repairs are finished."