110 The heart
(Unedited)
A loud roar drew the attention of the whole crew, prisoners included, as the ship rocked back and forth haphazardly. The strong hull groaned under the impact, yet the ship remained whole somehow as Indra rose from the surface, roaring loudly to defend the pirate crew that were his family.
Rushing out, Akane craned her head over the bow of the ship, searching for the offending enemy that had dared to attack her ship. She hadn't spotted any damages yet, but she would make the assailant pay.
Fortunately or unfortunately, they weren't hard to spot.
No, they were making their presence known right from the start, as a deformed creature launched itself once more towards the ship. Its claws, carrying a pungent smell much like the ooze seeping from the black weeping trees, were of a blue substance that seemed to corrode everything it touched. The creature was unlike anything Akane had ever seen in her travels. It was a monstrosity in the making, roaring loudly as it clashed with Indra.
It was truly hard to come up with words to even name it as, being a mishappen thing.
The creature consisted of multiple tentacles that served as its legs, its torso much like that of a man, exept for massive hole in its lower torso, from which blood spilled and guts hung outwards like a party garland. Surprisingly they were still whole, as they squirmed occasionally as contents seemed to get pushed further up and down the tracts. It had multiple arms, all in varying sizes, but all of them strong and sharp enough to tear of a limb with ease, as the creature had shown when it attacked Indra, digging deep into Indra's scally hide and tearing off some of his weaker scales with ease. It was amazing how this creature was even alive, being as grotesque and malformed as it was.
It towered just a bit above the ship, searching around, clearly looking for something. Akane didn't know how, as the chalky white head did not had a nose or eyes. It only had sharp horns that were pointed backwards, as well as two gaping holes at each side of its face. Yet it was odd that the other side was not visible when looked through. It was like a deep swirling pool that sucked in all the light. She felt that if she looked on for too long, something would stare back at her and jump out.
The creature screeched loudly, grasping the bow of the ship to drag it on land. It had gotten tired looking around on the waterborne ship.
"Keep your filthy claws off my ship!"
At the sign of the cracks forming in the wood, Akane sprung into action, dropkicking towards the head of the creature.
As if it had see her coming, it backed away a bit, releasing the ship from its claws as it moved sideways.
It screeched louder, multiple rows of sharp fangs threateningly put on display, all of them having a jagged edge made for ripping and tearing. Pieces of flesh and innards still stuck to the inner row of fangs, probably from its last kill.
Dragging its longer arms over the ground as it rushed at her, the creature lunged at her, tearing trees and rocks out of the ground, leaving corroded patches of ground in its wake.
Dodging to the side, Akane managed to avoid the most of it, with only some acidic ooze splattering on her clothing. It instantly burned holes in it, creeping further up her calves as a painful throb shot up her legs.
Tearing the compromised fabric from her body, only the minimum amount of clothing remained, the black skin tight fabric snuggly shaped around her body.
Red streaks from the acid had appeared on her legs, disappearing slowly after her healing factor kicked in. The acid would not be a big problem, but it would surely be annoying once she was hit by it multiple times.
Running towards each other, claws and swords clashed, as Akane's Zanpakuto blazed with fire and energy. The creature was not to be outdone, as the ooze around its claws increased. The terrain around them transformed into hell under their onslaught. Yet in this clash, there was no clear winner.
At the edge of the battle, Ban had dragged the shaman up to the bow to see what was happening, not letting the old woman out of his sight.
The old crow saw the creature unleash its might, her eyes ablaze in ecstasy and thrill.
"Yes! Do it, unleash your potential! Ravage everything in sight!"
She cried out, her wrinkled hands digging into the wooden bow of the ship. The shaman had a kind of crazy zeal about her, like that of a religious man finally meeting his god.
As the shaman cried out, the creature suddenly caught sight of its maker, held firmly in place by Ban.
It roared out, lashing towards Akane and forced her backwards.
Within the blink of an eye, the creature was in front of the ship, its sharp claws having already impaled the shaman through the chest.
Ban looked on in shock, surprised by the sudden speed the creature had shown.
It was too fast, even for his eyes!
The creature lifted the shaman in the air, her body lifted above its great bulk. The shaman looked in horror and fascination at her creation, blood gushing from her open mouth as the needle-like teeth were the last thing she saw.
The creature chomped down on the shaman's body, bones crushed, organs and blood spilling everywhere as it painted the ground and the creature in its vivid color.
It chewed loudly, the body of the shaman twitched ocassionally as her legs finally disappeared in its maw. Yet despite the meal it had just gotten, there did not appear to be any change, as the loosely hanging organs of the creature showed none of the parts it had just swallowed.
If anything, the creature just increased in size, with another pair of hands growing from its back, ones that had scaples for fingers and syringes sprouting unevenly from its arms.
"Ara? Did it just plunder the crazy bats devil fruit?"
Shinobu muttered, having just appeared on the bow of the ship.
The creature licked its fingers, a girlish giggle escaping from it throat.
It looked around, its eyes seemingly peering through the ship at where the mad scientist currently remained.
It stepped closer, not seeing Akane rush towards it in anger as it suddenly croaked out its first words.
"Hihihihi.....D-da...Dad...play.... daddy ....Let's play!"
It pushed against the ship violently, wanting to see the man that had somehow appeared in its mind, the one that called it daughter.
On the left side of the creatures chest, a golden heart was beating steadily.
