CHAPTER 105: Thirst For Blood

The magical steering hands dropped onto the floor, and Levi took control over the ship. He started turning the ship back, before the tsunami would catch them.

But unlike cars he used to drive back on earth, the ship couldn't make a 360 turn. Even for the most experienced of sailors, it would be near to impossible to do so. 

"This is a lot harder than what the movies showed."

Also, the ship didn't have the speed to get away from the tsunami. 

Levi started thinking of many options. And none seem to work even in his head. He couldn't push the ship using Inferno Genesis. It would probably burn the ship before the tsunami even touched it.

Also, jumping out of the ship seemed stupid. Anyhow, the waves would catch them, unless they abandoned the ship and ran away in the escape boat. And the chances of the ship collapsing on them were also high.

As he got lost in his thoughts, which produced nothing, he remembered a specific item Rika had bought, and told him how to use it.

Levi searched inside his spatial ring and took out a Portable Barrier. A green spherical orb, with a shape like of a rugby ball, with a small button on top. And the orb was surrounded by a silver-coloured metal spherical ring and kind of looked like Saturn.

"If I remember correctly, I need to imbue my mana first into this and press this button."

He did what he recalled and placed the device on the floor. Spike appeared underneath the device's ring attached to the board and the orb spun, and it produced green particles, which floated around the atmosphere.

The green particles got bigger and brother and then connected themselves, forming a green barrier around the whole ship.

Levi held on to the helm and braced for impact and the tsunami hit the barrier. For a moment, all he could hear was waves crashing and seeing nothing, being engulfed by the ocean.

The barrier was being pushed back, and so was the ship. However, nothing was getting through, except the water underneath them rattled the ship, almost tilting it. Levi acted on his instinct, turned the helm to the other direction from where the ship was about to tilt.

A minute passed, and Levi again could see the two moons shine above him. He turned around to see the tsunami, moved forward, losing its size and intensity.

Levi took a long relieved breath, as he put the steering hands back onto the helm and put the Portable Barrier inside the ring.

He activated Sense and checked the ship. No damage was done to it. One trouble was gone, but the culprit behind it was gone. It would be a joke or the sea beast of that calibre to drown.

"Definitely, it isn't satisfied with just a single attack"

 Levi gazed ahead with his Hunter eyes, and didn't see any sight of the hydra and its feeble son.

However, the hydra wasn't in its vision, and the central eye's rushed voice was in his head.

[Master…. beneath you]

It was too late for the warning. The hydra, beneath, whipped its tail at the ship and hit the barrier instead. The barrier got destroyed, but the ship was saved. However, the force behind it was so much that the entire ship was sent metres above. 

Levi flung above, lost his grip on the helm, and he was thrown even further above than the ship. For a second, his eye caught on the sight of the lesser eyes and the central eye rushed towards him, trying to debuff the A-rank beast, which didn't do much.

The hydra came out to the surface with its mouth open. Mana swirled on its mouth and formed a blue ball, deadlier than its previous attack, going for the kill, maybe overkill.

And the green hydra poked its head, wearing a grin that said "Mess with me, mess with my family". Quite the annoying sight to witness for Levi.

He couldn't do anything in this situation, except fight the hydra like before, but the hydra caught him off guard and it was a few steps ahead of him. Using a bow in mid-air wasn't possible for him.

 Levi started chanting, and hoped whatever popped up in his head worked.

'Mana of an S-rank.'

 Flames erupted in his palms, growing brighter and brighter. But he couldn't wait for the attack to reach its peak.

A burst of flames went out towards the hydra, but didn't stop accumulating the mana in its mouth. THe power behind it wasn't sufficient to pose any sort of threat.

However, unlike how it thought, the fire changed direction to the left and then-

*Screech*

The fireball hit the green hydra's and now it was on fire, burning its eyes. The pain it felt was so much, it couldn't even think of the simplest solution. Dunk its head underwater.

The mother hydra panicked. Her mana accumulation stopped. She took water in her mouth and spit, like water got to her burning child's head, but the flame didn't die down. It lost some of its intensity, but again kept getting hotter and brighter.

She just pushed it under the water with her tail, and it worked. As the little hydra cried and looked up, her pupils dilated, seeing her son's eyes half-burnt, and some part of it still melting down from the eye socket. Water around her shun green, as it moved towards the wounded face, trying to heal whatever was left of it.

Now that her attention was away, Levi had exactly five seconds before the ship landed and submerged underwater because of its own weight and gravity.

He created multiple threads of silk and threw it at the pole where the sails were tied and pulled himself towards the falling ship. He didn't have much time to think, so decided to do what seemed the best to him.

White, crystal magic circles formed right under the ship in a circle and a large plate formed beneath not to keep the ship afloat, but to lessen the initial impact. Again, another set of those magic circles appeared, but it couldn't manifest in time.

The ship hit the water, and Levi clenched his fist, to make sure the mirror plate didn't break, but he wasn't powerful enough to defy physics. The plate broke and half of the ship for a split second went underwater. Water filled the deck and the upper region of the ship as it spilled over from the side.

Levi just stood there, wet and cold, pressing on his nose to stop the burning from all the water going up.

'So this is why they press on the nose before diving. Makes sense.'

Levi didn't know about this, because before, the pain itself was dull to him. But he didn't have time to experience it, like a masochist, which he wasn't.

The ship slowly started sinking. The mirror plate didn't make sure the ship didn't completely collapse, but the planks below cracked and let water in.

'Not now, when there is a hydra, desperate to kill me.'

 As he thought of that, a voice came from behind.

"What in the fuck happened in fifteen minutes of me sleeping?"

"You're awake." 

Levi said, still pinching his nose.

"I mean, it would be a miracle if you didn't wake up. Even after all of this."

He let out a small chuckle, but Rika's glare made him stop. She was angry because he didn't wake her up, even after all of this happened and not for the ship...maybe just a bit. 

"Give me that spatial ring."

She said,

Levi took out his bow and arrows and gave it to Rika. She took it in her claws and said,

"Leave fixing the ship up to me. You just make sure those two don't make even more mess."

Levi nodded. Rika jetted to the lower region and hoped Levi could hold back the hydra until the ship was fixed and they would run away.

The fireball hit as the hydra head was still pushed back with little to no damage except for some burnt scales. Though [Essence] was increasing the flame's intensity, it wasn't enough to hurt the hydra at all. 

Levi pulled an arrow, as it lit on fire. The hydra sensed the mysterious aura emitted by inferno genesis and stopped healing her son. Her guard was up, and there was no way for Levi to even them.

It growled its fangs and snarled at Levi. Levi sighed and put his weapon down. He stared at them, but didn't show any hostility towards them.

The hydra was bewildered by his behaviour, but didn't refuse. Though the desire to tear Levi apart was there, and if she took the action, there was a chance to lose something precious.

She opted to retreat and heal her son. Maybe for the rest of her life, she would have to take care of her blind son, and she was determined to do so until her last breath. The mother hydra looked at Levi again, and he stood there, without doing anything. 

She turned her back and pulled her son closer with her tail. She went down and tried guiding her son. Once below the water, they knew they had escaped, which hurt her pride, but appreciated the mercy.

But fate and the psycho had other plans

'Got you'

Levi said as he shot an arrow. The mother hydra couldn't react in time. The green hydra's head was pierced right through the back of the eye socket before it could go underwater. That couldn't be completely healed. 

Flames spread in the arrow, spread, and burnt the head. The mother hydra came up and cast her magic, but the life in her son's body was gone. She pulled her son closer to her chest. The flames caught on to her, but only managed to give her burnt marks.

 Its eyes were glued to the body, drowning, as a low cry escaped from its mouth. Her fangs clattered as the beast cried for the second time in her life. Once it was for the birth of her only child and now that he was gone.

 She was a fool to believe in the monster. Maybe it was foolish for her to take revenge. But how could she stay still when her child came home on death's door?

 She turned to the monster that looked humane five minutes ago. What she saw was a smile, a satisfied one. The colour of his eyes, swallowed by the lust for blood.

The hydra opened its mouth to do the same attack it did before as its son's head turned to ashes and only its body clung onto her tail.

'Not this time.'

An explosion occurred inside the hydra's mouth, not letting mana accumulate. 

*Screech*

The hydra screamed. Levi's smile widened. He rejoiced at the scream of agony as drops of blood trickled down from the beast's mouth. 

The arrow hadn't left the bow, so what just happened? Before the hydra figured it out, another explosion happened right inside its mouth. It closed its mouth to stop whatever was happening, but felt something was missing. The lower jaw was blown off.

Levi jumped from the ship to the hydra and stood on its head. He reached out his hand to the hydra's broken jaw. The hydra didn't put up a fight, or even moved to knock him off. It had already lost its will to live.

Levi's hand again ignited with flames.

"Love makes even the beasts blind to the point they trust their enemies." 

He said, his smile growing wider.

"But thank you. You quenched my thirst ."

The flame bursted out into the hydra's internal, frying its whole body from the inside. Its body squirmed in pain, but didn't resist the attack and embraced death.

Only regret it had was not being able to protect her offspring and end this devil incarnation, that found joy in blood, so much his soul radiated.