Dark Shadow

"Stop firing!"

With the single grumble, all the units operating the rail guns halted. They waited for the smoke to clear out and see the situation outside.

The 2nd beast that they were shooting at had disappeared from the spot.

The captain raised his binoculars to his eyes. His head leaned forward as he searched the area of the beasts.

It wasn't long before he noticed,

The beast isn't even in the dockyard!

He picked up his comms and ordered the crews.

"Mayday mayday mayday! Turn back the ship! IMMEDIATELY!"

That he said, but before the ship could turn around, the beast had already climbed through the outer walls and intruded inside.

The shriek and screams of the operators arose. The beast 2nd burst inside and began to destroy the rail guns, causing an outbreak of fire.

The captain, who had fled from the scene, informed the other ships about the emergency.

"Turn back! Turn back! Beast aboard!"

Thudding noises of his shoes attracted the beast to himself. The beast quickly climbed to the ceiling, crawled closer to him and plunged atop of him with its wide opened jaws.

Blood splattered around, dressing the passage into a crimson fountain.

In the meantime, while the 1st beast was under the attack of the field unit, the 3rd beast exchanged gazes with Fein, a part of flesh hanging in its mouth.

Fein felt disgusted to imagine that it once was a human. He was disgusted and terrified.

This… is the thing… I'm supposed to keep fighting in future?! No way!

The obsidian dagger in his hand was pointed at the beast.

The beast took interest in Fein and dropped the bones of the human that it had been eating.

I'll need to think. I can't afford to get irrational now! If only I could voluntarily activate my foresights!

Damnit! I feel so annoyed and I can't focus with all this noise!

The beast, rashly swung its claws. Fein tilted backwards, letting his gas mask fly away in the process.

The beast thrusted its spiky arms over his head. Fein defended himself holding the dagger horizontally, tangling it with the spikes. The beast kept pressing him down that Fein couldn't bear to stand upright anymore.

His knees bent, sweats dropped. Wrist ached and heart trembled.

He acknowledged that in terms of strength, holding against the beast was foolish. He slid his foot and smoothly slipped behind the beast. His black shiny blade slashed its back.

Fein rejoiced. The blade could actually cut through a beast's skin.

He could see the white flesh underneath the thick layer of the skin.

But it was too early to rejoice.

Amid the critical time of his one on one battle with the high ranking calamity, his series of foresights blackened his vision.

It couldn't find the worst timing and had to happen now!

Fein paused midway. His brain, calculating a number of 57 scenarios. However the beast wasn't so gentlemanly to wait for Fein to wake up.

It ambushed with the opportunity found by rushing towards him.

Agilely and stealthily, Kuina dashed from behind Fein. Her hand lifted the Glock at its eyes, intending to shoot. The beast, in defence, raised its claws and spikes at the dainty girl, all while glaring at Fein. Evidently the beast cared the least about Kuina since it knew she wouldn't be able to hurt it much.

Fein clenched the hilt of his dagger. He waited for the perfect moment when the three of them would attack simultaneously. Both hands of the beast extended at both of them, Kuina closing in with her gun, Fein steadily raising his blade.

In the span of a moment, such an incident happened that shocked most people who had time enough to witness them.

Fein had successfully sliced apart the arms of the beast while Kuina shot both of its eyes, at the same time.

The harmony of their footwork and dexterity enabled them to pull such a feat.

The cry of the beast was loud enough to be heard from the other side of the ocean. Its scream had no sign of reducing.

Though Yulia was shocked as well, she didn't have the time to sit astounded. The 3rd beast was rampaging the war ships. It had already destroyed one out of three. No one inside survived. She realized she had to take immediate actions to cause the least casualties. However she was conflicted. Sending away support like that was nothing less than a suicide. But keeping them here was only causing capable lives to shed.

"What is the status inside the vessel?!"

The earphone in her right ear glowed green. It flickered for the voice coming out of the phone.

"We've regained control of the control room! Preparing to leave, ma'am!"

She sighed, looking through her scope.

Even though they injured the beast, it wasn't enough to kill it. It'll regentate soon.

She spoke. "Your status, Ran?"

Ran, whose position was unknown until now responded through his ear attached communicator.

"Yeah. The crews have abandoned the ship. Did you say I've to wait for the beast to jump in it?"

He was in the 2nd war ship from the beginning, saving his use for the last moment as a trump card.

The 3rd war ship decided to depart along with the vessel and abandon their mission. It wasn't a command directly made by Yulia, she supported it regardless.

Ran sauntered around the empty ship, twirling his SIG Sauers in his fingers.

He could hear the faint unceasing sound of gun fights like the bass and drums of a heavy metal song.

It was no symphony pleasant to ears. A noise that could only result in migraine pain.

In the noiseless ship where no one resided, Ran heard a loud noise of thud.

He glanced over his shoulders in suspicion.

"Is it here?"

His loaded guns raised in the air in search of the source of the noise.

To his surprise, the beast hid, attaching itself with the outside wall. It made no noise while Ran searched under the metal bars.

In relief he said, "the beast didn't climb on here yet."

As instantly as he turned over, the beast hurled itself on him.

Ran, catching the slight glance of the beast, tried to slide away. But the beast pinned him on the wooden floor of the deck before he could dodge.

Ran grunted, his pain still minimal. He pointed his gun, touching its forehead. The beast moved wildly to shake away the gun and was even successful at it. Ran might've dropped his gun, though his left hand contained another one. With the press of the trigger, the pistol instantly tilted upwards by the force of its backward velocity whilst a bullet escaped from its canal. The tiny bullet, without its cartridge, entered the neck of the beast through one side and escaped with a flush of blood from the other side.

The beast stood up and took steps back in woe, holding the side of its neck to prevent blood flushing.

Ran quickly shot a few more times at its feet, making it scream in agony.

"Take that, you bastard!"

He jumpily dashed towards the edge and climbed over the bar made of rods.

The beast, now in anguish, flailed its life stealing claws at Ran.

It didn't bother him since Ran knew…

"You'll never reach me."

He slanted backwards with a remote in his hand. He pressed the bigger button among the other smaller ones in the middle of his fall.

Before his back hit the water, his sights were filled with the magnificent spark of red flame emerging from the inside of the ship, dancing with the wind.

He had planted explosives in the ship as a part of his job. It was an immediate plan that Yulia cooked in the middle of their devastation.

The sooner Ran dropped into the depth of the blueness of the sea, the ship exploded into fine debris, scattering into the water beside him.

It should be enough to kill it. The ship had been turned into a literal nuke. I bet it died.

That Ran thought.

Yet, the large dark thing floating above him…

What was it?