Angels and Sea Monsters

"Hello, Captain Villareal, are you there?" The radio crackled with urgency.

Cesar exchanged a glance with Jin and the rest of his phantom seed. "The captain of the ship must have sent out an SOS before I got to him," Cesar said, feeling a tinge of concern about what to the voice over the radio.

He further added, "I have Captain Villareal and a couple of his guards tied up and hidden away in a room. Maybe I can negotiate with them."

But Jin interjected, as he skillfully guided the ship forward, his eyes focused on the approaching unit of five hostile ships. "Even if you did, they would still demand to board us," Jin pointed out. "Our best option might just be to ignore them and speed towards South America."

As Jin steered the ship, Al, monitoring the radar, noticed a fast-moving, smaller blip. His curiosity piqued, he said, " What the hell is coming at us?" A hint of bewilderment colored his tone as he studied the radar, searching for answers.

Before anyone could respond, the voice broke the silence over the radio. "If this is not Captain Villareal, know that in one minute, you will be boarded by our men," the voice threatened.

The tension onboard escalated, and all eyes were glued to the ship's CCTV security system. Suddenly, a loud thud echoed through the vessel, drawing everyone's attention to the source of the disturbance.

A loud thud reverberated through the ship as a menacing figure landed on its deck, its golden skin white robe and six wings send shivers down their spines.

Cesar's eyes sharpened with determination as he took command, exchanging a focused look with Al. Without hesitation, he issued his orders, "Al, you and I will deal with this. Jin and Ellie, you two man the ship. Agnethe, I'm going to need you to turn those ships around, hopefully without killing them."

As Cesar and Al readied themselves to confront the intruder, Jin and Ellie assumed their positions at the helm, maintaining their watchful eyes on the CCTV feed.

They could clearly see Agnethe, following Cesar's orders, making her way away from them, her movements purposeful and swift.

In a different section of the ship, a few corridors away, the air grew heavy as a formidable presence approached. The 9-ft Angel of Death, a being shrouded by six angelic wings, was closing in on Al and Cesar.

Their hearts pounded in their chests as they braced themselves for the imminent encounter.

"Al, I'm going to need you to take the brunt of his initial attack. Then cut off its pike," Cesar commanded, his focus unwavering as they sprinted through the ship's corridors. Al nodded, steeling his mind for the impending pain he was about to endure. With determination, he took the lead, preparing for what was to come.

In the next moment, Al faced a daunting sight—six wings propelling towards him with incredible speed. Before he could react, the enemy's pike like hand pierced his chest, sending him into a sudden darkness, his consciousness fading away. Meanwhile, Cesar confronted Al's body which was coming at him incredibly fast toward him, and in a split second, Cesar wielded his spear to deflect the impact and divert the Dawn-keeper sideways.

Meanwhile Al was forced deeper into the Dawn-bringers right arm which resembled a tentacle the cavity in Al's chest was forced to widen. It stopped and swung Al dislodging him from his arm.

However, Al's cavity regenerated at an incredible rate. When it became small enough Al came back to life and swung his dark twisted knife just in time to cut the Dawn-bringers pike-hand of its arm.

Al then smashed into Cesar who tried catching them but by the time they were recovering it had summoned a spell sending small birds made from flames flying towards them. Cesar pulled Al out of the way, summoning a mighty gust of wind to meet with the fire birds who exploded into a blazing inferno shooting towards them.

Swinging his spear with all his might, Cesar bombarded the flames with his Wind Will, but the searing heat proved relentless, causing the skin on his hands to blister.

There was no time to pause as the Dawn-bringer emerged from behind the fiery onslaught, its shrouded head unwrapping before Cesar's eyes. Seizing the opportunity, he thrust his spear at the creature's head, aiming for a decisive strike.

However, the Dawn-keeper was incredibly agile, easily sidestepping the spear's tip and then closing its numerous eyes, created a blinding flash of light that caught Cesar and Al off-guard.

Preparing for the worst, they braced themselves, expecting their death. Yet, just as they waited for the inevitable, a loud bang echoed through the air.

As their vision gradually cleared, a remarkable sight greeted them. Ellie's mirror, standing resolute in front of them, had intervened.

The Dawn-bringer's injured arm had now been completely burned off, its once formidable wings now charred. The mirror's action had spared them from a crisis.

The Dawn-Bringer gazed upon its adversaries with its numerous, inscrutable eyes, revealing neither contempt nor worry.

Taking a menacing posture, strange sigils and symbols materialized around its form as its terrifying mouth opened, conjuring a small, concentrated flame that condensed into a miniature sun.

Remembering how incredibly destructive the spell was, Cesar instinctively chose to retreat, but Ellie's mirror and Al stood their ground.

"My blade was able to absorb this spell last time we faced off. Perhaps I can do it again," Al said with determination signaling Ellie to retire her mirror.

Al braced himself as the corridor's walls and pipes began to melt under the blistering heat. The deadly spell reached its peak, scorching everything in its path. Al felt the agonizing sensation of his skin boiling, his cornea searing, but he steeled himself against the pain, focused on countering the attack.

As the deadly solar mass bore down on him, Al's twisted knife made contact with the spell. Like a plummeting torch into the ocean in a miraculous moment, the flame vanished entirely, leaving Al stunned yet relieved.

His vision cleared, and his wounds healed rapidly. At that moment, the Dawn-keeper, its plan seemingly thwarted, appeared astonished, looking first at its missing arm and then at Cesar, who had returned to Al's side.

Without further hesitation, the creature turned and fled, with Al and Cesar hot on its trail.

They left Ellie's mirror behind, which gracefully floated back to the Command Room, having played its crucial role in protecting them.

As Jin struggled to grasp the intricacies of navigating the formidable ship, Ellie focused her attention on the ten smaller dots rapidly approaching them.

The tense minute had passed, and the situation was becoming increasingly critical. In the security camera feed, Agnethe's determined figure came into view as she made her way outside to confront the imminent threat.

Staring resolutely at the smaller boats speeding towards them, Agnethe took a deep breath. "He wants me not to kill them? Easier said than done," she whispered to herself. With her mind set, she leaped off the ship, gracefully diving into the water below.

Witnessing the sudden leap, one of the armed men in the approaching boats exclaimed to his comrade, "Hey, you see that? Someone just jumped off the ship!" Before the other man could react, the water began to churn and rise, and a colossal head emerged from the depths—a young woman of enormous proportions, Agnethe herself with her Titans Will.

Agnethe raised both her arms before bringing them together, conjuring two tremendous waves. The ten approaching vessels watched in awe as the towering waves threatened to collide and engulf them.

Realizing the imminent danger, they quickly reversed course, desperately speeding away from the impending destruction.

With her immediate objective accomplished, Agnethe swiftly swam towards the five massive ships, each stretching about 110 feet in length.

The radars of the enemy ships locked onto Agnethe's position, and torpedoes were launched toward her.

Despite her massive size, she displayed an uncanny agility, evading most of the attacks. However, one torpedo struck her, causing significant damage to her left shoulder and the bottom left of her face, fueling her rage even further.

Fueled by fury, Agnethe swam beneath the first ship, then emerged like a colossal sea monster, her powerful hand smashing down on the ship's deck as she effortlessly climbed on top of it.

The other ships frantically fired their weapons at her, but her speed was unparalleled. She leaped from ship to ship, splitting them in half with her might before diving back into the water, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.

Meanwhile, Cesar and Al raced against time, trying to reach the elusive Dawn-keeper. Suddenly, Al's twisted knife began to burn red hot, pulsating with immense energy.

He sensed the imminent explosion of power and swung the knife with all his might, releasing a devastating slash of blinding energy. The attack tore through the ship's corridors and struck the Dawn-keeper, obliterating it and tearing a gaping hole through the vessel, propelling it skyward.

Ellie and Jin witnessed the careless display of Agnethe's might and the destruction caused by Al's attack.

Agnethe had single-handedly decimated the five pursuing ships, scattering the remaining speed boats that quickly retreated in fear.

As Cesar and Al returned to the command center, they couldn't ignore the heavy damage sustained by their own ship due to Al's attack. Yet, despite the toll on their vessel, they knew they had managed to escape the immediate danger, thanks to the collective strength and courage of the entire team.

Cesar and Al were the first to return, relieved that there was only one Dawn-keeper involved. But Al couldn't help pondering out loud, "I wonder, did they somehow hire it, or were they unaware of the power watching over them?" The rest of the crew shared the same curiosity when Agnethe suddenly entered the room.

Jin's frustration boiled over as he confronted Agnethe, "What the hell was that Agnethe? Couldn't you have just made them turn away?"

Both Cesar and Al glanced at the radar, which now showed no enemy dots. "Yeah, Agnethe, now we have to worry about potential repercussions from their organization," Cesar added, concerned about the aftermath of their encounter.

Agnethe rolled her eyes "They were shooting to kill if I didn't do it then you'd be dead!" she said in a sharp tone.

Al noticed blood dripping from Agnethe's left hand and a heavy scratch on the left side of her face and immediately rushed to her aid, accompanying her to the infirmary.

As night fell, alarms started ringing throughout the ship, leaving everyone perplexed and unsure of what to do.

Eventually, Cesar took charge and went to talk to captain Villareal, who informed him that the ship had sustained severe damage and was at risk of sinking. He suggested to be released along with his men to handle the situation.

Cesar returned to the group and shared the situation with them. "So, we have two options: either we sink with the ship, or we release them and risk them potentially sabotaging us." The crew fell silent, deep in thought about the difficult decision ahead.

Then, Ellie suddenly had an idea, leaping up with enthusiasm. "We'll tell them they are free to go and that we're taking their lifeboat. But secretly, we'll remain on the ship as I make us invisible," she proposed. Jin couldn't help but smile, trying to contain his laughter, while Cesar scratched the back of his head, uncertain about the plan.

Ellie continued, "Think about it—we can eavesdrop on them to gather information if they plan anything against us. Plus, they know how to navigate, unlike Jin and me. So, we can disembark at their port while they'll be expecting us to be in the lifeboat."

Al agreed stating how ingenious of an idea it actually was despite Jin's and Cesar's skepticism causing Ellie to smile at him and then immediately look down after Agnethe got closer to Al.