Jonas's 3rd POV
"I feel stupid," Jonas thought, looking at what could only be called a carnage. With all the tech and gear they had, he was expecting some kind of next-gen battle.
But no. What he saw was an old-style, cut-or-be-eaten battle, taking place thousands of meters below.
And if that wasn't enough, it was as if someone had activated the Sunday night fantasy channel: a submarine gained a demonic skin, a lady grew fox tails, and lastly, a strange man was "flying" around the deepest sea.
"Someone check if we got drugged!" DJ screamed, wiping his eyes.
"No, you better take a careful look, ladies and gentlemen. Perfect synchronization," Heler said excitedly.
Looking around, he saw knowing, yet surprised, faces all around. As scientists, they had to keep up with the latest rise of 'Biology,' so they more or less knew what was generally known.
He zoomed in on the two shadows cutting around the sharks.
"I've had a chance to work with ability users, and the stronger they are, the more they maintain their perfect form. And I have to say, this is the first time I've come across perfect synchro." He said excitedly, taking in the scene. "This is probably the greatest chance to meddle with this type of being."
Then he started analyzing the sub and its transformation. "And that change probably has something to do with Skull," he added, unsure.
"Not probably, that's her ability: Ghost Ride," Li Ming said excitedly, looking at the submarine with bubbling water around it. She continued, "I know from the records that she has the gift to push her vehicle to gain an evil form, high attack forms, and some crazy stuff."
Looking at them, she added, "But it was thought she could only do so with airplanes, which is why she's called Skull Pilot."
Under everyone's view, the submarine didn't fire a single shot. Instead, it rammed the sharks around, which were either cooked or cut through. But soon, they noticed that the number of sharks was rising, and normal ones started to mix in.
[Skull, Fox, pull back! I have an idea!] Yuki's voice came over the comms, and in an act of trust, both ladies immediately pulled back, leaving Yuki to drag all the aggro.
After seconds of dodging, he flicked his wings, sending himself riding the upper current and positioning himself on top of all the sharks.
Stabbing his knuckle claw into a small oxygen holder and trapping it in a closed space around him, he took a deep breath after tilting his mask up a little.
Then, a high-pitched eagle shriek became visible, traveling through the water.
Under him, across a diameter of a few hundred meters, all the sharks froze for a second before flipping and sinking down.
[Cough. Bad move, I think I tore my vocal cords. Cough.] Yuki's voice came over the internal comms.
"Did the dude just send a supersonic scream? What's next? He can transform?" DJ said skeptically.
"Ehh, actually they can," Mark commented.
"Eh, excuse me? Get out of here!" DJ didn't believe it. "As if? It's not a movie! I get if they can gain some properties, but turning into giants? That's unbelievable!"
In his freak-out, a small tug caught his attention, and looking down, he saw Miying pointing at the screen with shiny eyes.
Looking back, he saw a giant eagle appear and dive nose-down into the Thermic Fog.
[Emma, ask the main sub to rise. The fellow wants to see his beast form limits,] followed by the lady Fox saying, lightly kicking the water upside down and following the eagle. [I will keep an eye on him down there.]
[Is it okay?] Wanda asked, worried. [Won't that be a problem?]
[He already calculated what could happen. He already caged the space,] Anna comforted. [Now pull back and enjoy the show.]
After the comms went silent, "What were you saying?" Mark asked DJ teasingly.
"I was talking from common sense," DJ said, still shocked. "I never expected such a middle finger to logic out of nowhere!"
"Welcome to the Guild's world." With a nod, Miying patted his shoulder, saying it as if he finally knew the secret.
Rewind to just after the sonic scream...
After the sonic scream, Yuki kept looking down, not moving.
"What's wrong?" Anna came closer after noticing his condition. "Is the wound flaring?"
"Ah, no, it already healed. You know how my body is," Yuki answered but didn't move his face. "But the little fish below decided to have a glaring competition? I don't know, but I know it's my loss if I look away."
Surprised for a second, Anna then laughed. "Oh, so the little fish holds a grudge to challenge a predator?"
"What is that?" Yuki asked, as it was the first time he'd heard the term.
[It's a term we use when someone with a high-end level meets a natural predator. The latter will notice the inner Instinct and take it as a territory challenge.]
"Heee, so the little fish thinks it can look down on me?" Yuki said.
[Are you even listening?] Wanda rebuked. [It's a challenge, not looking down!]
Snort ["That itself is looking down on me,"] the amusement vanished from his voice. "[A little fish thinks it can fight its hunter because of a small scratch? That's not funny.]"
This froze the two ladies before they burst into laughter. "That's Alexander! Okay!!" they said in the same breath.
"Neh, mind if I go full shift?" Yuki asked, about to proceed, but surprisingly, Anna said, "Sure, go ahead."
"Eh? That's it?" Yuki asked, expecting more restraint.
"Of course, I already gave the green light, and I know you can contain the fight," Anna said loosely.
"Okay, then." He swiftly called on his Instinct, and suddenly his body swapped with that of a silver eagle, about 5 meters wide. But as he dived down, his body started to expand, and the moment he broke the Thermic Fog's surface, his body was already 50 meters wide (from wingtip to wingtip).
With a puff, he disappeared into the Thermic Fog, leaving a big splash.
Excitedly, Anna followed after switching to the group comms and announcing their action to Wanda.
As soon as she dived, she was shocked by the view, and somehow, a strange pride swelled within her.
Yuki in his Eagle Form was shining even in the depths of the sea, trapping the giant fish on the seabed and about to bite its head off.
But at the last second, he froze, and the fish slipped away and started swimming around Yuki. And so the cat-and-mouse game started—or in this case, the eagle-and-fish game.
Yuki kept trailing after the fish, and every time he came closer to catch it, he felt the water freeze around them, and the more it happened, the longer the paralysis became.
As he trailed it, the fish slipped away again, but this time, it flowed back. With that move, it directed a hit with its spine bone to cut into Yuki's wing.
Withdrawing to dodge, Yuki kept the fish in check, looking at his wing and finding a shallow wound.
"Okay, playtime is over," Yuki thought, closing his eyes and drawing his Instinct deeper.
Soon, the shine around his body started to fade, and instead, it seeped between his feathers, forming a complex yet unique matrix.
Noticing something wrong, the fish attacked swiftly, but instead of penetrating the eagle, it passed through as if the bird were just a hologram.
Not understanding what happened, the fish tried again, but the same thing happened, and it found itself in front of Yuki.
His now-open eyes shone with silver, moonlit calm. Turning and seeing the pair of moons above it, everything else disappeared, and one instinctual, ancient reaction awoke inside the fish: run.
Trying to slip away, it only found Yuki in front with his claw open, ready to cut through. Using its unique freezing effect had no effect on him now.
In the end, it was cornered below his claw. Yuki was ready to land the finishing blow.
But a low shriek came from the imprisoned creature froze hisaction, not forced this time, but willingly.
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