Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Whoosh
Each water round screamed through the deep, so fast it sounded like the sea itself was tearing. It was as if the projectiles were jumping space underwater.
Slardar's swim speed was tremendous, but even he couldn't quite outrun the "water bullets." Relying on the Sea Demon's honed senses, he juked on instinct up, down, left, right body snapping through tight angles as his trident whirled to swat aside the shots he couldn't evade.
"Still rough around the edges…" Tengetsu Ares cut through the depths behind him, pursuing at a speed not far off Slardar's own.
It was a spur-of-the-moment technique; Ares knew it wasn't fully baked. Plenty to optimize and you couldn't tune everything midfight. Even so, the results were promising. As a fighting method, it clearly worked.
Like a tiger on the heels of a stag, he hounded Slardar and thought aloud: "Tried Shigan and Rankyaku. To run him down, I need to solve Soru and Geppo underwater."
He coiled power into his long dragon tail, mimicking Soru control, compress, release then snapped it, attempting to "step" the sea with explosive force.
The first try flopped.
The tail slapped water like a whip. Crack!
Ahead, a strung-tight Slardar flinched at the shotgun report, then peered back in bafflement. "What in the abyss is he doing whipping the water?"
The noise boomed again and again, each slap like a depth charge, humming his eardrums. "Whatever it is, it won't be good for me. That monster's too dangerous. I'll open the gap this is my ocean, and I know every current."
He poured on speed and shot forward.
Behind him, Ares kept experimenting slap, load, push getting a feel for the water's give, the reaction force, the tiny timing windows. With each attempt, his control grew steadier; his understanding sharpened.
Up on the surface, John burst from the water, gulping air in great, ragged heaves. With a heave of his own, he flung an unconscious Kaido toward the ship.
On deck, Wang Zhi lunged, caught Kaido, and set him down, pumping his chest. "Captain John what happened? Why is he torn up like this?"
John vaulted aboard, seawater streaming from his clothes. "We ran into a legend the Sea Demon Tribe. That thing down there is monstrously strong. In the sea, I couldn't match him. Kaido charged in and got smashed."
"Sea… demon?" Silver Axe cocked his head behind his mask. "Never heard of 'em."
He'd sailed half the world with Rocks and thought he'd heard it all. The name alone made his skin crawl.
At the words Sea Demon, Wang Zhi's face changed. He stared at John. "You mean the clan that once flourished on the seas?"
John nodded heavily. "I'm sure of it. The tribe that was supposed to be gone this one survived whatever wiped the rest out. After crossing blades with him, I can say it plain: in the ocean, he's terrifying. Even I couldn't win."
"Ugh "
Water poured from Kaido's mouth under Wang Zhi's compressions. He coughed himself awake.
Seeing him come to, John exhaled. "Ares may be in danger. We have to get back down there now. If not for him, I'd be a corpse down below."
(He kept the other thought to himself: if the treasure truly lay beneath, they'd need someone who could breathe underwater to claim what so many had once coveted.)
"The Sea Demon Tribe and that strong? We go together." Wang Zhi rose, golden armor clinking.
"Is Ares in danger?!" Kaido blurted, surging to his feet. "I'm going too!"
"You saw what he did to you," John said evenly. "That creature's lived more than two centuries at the bottom of the sea. You'd only slow us down. Wang Zhi and I will go."
He turned to Silver Axe. "The ship's yours. No matter what happens, you do not leave this deck."
Wang Zhi shed his heavy armor fine on land, deadweight when waterlogged. He and John drew breath after breath, packing their lungs the way only monsters could. Then, in the same heartbeat, both dove cleanly over the rail and knifed down into the dark.
Neither of them knew Ares had already chased Slardar far deeper and farther than they guessed.
Back on deck, Kaido stared at the waves, jaw tight. "Two hundred years… that's a scary long life."
"And they still haven't told me what a 'Sea Demon' really is," Silver Axe grumbled then, sotto voce, "Two hundred years, huh. Imagine how many more years I could spend carousing… now that's a dream."
He spun and shouted to the crew, "Hey! Any of you ever heard of the Sea Demon Tribe?"
From John and Wang Zhi's faces alone, you could tell this was a people with a terrifying past.
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