Pandemonium reigned on the upper deck. Dozens of creatures swarmed the vessel—armored crustaceans scaling the rails, serpentine lizards with webbed claws dragging themselves aboard—while more clung to the hull like grotesque barnacles.
Laxasia twisted mid-air, a crab-creature's claw snapping shut where her ankle had been a heartbeat before. Bang! Bang! Two shots rang out as she flipped. Her bullets found the thin, unprotected muscle at the beast's leg joint—one of the few weaknesses her Vulnerability sight revealed. Blue ichor sprayed. The limb went limp.
Hawk Eyes. A title Laxasia disliked, but one earned. Her Kindled gifts—True Sight to track marked targets beyond line of sight, and Vulnerability to perceive every crack, weak point, and optimal strike—made her the kingdom's deadliest sharpshooter after her father.
The crippled beast shrieked, lunging again despite its wound.
'Sigh. Couldn't you just play dead?' Laxasia dropped low instead of retreating. Her pistols slid into their holsters as she spun towards the creature, a blur of motion evading its remaining limbs. She landed behind it as momentum carried the beast past her. Before it could pivot, the long barrel of her rifle jammed into the narrow gap beneath its lure-head's jaw.
BANG.
Smoke billowed. The massive crustacean crashed onto its back, the light fading from its decoy head's eyes.
"One down." She whirled, assessing the chaos. Before she could acquire her next target, the ship lurched violently.
Below, Captain Cesara soared skyward, hurled by the leviathan, only to retaliate with a barrage of ice harpoons slamming into the beast's hide.
KRAKOOM!
Another deafening explosion rocked the deck. Crewmen, crustaceans, and sea-lizards alike were flung backwards.
"Are you mad, boy? You'll blow the damned ship apart!" Old Man Nile bellowed, deflecting a claw strike with his cane. His knuckles were white on the grip.
Cough! Cough!
A figure emerged from the dissipating smoke—thick mustache, wild afro singed black with soot. "Eh, sorry! Overdid it a smidge." He grinned, gesturing at three twitching crustacean corpses. "But that's three for me! Keep up, old timer!"
Nile's brow furrowed like storm clouds. "This isn't a blasted competition! Your recklessness will kill us all!" He thrust his cane like a spear, jabbing the joint of the beast before him. But the creature's counterstrike connected—a heavy claw slammed into Nile's ribs. He sailed backward, over the railing, towards the churning black abyss.
'Ah. Lost my touch, haven't I? Won't hear the end of this...' A flick of his wrist. The cane snicked open, segments unfolding and connecting with near-invisible threads. He hurled it like a grappling hook. It snagged the ship's rail. With a grunt, Nile hauled himself back onto the deck, landing hard but alive. His opponent still loomed, claws raised.
Nile straightened, pain forgotten in the fight's rhythm, a fierce grin splitting his weathered face. "Come on then, bastard! Let's finish—"
Laxasia dropped like a shadow, landing boots-first on the crustacean's shoulder. Her rifle barrel jammed into its mouth-gap before Nile could finish his challenge.
BANG.
The beast collapsed.
Nile gaped. "Why'd you do that? I had it!"
"Exactly," Laxasia snapped, already scanning the deck. "It's not a competition. We need to clear this deck. Now."
Below decks, the situation was scarcely better. A few creatures had breached the hull or found hatches, clawing their way into the cramped passages. One armored crustacean filled the corridor, blocking the companions' retreat.
Mikel fired bolt after bolt from his specialized crossbow—the box magazine allowing rapid fire—but the quarrels merely pinged harmlessly off the thick carapace. Unkindled, he lacked the power to exploit weaknesses. "Damn it! What the fuck am I supposed to do?" He scrambled back as a claw whistled past his face.
Kevin's glaive clashed against the claw, steel shrieking on chitin. He strained, muscles corded. "Hold it!" Kiera used the momentary distraction, leaping to plant both boots onto the creature's lure-head—a useless blow. She landed behind it. Kevin wrenched his glaive free, lunging for a joint. Nelly blurred past in a Kindled burst of speed, her dagger scoring a shallow scratch on the armored flank before she rebounded.
They regrouped, breathing hard. Four against one, and the beast was unscathed. Mikel and Kiera lacked the tools. Kevin lacked the speed for precision strikes. Nelly, a nimble close-quarters fighter, was crippled by the tight space—a dancer trapped in a closet.
"Again!" Kiera roared, slamming her fists futilely against the creature's back.
"Wait! Attack together!" Nelly hissed, coiling for another blinding charge. Her muscles vibrated with power—
—And darkness swallowed her vision. The force of her own lunge carried her forward, but something massive and whip-like smashed into her side mid-motion. CRUNCH. Air exploded from her lungs as she slammed into the crustacean's flank and crumpled behind it, legs useless, gasping.
"NELLY!" Kevin abandoned the plan, charging the beast to reach her. It swatted him aside contemptuously. He crashed against the bulkhead and slumped, dazed.
Only Kiera and Mikel remained standing. Mikel's blood ran cold as he looked past the crustacean. Silhouetted in the passageway's gloom was a new horror: a seven-foot humanoid lizard, its muscular tail—the weapon that felled Nelly—coiled like a whip. Its webbed hands flexed, claws glinting.
The crustacean shrieked. The lizard hissed. Trapped between them, Kiera braced for the end