Amid the mountainous piles of bones, Serl moved his body slowly, inch by inch.
His condition was terrible. He had fractures, impact injuries, lacerations, and burns from Dragon Element energy... Even he was astonished that he had survived such severe wounds and remained conscious throughout.
This was clearly not normal.
He suspected the layer of semi-solidified, deep-blue slime encasing his body was responsible.
The congealed slime not only plugged his wounds and stopped the bleeding, but also seemed to contain some kind of stimulant that forced him to stay conscious, keep breathing, and cling to life.
Many other creatures around him were trapped in a similar state.
Pressed right beside him was a King Tuna nearly two meters long, while a dying Royal Ludroth lay a little farther away. Apparently, the Monster preferred fresh food. Had Serl and the other creatures been stored here as emergency rations?
Serl did not despair.
His experiences as a youth had taught him never to give up. The fact that he was still alive was the best possible news. Until his life truly ended, he would not stop trying to save himself.
The slime had originally held him completely immobile. After a full day and night of relentless effort, however, he could now turn his head slightly, and he had loosened the solidified slime encasing his upper body.
Given a few more hours, he should be able to free one hand. Then he could either pull out the Carving Knife sealed beneath the slime at the back of his waist or grab one of the sharp bone fragments scattered around him and gradually cut through the hardened layer covering his body.
By then, he would regain control of his body.
As for how he would evade the Monster at the center of the nest, whose two tentacles shaped like skeletal dragons ceaselessly "patrolled" even while its main body slept, or how he would cross the vast sea and return to the mainland...
To be honest, he did not know.
But he was not going to think about that yet. To avoid falling into despair, he could not dwell on challenges he was not yet in a position to face.
Instead, he needed to think of something cheerful.
For instance, everyone thought he was dead and had even held a funeral for him. If he suddenly appeared now, wouldn't everyone be shocked?
The image of that guy staring as though he had seen a ghost and blurting, "What the hell? Are you a ghost?" had already sprung to mind.
Just to see that reaction, Serl absolutely had to make it back.
A stiff smile tugged at his bloodstained, grimy face, and a sliver of strength welled up from his utterly spent body.
"Boom! Boom!" Several muffled rumbles suddenly sounded on the distant horizon.
Was it thunder? No, it sounded more like the roar of Heavy Cannons.
The abrupt commotion awakened the Monster sleeping amid the bones. Its two tentacles rose high, moving like living creatures, while the faint lights inside the dragon skulls shone like two real pairs of eyes gazing toward the source of the sound.
"Boom! Boom!" Several more loud reports rang out in succession.
The Monster in the bone nest was thoroughly enraged. As it growled low in its throat, the bones blanketing the nest trembled and scraped together, producing a rustling sound that made Serl's scalp prickle.
Its bloated body squirmed between the mountainous piles of bones and reached the water at the center of the atoll, where it dove into the sea and vanished.
After a brief moment of shock, Serl began struggling with even greater desperation. He had been so afraid of waking the Monster that he had barely dared to breathe, but now even the tide of unbearable agony from his aggravated wounds could not weaken his resolve.
The stiff smile on his face grew more pronounced.
Just then, the face of a familiar Felyne entered his field of vision.
Sajji?
"Thank goodness, meow! You really are still alive, meow!" Sajji hopped joyfully beside Serl's head.
Another Felyne leaned close.
"You can still smile? Looks like you still have plenty of spirit, meow."
Pawdrick?!
"Hurry, meow. The Monster could come back at any time, meow," Athos said. He drew the Felyne Sword from his back and began slicing through the thick layer of solidified slime encasing Serl.
Clawdia unsheathed her steel claws and tore fiercely at the slime as well.
Pawdrick stared wordlessly at the two muscle-brained melee Palicoes, then pulled two bottles of Cleanser from his Item Pouch and poured their contents over Serl.
The pale-green liquid spread across him, and the congealed slime melted away in an instant like snow doused with hot water.
Pawdrick immediately pulled out a Max Potion and stuffed it into Serl's mouth before turning to the stunned Clawdia and Athos.
"What are you standing around for, meow? Hurry, pick him up and run, meow!"
Snapping back to their senses, Clawdia and Athos quickly supported Serl's shoulders and lower back, one in front and the other behind. Sajji lifted Serl's relatively lighter calves, while Pawdrick ran ahead to direct them.
"Retreat, meow!"
Together, the four Felynes hoisted the immobile Serl and dashed out of the nest filled with bones and the foul stench of decay.
A small Airship had quietly landed at the edge of the atoll containing the nest.
Seeing the Felynes sprinting toward her with Serl, Francesca jumped down from the small Airship and hurried to meet them.
Serl's face was deathly pale, his armor was shattered, and barely a patch of unblemished skin remained on his body. Seeing that he was at least still breathing, Francesca first sighed in relief.
Then she reached out and poked him twice. "Well? You're pretty tough. Even this couldn't kill you?"
Serl tugged at the corner of his mouth. The relief of his narrow escape put him in a good enough mood to joke. "What a shame. If I had swum back on my own, I could have seen an even more surprised look on your face."
"What are you talking about, you pig?"
"All right, all right, meow. I saw Francesca secretly wiping away tears earlier, meow," Pawdrick said, directing Clawdia and the others to carry Serl aboard the Airship while mercilessly revealing Francesca's secret. "If we hadn't found you soon, she probably would have burst out crying, meow."
"Shut up!"
—--
Meanwhile, the Knowledge Seeker hovered above the sea a few hundred meters from the atoll, continuously firing warning shots to draw the Monster's attention.
"Two o'clock! Massive shadow underwater! Something's surfacing!" Nymera lowered her binoculars and shouted from the air sac lookout post.
"Full-speed climb!" The Professor immediately gave the order to the helmsman, then hurried to the ship's railing and stared at the shadow rising beneath the sea.
With a splash, two eerily lifelike skeletal dragons burst from the water. They intertwined and coiled with uncanny flexibility, "staring" at the rapidly ascending giant Airship.
"Whoa, those really are just two tentacles?! Those bone dragons' mouths can actually open and close!" Isis exclaimed.
"Target confirmed. It's Nakarkos!" Having visually identified the target at last, the Professor issued his order. "Heavy weapons, prepare to lock on! Hit it with a volley and drive it back into its nest!"
On the lookout platform, Nymera used a Wirebug to drop back onto the deck. In a few quick strides, she reached a Rapid-fire Cannon and yanked back its bolt to chamber the ammunition.
Not far away, Morgan slammed the breech of a Heavy Rapid-fire Cannon shut and carefully adjusted the weapon's aim.
The Knowledge Seeker's crew operated the remaining heavy weapons. The ammunition had long since been loaded, and the crew now awaited only the order.
"Fire!"
"Boom!"
The thunderous roar of the Heavy Rapid-fire Cannon, the mechanical hum of the Rapid-fire Cannon, and the sharp whistle of Heavy Ballista bolts tearing through the air merged into one.
In the next instant, crimson blossoms of flame erupted across the two "bone dragons" and the massive body of Nakarkos hidden beneath the water. Viscous gray-green bodily fluid mixed with bone fragments sprayed in every direction.
"Rrrruuummble...!" Dense ripples spread across the previously calm sea.
Amid a low, muffled roar, points of light flared to life. A chilling red glow also emanated from the mouths of the two tentacles disguised as bone dragons.
"Hard turn and dodge!" the Professor yelled.
The helmsman, prepared well in advance, cranked the wheel as far as it would go.
The Knowledge Seeker's hull tilted sharply as two high-energy beams of condensed Dragon Element energy skimmed past its railings and shot into the sky.