Noah could now see the field of jagged rocks ringing the bay of the island in rows reminiscent of rows of teeth similar to the shark's open maw which had almost swallowed Noah when he was boarding the cruise ship all those months ago now.

Strangely, the majority of rocks jutting out of the water were stained red with old blood and broken as if something had bitten them through the middle. The few left intact were of varying sizes that narrowed into sharp stone spikes piercing towards the sky.

Seabirds feasted on traces of dried leathery flesh that remained flapping in the wind on the jagged stone spikes covered in bird droppings. As the fishing vessel neared the circle of rocks, multiple stone spikes erupted from the ocean to spear two of the feasting seabirds. Noah stumbled backward, stabilizing himself on the rail as he watched the rest of the seabirds successfully escape.

"What was that?!" Noah exclaimed.

"That was Jormungand. He hunts," Roger responded ominously.

As Noah watched, the seabirds ceased to struggle on the stone-spikes. He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye among the trees on the sheltered island. Hidden among the shadows of the trees, something seemed to be uncoiling. Noah pushed himself from the rail, oarsmen began to panic and point while exclaiming in various languages.

"Jormungand has grown stronger like my friend said he would."

A colossal head, large enough to swallow the fishing trawler whole, rose above the treeline as a python unravelled its coiled camouflaged-green body. It was unrivalled in length compared to anything Noah had ever seen before, dwarfing even the Kraken in size. The python released a hissing roar, sounding nothing like you'd expect from a snake. Birds scattered in every direction. Small animals hidden in the bush fled into the waves to avoid the snake.

『I shall feast upon your meat! Now that you have delivered yourselves to me, you shall not leave!』

Jormungand's roar was translated by the System as intense red-lifeforce flowed through the snake's green scales. It was only now that Noah noticed the wreckage of boats impaled on the stone spikes with varying size holes bitten from them as Jormungand grew in size.

Noah realized that understanding and speaking without any language barriers, translated by the System, must be a feature belonging to grade three and above creatures such as the Kraken and the Store's merchant.

"This isn't good! Why are we so close to that island? That snake could catch us easily!" Noah shouted towards Roger.

"The last time we passed here, the ring of jagged spikes were not only his hunting-spears. They were also a barrier to keeping Jormungand contained. We should be able to escape. His spears cannot reach us this far away."

As Roger spoke, the colossal snake pushed aside the trees to silently enter the ocean, proving his words wrong as the stone-spike crumbled beneath its passing. Waves broke against the snake's incredibly large scales as it rapidly disappeared under the water until it was no longer visible.

Although they could no longer see Jormungand's body, there was a rise in the water level caused by his colossal body. Waves were created as the snake swam using gyrating motions. The python's huge head surfaced above the water to watch the fishing vessel attempting to flee in the distance.

All of the oarsmen, including Noah, began to row with their full strength. Glowing blue-lifeforce appeared on Roger's skin as wind filled the patchwork sail, causing the fishing vessel to sharply gain speed. Green-lifeforce appeared through the fishing boat's exposed metal as the boss's [Metal Manipulation] ability joined forces to ignite the boat's propeller at full strength.

Despite gaining distance between themselves and the colossal python, Noah still didn't feel secure. His eyes flashed purple as his [Battle Instinct] ability successfully activated for the first time since his body's lifeforce had been withered.

"Look out!" Noah shouted a warning as an enormous stone-spike erupted up through the deck, lifting the fishing trawler from the water.

Noah released his oar to hurry to Roger's side and haul him back to his feet after he was jolted to the deck. The reinforced fishing trawler stood skewered at an angle from the ocean. Seawater was dripping from the massive stone spear piercing the deck, larger than any surrounding the island. The propeller continued to spin in a spray of salt water as it barely contacted the surface of the ocean.

"You need to lift us off this rock! Can you do it?" Noah shouted the question at the dazed Roger over the groaning protests of the metal-reinforced hull.

Roger hesitated a moment before nodding his head. Glowing blue-lifeforce appeared as gale-force winds began to circle underneath the forsaken fishing trawler. Noah left Roger to find the boss. Noah found him gripping a rail, gritting his together as he intently watched the fast approaching colossal snake.

"You need to be ready to repair the boat's hull as soon as Roger gets us off this rock!" Noah shouted to the boss, who looked towards him in confusion, not understanding a word he said.

"Ugh! Look!" Noah pointed towards the enormous stone spike jutting through the fishing boat's deck.

The stone-spear was slowly retreating into the deck as the fishing trawler began to rise into the air. The boss seemed to understand Noah's intentions as his green-lifeforce stopped flowing uselessly into the metal railing. The boss then ran below deck to prepare after seeing Roger's ability lifting the ship. Noah hoped it was to patch the ruined hull before they land back in the ocean.

Noah took a moment to glance towards the oncoming Jormungand. The colossal python had increased its pace towards them as they became airborne to lift themselves from the stone spear.

A cry of determination was heard from Roger as his blue-lifeforce began to flicker under the strain of lifting the entire fishing trawler. Noah didn't waste any more time as he followed the boss below deck.

Noah quickly arrived at the kitchen to find that Uncle Joey wasn't there. He then hurried toward where he thought the crew quarters were. Uncle Joey was still nowhere to be found. Noah ran towards where the light was streaming through the hole from the deck above in a last attempt.

Noah found Uncle Joey standing at the boss's shoulder at the edge of the hole piercing through the fishing trawler, dressed in his signature stained white bandana and apron, with a large meat cleaver in one hand and his filleting knife in the other. The hole above allowed in a growing amount of light as the stone-spike narrowed at its peak as the boat slowly rose higher.

The boss ignored the hole above. He placed his hand on the wall beside him as he looked below. His focus was on the hole at his feet to reverse the damage to the reinforced hull in tandem with Roger lifting the boat. At that moment, the fishing trawler jolted as Roger's ability faltered above. Undoing some of their progress with a groan of metal as the fishing vessel fell. Once again, enlarging the damage to the hull. The boss screamed out a string of curses in his unknown language directed at the stone-spear as Noah arrived.

"Uncle Joey, I need some rations!" Noah urgently yelled.

Uncle Joey frowned in confusion, but still pulled a small handful of rations from his greasy bloodstained apron. Noah placed them inside his shirt as he backed up. Noah took a deep breath as he made a running leap onto the jagged stone spike. The fishing trawler was steadily lowering as Roger's ability continued to falter.

Noah wasted no time as the bewildered boss and Uncle Joey watched him begin to falteringly climb the stone spike. A piece of sharp rock caused Noah to slash open his palm as he lost his grip. Noah dangled by one hand as he looked below to see the ocean exposed through gaps in the ruined hull. The fishing trawler was suspended more than five meters above the sea as waves crashed against the towering stone spike.