Noah felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He blinked as his sight returned while investigating his surroundings. The corpse of the colossal grade three crocodile was mysteriously gone. At the edge of his peripheral vision, Noah thought he saw something slimy move at the surface of the water. He quickly directed his gaze towards the disturbance in time to see an alarming, familiar sight. A yellow glow disappeared beneath the waves.

Although Noah couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, he couldn't afford the luxury of concerning himself with distractions right now. He needed to know if Roger survived the blast. He could only trust that whatever was observing him was not planning an ambush because his [Battle Instinct] ability had not activated.

Noah returned his hazy vision to the beach shore. He saw the ability-user crocodile heavily panting as pink-lifeforce faded from the surface of its rough skin. There was a line of molten sand cooling into glass, glowing pink as it dripped down to form abstract shapes. Noah followed the wake of destruction with his eyes. Lying on his back several meters from where he initially stood, lay Roger. His right arm had been charred black with exposed bone. The charcoal glowed pink in places as his ruined arm spread uselessly at his side. His mouse, Basil, had escaped from the pouch on Roger's waist and was currently sniffing its companion's unresponsive face.

Noah was unable to determine if Roger was still breathing from this distance. At his side, the boss let out a cry of alarm in his foreign language as his vision also returned. With an unknown statement, the boss grabbed the sleek spear from Noah's grasp as green-lifeforce flowed from his hand into the cold steel of the shaft. The boss raised the spear above his head as he aimed. He yelled a curse as he launched the spear with unerring precision toward the ability-user crocodile on the beach, which didn't consider the pair on the shipwrecked fishing trawler a threat. The projectile was drawn to its target like a magnet. Altering its course through the use of the [Metal Manipulation] ability.

The spear pierced through the neck of the oblivious giant crocodile as it approached the unmoving form of Roger lying amid the glassy sand. It let out a roar as it reared backward in surprise. The sudden attack had caught the monster off guard, causing it to retreat into the waves. Nearby, crocodiles on the beach were drawn by the scent of blood in the air, slipping into the water to pursue their wounded companion.

The boss let out a string of curses, tearing another chunk of metal from the wreckage of his boat with his bare hands. Green-lifeforce flowed into the metal, organically morphing its shape into a spear suited for use underwater. The boss wasted no more time as he dived smoothly into the ocean. He resurfaced more than a hundred meters away, swimming strongly in the direction of his second mate in the hope that he could save him. Greg turned toward Noah and spoke.

"I can make it to the beach without any trouble. Will you be able to make it past all those gathering crocodiles in the water on your own? They've realized that the big one is gone and are coming back," Greg said.

"I'll be fine. I've survived worse. You go ahead," Noah replied.

He surveyed the water with a frown. He could see more than four crocodiles at the surface of the water swimming towards him. There would no doubt be others hidden from sight, preparing to ambush him as he swam.

"I'll see you on the other side," Greg spoke as blue-lifeforce flowed inward from his extremities toward his torso, turning to water as it passed.

Standing in front of Noah was the liquid silhouette of a naked man. Greg's form collapsed into a pool of water as he flowed into the ocean. Waves rippled as they moved against the current, gaining momentum. The ripple approached the first unsuspecting crocodile. Suddenly a giant formed from seafoam, and water leaped from the water to crash down atop the monster, dragging it beneath the waves as it struggled futilely. A short time later, the conspicuous ripple reappeared at the water's surface. The first crocodile victim of Greg's attack never resurfaced.

Wow, Greg's ability is even more impressive than I could have imagined. I'd best stop wasting time. More crocodiles are entering the water every minute. Did Louis and Avery successfully make it to shore?

Noah did one last surveyance of the area before he was interrupted by a loud creak from the fishing trawler's wreckage. A moment later, he was tipped into the water as the boat slipped off the sandbar to sink deeper into the ocean.

I guess I have no choice now. There's no more avoiding it. I have to swim.

He activated his [Six Spirit Arms] ability then began to swim toward the shore. Noah had made progress swimming toward the beach when he again felt that he was being observed by something. It had yet to act, but it put Noah on edge as he increased his pace.

Suddenly, jaws appeared from the water in a spray of seafoam as a giant grade two crocodile lunged at Noah. His second ability activated in time to alert him to dodge. Noah's ethereal arms clamped the beast's jaws shut as he struggled to enfold its head. The monster performed a barrel roll, briefly submerging Noah in an attempt to shake him off. Noah resurfaced coughing, spluttering out seawater he had inadvertently swallowed. The various colored glowing jellyfish still illuminated the ocean in the area, allowing him to see clearly.

The giant crocodile attempted another roll. This time, Noah was prepared for it, holding his breath as he submerged. His eyes widened in surprise. They were still glowing purple from his [Battle Instinct] ability being activated. There was a school of devil-fish approaching underwater, attracted by his [Rite of Awakening].

"Fuck." Noah swore softly.