"Arch Sage Dran," Cliff got down on one knee and bowed. "I'm Cliff Gail. It's an honor to finally meet you in person."

"There's no need for formalities," Dran said, raising Cliff to his feet. "Honor is all mine to meet one of Gramise's disciples." He then cuffed his hand and the two shook.

After releasing his hand he turned to the others. Allisa, Max, Melvin and Nel were present along with Mira. Yuki had gone off with Rowin to discuss something in private.

"It's very good to see all of you again." He said to them, "And it's good to see you're getting along with the Hunters."

"So you did know about them?" Melvin said with a look of annoyance.

"A little heads up would have been nice," Max said with an equally annoyed look.

"It would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?" Dran said as a joke.

"That's the master for you," Mira said, giggling.

"Don't have to tell me," Melvin said with exhaustion.

"Um... hate to cut to the chase, but I'd like to know why I'm here." Allisa interrupted raising her hand.

"Since you've gone through the trouble of calling us back, I assume something serious has come up," Nel said.

"No, no," Dran said, "at least I hope not," He then muttered under his breath. He then gave Allisa a smile. "I have good news. There is someone very important who wants to meet you."

Allisa didn't like the sound of this. "Who?"

"Arch sage Elaina of Cakara."

"A-Arch Sage who? Another one?!" Allisa then recalled that Melvin and Nel mentioned something about there being five other arch sages.

"Why does she want to meet Allisa?" Nel asked in Allisa's place, "After all, I've heard she usually doesn't make these sorts of requests."

"True," Dran said, "but she's expressed some..." he hesitated before he spoke again, "Interest in Allisa so she's asked to meet her."

"Me?" Allisa said, not liking the way it was phrased. "What for?"

"Well you are a special case, so it's not that surprising that the others would want to meet you."

Allisa didn't like Dran's use of the words 'special case.'

"But why Arch Sage Elaina?" Melvin asked. "If anyone, I thought it would be old man Ondwill in Miltesa."

"Who?" Max asked.

"The Arch Sage of Miltesa," Melvin said in a tone that indicated that Max should know this.

"Um... Who is this Elaina anyway?" Allisa asked.

"Arch Sage Elaina of Cakara," Nel answered, "one of the most powerful figures in the country, both in magical and political terms. She also has a group of all-female aids by her side that's said to possess power equal to that of Rosarian knights. Of course, that's all rumors, besides that, even I don't know much about her."

"Cakara?" Allisa recalled back to when Nel explained the countries of Avalon, and vaguely remembered the name. "Where was it again?"

"To the South. It's a peninsula that borders the Miltesa Empire to the west. It's one of the few countries that's not run by humans. That's all I can say, I don't know much since I've never been to the country before."

"Not humans? So who are the people there?"

"Cait sith, a hybrid of Human and cat."

"Human and... Cat?" Allisa didn't see that possible.

"You'll know when you see them." Nel said, "But I will say that they look more human than whatever you have in your head."

"I kinda have an idea," Cliff said, scratching his head.

"So, I guess we're going to Cakara?" Max said, putting his hands over his head.

"Looks that way," Melvin said, sounding excited. "Always wanted to go. Cait sith girls are some of the cutest girls in the world."

"Well, I finally get to see Avalon so I'm pretty pumped," Cliff said cheerfully.

"You've never been before?" Allisa asked.

"Nope. Since we hunt criminals in Terra, we rarely have to come to Avalon. Course there are some circumstances," He then turned to Dran. "You met Mirage and Jack, right?"

"Jack?" Allisa, Max and Melvin muttered, not recognizing the name.

"That's right." Dran nodded. "You're the 4th of Gramis's disciples I've meet."

Just then, Yuki and Rowin showed up, walking in from a private room.

"There you are," Max said to Yuki. "What were you talking about?"

"None of your business pyro," Yuki said in his usual grumpily manner, which earned him a glare from Max. "So what was this all about?"

"The Arch Sage Elaina wants to meet Allisa." Nel summarized.

"Who?"

"The Arch sage of Cataka," Rowin muttered. He then turned to Allisa. "I wish you the best of luck with her." He had a very concerned face.

"What does that mean?" Allisa said.

"You'll find out when you meet her," Dran said, which didn't make Allisa feel any better. "Anyway, you should get a move on. We've taken the liberty to book your passage to Cataka. Your ship will be departing this afternoon."

"Ship? We're going by boat?" Allisa said, sounding a little excited.

"It would be the fastest way," Nel said.

"Great!" Cliff said slapping his hands together. "Always wanted to sail. Man, This is so exciting I don't think I can hold it in."

****

"Bluuhh," Cliff hulled out the contents of this stomach to the ocean below.

"You're right, You really couldn't hold it in," Yuki said, laughing

"I'll say," Melvin said giggling, "and you were so looking forward to this."

Cliff emerged from the side of the boat looking pale and drenched in sweat. "I'll," he burped and held his mouth, "kill you... if you don't... Shut up..." He then leaned over the boat and hurled again. How was he supposed to know he would get seasick?

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Yuki said, patting him on the back, "we're not out of the harbor yet." He said with a large grin on his face.

"Either... shut up... or at least have the decency to kill me."

Yuki pretended to think. "I don't know, seeing you puke your guts outs too priceless to pass by."

"I'll... definitely," Cliff then burped and held his mouth. "...Kill you... when we're on dry land."

Allisa stood by the railing, watching as the ship pulled from the harbor. The ship was a strange design, crossed between a steam and sail ship. Apparently, it ran both ways and had creatures in the engine room, which ran on large hamster wheels to drive the generator like device. Despite her foreboding of the long trip, she was actually excited for the journey. This would be her first time to ever travel by sea so the experience was quite exciting. Also, even though she didn't necessarily act the part, she was glad to be back in Avalon. It was strange, but she felt more at home here than she ever did back home.

Max then came up from behind her. "You look cheerful." He said.

"First time on a boat," Allisa answered, not looking away from the view, "can't help but feel I'm a little girl again."

"You never sailed before?" Max asked, leaning on the railing alongside Allisa.

"You've seen my home town, it's not like I can go sailing whenever I want." Allisa looked out to the harbor with a large grin on her face. "Only time I've ever gone away was when my Gran took me to England when I was young."

"England?"

"Um..." Allisa thought of how to describe it. "It's an island to the... east. Even then I went by plane. Um... a plane is a vehicle that flies in the air." Allisa said, anticipating Max's next question.

"Seriously! How's that work?"

"Don't ask me." Allisa let out a sigh, "Sure miss her,"

Max then remembered Allisa mentioning that her Grandma was dead so he avoided asking the stupid question of what happened. "You must've been close."

Allisa nodded. "What about your family?" she asked. "You never really talk about them." she then nervously looked up thinking of how personal the question was. "Y-you doesn't have to! I-I mean-"

"Na it's cool." Max smiled at her. "Let's see. My parents were both adventurers, so they traveled a lot. So my sis raised me for most of my life." he then leaned his back against the railing as he looked up to the sky. "She was a kind girl. Kinda bossy, but always looked out for me."

"You sounded close," Allisa said.

"Yeah," Max said. "She was more a mom to me than my actual mom. If she was alive today she'd be..." Max ran through his fingers as he struggled to count, "um... probably Nel's age."

Allisa giggled. "Kinda wish I had a sister like that instead of my annoying brother."

"Don't talk much about him."

"Well, he's a year older than Melvin, but way more immature. He whines when he doesn't get his way when he was younger. He calls me names and does his best to piss me off. Need I go on?"

"No, you made your point." He then glanced a lookout to sea over his shoulder. "So... What about your parents."

"Not much to say," Allisa said. "My dads a cop, and is the chief of the town so he's busy most of the time. My mom's unemployed so she stays at home most of the time. That said, I don't think I get along with either of them that well. My dad's the usual kinda dad a teenage girl in my world has, strict and controlling. My mom's a bit more open minded, and it's not like we argue that much, but I don't talk to her all that much." She then extended her right hand over the ocean and stared at it blankly, "Kinda makes me scared what they would do if they found out about all this, about me."

"Allisa..." Max put his hand to his scar.

They were then interrupted by the horrible sound of Cliff throwing up, again.

"And he was so looking forward to this." Allisa sighed. "Kinda feel sorry for him."

"I wonder if he's gonna last," Max said.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Nel then walked up behind the two.

"Oh, hey." Allisa greeted.

"You two seem pretty close," Nel said, pointing at the two of them with her fingers, gesturing them together.

"Close?" Max and Allisa looked at each other and went red.

"No, No, we're not, you know!" Allisa stuttered.

"Y-yeah! We're not, you know, that!" Max stuttered.

"Oh, really? Nel then took out a book, awkwardly titled 'Sexual relationships, the basic signs.' "Maybe I misread." She muttered.

"WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE YOU READING?!" Allisa exclaimed, turning red. She knew Nel had a strange library which she insisted was for research purposes.

"I never really understood human interactions so I picked up a couple of these social books to get better at recognizing social conventions in your world."

"Aren't you human?" Max asked rhetorically.

"I didn't have a childhood like you two or the others. I was raised to kill so I never really experienced these sorts of things like you."

"Oh... Right," Allisa muttered, feeling a little bad.

"Must have been pretty rough," Max said.

"I don't think I can say it was, after all, it was the only life I knew." Nel said to her, "So I've never really been big on the concept of friendships or non-professional relationships before I started traveling with all of you."

Allisa couldn't even imagine what kind of life Nel must have lived prior to meeting her, being brought up and trained to be a killer from birth.

Nel then consulted the book she held in her hands, reading a passage.

"Did you seriously bring that from my world?" Allisa asked.

"I anticipated that we would be journeying so I brought a number back with me. Good thing too, help pass the time."

"Speaking of which, how long will it take to reach Cataka?"

"I'd say about 4 days."

Allisa was expecting it to be longer.

"Ah! I was right!" Nel pointed to a passage in her book. "If a boy asked personal questions about your life, such as families, then that usually indicates that he has some desire too-"

Allisa snatched the book from Nel's hands and threw it into the ocean.

"That wasn't nice."

"I would have burnt it," Max said.

Allisa took one last look out at Riser, which was getting smaller as the boat progressed. "I'm gonna look round." She announced as she departed.

****

The ship was pretty big, similar in design to late 18th-century European ships from Terra. The design was drastically different though, with the massive paddles on the side of the ship along with a sail. The ship was mostly made of wood, with a few metal plates here and there. The ship had a number of interesting people on board.

As Allisa walked into the ship's mess hall, she spotted several people with weapons, such as swords and axes and spears, and two people with staff. The owners ranged from brutish looking thugs to generally normal looking individuals. For example, one of the people, who had a massive bastard sword by his side, was a short, cheerful-looking man with spiky ginger hair. Allisa could tell that all these people were adventurers like her.

After the mess hall, Allisa walked to the doors to find her room and bumped into a woman on the way. "S-Sorry."

"Na, it's fine." The woman she bumped into replied.

She was about Nel's age with short chestnut hair that was spiked up as though she hadn't washed it, and a small scar on her left cheek. That was nothing unusual though given the collection of strange looking individuals she saw earlier. The unusual part was when she passed by and Allisa caught a glimpse of what was strapped to her back.

"Wh-What the-?!"

The woman stopped and looked back at Allisa who was pointing at the object on her back.

"Is that a... Gun?"

"Yep," the woman nodded as she took it out before her. "ST 40, the latest model with automatic fire." She said with a sense of confidence.

The object was undoubtedly the shape of a rifle Allisa could see back at home. The barrel was square and metal with a grip below along with what looked like a magazine. The woman didn't look too puzzled by Allisa's reaction. "You're from Rosaria, right?"

"Y-Yeah," Allisa lied.

"Thought so," the woman held up the rifle in her hands, "don't see many of these in Rosaria. Mostly stuff like swords and bows," She then turned to the door behind her.

"H-Hold on," Allisa called out, still pointing at the gun, "C-Could I have a look?"

"Sure," the woman said, "This is my room," she announced as she opened the door, "by the way, name Kira." She introduced herself.

"Allisa."

****

She'd never held a gun before so it was difficult to tell if there was any difference. The weapon was particularly heavy in comparison to her sword that weighed absolutely nothing. Allisa was amazed that guns like this even existed in Avalon. When she asked, Kira gave her a strange look as though it was supposed to be common knowledge. Allisa came up with an excuse that she was from a very rural area so she didn't know much about the outside world. It would be a lot easier to try and explain she was actually from another world entirely.

"Sounds tough," Kira said as Allisa finished her explanation. "Don't know much about it personally, but the Empire is very heavy on technology, looking for ways to reduce the reliance of magic or some other crap like that. They got some neat stuff you don't find anywhere else in the world," she then pointed to the gun in Allisa's hands. "like that baby there."

Allisa studied the gun again. If what she said was true, then the technological gap between the worlds was smaller than she had realized. While her first impressions of Avalon were an old medieval-era world, there had been occasions where things seemed out of place from what she had first thought. Now that she was looking at an automatic rifle, something that didn't even exist in her world during the medieval period, she clearly had to rethink her impression of the world.

"By the way, what's your weapon?" Kira asked, breaking Allisa's train of thought.

"Huh?"

"You're an adventurer like me, right? Gotta have something to defend ya self with."

"Oh, um..." Guess it would be ok to show her. Allisa put the rifle down and summoned her sword.

Kira jumped back in surprise, "No way! A spirit weapon!" She then inspected the blade with an intense fascination. "H-How the Hell you get one?"

"Spirit weapon?"

"Seriously, you don't know that either?" she leaned back on her bed, "You really are a country bumpkin."

She then let out a sigh before thinking of her explanation. "Spirit weapons are what the Elf's use. Unlike regular weapons, they can be summoned by its wielder at a moment's notice. They either carry it around as a small object or keep it in their bodies like you."

"Oh... really?" Allisa studied her sword.

"That said, it's usually impossible for humans to possess one since the weapons are real picky over who can use them."

"Picky?"

Kira held out her hand, gesturing to Allisa to give her Excalibur. Allisa compiled and Kira held it out. The blade then disappeared from her grip and reappeared in Allisa's hand.

"See," she said as she put her hand down, "It only recognizes you as its wielder. No one else." she then scratched her head, "Leaves the question on how you got your hands on one."

"Well, it kinda was by accident. I just found it one day." That wasn't a lie. She did just stumble upon it one day.

"Well ya one lucky chick," Kira said, grabbing her rifle and putting it to one side. "Most people would kill for a spirit weapon. They're said to possess power beyond normal human standards."

"Wow," Allisa said as she disagreed with her sword. "I had no idea," Allisa said.

"Mind if I ask ya something?"

"Sure,"

"Kinda wanted to know why ya headed to Cataka."

"Um..." Allisa thought it would be best if she kept the fact that she was visiting the country's Arch Sage a secret. "You know... wanted to check the place out."

"Ahh," Kira said in a cheeky tone that reminded her of Lucy. "Scoping out the guys huh?"

"No! Nothing like that!" Allisa said on reflex.

"Aw, just yanking ya chain," Kira said laughing. "Gotta man already huh?"

"S-So why are you going?" Allisa said, trying to change the topic from her nonexistent love life.

"Me?" Kira stroked the side of her face. "Well, I'm lookin for someone who's supposed to be there." she said, "It's kinda personal so I can't really go into detail with a complete stranger and all."

"Oh... S-Sorry."

"No sweat," Kira said with a smile. She then leaned back in her bed. "Well, I'm hittn the hay."

"Ok, I'll see ya around," Allisa said as she left Kira's room.

"See ya," Kira waved as she left. "What a weird kid." She said when she left. She then pulled out a picture from her back pocket and studied it. "Hope you're there, Ellie."

****

Cliff looked half-dead as he lay on his bed.

"You sure he'll be ok?" Allisa asked.

"Can't answer you there," Melvin replied.

Currently, Allisa was in the boy's cabin that was booked by Dran. Allisa and Nel were to bunk in a different cabin. For the moment, Nel had insisted that they have a 'team meeting' to discuss their plan of action after they arrive.

"This is where we'll be arriving," Nel said, pointing to a map of Cataka in front of her. "From here, we go down the river until we reach the capital. It's the easiest and quickest route."

"Assuming nothing goes wrong," Melvin added.

"Don't jinx us," Yuki said. He was lying on his cot near Cliff.

"Have to admit, we do find trouble easily."

"So what?" Max said confidently. "Anything comes up, I'll burn it away."

"Wish I shared your optimism," Melvin said to him.

"Everyone got the plan?" Nel asked. Max, Melvin and Yuki nodded while Cliff let out a mummer. "Allisa?" Allisa stared blankly at the map as though she had something else on her mind. "Allisa?"

"Huh?" Allisa snapped back to reality. "Oh... um, yeah, I got it." she nodded.

"What's on your mind?" Nel asked.

"Well," Allisa stroked the back of her head, "I never really asked, but who are the other Arch Sages?"

"The others?"

"You said there were five right." she then raised her fingers. "There's Dran," she then lowered one finger, "And then this Elaina that was going to meet. I was kinda curious about the others."

"I was wondering too," Max said, putting his hands over his head. "These guys are supposed to be as powerful as the old geezer right. But I don't know one."

"I've only met one other," Melvin said to them, "Old man Ondwill of Miltesa."

"Ondwill?" Allisa recalled Melvin mentioning the name before they departed.

"I was kinda expecting him to be wanting to meet you before any of the others," Melvin said. "Knowing him though, he probably forgot."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ondwill is the oldest man in Avalon." Nel explained, "This year he will be 147."

"One hundred and forty-Seven!!!" Allisa and Max blurted out together.

"That's even older than the Elder!" Max said.

"Both in age and mind," Melvin added, "I was in Miltesa for two weeks and he didn't remember my name once." He said with a hint of annoyance in his voice, "Hell, sometimes he even forgot who I was. I kept having to explain to him over and over."

"Despite his age, he is considered the most powerful wizard in the world." Nel continued on, "In fact, he holds an incredible amount of political power amongst the imperial court, and is the headmaster of the Miltasa academy of magic."

"Wow, sounds like a busy man," Allisa said. She then looked back on the map. "So, what about the other two?"

"Well in Kugarat there's-"

"Arch Sage Kaguya." Yuki finished for Nel. "She's also known as the country's second ruler, with political power equal to the Shogun."

Everyone looked surprised by Yuki's sudden insight. In fact, he'd been so quiet, everyone had forgotten he was even in the room. Suddenly, a Small Cerberus then landed on Yuki's face, scratched his face before leaping to Melvin.

"Why is that mutt out?!" Yuki yelled as he was about to draw his sword.

"Cerberus loves boats," Melvin said as Cerberus rushed to his side, "so I always bring him out when I sail."

"Why! You don't need him?"

"You're not a pet person are ya?" Melvin said.

"Sure it's ok for him to be out though?" Allisa asked Melvin. "What if someone sees him. They might think he's a monster and try to kill him."

"Don't worry about that. I'll just tell them that he's my familiar."

"And with any luck, they'll throw him overboard," Yuki grumbled as Cerberus launched at him and bit his hand. "OW!!!" As Yuki flayed around the room to shake off Cerberus, Cliff, still lying down, punched him out as he passed his bed.

"You're too loud...." He grumbled as he lay covering his mouth.

"So who's the last?" Allisa asked, bringing the topic back, "the fifth Arch Sage."

"That's... a good question," Melvin said. "The last one's the Arch sage and leader of the elves in Aquia. But, I have no idea who it is."

"That's because he died 6 years ago." Nel said, "or rather, he was murdered."

"Murdered?!" Allisa was shocked.

"I don't really know the details, but they haven't replaced him yet. Apparently, the line of succession in Aquia is very complex compared to the others."

"Do they at least know the killer?" Melvin asked Nel.

"If they do, they haven't shared it." She replied, "The Elf's have a deep distrust of humans. I don't know the exact details, but it goes back to the age of conflict 1500 years ago."

"That long?" Allisa said.

"What did we do that was so bad?" Max asked.

"Think it was some kind of massacre or just plain prejudice," Melvin said, stroking Cerberus in his hands. "It's the reason why you don't see many elves traveling out of Aquia."

"Oh, really?" Allisa thought back to two she saw in Enser in what felt like a lifetime ago. Those were the only two elves she saw since coming to Avalon. Are they really that rare outside their country?

"Anyway," Nel got up from her seat, "It will still be four days until we make port."

"Four Daaaayyysss," Cliff groaned. "I don't think I can.... Last that long,"

"We're sharing rooms with him, right?" Max asked Melvin with dread.

"Unfortunately," Melvin said, not hiding his disdain for bunking with Max and Yuki.

"We should take our leave then," Nel said to Allisa, who was still spaced out. Rather than saying her name again, Nel grabbed Allisa and dragged her out with her. "Let's go."

"Hey! I can walk you know!" Allisa schemed as Nel tugged her out the door leaving the boys alone in their cabin.

****

She couldn't sleep that night. She spent her time looking at her right hand as the boat gently rocked her. Just over three mounts, it almost felt time a lifetime ago when she found Excalibur. At this point, she could only think of what her life would have been like if it continued normally. Though at first, that's what she wanted more than anything. But now, sometimes she was scared that this was all just a dream, and she'd wake up to her boring life.

Nel was already asleep lying in the bed opposite hers. It was difficult to tell if she was sleeping since she lay completely still with her weapons besides her. It was like she was expecting someone to attack her at any moment so she was ready to snap into action. At times, Allisa couldn't help imagining what kind of life she lived before she was sent to find her. In fact, she's the one who introduced her to this life, showing up out of nowhere to save her before another assassin could kill her. That seemed so long ago now, and now she was back in Avalon after barely any time at all. What was more, she was glad to be back. This world made more sense to her than hers. It was freer, with what you'd see in fiction come to life, where the impossible became possible.

Maybe I should just stay here?

That was on her mind for a while now. Living two lives from her family was hard, and she was drawn more to her second life than her original. It wasn't a bad idea, embrace one and discard the other. So why couldn't she? Why was she so intent on keeping her old life going? As she lay, thoughts upon thoughts swelled around her head keeping her awake. If she had to choose the life to live, which would she choose? The one she had before, living the life of a normal teenage girl, or the one that was imposed on her by unforeseen powers she couldn't even begin to understand.

The Kraken

I was awoken from my slumber rather forcefully. On a cold winter's day, a messenger came out of breath. There I am escorted to the dungeons, accompanied by two of my knights. There, sleeping in a dark cell, something that I had never in my wildest dreams seen before. inside was a tall, slender woman, dressed in a cloak with long flowing hair and clear blue eyes. Embedded in her forehead was a blue gem, and most shockingly was her ears, which were pointed. Whomever she was, she was not of this world.

I was told that she was found close to Calalot in a daze. When approached, it was as though the very element of water turned on my men. Only after Lancelot and David arrived did she collapse.

As we conversed, she awoke, looked straight at me, and with a tearful smile, she bowed.

"You… You're the goddesses chosen." She said in our tongue.

"I am King Arthur of England." I introduce myself, "To whom might you be?"

The woman then stood. Held in place by her shackles that bound her to the cage. "My name is Rina, and I've been searching for you."

"Me? What do you wish of me?"

"To save my world from chaos."

****

Allisa groaned as she got up from her bed, her head pounding away again. Another vision which didn't make the lick of sense, it was nothing out of the ordinary for her at this point. Of course, the headache she got afterward was not a plus from the random nightmares she got before, although they seemed to be getting worse recently. Holding her head, she looked to the bed opposite hers and saw it was empty.

"She's up already?" Allisa groaned.

Since the ship had no clocks, she couldn't tell if it was early in the morning. She'd been at sea for three days now. According to Nel, sometime tomorrow, they would be docking at Cataka. It had been a pretty uneventful voyage so far, smooth sailing all the way. Cliff had improved after the first day, but he wasn't in any shape to move. Melvin had Cerberus out for the entire voyage, much to Yuki's cringe. Apparently, he could keep Cerberus out for days in his small form compared to his battle form.

Allisa spent most of the days looking out into the ocean. The feeling of excitement that she was sailing still hadn't gone and she still felt like a little girl again, watching the ocean in front of her, feeling the breeze on her face, even if it was a completely different ocean. Today they were supposed to pass by Miltesa, the nation that bordered Cataka, the first land she had seen since departing Riser. Since this was her first time at sea, she was very excited.

Suddenly, the ship rocked violently, throwing Allisa out of bed. "Ow..." she moaned as she got back to her feet. "What was that?"

The ship rocked again, this time more violently, knocking Allisa down again. As Allisa struggled to her feet once again, there was a crashing sound coming from the room next to hers, followed by screaming.

"What's going on?"

Allisa summoned her sword and kicked her door open and ran to the next cabin and slammed the door open. It was empty, with a massive hole in the wall.

"What the hell..."

Allisa turned and saw Kira standing behind her, her rifle at hand. "What happened?"

"No idea?" Allisa replied.

The boat then shook again, knocking both girls off their feet.

"What the hecks doing that?" Kira said as she struggled to her feet.

"You two!" one of the sailors approached the girls, a spear in hand, "You're adventurers right?" There was a sense of urgency in his voice.

"What's going on?" Allisa asked.

"Some kinda monster?" Kira asked.

"Yeah, a-" a massive tentacle then smashed through the space before them, twirled around and grabbed the man.

"Oh Crap!!" Kira let out a quick burst from her gun, which impacted on the tentacle, puncturing small holes in its slippery skin. However, it did no real damage and it departed with the man still in its grasp. "Shit!"

"Wh-What was that?" Allisa said, startled by what she saw.

"Don't know," Kira said as she ejected the magazine from her gun and inserted a fresh clip. "But it sure doesn't look friendly."

****

The violent rocking nearly shaken Nel off her feet. Either through instincts, training or reflexes she managed to stay up. Melvin wasn't so lucky and was sent into the railing, hitting his head.

"Son of a..." he grumbled as he rubbed his head, "What was that?"

"Got me there,"

Looking out, the sea was incredibly calm and it was a clear day with little clouds, so it was unlikely that they hit a wave. However, Nel was feeling uneasy, as though there was something that was about to attack them. And In her experience, her bad feelings seemed to have a habit of coming true. A second later, she found that this time was no different.

Giant tentacles then shot out from the ocean and started hammering the decks of the ship. "What the?!" Ned grabbed Melvin's collar and leaped out of the way as one of the tentacles swung at the two. She threw Melvin out of the way and drew her short blade, and ducked as the tentacle waved overhead and slashed the skin. She made a small insertion before jumping back again.

Damn! The skin’s too thick!

"Firebolt!" Melvin launched his spell against the tentacle, able to blast out a chunk of meat from it, causing the tentacle to retreat. "What's going on?" He asked as he surveyed his surroundings.

The deck was in utter chaos, with adventures and sailors battling frantically against the swarm of tentacles that surrounded the ship.

"A Kraken?" Nel muttered, "Here?" She then leaped towards Melvin, narrowly avoiding a tentacle that lashed out at her. "You still have Cerberus out?" she asked.

"Of course," Melvin answered, knowing what Nel was planning. He looked down to the small Cerberus, who was standing beside him growling.

"I'm not going to be much use against these. The skin's too thick for me to cut through."

"Don't worry." He pointed his wand forward at the deck. "Ready boy?"

Cerberus let out a bark before leaping in front of him.

"Alright, Battle Form!"

A torrent of flames gathered around Cerberus as he was engulfed. A moment later, the flames subsided, and Cerberus was now in his battle form, towering over Melvin.

"See if you can thin them out!" Melvin commanded.

A tentacle lashed at Cerberus, who spun into a cartwheel and sliced through the thick skin before coming to a halt. Three more tentacles converged on Cerberus, who leaped back, firing fireballs from his mouth, blasting holes in them before returning to a cartwheel to hack them down. The tentacles then started to ease up on the others on deck and began focusing its attention on Cerberus. The survivors used the opportunity to regroup and get the wounded out while fending off the incoming tentacles that weren't focused on Cerberus.

****

"A what?" Allisa said.

"Kraken. A big ass squid." Kira repeated herself. "Ya must have heard of them, right?"

"Kinda," Allisa saw a Kraken in a movie and remembered thinking that she was glad that the thing didn't exist. And now I'm fighting one? Just my luck.

Kira ejected the magazine that was in her gun and inserted one with a red line. "Can't believe I have'ta use these now."

"What are they?"

"Explosive rounds." Kira replied, "only got five of these on me so I save em for special occasions. But you saw what ordinary bullets did."

Allisa looked to her sword in her hand. Will this be enough?

The boat rocked again, nearly tripping the girls over. Making their way through the ship to the deck had been difficult due to the damage and the ship shaking. Now that they were close to the deck they could hear the chaos up top.

"Sounds like a real party up there," Kira said.

"You, um... ever fight this kinda thing before?"

"Nope. I just know that it can drag this ship to hell."

You're not helping!

The girls reached the door to the upper deck and Kira looked to Allisa. "Hope ya ready. No tellin what's happnin."

"I'll be fine. I've been through worse." Allisa replied. I hope. She thought to herself.

Suddenly, something smashed through the wall behind them. as they looked back, they saw a tentacle lashing at them. "OH CRAP!!" Kira was about to fire when Allisa stopped her.

"Back me up!" As the tentacles got closer, Allisa lowered her hips and held her sword in both hands. Hope this works....

When the tentacle got close enough, Allisa slashed upwards. The blade sliced through the skin like it was nothing, severing it. The remainder slipped back out of view.

"It worked!" she then felt something wet and sticky touch her leg and she leaped back in shock.

She then saw that it was the part of the tentacle that she cut off, still slithering on the ground like a snake until it finally stopped moving.

"Not bad," Kira said whistling, "guess you do know your way around."

"I've... had a lotta practice recently." She said with a hint of exhaustion, recalling her recent brush with death three weeks ago.

"Well, keep ya head down and avoid being dragged down." It wasn't sure if Kira was encouraging, or warning. Either way, it made Allisa feel more worried.

****

Max turned in his bed, not noticing the ship rocking.

"Meaaaat," He muttered, grabbing something in his sleep and taking a bit out of it.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

A foot then kicked him in the head, ramming him into the wall, waking him up. "Ahhh! What was that for?!" he yelled at Yuki.

"YOU BIT ME YOU ANIMAL!!!!" Yuki yelled, holding his hand with teeth marks.

"Uh... that's why the meat tasted bad..." Max said, covering his mouth, "Feel like I wanna barf."

A vain in Yuki's forehead bulged. "Why you," he reached for his sword to the side of his bed. As he did, he realized he was on the floor, and his sword was out of his reach, "Huh?" He looked round in Confusion, "How'd I get here?"

"Finally awake..." Cliff moaned, lying face down on the floor. "Boat's been rocking.... I can't take this anymore...."

Max then realized he had fallen out of his bed like Yuki. "Hit a wave or something?"

"Don't Know.... Can't move... Hate this stupid boat."

The ship then rocked again, throwing Max, Yuki and the prone Cliff around.

"They having some kinda party?" Yuki said, getting up and picking up his sword.

"One way to find out." Max picked Cliff up and slung him over his shoulders with ease, despite Cliff being larger than him.

"Why are you taking me?" Cliff muttered.

"Fresh air will do ya good," Max said as he walked out the door.

"What good has it done me?" Cliff moaned, covering his mouth, "I'm... never sailing again...."

****

Nel ducked as one of the tentacles lashed at her. She then quickstepped to avoid another that nearly grabbed her leg, repapering on the lower mast of the ship.

"Damn that was close,"

Against this foe she was useless. Then again, it went to the rest of the people on the ship. No matter how many tentacles were cut off, more and more seemed to take its place, something that just didn't seem right.

The only way to ensure Kraken's death was to destroy the main body, which Nel guessed was under the ship. They needed someone to go underneath to kill the creature, something that wasn't likely with the people assembled on deck, not unless they were prepared to die. The only person who could go down and take the creature out was Max.

"Where's that idiot when we need him?"

Looking around she saw Allisa coming to deck with another adventurer with a gun. Max was still nowhere to be seen.

If he's still asleep I'll kill him,

Just then, the mast shock as one of the tentacles wrapped itself around the base and started crushing the wood in its grip.

****

Allisa ducked as one of the tentacles lashed at her and slashed in with her sword. A second tentacle lunged for her, but she sidestepped out of its grip and cut through it. As the tentacle retracted, a third lunged at Allisa, who ducked and sliced through it.

Behind her was Kira, who was letting out shots at the tentacles, blowing large chunks from them with her exploding rounds from her gun. She only sent one shot at a time, and only when she had a clear shot. Across the deck, everyone was putting up a fight.

Some managed to slice off the attacking tentacles with their weapons, raining from sword to axes, even using mana attacks like projections. There were also three wizards on board, besides Melvin, using magic to thin out the tentacles. However, no matter how much they cut it didn't even seem to make a dent in the monster.

"This is nuts," Allisa jumped out of the way as another tentacle lashed at her, and stuck her blade into it, pinning it to the deck. Should I use Azure Flame?

The tug of the tentacle nearly made Allisa fall over and she let go of her blade, causing it to disappear and free it from the deck. It then curled around Allisa's leg and tugged her to the ground.

"Crap!"

Allisa summoned her blade back to cut herself free, but the tentacle dragged her along the deck and was about to take her out to sea. However, a shot came from behind her, followed by an explosion that blasted it, showering Allisa in its meat and slime.

"Thank me later," Kira said behind her, pulling Allisa from the ground.

"T-Thanks," Allisa nodded, brushing off some of the meat from her. Her clothes were now soaked due to the spray from the sea, and she could feel her top clinging tightly to her skin, making her feel a little awkward.

Kira ejected the magazine from her gun and inserted an ordinary clip. "Shit, that was the last one!"

Without warning, she shoved Allisa aside and opened fire at a tentacle that had appeared behind her. The bullets punched holes into the skin, forcing it back. When the gun ran dry, the tentacle lashed at her. Allisa pushed Kira aside and struck up, cutting the tentacle, making its remains slip back into the sea.

"Thanks. We're even."

Suddenly, the ship rocked violently again, knocking nearly everyone on deck off their feet. Allisa found herself tumbling over towards the edge of the deck. As she struggled back to her feet a tentacle, wrapped itself around her waist. Before she could react, the thing pulled her away, nearly dragging her overboard. Nel however, appeared and grabbed Allisa's hand, while using her free hand to embed her dagger into the deck of the ship. Allisa quickly slashed through the tentacle with her sword. She then flopped forwards onto Nel.

"Are you alright?" Nel asked.

"Yeah," Allisa gasped as she caught her breath.

"Yo," Kira ran towards Allisa, her rifle still in hand. "That was close! You ok?"

"I'm fine." Allisa dragged herself up.

As she did, more tentacles than lashed at the girls. However, just as they were about to strike, a torrent of flames passed overhead and scorched through most of the tentacles on the left side of the ship.

****

"Crap!!" Melvin leaped out of the way as another tentacle lashed at him and launched a fireball at it. Another then lashed out at him, and he fired another ball at it. "How many are there? This is insane!"

"Tell me about it!" one of the adventurers said, using his zweihander to cut the incoming tentacles, "Feels like we've been doing this for ages!"

Cerberus then lands close to Melvin, letting out a shot of fire from his mouth.

"Hanging in there boy?"

Cerberus gave a nod to Melvin.

"Glad you're here," the man said to Melvin, "weren't for that mutt, we'd be dead already."

"I'm not gonna be able to keep him out for long. At the rate he's been going, I'd give it another minute before he disappears."

As the two talked, more tentacles shot from the sea and lashed out towards the two. The man with the bastard sword was about to cut them when the tentacles suddenly fell to the deck, the tip sliced clean through.

****

"Hey, looks like breakfast came to us!"

"You'd eat anything, wouldn't you pyro."

"Please shut up.... Looking at this makes me sick...."

Everyone looked at the three men standing at the entrance to the lower decks, all three of which Allisa, Nel and Melvin instantly recognized, and was pretty annoyed with for not being with them from the start of this fiasco.

"About time! Allisa said sounding annoyed, "Where have they been?"

"A very good question," Nel said.

"Those your other friends?" Kira asked Allisa.

"Yep,"

Max and Yuki stood side by side at the entrance. Max was clicking his knuckles while Yuki had his blade drawn. Behind them was the seasick Cliff, resting on the side of the ship covering his mouth.

"Where the hell have you been?!!" Melvin yelled.

"Sleeping," Both Max and Yuki said.

"There... Kidden, right?" Kira asked Nel and Allisa. Both girls didn't reply, but simply bowed their heads in exhaustion and annoyance.

Cliff tried to speak, but just collapsed to the ground instead, almost throwing up on deck.

"So What's going on?" Max asked.

"What does it look like!! We're under attack by a Kraken you idiots!!" Melvin yelled, pointing his wand towards the sea of tentacles, "How could you two sleep through this?!"

"A What?!" Cliff managed to say before covering his mouth.

"Ain't that a giant squid?" Yuki said scratching his head, "Think they make large takoyaki out of the tentacles back home."

"Seriously?" Max said salivating, "Man, that makes me hungry. Think we could grill it afterward."

"We'll need one hell of a grill for that."

Allisa and Nel buried their faces in embarrassment as they heard Max and Yuki talking about cooking the monster.

"Are those guy's, talking about food?" Kira asked, trying not to laugh.

"Yes," Both Nel and Allisa replied exhaustively.

Two tentacles then lashed at the guy's from the right, while three came from the left. Yuki drew his blade out, slicing through the two on the right tentacles effortlessly in one movement. Max, on the other hand, let out a fire roar that roasted the three that came at him.

"Ok," he said grinning as he flared his hands, "winner gets the most grilled squid."

"And that'll be me," Yuki replied grinning.

On that, the two rushed to their respective sides and started attacking the tentacles that were assaulting the ship. The next few seconds transitioned the desperate struggle that had been to a two-man freak show as Max and Yuki made short work thinning out the tentacles. On the left, Max blasted several tentacles with each of his attacks. Whatever came at him was fired and forced back into the sea with molten meat and bone left. On the Right, Yuki employed his swordsmanship, slicing through waves of tentacles with fluid and effortless movement.

"Whoa, Those guys are awesome!" Kira whistled while watching.

"Guess the hero does show up at the last minute." Allisa said unamused, "Kinda wish it was sooner though."

"It won't be enough," Nel said.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you think the number of tentacles this thing has seems a bit too much?"

"Now that you mention it...." Allisa looked at Yuki and Max. It was the same as before, more and more seemed to appear no matter how many they dispatched.

Cliff then waddled behind Nel, clutching his stomach as he tried not to through up again. "So... What ya saying is...."

"I'm not sure at the moment, but it's clear that this Kraken isn't a natural one." Nel then turned to the group. "My guess is the only way to kill it is to destroy its main body."

"As interesting as this sounds," Kira interrupted, loading her gun while pointing at the ocean, "I think we got bigger problems at the moment."

Where she was pointing, two tentacles, notably bigger than the others began to rise from the sea, towering over the ship.

"What the...." Cliff muttered as he held his mouth. "What's that?"

"Nothing good," Nel said, raising her blades.

As the massive tentacles rose, everyone launched whatever they could at them. However, each attack had no effect, each one bouncing off the skin. When they reached a certain height, towering over the ship, they then descended on the center of the ship, smashing into the deck like a hammer. The force split the center ship in two, demolishing the center. The survivors were knocked off their feet, some falling into the sea. Allisa clung to whatever she could, which turned out to be the railing as the seawater washed over her. The ship was now sinking, with a massive whirlpool forming in the center.

"There!" Nel yelled. She had planted her short blade into the deck to steady herself and was now pointing at the center. As Allisa looked, she saw something in the center, circles of horn-like teeth sticking out of the sea. "It's the main body!!"

Allisa looked as she saw an unfortunate man getting caught by a tentacle and thrown into the center. As he fell, a beak could be seen poking out of the sea.

Nel regained her footing as she looked out at the creatures in the center. Melvin and Cerberus were standing alongside her. "Take it out!" she instructed him.

"Sorry," Melvin shook his head as Cerberus then poofed out, "I've reached my limit."

"Damn it!"

Max then landed behind her from some height. "We take that thing out and it's over, right?" he then charged forwards, launched in the air while flaring his fist, "Means I Wi-" before he could finish, a tentacle then swept him away, sending him flying some distance away.

"That idiot, can he think before he acts for one?" Nel moaned, burying her face in embarrassment along with Melvin. "But... He does have the right idea." She then looked to Kira nearby.

"I don't have anything that can take that down!" Kira replied.

"I'm not gonna be much help either." Melvin said, "Nearly out of mana from using Cerberus."

Allisa looked to her sword and was about to speak when something wrapped around her leg. The next thing she knew she was hauled up in the air. As she flared around, she found herself dangling by her leg over the mouth of the beast. While most would panic, Allisa found an opportunity to end this. She gripped her sword in both hands and yelled, "Azure Flame!"

"I see," Nel said as she watched Allisa's blade transform, "not a bad move given the situation."

"What'd we do?" Kira asked as she steadied her rifle.

"We need to cut the tentacles around the mouth!" Nel pointed to the mass of tentacles that seemed to grow from the skin of the beast around its circular mouth.

"All of them!" Melvin said, aiming his wand. "I don't think I got enough mana to pull it off!"

"Looks like I'm gonna win this pyro." Yuki strode past Melvin holding his sword to his side, stopped near the encroaching water line and stuck his left leg out and lowered his body. "Leave this to me." he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes while he brought his blade back, turning his body in the process.

Reijingu Mizu Stance 2:

He then brought his blade up slightly and opened his eyes sharply.

Supurasshu!

Allisa was startled as she started to drop. The tentacle that was holding her had been cut, as well as the ones that had just emerged from the beast in one strike that even continued to the other section and made a small rend in the deck.

But it was the opportunity she needed.

As she free fell she held her blade vertically along her body and collected a mass of flames across the black blade. As she got closer to the beast, seeing the beak rising out of the sea to claim her, she spun in the air and struck down with all her might towards the creature.

"Vermillion Strike!"

****

From the shoreline where the ship was just visible, a massive wave formed from the center of the ship, where the Kraken's main body was. The tentacles that had massed around the ship started to sink into the sea along with the ship.

On the cliff overlooking the sea stood a man with a black cape that covered his whole body and a pointed hat and a staff with a blue aquamarine embedded in the wood. He watched the whole thing unfold.

"So, it's over...."

Tears began to flow down his face as he muttered to himself.

"My Kraken, Stevie.... Is dead.... Its sooooo Saaaaaddddd."

He then collapsed to his knees and cried out loud.

"STEVIE!!! You did magnificently!!! I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU!!!"

He then raised his head, letting his hat fall off as he stared to the heavens.

"Rest in peace! STEEEVIEEE!!!"