Ash landed on the golden ship of Stultifera Navis. But he saw that blue veins and tendrils were spreading like wildfire.
"Tch, these seaborne really know how to cause apocalyptic scenarios." He could already imagine the corruption spreading throughout Iberia.
Then they'll turn it into a breeding ground for more seaborne. Spread all throughout the country and invade the mainland.
He snapped his fingers and they burst into flames. Something that they can't adapt to quickly, being denizens of the deep and all.
"Ifrit and Alastor are going to be great against them." He sighed as flames razed the corruption with his every step.
But the ship didn't catch fire at all. It was like the flames had a mind of their own. Only burning what is necessary.
"Now, where are they?" He walked leisurely, making sure that the ship didn't get destroyed. Taking out all the corruption he could feel.
"Hmm?" He saw a jellyfish looking seaborne that seemed different.
Ash glared at it and his violet flames sent it to oblivion.
He then waited if it would miraculously come back. But the seaborne didn't have any more tricks.
"It was the source of the nethersea brand." He checked the area where he burned it into nothing. And there was a strange energy coming from it that reminded him of the corruption.
"Let's find them first." He craned his neck as he felt the abyssal hunters. And they were currently fighting.
"I guess a few holes here and there won't matter." Ash started jogging as he left behind a human shaped hole on the walls.
__Skadi's group__
"Tch, where did this freak come from?" Irene stabbed another savage seaborne that was coming to them in droves.
'My head hurts.' Skadi glared at a jellyfish seaborne that had some traits of a Liberi. (pic)
"My queen, I am the endspeaker. Join me, and we will give the world eternal silence." It talked. Then the area went unnaturally quiet.
Specter was also spacing out in front of a mirror. The endspeaker was trying to influence her by using the hivemind.
"Oi! What the hell are you doing!?" Alfonso who was fighting tooth and nail with Irene and Garcia saw the two abyssal hunters freeze.
"I am not your queen." Skadi sobered up as she shook her head. She might have a migraine right now as something tried to speak to her.
But she still could fight. "Do not resist. It is inevitable." The endspeaker tried to reach out to her with its feelers.
Skadi slashed it away, gouging the floor of the room they were in as she gritted her teeth.
"I... Am not... One of you!" She started running towards the jellyfish seaborne and the floor cratered at her every step.
The orca tried to smash the seaborne with her giant sword. But it dodged and wrapped Skadi with its tentacles.
Skadi immediately strained against it and ripped off the tentacles. "That won't work on me!" She was getting angrier by the minute.
'You are me, I am you. Ishar-mla, it is our destiny to lead the seaborne. And bring eternal silence to the surface.' She heard a booming voice inside of her head and Skadi clutched her head in pain.
"Get out! Get out of my head!" Skadi screamed and her skin was also turning purple. The endspeaker poisoning her with its tentacles.
She breathed raggedly and Irene noticed that she wasn't in a good condition. "Get out of the way!" Irene fired her guns on the wall of seaborne that were keeping them busy.
Specter tilted her head at a reflection of herself and she heard someone inside of her head as well.
'Surrender, help the queen.' The hivemind ordered her.
'It is time Specter, I have recovered enough. Skadi needs my assistance.' A melodious voice resounded.
'Took you long enough.' Specter saw a reflection of herself. Laurentina who was wearing her abyssal hunter garbs. And don't forget the pointy hat.
'Let us sing.' Laurentina started floating and Specter clasped her hands together.
Laurentina took over her body with widened eyes and she immediately revved her weapon.
"Irene, fufufu~ I think you need a bit of help?" Laurentina chuckled at Irene's predicament.
"Are you gonna help or not!? She looks to be in bad shape!" Irene pointed at Skadi and Laurentina frowned.
She then ran towards the seaborne and cleaved through them. That was the specialty of their weapons after all. And why it was so big.
Her pizza cutter tore through them like soft dough and their guts fell down on the ground. Opening up some space for Irene to get out of the encirclement.
"I'll help them here for now, fight the seaborne." Laurentina pointed at the jellyfish that was waving around its tentacles on Skadi. Most likely trying to influence her.
Irene nodded immediately and she reloaded her guns. "Judgement!" She leaped and landed in front of Skadi.
The Liberi then unloaded her mags on the jellyfish seaborne, littering it with holes.
Skadi's mind cleared up a bit. But she hissed when she saw her arms and legs that were purple in color.
"You good?" Irene asked while keeping her eye on the endspeaker.
"Yes... And I know just what to do." Skadi could feel him. "Ash!" She shouted loudly, as an Orca. Her vocal chords were extremely strong.
"Oh yeah!" He busted through a wall like the Kool aid man. Then he frowned when he saw Skadi who was kneeling.
Ash immediately siphoned the poison and burned it. "Master!" Laurentina smiled and Ash saw the difference in her eyes. Her insanity wasn't there and he nodded at her.
"I guess we need to clean up house." Ash cracked his neck.
"Who the hell are you?" Alfonso didn't like strangers and Ash raised a brow.
"That doesn't matter you fossil, this ship is mine now." He disappeared from his place and appeared behind the endspeaker.
"So you're the source of the nethersea brand?" He gave the seaborne some pretty special treatment.
He destabilized the atomic bonds of the jellyfish and it tried lashing out with its tentacles.
Ash just looked at it and it stopped in midair like magic. "You should know this. If it's a war that you want, then it's a war that you'll get."
The seaborne started melting into goop and Irene frowned at the foul substance that dropped into the floor.
"You alright Skadi?" Ash went up to her and she nodded. But she was sweating heavily. He put a hand on her head and he could feel that there was some foreign energy trying to influence her brain.
Ash touched his forehead to hers and he saw himself in a storm in the middle of the ocean.
"Hmm, so you're Ishar-mla?" He looked at the behemoth coldly.
"Feranmut... You will not succeed, she will always belong to the sea. Even if you rid me here today, I will come back. Like I always do." The baritone voice of the behemoth resounded.
"Then you could try." He compressed it to the maximum with gravity and it turned into a little ball the size of a marble.
Ash popped it inside of his mouth and crunched on it. Thinking that damaging its ego like that would weaken the hive mind.
But something else happened instead. His eyes widened like saucers after assimilating Ishar-mla's fragment.
A lab, he has known what it looked like for years. A white and sterile background that was boring.
The smell of chemicals in the air. And machines that whirred, current experiments ongoing.
"Project Infinity has been a failure. We made an apocalyptic infection instead." Ash heard a woman talk to a colleague.
"It was risky and you know it, P*i*st**s." Ash's eyes widened when he saw the other person.
"Oh my god." He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "They made these things?" Ash blinked.
"Project FAMuli already has a 90% failure. Project Shroud boxed us in on Terra. We can't get out without giving off signals for light-years." The woman massaged her head.
"Project AMa has only one successful agent. And we only have one at that too." The man shook his head wistfully.
"It will be fine, the subject will be immortal anyways. With nanotechnology built into her, she'll be able to support us well." The woman smiled at the man.
"But what is with this new thing you are making?" The man pointed at a tank and she smiled. And Ash knew what that look means.
"She's insane, damn. That's exactly how Ho'olheyak looks like when she's pleased." Ash frowned heavily.
"I'm glad you asked! This, is the new batch of life forms that can adapt to anything. Project Firstborn is too important. We aren't immortal, so we need protectors in place." She nodded smugly and the man raised a brow.
"Won't that backfire? That sounds exactly like the start of an apocalyptic scenario." He was suspicious as hell about it.
"Oh please, I've already programmed them so that Terra would have guardians that are basically infinite. As long as there is water in the oceans, then their cells will proliferate." She puffed her chest in pride.
But she forgot something. The supposed guardians of Terra were programmed to protect the life on Terra. But due to their influence, the ancients were genetically modified and turned into anthropomorphic races.
"So the Feranmuts and Sarkaz are the original races of Terra." Ash just witnessed something amazing.
"But what are the Sankta?" He couldn't wrap his head around them. Especially when he checked Exusiai's DNA after meeting with Mostima.
They had Sarkaz DNA that was recessive. And Mostima has a good mix of both, combining them together to give her Sarkaz and Sankta traits.
"I guess this will need more investigations..." Ash's view of the memories ended there.
He saw Skadi who was slowly standing up, free from the influence of the hivemind for now. Gladiia also arrived with Maria.
But the memories he just saw weighed heavily inside of his mind. 'I knew that the races here are weird. But them being science projects for a crazy bitch isn't the first thing that comes in mind.'
He was thrown in a loop. And now he understood why they were basically humans with animal traits.
The elders were meant to be the ancients' guide. But of course, having too much power over others changed people.
The lord of fiends is also the cause of Kazdel's endless civil wars. The Sarkaz king that they modified is an empath of great strength. Capable of enslaving armies of Sarkaz.
It weakened over time, but the lord of fiends is supposed to be the sole successor of the aliens. 'Kal'tsit... I have a ton of questions, but you'll answer them later.'
He helped up Skadi and smiled at her. "I told you, nothing will go wrong when I'm here." Ash patted her head and she nodded with a blush on her face.
"Umu, I trust you." Skadi put a hand on his exposed chest and Gladiia coughed. "Ahem, we still need to steer the ship back to Gran Faro's pier." Gladiia gave them a deadpan look.
"Ara? Skadi is awfully chummy with master." Laurentina went fufufu and Skadi blushed harder, but she just gave them a weak glare instead.
"Come on, let's go and finish our business here in Iberia. We need to give you guys freedom from the seaborne." Ash announced and Gladiia gave him hole boring stare.
She is one of the most affected by it. Leading her men and women to battle against Ishar-mla is not only traumatizing.
Being a squad leader, she naturally has the most seaborne blood among them just like Ulpianus. That was why they are stronger than normal.
While the others celebrated and began to talk. Gladiia walked up to Ash and she pulled on his sleeve a bit.
"Thank you... Ash. We are in your debt." Gladiia gave him a rare smile and he raised a brow.
"How about a little kiss?" He puckered his lips and Gladiia punched him on his ribs. A little shockwave exploding from the blow which would definitely kill a normal human.
"You didn't say no." Ash grinned and Gladiia almost choked on her spit. People were afraid of her, she's as cold as ice after all.
"If it works." She joked lightly. "I'll hold you to that." He fist bumped with her and they watched the others celebrate. Having a little heart to heart as leaders.
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Thank you for reading everyone, ciao.