The sea churned. Then, from the black waters They emerged.
Humanoid figure, with humanoid upper body. half-submerged, half-crawling. Dozens of them.
Their long, rotted forms rose like nightmares given shape. Skin like water-worn kelp stretched over twisted bone. Hollow sockets where eyes once were, leaking black tears that hissed as they hit the deck.
The Necron had arrived. One climbed over the side of the ship, its clawed hand sinking into the wood with a wet crack.
"KYAA!!!!"
Prisoners screamed. Panic erupted.
Some ran blindly. Others dropped to their knees, frozen.
The air around the creatures was thick with sorrow, and their constant wailing, like someone sobbing in endless grief pierced into the soul.
Ken frowned, his eyes narrowing as numbers flashed across his vision.
321, 325, 345...
"So that's a Necron…" he muttered.
Each one was above 300. One of them was stronger than the pirate captain.
One of the prisoner near the mast turned, wide-eyed. He was to slow to escape.
The first Necron reached him.
A flick of its arm, SLAASH!
The man didn't even scream. Blood sprayed across the deck as his body split, collapsing like torn cloth.
Then chaos exploded.
One by one, prisoners were dragged down, slashed, impaled, or simply torn apart by long, eel-like tails and razor claws. Some tried to fight. Others ran. None of them stood a chance.
"Stay together!" Aika shouted, her voice sharp through the hell sonata. "Don't break the line!"
Takeshi grabbed a nearby spear and rammed it into the chest of a incoming Necron. The creature hissed, not in pain, but like air escaping a cracked shell. It twisted on the weapon, then slithered backward into the shadows.
Tsubame sliced through another's arm, but her blade staggered, as if dulled by the Necron's presence.
"They're too strong!" she cried. "Our attacks aren't working!"
Shiran was sobbing as he ran, barely holding it together. But even so, he dragged Yuki with him, refusing to let go.
Ken didn't move from the helm."Aika, status!"
"Sixty-three percent!" she shouted as her hands flared with ki as she forced more energy into the array.
A Necron slithered toward her, fast.
Takeshi intercepted it, his blade crashing down with full force. But the creature's arm deflected his attack, and with a single strike, he was launched across the deck like a ragdoll.
This time, Nyx dove in, claws raking across its crown with a metallic screech, knocking it back giving them a breather.
"Everyone, gather here! NOW!" Ken barked, his voice slicing through the chaos.
Blood ran down the deck. Screams echoed behind them. The sea-born horrors continued their silent massacre, emotionless cutting down panicked prisoners who hadn't made it to the helm in time. Their bodies fell like offerings, buying seconds of safety.
Aika's voice was tight, strained.
"Eighty percent… just a little more…"
Behind them, the Sonata continued. Slower now. Each note sounded like a funeral bell beneath the waves. The ship rocked again as another massive wave slammed into the hull.
BOOM.
Timbers cracked. The wheel groaned. The sound of screams from the sea, made the song even more haunting.
Ken turned as the group reached him, "Shiran, help Aika! Anchor the array!"
Shiran flinched. "I, I can't use ki!"
"Doesn't matter. Aika will guide you. You're water element, it'll charge the array even faster."
Hesitating, Shiran ran to Aika's side and dropped to his knees.
He placed his hands on the glowing inner ring. Aika grabbed them immediately.
"Don't resist," she said calmly.
Hey eye widened in surprise just for a moment, but she quickly focused on her task. She start channeling what little ki he had, drawing every drop she could without hurting him.
Tsubame, panting and wounded, looked over the glyphs with sharp eyes.
"We're wasting time charging it safely. If we switch to Direct Flow mode, it'll override the buffer. Risk of overload, but we get speed."
Aika grimaced.
"It could destabilize the ship."
Tsubame snapped,
"You see those abomination?! We'll be dead in seconds!"
Shiran looked up, pale.
He had heard stories, childhood tales about cursed fog and sea monsters that dragged sailors into the dark.
Back then, it sounded like bedtime nonsense. Something parents made up to keep kids away from dangerous waters.
But now… The stories were real, and they were dying by the page.
Ken didn't hesitate."Do it."
Aika moved fast, hands sliding across the runes, shifting formations. The lines of light pulsed brighter, unstable, but growing fast.
[81%... 84%... 87%…]
The hull groaned louder than before. The fog was nearly upon them.
And the Necron… They hadn't stopped.
More climbed the rails, dragging their rotted body onto the deck. Black tears steamed as they hit the wood.
Ken's gaze locked onto them. They were too close.
If even one made it to the array before it fired, everything would be over.
"Tch… Guess someone's gotta hold the line."
Without hesitation he activated Combat Mode
[Combat Mode: ON]
[Points Remaining: 1165]
His muscles tensed. His vision sharpened locked onto the nearest Necron. Dozens of paths appeared in front of him, None of them promising.
Every movement led to dead, every strike led to failure. No weak spots. No openings.
'It's not that they don't have one… I'm just not strong enough to hit it.'
Still, he grinned.
'Well… at least there's a few green spots.'
The first Necron moved. Ken ducked low, his blade flashing upward in a clean arc.
CLANG!
The strike bounced off. Sparks flew as the sword scraped against flesh as hard as steel.
Another claw came for his head,
Ken twisted, shoulder-rolling under it, but pain shot through his side. Something cracked. Blood splattered from his arm.
And still, he laughed.
"Hah… you bastards really don't know how to die, do you?"
He spun, foot skidding across the blood-slick deck, and slashed again.
A yellow ring lit up on the next Necron's elbow. Ken kicked it hard, sending the creature off balance, then stabbed upward toward its head.
Black blood burst out, but the thing kept moving, like pain meant nothing.
One claw ripped across his ribs, tearing through cloth and flesh. Another punched him in the gut, sending him flying across the deck.
Ken rolled, coughing blood, sword barely in hand. His knees buckled. His vision blurred.
"Come on," he rasped. "I'm not done yet."
Three Necron converged on him. Ken rose again, staggering, his sword trembling in his hand, Still grinning like a madman.
"This is it… that feeling. Heh… This is where I belong."
They leapt, Claws outstretched. One of them reached for his face, inches from his eyes…
Then, "It's finished!!" Aika's voice rang out. "The charge is done!"
[100%!!!]
The array roared to life. Light surged across the deck. Runes ignited like wildfire.
Ki lines snapped together with a sound like thunder. The deck shook violently beneath them.
Then, BOOM.
The ship launched forward, exploding out of the water like a beast freed from chains. Ken was blown backward by the force, rolling across the deck as wind and water whipped around him.
Behind them, the fog was torn apart,
And the Necron shrieked, vanishing into the darkness as if they'd never existed.
But they weren't safe yet. A massive wave rose in their path, so large it cast a shadow over the entire ship.
The Sonata of Hell faded in the distance… And the wave came crashing down.
The ship spun, caught in the spiral, wood creaking, sails snapping, the world turning upside-down.
Ken, already wounded, barely clung to consciousness. His head throbbed. His limbs were numb.
Even with the system paths flickering in his vision, his body could no longer follow them.
"KAK! KAK!"
Nyx's cry echoed above him, sharp, urgent.
But the world kept spinning.
Ken's vision blurred.
Then, Darkness took him.