A/n: Help me reach my Goal on P4treon & Join Discord! ➡️ https://linktr.ee/donovel or Google "Donovel Linktree'' ⬅️

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The monster roared and its roars caused the storm to get more violent and shake the sea. Even the rock everyone was on started shuddering and one of the Elves was about to be drifted into the sea, if it wasn't for Vadim's speedy help.

"That! That thing…" The one who was in total mess, however, was Leon.

He was pointing at the scene he just saw as the ship advanced with all its might and the gigantic Sea Serpent started to mingle with it as if trying to subdue it at all costs.

It was similar to something that is stuck deep in his memory.

"The Painting!" The one to recall the same thing Leon did was Hector Norman.

He saw the Pride of Del Mar, same as Leon, and they were the only ones who saw it among the people gathered in this place.

The Painting, which Leon stole for Hector, was identical to the scene they are witnessing at the moment. While its map led to a place in the middle of a forest, the sea and the ship and everything else were all real.

It didn't make any sense!

"What painting?"

At this point, a voice came from behind Hector Norman and a silhouette emerged from the sea jumping on him. Hector Norman was held by his nape and lifted up as an old beggar-like man emerged from the water as if he was flying.

"The hell?" Leon saw the man and recognized him from earlier.

"You!" Even Vadim recognized the man as well.

That beggar-like man was the one Leon saw caged in the camp in front of the cave that Hector Norman ordered to be dug by the Elves. Vadim noticed this man slip into the cave after Leon and chased him inside but as they started fighting, the two of them somehow fell into this sea.

This man was very capable as he seemed to be floating about the water but the truth is that he was being carried by a pillar of water beneath his feet.

"You've got to be kidding me." Leon saw that and didn't like what the situation was turning out to be.

"You, boy!" However, the old man finally took notice of him, "You know what he's talking about!"

The old man summoned another Water pillar and directed it towards Leon in order to capture him.

"Fuck it!" Leon jumped with the full might of his legs and held the rock with his hand. Once he was horizontal enough, he kicked against the Water Pillar with his two feet.

"Vacuum Blast!" He shouted and the air beneath his feet exploded, causing the Water Pillar to disperse and the old caster to be stunned and stagger down with Hector Norman.

By his part, Leon was also blown into the sea towards the opposite direction but he was ready for it.

"Leon! No!" Vadim shouted.

While it was too sudden, Leon took a fast dive and didn't hesitate to swim towards the large ship.

"BASTARD!" On the other hand, the Old Caster emerged on his water pillar and cast more of it around him.

From another direction, Fire Magic emerged through the rain and the storm then struck the old caster. Vadim was there standing atop of the rock and held his weapon facing the man.

"Piss off, Dwarf!"

The man put a few of the Water Pillars between him and Vadim's fire magic attack, which was greatly weakened by the effect of the storm, and remained focused around Leon. He wanted to pursue Leon, who was swimming away somewhere.

"HA!"

Vadim didn't seem like giving up and started to break the rock with his feet.

"Jump to the barrels!" The Elves seemed to not intend to risk their lives and jumped back towards the roped barrels in order to slip away.

While Leon was taking a dive, the old Water Mage launched many drill-like water attacks into water, which Leon evaded by sheer luck and assistance from Vadim, who managed to distract the Water Mage.

Unfortunately, while the Water Mage was going all out thanks to the sea environment that simply boosted him, the opposite can be said about Vadim since he is both an Earth and Fire caster, which makes this the most inhospitable environment for his talents.

Still, Leon arrived at the ship which was sailing without sails or oars. It only had a rudder and it certainly wasn't enough to move a ship of its size.

Leon managed to hold some parts of the ship and climbed a rope dangling on its side until he reached its deck and from there, he was at least safe from the sea.

"The crew! Where is the crew?"

But to his surprise, the ship had no crew or even a living soul on board. The silhouette of the man standing at the prow of the ship came to his mind, thus Leon rushed ahead to the front while trying to hold anything that could secure his footing. Still, what he saw was more underwhelming than anything he needed at the moment.

The silhouette was just a statue holding a staff that is meant to be some sort of a figurehead or a lightning catcher.

The ship had nothing other than that. A Rudder at its rear, a large Orb of Light at its center, and a Figurehead at its front. The most logical action to take is to man the rudder.

"Vadim! Come to the ship!" Leon shouted but his voice was greatly jammed by the storm.

"I'll take that fucker down then join you." Vadim, however, seemed to be able to hear Leon just fine and replied back.

"There's no time!" Leon shouted, "Bring that old fucker with you."

"Who're you calling old fucker, you little shit?" The old man didn't like how he was called and cussed back at Leon.

"I know you're a Water Mage and all but if you want to survive this sea, you've got to come to the ship as well. It's our only hope." Leon seemed collected but he was trying his all to steer the ship.

The rudder was stuck so he circulated his Mana into his hand and pushed further as he deduced that this may increase his physical power and he was somehow right. Leon's Mana was absorbed by the rudder which suddenly moved into a hard left causing the entire ship to shake and oversteer.

"FUCK! Y'all heard the lad! Onto the boat and no funny business!" Vadim saw what had become of Leon and lined the stones he was using mid air before jumping on them with an agility unseen from a Dwarf to arrive at the ship.

The Water Mage moved towards the ship on his Water Pillars and arrived just after Vadim. From the sea, he raised the half-drowned Hector Norman and threw him on the deck of the ship.

The man started to cough violently but was wholeheartedly ignored by all.

Meanwhile, Vadim supported Leon up and tried to hold the rudder and set it back in the right direction but despite using his Mana, he wasn't even able to make it move a little bit.

"The Serpent is coming!" At that point, the Water Mage spoke while walking steadily on the ship without a hint of losing balance despite the dreadful shaking.

Vadim and Leon looked ahead and saw the large monster finally aim its head towards the ship giving it a frightening glare. Many abyss-like eyes stared down at the ship and showed no actual eyes, but the feeling of being looked at through those dark eyes was genuinely scary.

As the three men were fearing for their lives at the moment, lightning descended from the sky and struck the ship's figurehead again which caused the lightning to be redirected towards the Giant Serpent. However, the lightning seemed to be causing minor damage and only caused one of the Abyss-like eyes to be closed.

"Can we fight such a thing?" Leon asked Vadim.

"Not even in my drunken dreams." Vadim replied.

"You two!" The Water Mage called Vadim and Leon, "Any of you has Light Magic?"

"…"

The two didn't want to reply but as he seemed more knowledgeable, they replied at the same time.

""I do.""

"Dwarf, go to the ship's prow. You can use the figurehead if you use your Fire Magic on it." The old man said to Vadim then turned to Leon, "Little Shit, you go to the Orb at the center of the ship. It needs Light Magic to be powered."

The two looked at each other without a shred of trust towards what the man just said but they were out of options. They did as he said and moved out completely leaving the rudder to him.

The man received the rudder and in his hands, it glowed in blue. Leon arrived first to the light orb at the middle of the ship and thought about channeling his Light Magic into it.

"Light!"

His spell poured a large amount of his energy into the Orb of Light making it shake and grow brighter.

At first, it looked like a yellow electric ball lamp that seemed to have been left without maintenance for years, making its interior gather dust and its overall appearance quite so so.

But with Leon's Energy, the entire orb shone as if the lamp was changed with a new set of pulps and became clean very rapidly. Moreover, the ship started to feel like it had come to life.

The Orb of Light illuminated the entirety of the ship and it looked as if made of a material that was neither wood nor metal. Something that felt very strange, alien, and cross between the two materials. It was also long and slender yet it rose a few meters above  the normal water level and had no rails other than a few ropes.

The light also revealed some patterns on the boat whatsoever but Leon didn't bother as he tried to keep his magic in check.

But unlike Leon, who was doing fine with the Orb, Vadim wasn't even sure what to do with the figurehead.

"This isn't doing anything!" He shouted.

Above the ship, the scales of the serpent were seen as its gargantuan body moved above the ship as if it was trying to coil over it.

"Just use your Fire Magic!" Leon shouted.

"No shit!" Vadim shouted back.

"You sure about this?" Leon looked back towards the old man.

"You think I am some sort of a fool?" The old man snorted in anger.

"Kinda." Leon replied.

"I'll show you, you little shit!" The old man said, "Look above you, fool. Each piece on the ship has a marking above it. The Rudder bears the symbol of Water, the Orb bears the symbol of Light, and the Figurehead bears the symbol of Fire."

Leon frowned and he could indeed see what the old man spoke of once he looked into the objects themselves. It seems that there is some sort of a pattern that shines brightly when the corresponding type of Mana comes in contact with it. On the Rudder, it was a triangle pointing down while on the Figurehead, it was a triangle pointing up. These were some of the traditional signs for the elements. As for the light, it was two triangles pointing sideways.

The problem is that Vadim wasn't able to power up the figurehead for some reason and the scales of the great sea serpent started to rotate around them fiercely as if they entered a grinding machine.

"Shit! Hurry up, Vadim."

"I can't. It is not working! DAMMIT!" Vadim shouted.

For some reason, he would ignite the figurehead's symbol on the back of its head and it would turn red before fading away completely. Vadim never knew what it would accept him at first before it would reject him.

But at that moment, the situation became a bit more complicated.

"HA! Got you!"

From behind Leon, a figure jumped out and caught him from his back while holding a knife to his neck.

"You magic freaks! Damn you all! Where did you take us?"

Hector Norman was now holding Leon hostage and shouting angrily at the old man and Vadim with a knife at the boy's throat.

"Leon!" Vadim let go of the figurehead immediately and took out his weapon as he walked to Hector and Leon.

"Don't leave the figurehead." The old man shouted as he struggled to keep steering the rudder now with both Leon and Vadim focusing on Hector.

One slight mistake and the sea serpent will devour the entire ship in one go.

"Piss off." Yet Vadim wasn't even focusing on that at the moment.

Seeing Leon getting held a hostage, it triggered something within him and he was angry that he let his guard down.

"Leo! Tell these mages to return us where we were." Hector held Leon even tighter and almost dug the blade in his neck.

"You fool!" Leon struggled against Hector as he wasn't prepared for him, "It doesn't work this way."

"I don't care! Tell those fucking wizards to do some magic and get us out of here. I will not die in a damn painting."

Hector seemed completely oblivious to what happened, Vadim was focusing on getting Leon out of Hector's grasp, the old man was barely controlling the ship, and the sea serpent's scales were growing ever closer.

Doom was never this close to the four men and they had to survive by whatever means necessary.

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A/n: Help me reach my Goal on P4treon & Join Discord! ➡️ https://linktr.ee/donovel or Google "Donovel Linktree'' ⬅️