part0023

His black hair hiding more than half his face, Kalavinka sauntered happily around his room. It was rare for him to get a chance like this. Hours of uninterrupted peace without his elder brother, Zaask, monitoring him.

“Just three more days and I can finally leave this naval base!” Kalavinka shuddered with excitement.

For some strange reason, it had been more than a week since any Mullgray Pirates were sighted near this territory. Had they gathered all of their forces to launch an all-out attack on Everfrost? Or maybe the Empire had finally decided to begin their counterattack on those savages, keeping the pirates too preoccupied to bother attacking the ports of the kingdom?

“Well, the reason doesn’t matter,” mumbled Kalavinka.

His request for a month-long vacation had been finally granted! And by his eldest brother, Lancaster Kelvin, no less! For Kalavinka, who’d been cooped up on this damned naval base for years, this was truly god sent.

Although he’d been hailed as the kingdom’s hero in naval warfare, Kalavinka believed that he was not suitable to lead all of these men. He was simply blessed with the ability to read the ebbs and flow of the tides, the movements of the creatures underneath the water, the pressure in the air, the shapes of the floating clouds. He knew that if these were taken away from him, he was nothing but an ordinary boy incapable of even wielding a spear.

Demon of the sea? Genius of the navy? Kalavinka believed that all of these titles were wasted on someone as incompetent as him.

Kalavinka looked out of his window, his eyes staring at the vast expanse stretching out to the horizon. The sea was eerily quiet today. Even the blue-spotted gulls, which inhabited the area, were nowhere to be found.

Something felt wrong.

Kalavinka continued staring at the sea for several more minutes. And finally, he was convinced of it. He was certain that ‘they’ were coming.

He knew that time was of the essence. Kalavinka ran out of his room and shouted, “Gather the commodore and the captain! Call big brother Zaask here! Now!”

The three soldiers tasked to guard his room flinched. This was the first time they’d seen the genius of the navy like this.

“Admiral Kalavinka! What’s wrong, sir?” asked one of the soldiers.

“I don’t have the time to explain! Please! Call the officers! Call my older brother Zaask here! Now!”

Under the desperate shouts of the boy, one of the soldiers ran outside to call for officers, while another one ran to call for Zaask, the second oldest son of Duke Kelvin, the man tasked to oversee Kalavinka.

A few minutes later, Zaask arrived at Kalavinka’s room. To his surprise, Kalavinka had already gathered the other officers of the navy inside. The normally-timid boy was already disseminating his commands.

“Commodore Lieson, make a tight net around the blue rock region. Be prepared to use the black fire under any conditions, at my command,” said Kalavinka in a heated voice. He’d already marked the spot with a circle on the map.

Commodore Lieson saluted. “Yes, Admiral!”

“Captain Halvar.”

“You shall provide support to the commodore’s fleet at the rear. The enemy numbers in tens of thousands. If by chance we are unable to suppress the enemy and they break through our tight net, retreat immediately. Your priority will be to secure the safety of the women, the children, and the elderly. Make sure they’re able to evacuate safely.”

Zaask, who’d been silent until now, finally spoke. “Retreat? Secure the safety of women, the children, and the elderly? Kalavinka, what’s the meaning of this?”

Kalavinka looked at his older brother, at the officers gathered in the room, then back. He said, “Big brother Zaask, they’re coming.”

Zaask closed the door and went to the table where everyone was gathered. Spread on top of the table was a large map of the western territory.

“This is unlike you, Kalavinka. What’s with that face? This is the first time I’ve seen you so terrified of mere pirates,” said Zaask.

Kalavinka shook his head. He found it hard to explain what he saw in words. “No. They’re not pirates, big brother.”

“Not pirates?” said Zaask.

What had this timid boy seen in the sea for him to freak out like this? Even now, Kalavinka’s shoulders were quivering.

“I’m not… really sure,” Kalavinka said hesitantly. “All of them are moving underwater. Tens of thousands of them.”

The room fell silent at those words.

Everyone knew of Kalavinka’s ability to read the flow of the water, his ability to predict the weather, and his ability to estimate the number of enemies—their positions and where they were hidden—during battle.

“I… I’m really scared,” Kalavinka said his honest thoughts. “I want to flee from here. Away from whatever is coming. But if I do that, what will happen to this port? To the citizens who believe in our protection?”

“Tens of thousands of unidentified creatures moving underwater,” muttered Zaask, frowning.

During the time he’d been tasked in monitoring his younger brother, Zaask learned of how fearsome Kalavinka could be during naval warfare. If he said that tens of thousands of underwater creatures were headed this way, then it must true.

“I trust your ability, Kalavinka,” said Zaask.

“Thank you, brother.” Kalavinka firmed his resolve upon hearing those words.

“So, what should we do? Just say the word. I can mobilize the Zaask Hussars for you.”

Under the orders of Kalavinka, they started preparing to evacuate all of the noncombatants to the Kelvin Duchy. Commodore Lieson and his fleet—consisting of thirty ships—formed a tight net at the blue rock region, ready to fire black fire the moment the admiral issued out his commands. Captain Halvar and his men were positioned nearest the port, at a perfect distance to either provide support for the commodore or to retreat and help with the evacuation. The Zaask Hussars—a light cavalry consisting of four hundred soldiers—had been summoned from the nearest garrison.

Just to be safe, the commodore insisted that both Kalavinka and Zaask stay at the port. Unlike their frequent skirmishes with the pirates, this event was unprecedented. They couldn’t risk the life of both Admiral Kalavinka and Zaask Kelvin.

For hours, they waited. None of the officers even doubted Kalavinka Kelvin’s judgment. After all, he’d never made a mistake before. They truly believed that tens of thousands of underwater creatures were approaching the port.

“O-Over there!” shouted one of Commodore Lieson’s men.

Innumerable creatures were moving underwater, forming a massive shadow under the sea.

“They really came!”

“T-There’s too many of them!”

“Commodore! Your orders!”

Commodore Lieson looked in the direction of the port. The moment a yellow flag was raised, he roared, “Ready the black fire!”

The crews of all thirty ships opened their barrel-like weapons. The viscous mixture invented by Kalavinka Kelvin was already contained inside. The tar capable of burning underwater.

Loud explosions were heard as all thirty ships fired at the water. Black fire spewed out of the barrels and shot toward the creatures swimming underwater.

“Archers ready!”

Now that the sea was literally burning, they knew that those creatures would soon make their appearance.

The moment hundreds of them jumped out of the water onto the deck, Commodore Lieson issued out his commands.

And the archers onboard the ship fired their arrows, piercing the bodies of the unwanted intruders before they could even get onboard.

“What… the hell is that?”

Commodore Lieson couldn’t believe his eyes. The creatures that had been swimming underwater were humans. No, they resembled humans.

They were monsters, Commodore Lieson was sure of it. He noticed the small tentacles squirming out of the human’s mouths. Moreover, there were also humanoid tentacle monsters among the bunch.

It was a truly disgusting sight. It was as though the dead had been parasitized and brought back to life.

“They’re monsters!” shouted Commodore Lieson. “Fire the arrows at will! Keep the black fire burning!”

Although the black fire killed thousands of the monsters, several dozen still managed to climb onto the ships’ decks. Soon, the fight broke into a melee.

The enemies which oddly resembled humans were surprisingly weak. Their movements were more sluggish than expected. The moment their heads were cut off, they fell onto the ground like stringless puppets. Even with their numbers, the soldiers stationed on the deck were capable of cutting them down.

The real problem was the humanoid tentacle monsters. Not only were they fast, they were also a bit stronger than an average human. Furthermore, they would not die even if you cut off all of their tentacles. The only way to defeat them was to cut off their heads—an extremely hard task, considering the tentacles protecting it.

“Aack! H-Help me!”

“Get off! Get off me!”

“Please! I don’t want to dieee!”

Cries of anguish, terror, and despair reverberated. One by one, the crew members were falling from battle.

And to their horror, some of them turned into monsters and started attacking their comrades.

“Commodore! They’re ignoring us! They’re heading directly to the port!” reported one of the sailors.

Commodore Lieson cut down the monster in front of him then looked in the direction of the port. Indeed, thousands of monsters were swimming toward the port.

Fortunately, Captain Halvar and his men were there to intercept them.

Had Admiral Kalavinka predicted this would happen just by reading the ebb and flow of the water?

He had accurately predicted that tens of thousands of underwater creatures were headed this way. He even went as far as proposing the noncombatants in the port evacuate. Truly an unseen-before genius.

“I have an important task for you. You know how to send a coded message?”

“Yes, Commodore.”

“Good. Send a message to the port. Tell them to evacuate Admiral Kalavinka, along with the noncombatants, to the duchy. He should be safe there.”

Marco knew the implications of those words. It seemed that the commodore planned on taking the brunt of the attack, until everyone had successfully evacuated to the duchy. This full fleet would become bait to let everyone else live.

Despite knowing this, Marco saluted. He said with firm resolve, “Right away, Commodore!”

The commodore cut another humanoid tentacle monster. At their rear, he saw the ship of Captain Halvar capsize. Before half of its hull sank into the water, the ship blazed into flames and black fire spread deep underwater, scorching the monsters beneath the ship.

Even at his death, Captain Halvar decided to take down as many monsters as he could.

A valiant end befitting a captain.

Commodore Lieson tightened his grip on his cutlass’ hilt.

The captain must have realized it too—that this was not something even the admiral was capable of winning. A monster horde that could probably topple the entire kingdom itself. In a hopeless scenario like this, the only viable way for them to win the next battle was for the admiral to evacuate.

“Admiral Kalavinka… the boy can’t die here,” said Commodore Lieson.

The kingdom still needed him. He could not fall here, to monsters like these.

Commodore Lieson knew that he needed to buy enough time for the boy and the noncombatants to evacuate.

“Commodore!” said Marco. “I’ve sent them the message! They’ve agreed to forcefully evacuate the admiral to the duchy!”

It was good news. Now, there was only one thing left for them to do: buy as much time as possible for everyone at the port.

Commodore Lieson said, “Well done!” He roared, “Hard to starboard!”

“Hard to starboard!” echoed the other sailors.

The helmsman ran to the steering wheel and directed the ship toward the left, to the direction of the Mullgray Islands.

Hopefully the ships would be enough to serve as bait for all of the monsters.

As the surviving ships moved toward the Mullgray Islands, the sailors noticed the innumerable black dots in the sky. Screeches were heard as the black dots loomed closer.