Chapter 98: Siren's Song

  The Leviathan's Rib officially cast off from the rotting, blood-stained docks of Murkwater just as the heavy, yellow swamp fog began to entirely roll back in, completely obscuring the setting sun.

  The departure was a completely flawless, highly disciplined display of advanced maritime engineering. The massive, dark galleon wasn't entirely reliant on the unpredictable coastal wind; its massive sails were entirely supplemented by a highly complex, heavily enchanted water-displacement engine built directly into the lower hull. The deep, rhythmic, thrumming vibration of the magical engine actively pushed the heavy ship rapidly and aggressively through the murky delta waters.

  Within two hours, the chaotic, suffocating stench of the boiling blubber completely faded, entirely replaced by the crisp, freezing, entirely vast, salty expanse of the open Southern Ocean.

  Zeno and Lyra were given a small, highly secure, deeply cramped cabin located completely below decks, entirely near the ship's heavy armory. It wasn't luxurious, but it was dry, and the heavy oak door completely locked from the inside.

  However, the reality of deep-sea travel hit Zeno immediately, and it hit him incredibly hard.

  His massive, incredibly dense physiology, usually an absolute, unyielding combat asset, made him entirely top-heavy and completely miserable on the violently shifting, constantly rolling deck of the massive galleon.

  By the second night, Zeno was sitting completely flat on the wooden floorboards of their small cabin. His face, usually a picture of vibrant, apple-cheeked health, had turned a highly concerning, incredibly pale shade of light green. He was completely wrapping his massive, heavily muscled arms tightly around his heavy iron cauldron, hugging it to his chest exactly as if it were a solid, unmoving life preserver.

  "Lyra..." Zeno groaned weakly, his voice incredibly small and deeply pitiful, entirely devoid of its usual booming cheer. He rested his cheek against the cool iron of the pot. "The ocean is breathing very heavily... and I absolutely do not like its rhythm. Everything is moving sideways."

  Lyra, entirely sympathetic but completely unable to stop the waves, knelt beside him, gently placing a cool, damp cloth directly over his forehead.

  "It's called seasickness, sledgehammer," Lyra explained softly, trying completely unsuccessfully to hide a highly affectionate, sympathetic smile. "Your inner ear is entirely confused by the magical displacement hull violently smashing through the heavy swells."

  "Can we just politely ask the nice butcher captain to completely stop the boat for a little while?" Zeno pleaded innocently, his amber eyes wide and pleading. "Just for an hour? I really need the floor to entirely stop moving so I can digest my nice bowl of rice. It is very sad to waste good rice."

  "I don't think Captain Thorne stops for anything short of a Leviathan, Zeno," Lyra chuckled softly, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. "Just keep hugging the pot. You'll absolutely get your sea legs adjusted in a day or two."

  For the first entirely uneventful week of the voyage, Zeno completely struggled. He entirely abandoned his daily footwork drills, simply focusing his remaining, non-nauseous energy on his academic studies, reading his green-leather-bound book completely by the dim light of a swinging oil lantern while remaining firmly seated on the floor.

  Lyra, conversely, entirely thrived in the new, highly dynamic environment. Her high Agility stat and completely flawless balance allowed her to seamlessly navigate the heavy rigging and the slick, salt-sprayed decks with entirely the same graceful, acrobatic ease she employed in the high canopy of the jungle.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The crew completely ignored them, actively adhering to Captain Thorne's strict orders regarding the auxiliary specialists. They entirely understood that the massive, seasick boy was entirely a living weapon, and weapons were best left entirely undisturbed below decks.

  However, the peaceful, entirely monotonous routine of the voyage was completely, catastrophically shattered on the incredibly dark afternoon of the eighth day.

  Zeno was completely sitting on the floor of their cabin, feeling slightly better, entirely utilizing a piece of charcoal to perfectly trace the letter 'W' onto a piece of scrap parchment.

  Suddenly, his highly enhanced, organically evolving senses picked up something entirely unnatural. He paused, tilting his head. It wasn't the crash of a wave or the creak of the wood. It was a strange, haunting, highly harmonic vibration actively traveling directly through the heavy iron-wood of the lower hull itself.

  "Lyra," Zeno asked softly, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion. "Do boats usually sing?"

  Lyra, who was entirely polishing her new Void-Iron stiletto, froze completely. "Sing?"

  Before she could even begin to process the question, the ship reacted.

  There was absolutely no violent, catastrophic crash against a hidden reef. Instead, the deep, steady, highly powerful, rhythmic hum of the ship's magical displacement engine suddenly stuttered violently. The heavy vibration whined, pitched incredibly high, and then completely, utterly died.

  The Leviathan's Rib instantly lost all of its magical forward momentum. The massive galleon groaned heavily, completely dead in the freezing water, left entirely at the mercy of the rolling ocean swells.

  A second later, the incredibly loud, highly piercing sound of the ship's massive brass alarm bell began violently, relentlessly ringing across the upper decks.

  "Total engine failure!" a highly amplified, magically projected voice completely boomed through the lower corridors, laced with absolute, disciplined panic. "Magical sabotage confirmed! Hostile biological contact in the water! Auxiliary specialists completely report topside immediately!"

  Zeno’s intense, highly debilitating nausea entirely vanished, instantly and completely overridden by the absolute, grounding, familiar focus of impending combat.

  He entirely dropped his charcoal and completely grabbed his heavy Rock Serpent gauntlets, sliding them violently onto his forearms and entirely securing the heavy leather straps with terrifying, lightning speed.

  "The singing fish broke the engine," Zeno concluded cheerfully, his green pallor instantly replaced by a wide, entirely fearless grin. He slammed his spiked fists together. "I feel much better now, Lyra. Let's go wrestle the ocean."

  They entirely burst out of their small cabin and completely sprinted up the narrow, highly congested wooden stairs, violently joining the chaotic, highly disciplined rush of heavily armed, harpoon-wielding sailors entirely heading for the main deck.

  When they finally breached the upper deck, the absolute, entirely terrifying scale of the tactical ambush was completely revealed.

  The Leviathan's Rib hadn't entirely struck a rock; it had been flawlessly, highly intelligently disabled and surrounded by a massive, highly coordinated, completely aggressive pod of Abyssal Sirens.

  They weren't the beautiful, highly alluring, musical mermaids entirely depicted in cheap coastal taverns. They were entirely monstrous, completely horrifying deep-sea predators. They possessed the incredibly muscular upper torsos of deeply scaled humanoids, entirely colored a sickly, bioluminescent pale blue, which completely merged into the massive, incredibly thick, highly powerful lower bodies of colossal tiger sharks.

  Their entirely bald heads were completely adorned with incredibly sharp, highly venomous, jagged spinal fins, and their massive jaws completely unhinged exactly like deep-sea vipers, entirely revealing multiple concentric rows of completely razor-sharp, tearing teeth.

  They had actively swum beneath the heavy galleon and flawlessly, magically sabotaged the displacement engine to completely trap their massive prey.

  Now, dozens of the massive, highly aggressive creatures were completely swarming the dead ship, entirely utilizing their incredibly powerful shark tails to violently launch themselves completely out of the freezing, dark water and directly onto the slick, pitching wooden deck.

  The heavy, iron-reinforced hunting galleon had entirely sailed directly into a highly intelligent, perfectly executed deep-sea ambush, entirely ready to test the absolute, brutal limits of the Apple Vanguard.