Chapter 11: Glorious purple-crab Smokey

"Master! Aim for its joints!" Solan shouted from the galleon.

Sarah snapped out of her reminiscing of the past and turning her eyes towards the attacking leviathan trying to pierce her she blocked with her lighting-imbued sword and reduced her chances of crashing into the sand. 

"Its joints?" Sarah asked herself, her attention went into its leg. Its legs were heavily reinforced with exo-skeleton, and as for its joints they were plated with its gray rocks. 

"...There's no way my sword can get through that....". She stayed composed until a new barrage of cannons were flying above her hitting the leviathan everywhere but left no severe damage. 

"...The cannons are useless-". She thought to herself until one of the speeding cannon balls hit one of the plated joints cracking it fully open. 

"..An opening!" Sarah thought to herself. 

The Hermit crab got aggravated hitting one of its soft spots it started chipping away a boulder from its mountain back, Its intentions were obvious.

"Screech!" It creaked before throwing a boulder towards the reinforced galleon. 

"The ship!" Sarah turned to the others panicking

"BRACE YOURSELF-!" A crew member shouted.

Everyone fell onto the flooring of the deck and as the boulder were to hit everything went silent.

"....".

Opening their eyes, their expression was left in utter shock and fear. 

The boulder was levitating in the air before them, a sea-green aura radiating from the boulder.

Turning to where the eerie aura came from Solan stood there on the bridge, his arms raised towards it utilizing his own vessel. Releasing his vessel the huge boulder was dropped into the sea. 

"T-Telekinesis?" Sarah asked herself in surprise before turning her attention back to the purple crab. Charging into it she materialized into the very essence of lighting herself striking the exposed joint of its leg. 

--Slash!-- 

A pool of black blood gushed out of its joints. The crab stumbling a bit before it started limping. 

"...Aim for its joints! Just fire cannons at will!" Solan shouted out to the other crew members.

Barrage on barrage hundreds of cannon balls were fired within 3 minutes. Revealing 3 new exposed joints. With the help of the admiral on the island she charged into lighting again hitting every joint until it stood with only 2 legs barely able to stand anymore.

"...Hah! Its working!" One of the members shouted.

Sarah approached the face of the hermit crab, her eyes cold and sword raised above her.

"...Don't underestimate humans you vermin". Her raised sword started sparkling in a elegant violet color. 

Before she was about to strike it Solan's senses started echoing again.

"W-Wait master! Get away immediately!"

She turned back in confusion and before she knew it she was knocked by its gigantic claw, her body flying into the air like a feather falling into the sea. 

"T-The Admiral!" one shouted panicking. 

Suddenly a creak louder then the ones who came before was emitted through the area. A pressure almost destroying the eardrums of the members trying to cover their ears. Some even fainting from the pure melody of nature. 

Solan's echoes were getting louder and before he knew it. The Leviathan... was rising from the ground again. Its legs were growing into a new vibrant violet. It's exo-skeleton dropping to the ground like a warrior dropping his armor after a long tiresome battle. 

Solan was quick to realize what was happening to the leviathan... It was... Evolving in the midst of battle. 

"WE NEED TO RETREAT IMMEDIATLY! We are no match for it!" Solan shouted out throughout deck. 

The hermit crab's once sorry state had turned into a completely new form. Its legs plated with even with more armor, its legs regenerating like nothing... and its expression showing just how pissed it was. 

"We need to get the admiral!" 

"I need to get the admiral!" One of the men shouted. 

A loyal subordinates jumped into the water swimming towards shallower waters to find the knocked out admiral and in the meantime the hermit crab was just getting wrathful by the second.

This time, boulders covered in a green slime came towards them. Every second it came closer its color changed to orange and red. 

"...Its... Igniting!" 

"BRACE! ITS GOING TO EXPLODE!" 

--boom!--

A loud explosion in the air creating a huge shockwave moved the boat itself by a few meters and the crew members started raising the anchors immediately before things would turn even worse.

"We must wait for Sir. Kev to return with the admiral!" 

Suddenly a loud thud appeared onboard, just in the nick of time the named man Kev held the admiral in his arm, clothes soaked in waters.

"I have her! Lets go!"

The crew members raised anchor and the sails turned upwind sailing away from the island. Boulders being thrown every now and then by the Leviathan. 

Solan stood at the backside of the bridge, watching as they were sailing further away from the leviathan. He could see it, the amused creaking from the leviathan. Their eyes locked and Solan was absolutely irritated. 

"...Your finding this amusing aren't you...". Solan thought, his fist clenching in anger.

***

A few hours later the reinforced galleon arrived at a marine outpost at the Regmor seas. 

The medics were tending to the wounded. Fortunately there were no severe injuries on members except half of the crew had ruptured eardrums which could take weeks to heal. Sarah sat in the captain's, her left arm in bandages supported by a strap around her shoulder. 

"...Its decided, Smokey island will be restricted for any Anax-hunters and marine until we come with a better plan in the future...". She said writing down her report from the mission, she folded the paper and attached it to the leg of a hawk before sending it out. 

After dismissing the warden she sat in her chair sighing and in deep thought. She picked up her glass of water on her desk before thinking to herself. 

"To think we witnessed the evolution of a leviathan... The researchers back in Soldat sure will have a field day with the report... They'll have me chained up until I spit out everything I saw..". she sighed in annoyance. 

"...Enough of that, Where's Solan... back then, I know what I saw... he could use Telekinesis... That's quite a rare ability... So his ability isn't just resurrecting the dead...". She sat up from her seat before deciding to look for Solan.

Approaching the lower decks she arrived Infront of his door. 

--Knock knock--

"Its me, Sarah....".

"C-Come in...". Solan said through the door.

Opening the door she was met with a horrific scene of Solan vomiting blood on the wooden flooring. He was panting heavily, blood trails coming from his mark dripping down. 

"S-Solan!" 

She rushed to his side and kneeled quickly to get the grasp of what was happening. 

"..W-What happened?!"

"...I-Its the risk... of using my vessel...". His voice fatigued and hoarse. 

"...W-What the... rest immediately!" She helped him up, she could feel his shaking body, Solan was frail... almost too frail. Like how you can heat glass until its climax. 

She changed clothes on him, and curling him under the blankets.

"...I-it really hurts... The echoes keep ringing in my head master...".

Sarah gave him water and painkillers hoping it would work somehow. Solan had a immense potential but him using the vessel in a underdeveloped body was taking a great toll on him. 

She had read somewhere about old document dating far as the year 980 when they gave the elder blood to a child which ended up in his entire body exploding due to the toxic blood. The documents really well how he died and just thinking about it made Sarah gag. 

But knowing Solan, she knew that he would manage to get through it. Sarah had to come up with something... something that could help Solan keep his vessel under control.