The Skavilen's hum grew louder. It was a horrible sound—low and vibrating, like a screeching violin buried beneath layers of water. It plagued their ears, grating and uncomfortable.
Yet it was oddly tempting… hypnotic, like something ancient calling to them. Its glowing eyes locked onto them, and with every second, the hum twisted deeper into their heads.
Haruo covered his ears, teeth clenched as the sound clawed at his focus. He glanced at the others—they were staring straight into the Skavilen's eye, their pupils dilated unnaturally, swallowing almost the entirety of their irises.
Haruo pressed the earbud gently, voice sharp through the earbud: "COVER YOUR EARS!!"
In an instant, the division returned to reality.
Amongst their awakening, they saw the piercing of the Skavilen above them. However, for the moment, it wasn't important.
They had a few seconds to spare to react, but that was enough to cover their ears and turn their gaze away from the Skavilen.
Even the Cyalias had fallen under its hypnotic hum. Haruo was the first to assess the situation. His eyes swept across the dock—there were too many. Without hesitation, he raised his gun and began firing, dropping one Cyalia after another.
Once most of the Cyalia were gone, Haruo turned his attention to the Skavilen. Its piercing eyes were dilated. It felt like it was staring at him—and only at him.
He was lying on the ground, one hand braced against the floor for support. The other clutched his gun with a trembling grip.
Biting his lip slightly, he raised it slowly—aiming straight at the eye.
That was easier said than done. Due to the hypnotic hum and its unbearable gaze, he had great difficulty steadying his hand, clawing to his rationality.
For the first time in his life, the Monarch-13 felt useless in his grip.
Gritting his teeth, he dismissed the Monarch-13. He gently stood up, his legs shaky but steadying with each breath.
With the same hand he had used to hold his gun, he began forming something in his palm. The shape solidified—an ice javelin, sharp and glimmering under the eerie light. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, then broke into a sprint.
PIERCE!!
He leapt into the air, twisting his hips mid-flight, and hurled the javelin straight at the Skavilen's eye.
It struck true.
UGGGHHH!!
The creature reeled, its eye snapping shut as it let out an unnatural wail—raw and jagged, nothing like its hypnotic hums before.
The illuminating light now faded. Haruo crashed onto the floor, his body slamming against one railing. Above them, the Skavilen rammed itself into the ship—once, then again, retreating only to strike harder each time. The entire dock trembled with every impact.
The ship veered away just in time to avoid the next slam. The colossal being behind them thrashed wildly, flapping like a fish stranded on land. Its massive silhouette grew clearer through the thinning fog—twisting, coiling, unnatural. Then, without warning, it opened its mouth.
Its mouth stretched further, unnaturally wide, until it nearly matched the size of its own body, as if the creature had been split in half from jaw to belly. Rows of mismatched teeth filled the void. Some eerily human, others jagged and beast-like, layered in chaotic rows.
A wave of dense fog surged from the Skavilen's gaping mouth, crashing into the side of the ship with brutal force.
The vessel groaned as it tilted sideways, metal creaking under the strain. The division members staggered, some dropping to one knee, the weight of the pressure bearing down on them like a boulder.
Then, a strange light pulsed from within the Skavilen once again. It was its eye—but this time, not from the side. It glowed from deep inside its mouth, right at the center.
Then another one lit up beside it. And another. One by one, dozens of glowing eyes emerged, all scattered within its maw, illuminating the grotesque interior. Its insides weren't made of flesh alone—they were watching.
It then swam toward the ship at terrifying speeds. It bit onto the side. Strange black fluid drooled from its mouth. When it touched Haruo's hand, it began to climb up onto him, slowly devouring him.
A surge of pain consumed him. He dropped to his knees, his scream lost in the thick cloud. His skin felt like it was being peeled away, each layer ripped as his flesh was stabbed and burned all at once.
He froze the black liquid, stopping it from consuming him. Then, without hesitation, he tore his arm away—the ice shattered into dust. He looked down; his arm was mangled, flesh torn apart, and bone exposed beneath the shredded muscle.
He could see all the torn flesh and the skin flapping in the wind, barely hanging on, fluttering as if it might tear off completely at any second. The eerie light radiating from the Skavilen illuminated everything—every exposed nerve, every strand of muscle, every inch of damage laid bare.
Ena grabbed his shoulder from behind, blood gathering in her palm as she began to heal him. The flesh slowly knit itself together, though it was clear it wouldn't be perfect.
Then, without warning, Theodor jumped in from the side and kicked the Skavilen. The impact rippled through the ship, shaking the deck beneath them—everyone felt the shock pass through their bodies.
One of the Skavilen's tentacles shot forward, stretching unnaturally as it lunged at Theodor. He spun his spear and sliced it cleanly in half—but the severed limb didn't even flinch. Instead, both halves twisted and writhed, continuing to surge toward him as if nothing had happened.
Theodor quickly backstepped, narrowly dodging the attack. His eyes locked onto the tentacle he'd just sliced—only to see the two halves twisting toward each other, merging seamlessly. Within seconds, it had reformed into a single limb, whole and thrashing, as if it had never been cut at all.
The Skavilen released its jaws from the ship, tearing away a massive chunk of the hull. Wood, metal, and mana-threaded plating crumbled into the fog below, vanishing into the clouds. Then, without a sound, it slipped away, vanishing into the endless gray.
But they knew it hadn't gone far.
The humming remained. Still twisted and unnatural, but now leaning more toward laughter than wailing, almost mocking, and even joyful. It echoed through the Ether Zone like a warning they couldn't outrun.
Slowly, Haruo's arm healed—torn flesh stitching itself together, bruises fading into pale skin. Within seconds, only faint marks remained, and even those vanished soon after. He rose to his feet, expression unreadable, then froze the remaining black fluid clinging to him and crushed it into frost and dust beneath his boot.
Ena stood with him, silent but close. Just as they began to gather their bearings again, a heavy wave of fog swept over the ship.
And they were blinded once more.
"Where are you all? Report your status." Haruo said
There was a long pause at first; the only sound was the faint hum still lingering in the fog. Then, someone broke the silence.
It was Leo. "We're on the opposite side from where the Skyline bit into the ship. So we're back at the spot where we originally met up. You know, before that thing showed up"
"Stay there, and don't use your fire ability. This ship is still delicate; it would be a pain if our only source of transportation were burned in the ether zone."
After exchanging a few more words and reminders,
Haruo took his finger off his ear. He glanced at the silhouettes beside him—Ena and Theodor. Both were, without question, the most obnoxious in the entire division. And to be stuck with them in a situation like this… it was a bit concerning, to say the least.
He took a moment to breathe before inspecting his surroundings, but he soon realized how useless his eyes were within the thick fog of the ether zone.
"Both of you, stay close; it probably won't take long till for the case is able to replicate our mana."
Ena was a bit taken aback by his order, shocked even.
"What do you mean they can replicate our mana!? Are you saying those parasites are capable of more than just cloning us? As if that wasn't bad enough!"
"Ena, can you stay still for just a bit without making a scene all the time? Look at Theodor, do you see him talking that much? He might be troublesome, but at least he can shut his mouth."
Theodor nodded in agreement, which made Ena a bit more frustrated. She was being compared to the person who dragged them all into this situation in the first place, and he had the nerve to agree?
She cursed out both of them in the fog, but they couldn't really hear her with all the clouds muffling the sound. In the middle of her tantrum, they began to walk through the clouds, hoping they would meet back with the others.
"How does that even work anyway?"
"Do you know Joel Garlin?"
Ena scoffed at this comment. "Obviously, he was the first person to ever study mana in depth and turn it into a logical science. He's one of the most successful and well-known figures in history. I'd be pretty stupid if I weren't."
"I don't really see the difference..." He mumbled sarcastically. "Anyway, you know the new laws of science, right?"
Ena rolled her eyes in the fog. How could he ask her an obvious question in a situation like this? What irritated her even more was that he had the audacity to ask that whilst still not answering hers.
"Did you freeze your own brain? Of course I know the new laws of science. Who doesn't know about??"
"Then, explaining it shouldn't be hard for you—which is a surprise. The Second Law of the new science: Mana can transform or reform into energy or objects, and vice versa. This implies that mana can produce anything, and anything can transform into mana. Especially life force—or more specifically, blood.
Turning things into mana is quite difficult, but blood is an exception due to its strong connection to Qi. Qi is the condensed form of mana; unlike mana, it's permanent, but only within the body.
The Cyalias can copy our body structures, not entirely, but just enough to replicate our Qi."
Ena scratched her head as she digested all the processing questions Haruo had instilled in her. After a few seconds of thinking, she replied with:
"You know, you overcomplicate things. And how exactly am I supposed to use this information? I don't know if you can see, but I'm quite pretty NEW to sky fishing.
"Sigh... use the information when it's convenient; just be careful with silhouettes that might not even be from our division."
Just then, the floor began to vibrate. The three of them felt it immediately. Without a word, they instinctively pressed their backs against each other as they braced for any incoming attack.
They raised their weapons as the ground below intensified with each passing second.
Then it charged toward them. A massive wave of Cyalias rushed along their formation. Each of the Cyalias resembled them in an uncanny distortion, so using that hint, distinguishing each monster from the real person became light work for the trio.
Each second, they only grew in number. Then for a moment, the Cyalias stopped coming. They took a moment to rest before Haruo said:
"We need to move now; finding the rest would make things easier."
But before they could, another wave of them appeared. Their mana was slowly becoming harder to tell apart—parasite or ally. The problem wasn't the numbers, but trying to strike the parasites without hitting a teammate.
Then, out of confusion, Theodor attacked Ena. But before it could land, Ena quickly blocked it, stopping his spear just before it touched her skin. Realizing his mistake, Theodor quickly pulled his weapon back.
At that moment, they realized—they couldn't tell who was who anymore.