Half a kilometer from Moonstone Province's northern boundary.
A damaged speedboat struggled across the waves. The engine sputtered violently. A long crack ran along the hull, allowing seawater to slowly seep inside.
There were currently four passengers on board—one woman and three men.
Behind them, an eight-meter C-Class giant tuna followed relentlessly.
Its massive body moved smoothly through the water, easily keeping pace with the crippled boat.
Fireballs, arrow-shaped rocks, and serrated-edge metal discs spun towards the C-Class water beast.
Sensing them, the giant tuna seamlessly dodged the fireballs and countered the metal discs and spinning rocks with an eight-meter wave attack formed from its tail.
Their attacks didn't even leave a single scratch.
"F*ck! Give me a break!" Earl shouted in a mixture of annoyance and frustration. He was the young man with blue eyes, wearing a teal lightweight long-sleeved shirt and khaki cargo shorts, positioned beside the woman at the steering wheel. Wrapped around his head was a faded blue bandanna that gathered his blond hair. He thought they were finally getting their rest, but this tuna punk appeared just a few minutes after their fight with the D-Class swordfish, giving them no break.
If it was before, they had no problem dealing with this C-Class water beast.
Although a water beast is stronger than an awakener of the same rank, their Captain was different. With his dual ability of metal and partial aquatic morph, he could easily defeat the water beast chasing them.
Splash!
After the water curtain receded, the C-Class water beast opened its mouth, planning to launch an attack directed at Earl.
Earl saw it. Breathing heavily, he tried to gather his firepower in his palm. But instead, his head throbbed badly at the attempt.
"Earl, are you alright?!" Rose, the short curly ginger-haired woman behind the steering wheel, asked in concern after noticing Earl's figure wobble.
"Damn it—" Earl knew this feeling. It was power overdraft. What bad timing!
Just then, the spinning metal discs that missed their target earlier rose from the water and flew behind the C-Class water beast. The water beast sensed the attack from behind.
Caught off guard, the C-Class water beast created another wave before dodging fast by swimming underneath. But even though it escaped, two of the five serrated-edge metal discs still managed to land a hit, leaving deep wounds.
The C-Class water beast underwater swung its tail, wailing in agitation.
Rose maneuvered the speedboat, barely escaping the giant wave made by the C-Class water beast.
"Thank you, Captain..." Earl muttered weakly. At the same time, he loathed how weak he was.
"Earl, stop using your powers until you recover fully." At the stern of the speedboat stood their captain, the completely soaked Axel. He wore dark grey polyester spandex shorts, compression tights, and guards that perfectly hugged his body, legs, and arms, revealing his toned muscles underneath. His short black hair clung to the side of his face, and on his neck hung black-rimmed goggles.
He leaned against the railing. His broad chest rose and fell with each breath. His face, which was usually filled with a healthy glow, lost its warmth. Even with his tanned skin, he couldn't hide how worn out he looked. Out of them, he was the most exhausted and hungry. Additionally, he was suffering from hypothermia.
He really deserved to be called one of the most powerful awakeners. Even in his overdrawn state, he was still able to land a hit, leaving his team members in awe.
Earl nodded at his captain's words. He tried to get up, but his head was dizzy. His grip on the railings loosened.
There used to be a reinforced canopy and welded steel plates around the railings, but because of the fight with the swordfish earlier, such defensive barriers were reduced to scrap.
With the speedboat moving at its fastest speed, Earl was about to slide over the railings.
At the same time, the C-Class water beast shot water spheres towards them.
"Earl!" Rose and Axel shouted anxiously.
Despite the throbbing headache, Axel still forced himself to control his circular metal saws.
In the midst of it, the headache intensified. Axel nearly gave out if not for sheer will.
A brown-haired middle-aged man wearing a brown vest and cargo shorts rushed towards Earl. His legs and arms were wrapped in a layer of stones as he quickly punched the water spheres before grabbing Earl.
The water spheres were formidable. The middle-aged man, holding Earl in his arms, staggered five steps backwards.
At the same time, the stone layer around the middle-aged man's arms and legs crumbled like dust, showing his tanned skin underneath. A wave of weakness washed over him.
Loudly coughing from the impact, the middle-aged man said in a hoarse voice, "Captain, I believe this body and power of mine are at their limits." His head throbbed, and black spots danced in his vision.
"That was a close one... thank you, Uncle Rick." Axel released the breath he had been holding. If Uncle Rick wasn't there to catch Earl in time, Earl would have been gone in the water.
Rose was relieved as well. "Earl, Uncle Rick, hold on properly!"
But their relief was just temporary. The C-Class water beast resurfaced once again.
At this point, Axel was just forcing himself to stay awake.
A week ago, while traveling on the Emerald Sea that had now turned into an ocean, their speedboat almost capsized after sailing around reef channels full of whirlpools.
Although they survived, they lost most of their supplies, including fuel.
Right after that, they encountered hordes of water beasts. They hadn't rested properly ever since.
Fighting continuously drained their powers.
They finished the last of their food and water three days ago. Tired, hungry, and thirsty, they were not in the state to fight.
They were hoping to replenish their supplies at a cruise ship base nearby, but they didn't expect to encounter high-rank water beasts one after another, forcing them to reroute towards Moonstone Province.
As much as they wanted to take shelter on the sunken skyscrapers, it was already too late.
As the minutes went by, Axel felt his consciousness about to give out.
Because he was the pillar of the group, he couldn't give up yet. If he fell, so would the rest of the team.
He hadn't found his family yet. He absolutely couldn't die at this moment.
"Rose, can you go any faster?" Axel endured.
"I can't! This is the fastest speed the boat can muster!" Rose had already turned the speed to full throttle.
At this moment, the boat had reached one hundred meters from the boundary.
As Rose returned her attention ahead, squinting her eyes, she noticed something strange—a pale pink arc.
She had been in Moonstone Province before, and she didn't remember any pink arc.
There were words welded on top of the arc.
However, before she could find out what they were, their Captain's sudden words made her withdraw her gaze.
"There's no other choice. I'll lure it away! Rose, you take Earl and Uncle Rick to hide in those debris!" Axel began to take off his boots and walked towards the hull.
Rose was shocked. "What do you mean, Captain? Are you crazy? You won't be able to outrun it! You'll be in danger instead!" With their captain's current condition, diving underwater was tantamount to suicide.
"Captain... don't..." Earl forced himself to stay conscious and called out in a feeble voice.
"If I don't lure it away, then none of us will survive," Axel replied helplessly. "Uncle Rick, without me here, please take care of them."
Rick saw the determination in Axel's eyes. His expression hardened at Axel's selfless act. After a moment of thought and a deep breath, he came to a decision.
"Captain, I can't follow your order. You're young, with the best potential out of all of us. It would be a waste for you to fall here. And these two still need you. Allow me to take your place instead and buy us some time. I may not be as fast as you, but I'm still a good swimmer."
"Uncle Rick..." Rose's eyes began to redden.
Earl heard Uncle Rick's words, and a lump formed in his throat. Not Uncle Rick too. Did they really need to sacrifice themselves?
Rick smiled helplessly. "Don't cry. I was thankful for meeting you three. The months shared with you have been full of good memories."
Tears began to flow from Rose's and Earl's eyes.
"I can't allow that." Axel pressed his lips together. "It was my decision to come here in the first place. Therefore, I must take responsibility."
Rick was about to say something when the engine sputtered violently, then died. The boat came to a sudden stop and drifted across the waves, just twenty meters from the northern boundary of Moonstone Province.
Color drained from Rose's face. "This is bad! The fuel ran out!"
Axel, Rick, and Earl wore grim expressions.
The C-Class water beast took a leap and opened its mouth wide, and the water inside began to coil and compress like a spinning drum.
Before anyone could react, the beast unleashed it.
"Duck!" Axel shouted.
Boom!
A powerful jet of water slammed into the stern of the speedboat.
The already damaged hull shattered under the impact. The entire boat shot forward across the waves as if kicked by an invisible force.
Splash!
The speedboat capsized, throwing all four of them into the cold seawater.
Cold seawater rushed into Axel's nose and mouth. For a moment, there was only the roar of water in his ears.
Despite his head screaming in pain, Axel activated his other ability. Gills sprouted along the sides of his neck, fluttering as they filtered oxygen from the water. His fingers and toes stretched and webbed.
He quickly searched for his friends.
Splash!
"Cough! Cough!"
Moments later, Earl, Rose, and Uncle Rick broke the surface, coughing hard and clutching their throats as they drew ragged breaths.
Axel resurfaced as well, deactivating his ability.
Weak and cold, the four grabbed onto the floating empty blue jugs tied to their luggages.
The four suddenly froze.
Dread and despair washed over them as they saw the C-Class water beast only ten meters away.
At this moment, Axel couldn't muster any more strength. But he still paddled with his feet slowly towards the front of his team, as if using his body as a shield.
Just when they thought it was their end, the C-Class water beast didn't attack. It slowed, circled once, then again. Its massive tail thrashed against the water, creating huge splashes as if searching for something it had lost.
"...why isn't it attacking?" Rose whispered.
Moments ago, it was adamant about killing them, but now it was acting like it was searching for something.
The water beast swam in restless loops, its gaze sweeping the water but never settling on them. It was as if some invisible barrier had appeared between them.
The C-Class water beast swung its tail once more before leaving in frustration.
The four were equally confused.
Suddenly, a voice rang out behind them.
Isla looked at the giant tuna curiously.
"So that is what a water beast looks like."
Isla tilted her head slightly, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
She was expecting the water beast to be more gruesome but compared to the nightmares like wraiths, undead and abberations she had fought before, it was a breath of fresh air.
At the sound, Axel and his teammates sharply turned their heads.