Ch.2-1 ¤ High Seas Slaughter

I used to work for the Ninth. Those missions were some of the most fun things I did in my life, and since that incident happened, I didn't think I'd be able to do things like that anymore. I couldn't be more glad to have been wrong.

I stood on the fore deck of the cargo ship as it closed in to the location of the ultimatum that had been sent to it, wearing a bright red kimono with golden details and ornaments. I knew there would be blood, so this was the best choice. What I didn't know however, was how. The pirates' boast had been bold, but vague, and as the vessel slowly plowed the water all I could think of was: "what were they going to do? what was their trump card?" Already I was imagining the possibilities and it made me more eager the more I waited.

Soon enough the ship came to a halt. Mist had been starting to rise slowly for the  past two hours or so, but now it thickened at a suspicious speed. Some had been predicted by Silke, but this was more than there should have been - unless I was just remembering wrong of course, which was equally possible - hinting that the enemy may have hired a Callidus to conceal their approach.

It made no difference to me in the end. I didn't rely only on sight, but on all my senses, failing that I could push them even further with my combat drugs. I was tempted to ingest some Rose right there and then but I restrained myself. Taking it too early would just waste most of its duration waiting for the enemy to show up. I simply closed my eyes and focused instead: I heard the semi-regular flow of the weak waves on the hull, I smelled the cold and salt of the high seas.

It was coming.

Another engine purred in the distance, made faint by some means I could only take guesses at. The scent of smoke tickled my nose; they were coming from the same direction as the wind. I made my way to port side with a quick pace.

+What are you doing? you're leaving your position.+ a sharp pain stabbed at my mind as I heard Silke's voice as clearly as if she was right behind me even though she was supposed to be on the other end of the ship. I didn't know how to reply to that strange... telepathy, for a lack of better word, so I didn't, and her voice stabbed me once more; cold, harsh. +You better know what you're doing.+

"They're coming, kid." I simply whispered to myself. I highly doubted she could hear me, but it felt good to give justification. By now the mist had thickened so much that it was impossible to see more than a few meters ahead of yourself. If the pirates hailed the cargo ship or anything it didn't show. All I heard from our side was the calm and the waves. Most likely the human crew was left totally in the dark, else I would be hearing the frantic clanks of people running on metallic stairways and catwalks or just.. something. The smoke was close now, tickling my nose again.

Before long, something else joined the smoke and the salt. Iron, copper, sulfur. It was a smell I knew; a smell I liked. But it was not a smell that belonged here, nor a smell that belonged to mere pirates. This had gotten even more interesting. My own blood started to boil in anticipation, the wait was burning me.

And then it finally started with a loud clanking noise.

Who the fuck even use boarding ramps anymore? This isn't the 16th century.

It tore into the hull with massive, fang-like hooks that shook the deck while a number of chains were fired across the side, tangling the railing. Then came the howling. This was honestly not what I had expected, but I braced myself for it. The smell of brimstone became pungent, almost enough to bother me. Fortunately I didn't have much time to be annoyed.

The first hound leaped at me and I brought my left arm to guard. It bit down on my armored forearm with enough strength that if it were mere flesh it would have been chomped clean off; enough to have gone through normal armor as well. I was able to get a good look at the thing in the split second between this instant and the one where my right hand's black claws pierced the soft underflesh of its red neck and pushed until they ripped all the way through.

The creatures looked like massive hounds - or small wolves - but had no fur. They were covered in red scales from head to toe and sported claws and fangs better fit for dinosaurs. To complete the imagery, some of them bore spikes on their bony heads while other had web-like, fleshy growths of sickening green colors. All of them had eyes that knew no hunger, but only hatred for all living. And then some more.

I knew those creatures, but they didn't belong here. They didn't belong in the real world. They shouldn't be here.

That was all I had the time to think before more attacked and others spread across the deck; this would be the wrong kind of messy. The hounds were fast and nimble, more than their heavy, large frames had any right to be and even someone like myself couldn't under-estimate them. A single moment of inattention would be enough to have your body entirely picked and torn apart by those beasts.

My body twisted and spun, giving them their match. fangs first met claws when a gaping maw was rammed by fleshmetal, black steel impaling into soft daemon flesh and coming out coated in gray and white pulp. I tossed back the twitching husk into the fray but not quickly enough to fully avoid another maw that took a chunk out of my left arm, a bit below the shoulder, rendering it useless for a moment.

"Kch, arrogant little mutts." I jumped and landed forcefully on the most distant one, causing its legs to buckle and giving me time to sink my good claw into the back of its neck. It was more difficult with the thick protective scales, but I still had enough hold to twist and break its neck without issues. By that time the pack had already turned back and--

+T-tatsuki! w-what are those things?+ Shit.

It would just have been too convenient if they all stayed here for me to kill. Gunfire and screams started to erupt at other parts of the ship. I could hear it all clearly as I continued my work; pleas, cries for help, shrieks, last rambles of agony. I needed to finish this quickly, so I attempted to do so in the most efficient way. Baleful energies gathered, coating my good hand in ephemeral colors while my other arm was still regenerating. With another jump to dodge the dogpile of daemon-hounds I released the energy downwards in the form of several spheres of volatile, empyrean force. They detonated violently on impact, covering this area of the deck in purple flames that shifted tones with every heartbeat.

I had under-estimated those things. The explosion itself had blew away some of the further ones and caused them to fall into the ocean where they would surely drown, but the others stood insultingly unaffected by the Warpfire licking at their bodies. I moved back in without a second thoughts; fleshmetal drawing blood, daemon fangs drawing blood.

If only I could enjoy this dance of death just a little while longer, ah...

The last of the husks fell down heavily as it hit the railing with a crunching sound, bending the steel and tumbling down into the dark waters below. I knew I was right to pick red. My kimono was tattered by countless slices and tears and even my long black hair was stained crimson, but my body held nicely. It would take more than hell-spawned familiars to keep me down. I made my way to the Aft deck at full speed. I needed to hunt down the spread out creatures, but the first priority was the Culexus. She sighted them far too long ago already...

Silke was sitting down against the wall near the door leading to the bridge, breathing heavily and looking exhausted even with her helmet on. Her chest rose and fell quickly. She seemed completely out of it, but she wasn't dead yet, so that was all that really mattered.

Around the little Culexus was.... the things looked like they were shot by some sort of heavy, heat-weapon from a sci-fi movie. Entire halves of canine bodies were just gone, the remains charred with the missing parts nowhere to be found. Another was blown off the middle with 60% of its body gone and meager, charcoaled ends pathetically twisted on each side of the ashes.

Just what the fuck -are- Culexus anyway...

"Hey, don't witch out on me kid." I reached out a hand and Silke looked up slightly before weakly taking the outstretched hand. I helped her to her feet

"I.. didn't let.. any of them in.. so the bridge is safe... but I.. couldn't.. " I put a bloodied finger on her lips with a small 'shh' and stopped her. I then produced a Grief Seed from my inventory and handed it over to her. There was a short moment of silence as she applied it and her breathing stabilized for the most part. "I'm sorry.. I couldn't pinpoint the source.. I had to stay here and take care of this.."

"It's fine." I shook my head lightly and tried to speak in a comforting tone. Try being the keyword here. "We'd be pretty fucked if we completed the mission but didn't have the crew to bring this ship back to port."

"Do.. do you have any idea what those things were?" Silke hazarded, still clearly a bit shaken and my bloodied appearance probably not helping at all.. "They were like familiars... but we aren't in a Witch's Barrier."

I just nodded. "I felt the same too, but I have no idea how that'd be possible." I let out a small breath "We'll have to find out later, I need to finish clearing up." I turned around and tried to head off but a gloved hand stopped me.

"Wait!" Silke's voice rose above her usual shy tone and forced me to look back. "When I Pulse to you. Stop. Being. Silent." I blinked, both surprised by her sudden coldness and serious as well just genuinely lost as to what she was even talking about. "Simple. I send a message to you, you focus back on me."

+Like this+

"Ouch fuck." the message stabbed me more strongly than it did earlier. "That hurts, but fine I'll.. try to do the thing." I sighed with annoyance and rubbed the back of my head. "Yes. You do the thing. The thing is -important-" she replied flatly before letting me go.

Without wasting more time I headed back towards the center of the ship to hunt down the remaining hellspawns. It wasn't pretty. The crewmen that had been left to their own devices didn't have any chance, even those with firearms. They were all torn apart. Even those who had tried to hide had been killed, most likely sniffed out if those things had the same sense of smell their canine forms suggested.

+Alright, now let's set a plan.+ I cringed lightly, but Silke's Pulse was softer so it was bearable, so I tried to do the thing.

+I'm a little busy, but what have you got?+ I tried to do the thing, but I didn't know if it worked just yet. I learned soon enough when my mind was metaphorically stabbed again. This would take a lot of getting used to.

+After you finish securing the cargo, we'll board the pirates' ship.+ a small pause, hesitation? +I was supposed to do it myself earlier, but you saw what happened.+

+Sounds good to me. We'll meet up at the ramp once I'm done.+ I tried the thing again.

+Understood+ was her final answer. I was pretty thankful to be getting a break from this. Did this pain always affect other Magical Girls whenever they message them this way or was it just my body reacting strangely again? I couldn't help but also wonder why that would be if it were the case.

Strangely enough, when I reached the nearest straggler, it vanished, dispelled into some sort of fairy dust bullshit. I didn't know what happened, but it told me that for whatever reason, those things had limits to their presence. Maybe they could only be here for a limited amount of time, maybe they went too far from.... whatever hole they crawled out of. I didn't know the specifics, but it seemed that way. I scoured the whole cargo for their presence but found no more of them.