Steel and Mana

It took another two weeks of sailing since the battle with the turtle beast for the fleet to finally arrive at their supposed destination. They were now here, at the eastern edge of the world, where the continent was spreading towards the west, flatter than previously, sloping into the ocean. Exceptionally flat, as they were looking at a drowned city and its ruins, slipping into the ocean. It was built where a giant river met the sea, forming a sprawling delta that provided incredibly fertile ground for Airosia's old capital city... if the maps were accurate.

If, because it was hard to tell if this was the same, supposedly gorgeous city with a million people. What was left of it looked like ribs left on a plate or poking out from a rotting carcass. What remained standing were stone piers, some of the frames of warehouses that later collapsed into their cellars, a lone lighthouse at the left edge, no longer working... while the rest of the city was slowly turning into nothing but a marsh.

"There is the delta ahead," Lorhan, the captain of the Dawn, walked up to Pion as the fleet stopped at a safe distance from it. "Most of the old markers and buoys are gone, and from what we can see here, multiple bridges have collapsed between the tendrils of the river. A few looks cleared, but some passages are blocked."

"Many are shallow and narrow for our ships, so we will need to find the main vein," Pion answered, nodding while watching, turning his head towards the sun that was already on its downward trajectory. "Hold us here," he said, turning his back towards the shoreline, "Two cables off the outer bar and drop anchors. Before we do anything, we should take a look first."

The order rolled back through the speaking tubes within the ship, and the Dawn creaked as chains rattled over the bow, anchoring the destroyer. Behind it, one by one, the convoy settled down, the sail ships following suit while the Authority slowly drifted closer, taking up a similar position to the Dawn.

"Imaginary up," Nathel's voice echoed from the Seeker, "I am feeding a wide-angle to the best of my abilities."

This time, the image also appeared in Pion's helmet as he put it on. Although it was not capable of projecting with such complexity as a mech or an airship, with a blood tattoo reinforcement, he was able to look at the Seeker's image, ignoring the headache it caused. It was grainy at first, then sharpened as the Seeker's sensors got tweaked to keep the connection stable.

"Are those... built or just a coincidence?" Polo asked, looking at the same feed.

"Good question..." Pion mumbled.

There was a wide-enough looking vein of the delta that was clogged by the skeleton of multiple ships, buildings, and who knows what piled into a barricade and then fused together by something that wasn't human carpentry. It was like a beaver's work, angry that there was a flowing river on his property.

"There..." Polo's voice came again, "At the dead center of that obstruction."

At first, Pion thought it was a collapsed dome, part of the barricade, but then the dome shifted and moved around a little. It likely sensed the Seeker's magic as it surfaced to take a closer look and gain a clearer view. Two great valves were emerging there now, becoming half-open at the head of the river... like an oyster's shell, except it wasn't an ordinary one. A fan of armored legs skittered out from beneath it, jointed and saw-toothed like that of a weird lobster. Whatever was living inside it didn't show itself, though. The shell plates on its body were tall as city walls, ribbed and overgrown with seaweed as it began climbing onto its barricade, stretching out fleshly tendrils, trying to get a feel for where the magic was coming from.

"That… is sitting on our channel," Nathel said, thinking out loud, "If we want to use the river to sail into the continent, we need to blast the opening clear... None of the others are wide enough for our ships."

"We will kill it," Pion stated clearly, "Question is, how. Any signs of defensive magic?"

"Nothing, not a barrier, but that means nothing. What we can tell, though, is that beasts like to reserve their magic; they hate spending it..."

"Which means when it's dying is when it will release it." Polo grunted, "Like the worm's magical blast that knocked everyone out."

"A possibility," Pion agreed as he tapped the rail, thinking. "Nathel, connect us to every captain of every ship," he said, and when it was done, he continued without hesitation in his tone, "We have to run the river within two hours or we're waiting a day for the next tide. Whichever we choose, though, that creature blocks the main throat. So... We kill it first. Sailships, stay behind; the Dawn and the Authority will handle it. If the battle goes awry, retreat." With that, he had already decided on what to do next, concentrating on the shape of the enemy beast. "What's your read on its behavior?"

"Nothing much," Nathel answered, "But its shell looks formidable. If it retreats and sits in it, it will be a hard one to crack."

"It looks like it hinges at the back." Polo offered, "If we force it open..."

"We don't have the mechs for that." Pion cut in, making Nathel shrug, wishing that Tiburon and his Leviathan were here.

"If it comes to it," Polo offered, "I can tank it. I can extend a shield around the Authority's bow, soak the attacks, and draw on its aggro. On your mark, I could drop on it and do it. From that close, my cannons could blast it in the mouth with all I got."

"Seeker?" Pion asked.

"As long as its shell remains open, I can fire at it from this position without missing. The brain is inside... we just need to hit it the right way."

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While thinking, the plan in Pion's head was already forming. The Authority would move forward to draw fire, with the Rook flashing shields to bait the monster's opening and gauge its reaction. Then, the Dawn and the Seeker would fire and hammer the soft insides of the beast. On paper, it would be a simple endeavor...

"We will do it like this," Pion spoke up, making a decision, "Authority, ease ahead slowly. Dawn, thirty degrees starboard to give Nathel a clean shot. Sailships, maintain distance and spread out. If it moves toward the convoy, I want it to only have one ship it can take on, not ram into all of you."

His orders spread quickly, and soon enough, the Authority slid ahead, her prow turning towards the monster that finally noticed it. Or it noticed Polo's monster core, to be precise... The shell narrowed as it tucked its legs in, its inner, lobster-like form retreating deep within, but it didn't close itself yet.

"Spit incoming!" Nathel warned. "It is gathering its magic!"

"Shield," Polo acknowledged.

Blue light blossomed over the Authority's bow as the Rook threw its bubble up just in time as the spit came an instant later. It was a sheet rather than a jet, unlike when they faced the turtle. This one was like a thrown net. It hit the shield and slid down, hissing, off to either side, making the water bubble. Was it hot? Or acidic? Perhaps it was both, as the water boiled in patches and the smell wafted out strongly, smelling of vinegar and burnt metal.

"Shield holding," Polo reported when it hit it, "Dropping in three... two... one..."

The bubble snapped away, and in the same breath, the Rook's shoulder cannons lit up, aiming the still-open shell. When the multitude of explosions hit across the creature's lip, it recoiled, and, maybe because it was in pain, its insides catching on fire, instead of closing down, it was opening up more, already trying to retreat into the water to extinguish the flames.

"Now!" Pion ordered.

Nathel didn't need it because the Seeker's primary weapon was firing already, in quick succession. It's magically propelled, massive 'bullets' whiped out, splashing the water below the ship. Two piercing rounds hissed through the gap in the monster's mouth and exploded somewhere within, which caused the whole creature to shake as if someone had struck a bell inside it.

Whatever Nathel hit, the beast answered by trying to close its mouth shut, but it was too late. The Rook's six-barreled gunhand howled, spinning, turning the visible part of the lobster-creature inside into mist and shredded meat.

"Careful, a second spit is building," Nathel warned, "It will attack!"

"Shield!" Pion snapped, and Polo was already winding down his weapons, switching to defense.

The bubble came up, but the creature had probably had enough experience to do something different for its second attack. Instead of a sheet-like spit, this time there were twinned jets that came through, curving it around Polo's figure and his shields. The nearer jet on its left hit the Authority's port anchor chain, turning its links into smoking paste, melting down its armor, while the right one just went overhead of the ship, missing it by centimeters.

"Taken a hit!" the Authority's captain barked in the background. "Turning to starboard to compensate! Move people! Put out the fire!" He barked as smoke rose from the ship's side.

On the other hand, the monster recoiled after its second spit, retreating into itself. Its legs locked into the barricade like harpoons, dragging its body lower, and then the mouth slammed shut with a thunderclap, becoming a hard shell, unwilling to fight anymore.

"It's closed," Nathel muttered, "It is reinforcing it with magic, I think... From within."

"Keep hammering," Pion ordered. "Crack it open, Polo, it may just come to what you offered..."

"Yeah, I see that..." He muttered while the destroyers began firing their cannons.

The Authority's weapons were also going off sequentially, Polo timing his own bombardment to theirs as the explosions thundered across the shell's ridges and along its damned dam. They were throwing massive chunks of stone and ship fragments into the delta, not only assaulting the bastard but also its built-up home. For a time, it looked like nothing would give, but then the shell flexed, and it began to groan more and more. Then, through the Imaginary feed, Nathel saw it... a fine hairline fracture was spreading through it.

"Cracks forming!" he confirmed, "It seems we don't need to get that close!"

And, just like them, the beast must have known, too, as it made a sudden movement. The water around it frothed, the remaining barricade crunching under its weight, and... then a sudden silence.

"Pressure spike," Nathel warned. "Something's—" but he couldn't finish, and his hands, working the Seeker, had already begun loading and shifting the aim of his weapon straight above the Authority's silhouette, aiming at the sky...

The next second, the entire shell blew open.

It was a violent, spring-loaded-like detonation, the whole body slamming wide open with a shriek that made many who listened involuntarily try to cover their ears and be temporarily stunned. Then, the lobster-like body hiding inside burst free, its legs splaying wide, connected by thin and now shredded leathery fins, ichor leaking from all over its body and scorched plates. With one heave, it launched itself off the barricade and out of its shell, flying straight over the Authority like a twenty-meter-long bird... or whale.

Its trajectory was clear: it was ignoring Polo and aiming straight for the Dawn and the Seeker behind them. Or maybe towards the deep sea, to flee...

"Shit!" Polo's voice cut through the radio, drowned out by the roar of the monster, inhaling, probably for a spit, aiming at the Dawn.

But the beast had made its last mistake as its body entered the Seeker's predetermined mark... and Nathel fired without hesitation...

It caught the creature square in the head mid-leap. The impact was crunchy, and then it was followed by an explosion from within as the monster's skull detonated in a gout of blood and ravaged chitin flying hundreds of meters before landing in the ocean. What hit the water a second later was the headless body, doing two cartwheels, its momentum carrying it past the Dawn, almost hitting it. Then, like a skipping stone losing its momentum, it settled with a colossal splash, beginning to sink at once.

It's spraying blood caused the water to boil as bubbles emerged, popping and carrying that sour, metallic stench everywhere.

"Target neutralized," Nathel said simply, letting out a long breath, "Bless the Sovereign's name and his inventions..."

"Report!" Pion's voice echoed, bringing Nathel out of his momentary stupor, as he felt a surge of relief.

"We are all good," Nathel replied, "Its magical waves are dying out, it's dead, Commodore!"

"Nice shot!" Polo's laugh carried over next, half-relief, half-adrenaline still pounding in his ears, "That thing flew over us like it weighed nothing..."

"Good thing I didn't shoot it immediately," Nathel muttered, "Its acidic splash wouldn't have been pleasant..."

"You can say that again..." Polo agreed, shivering a little. Luckily, Nathel got it after it cleared over the Authority's hull. "What now?"

"We remain vigilant!" Pion ordered, "Stay alert for any other monsters. We will bring in the rest of the ships, and the soldiers can disembark, cleaning away the rubble... The tide is already coming in, but we can't hurry it or risk sinking and losing more ships... We will head in tomorrow... And find that third Pass before our Sovereign arrives."