I No Clown

Dakhsina is No Longer Safe

Mathias awoke to a muffled crash from below. Something seemed to have deliberately struck the hull.

Probably a chunk of ice, he thought.

Since yesterday, it has been much colder out at sea. After all, according to the other passengers, they were expected to arrive in the freezing South today.

He got up half lazily. From the sunlight coming into his small cabin, he thought it was early morning.

Thud!

His eyes widened and his demeanor became more alert.

The impact felt much stronger this time which made the ship sway slightly, this also made the passengers who had already woken up screech.

No, he thought, this ship didn't hit an iceberg!

Mathias grabbed his jacket and thick cloak, which he used as a hood to cover his head and part of his face.

Thump!

"Goddamn it!" he muttered as he quickly made his way to the deck. "Didn't they say Dakhsina was still safe from intrusion?"

At the same time, the screams of the dozen or so passengers aboard the ship sounded even more hysterical.

The men had gathered on the deck, as well as the owner and three crew members. Some had grasped weapons such as spears, harpoons, and swords.

"What's happening to us?" asked someone who had just joined.

Mathias took a position further away from the men. His gaze wildly scanned the surface of the sea.

It was dimly lit as the sun was still shyly visible on the eastern horizon.

As far as he could see, Mathias could only find chunks of ice scattered in several spots on the surface of the calm sea.

The dimly lit conditions made the ice look bluish.

There were no other ships there at that time other than that one ship, moving slowly across the surface of the cold sea.

"I'm not sure!" said the ship owner.

Thump!

The screams of the women and children could be heard again from the small cabins, while the men on deck grew worried and pale.

Mathias didn't want anything to happen to their ship not before they reached land.

So, with a very light movement, he moved from the deck to the roof. From this elevated position, he could better scan the entire side of the ship.

Could it be a big shark? He asked himself. But what kind of big shark?

"Hey!" the owner holding a harpoon, said to the others. "Don't panic, don't make a sound!"

Mathias looked at the men below, then cast his eyes far ahead. Vaguely, he could make out an elongated black shadow.

"Land," he muttered. "Just a little more..."

Stamp!

The terrified shrieks of the ship's passengers intensified when a violent impact forced the bow of the ship to lift higher.

The men on deck fell and rolled on the floor, a few were able to hold on to something, but the rest had to slide and hit the cabin walls hard.

At the moment of the big impact and the bow lifted, Mathias jumped towards the lifted bow, but it looked like he was flying.

In such a frantic atmosphere, no one noticed what the man was doing, except for the wide-eyed ship owner.

Mathias didn't want to show who he was. It was just that this situation forced him to use his magic and power.

As soon as his foot touched the tip of the ship's bow, it seemed to exert such a strong pressure that the ship did not capsize and slam back into the sea.

Splash!

Under his thick hood, the man's right eye refracted a faint blue light, scanning the sea surface better.

He growled when he discovered that there was a figure with a white silhouette under the ship.

There's no mistaking it, he thought. It must be that bizarre creature that was deliberately disturbing them.

"What kind of creature are you, hmm?" he muttered.

"Hey!" shouted the ship owner. "Don't stand there, you'll fall over and become a meal for the sea creatures!"

Mathias glanced over his shoulder at the owner. The middle-aged man was trying to stand up with a harpoon in his hand.

Useless, he thought. That harpoon won't stop a creature that big down there!

"No, this isn't normal!" a man shouted. "I've visited Dakhsina several times. B-But never had this kind of disturbance!"

"Does this mean―" another man gulped with a deathly pale face.

"Oh, God, no..." the other man grew more frightened as he covered his face with his palms. "We went to Dakhsina to save ourselves, but... those demons are already here!"

"What's going to happen to us?" a crewman muttered to the owner.

The owner glanced at his men, and then he said to everyone, "If you can only complain, then you'd better become bait for the creatures down there so that the others can be saved!"

Mathias grinned subtly at the owner's irritated remark.

But, he was right, he thought.

In this current state and situation, complaining and doing nothing, was tantamount to suicide.

Mathias squinted his eyes, and the right eye that refracted a faint blue light became even more visible. So was the entirety of his right hand.

It was just that, because he was wearing long-sleeved clothes, as well as a fairly thick jacket, and gloves with holes, only the fingertips could be seen emitting blue light.

"Prepare for impact!" he called out.

Everyone gasped, all eyes fixed on the man at the end of the bow.

As they saw the fingers of the man's right hand refracting bluish light, they realized that the man was a mage.

At the very least, this brought them a bit of hope.

"Get ready!" Mathias shouted louder and longer.

With the ability of his eyes, he could see the thick, white furry creature swimming fast, from bottom to top.

He knew that this time, the creature would succeed in overturning the ship if he didn't take action.

So, Mathias raised his right hand high, five fingers wide open. In the next instant, lightning flashed from the five fingertips of his right hand.

The people on the deck could only stay silent with their eyes widened, it was magic like they had never seen before.

At the very least, what Mathias displaying was far greater than any other magic they had ever known.

Soon, the bow of the ship would lift again as the surface of the water was like a growing mountain, urged on by the creature that was about to emerge from beneath the surface.

"Sorry, buddy," Mathias muttered. "I don't wanna die here!"

And then, with great force, he slammed his right hand down, as if pushing hard with his palm.

Swoosh!

Clap!

Thump!