Leviathan(pt.1)

Riding from Kume to Torik in a train was entertaining due to the new landscapes.

Yet when I already knew what everything looked like all the flair was gone.

Everything looked exactly the same outside of my window, just green, green and even more green.

"I'm SOOO bored." I complained as I rested my head on my hand and gazed out the window and past Kenki who was quite invested in the view.

"I could've sworn you loved these things." Kenki stated as she sat beside me.

"If there's one thing you must know about Robius. It's that nothing makes sense with him." Kukiri stated as she sat on my lap.

"Well, if you're so bored you mind answering a question of mine?" Kenki asked genuinely as she shifted her gaze to me.

"Oh please. Anything to pass the time." I pleaded desperately as I sat up attentively.

"Your last name is Frost, right?"

Me and Kukiri nodded our heads affirmatively.

"Which is the same as our Master's right?"

Another two nods for the lady courtesy of myself and Kukiri.

"So... Is he your father or something?" She asked deadpan, as if to eliminate any possible idea that she might be joking.

Her question was well asked. But the answer was such common knowledge for me, that it was shocking to me that she didn't know.

"Master Pops?" I replied. "Not really. I just have his name because he adopted me into the guild when I was a baby. He took me in after my parents abandoned me. And I was raised by the guild, I've never really thought about my real parents, I'm sure they had their reasons. Besides Draconum Familia is my family now. So, I have no reason to look for them or even worry about them." I concluded whilst casually chasing a rampant booger out from my nose.

"Um Kenki?" Kukiri asked in a concerned/confused voice. "Are you-"

"No! Don't even ask! I am not crying!" Kenki hastily defended while wiping tears from her emerald eyes.

********

The train began to slow to a complete stop leaving us at our destination.

Kuro beach, the third largest beach in the whole of the five Orochi Isles. One could stare endlessly into the boundless ocean as it reflected the dancing rays of the golden orb in the sky.

And yet its beauty didn't end there. The warmth of the Sun, the fine, soft sand, the constant and gentle ocean breeze. Kuro beach was definitely a must go for any beach vacation.

A single cozy restaurant was the only permanent structure on the beach, it was called The Wakes Break and was ran by a family of settled sailors/fishers.

It wasn't my first time on the beach, yet I was still bewitched by it's beauty, even if only for a moment.

After all this job was a little more important then I let Kenki know, and I couldn't be distracted for long.

Typically, the beach was storming with people, and The Wakes Break would be bustling with business. Yet as of late it had been completely desolate due to a certain high-ranked monster that I got the quest to take care of.

"Whoa." Kenki gasped completely flabbergasted. "I've been to Torik's beaches, but none can hold a candle to this. What job did you grab again? And does it involve taking a dip in the waters?"

"You didn't know? Robius you really are lazy. We're hunting a Leviathan." Kukiri casually stated as she walked beside us.

Not giving Kenki a chance to complain I immediately rushed to the restaurant.

"Robius! Are you insane! We can't take down a Leviathan!" The crimson-haired whiner shouted as she ran in pursuit of me.

"Don't be a worrywart. We got this." I reassured with a smile as I looked back to Kenki pursuing me, as her ponytail bobbed in the wind as though it had a mind of its own.

I sat on a stool outside of the restaurant and gazed upon the seafood dominated menu.

"How about a bite to eat first?" I said basically drooling from simply reading the names of the delicious foods.

"This is so dumb! We're gonna die. Leviathans used to sink entire islands you know." Kenki whimpered as she sat on a stool beside me.

"Ooo I'll have the crab. It may not be of Torik's quality but it's still good!" Kukiri said without worry as she wagged her two-tone tail.

I spotted a bell and rung it like mad to alert the staff.

"I'll be right there!" a young girl's voice replied who I recognized making me immediately stop ringing.

"A little girl?" Kenki said as a young girl approached from deeper in the stand.

"Where's your dad Luci?" I asked, having met with her family before I knew they wouldn't let her run the shop alone unless the situation was dire. "Don't tell me he tried to stop the Leviathan."

"He was protecting me and mommy. He tried to fight the big dragon, but he got hurt."Luci answered solemnly as her voice began to break.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, just let him heal, me and this girl are gonna take care of the dragon." I said as I patted Luci's head. "Was there someone else who came here to stop the dragon before us."

Luci nodded her head. "There was another guy, he was really fast, he saved daddy and brought him back. But he didn't come back. Did the dragon-"

"No, he wouldn't go that easy. Tell you what. You know Kukiri right?" I interrupted.

"Mm-hmm." Luci replied.

"How about you watch her until we're done." I offered which made Kukiri glare at me intensely and Luci light up in joy.

"Okay!"

"Robius. You'll pay for this." Kukiri growled as Luci scooped her up with her arms and squeezed her in a ferocious hug.

********

"I didn't know you were so shy Kenki. You afraid of children or something? You didn't say a word back there." I teased as me and Kenki approached the location in the ocean where Luci pointed us. Aboard a pontoon boat owned by the restaurant.

It was large enough to fit about five people comfortably and it's seat were actually quite nice. It's cream white paint was decorated with only the occasional speck of rust and the words 'Leap 'o' Faith'. It's engine ran off of a gem known as Etheruim which pulled mana in and converted it into usable energy. At least according to Kenki that's how it worked.

"I was thinking. Leviathans are high level creatures, so are Jorōgumo. They are capable of killing thousands if properly motivated. They should be of top priority." Kenki stated whilst steering the Leap 'o' Faith across the gentle waves.

"Yup. Sounds about right." I answered as I relaxed on the seat stretching my legs and basking in the sun.

"So why are they being allowed to kill for so long? What's more is that we shouldn't have even gotten these quests. Our guild is pretty low ranked."

"The very bottom in fact." I interjected.

"The point is. Shouldn't the high-ranked guilds be taking care of this? It shouldn't get this bad."

"Uh. Kenki. I think that can wait." I warned as I noticed dark nimbi begin to form over us.

"Not more rain." Kenki whined.

Beneath our boat was a huge serpent at least twice as wide as our boat, and about twenty times as long.

It swam just beneath us, as though it was purposely displaying the thick blue scales which protected it's flesh.

Soon the beast completely encircled our boat and began to slowly close in around us like a snake compressing down on it's prey.

"This thing is huge!" I exclaimed in excitement as I hung over the railings of the pontoon nearly falling off in the process.

"This is what I mean! That thing is way too dangerous to let live!" Kenki exclaimed before she quickly went to work inscribing intricate runes on the boat.

I stretched from the boat and placed my hand on the water's surface surging it with lightning.

"Conduit." I said the name of my spell.

The giant serpent burst it's massive head from the water causing waves to thrash Leap 'o' Faith.

It roared in wrath revealing the razor-sharp teeth it had. It's eyes were slit like a cat's, and blue like the sky, thick tendrils acted as it's whiskers only each moved with intense precision.

"A little warning next time." Kenki said as she hovered her pen over a glowing rune on our boat. "We almost lost the boat."

"Stop complaining. I'm making sashimi. Conduit." I attempted to repeat my action only for nothing to happen. "Huh?"

Immediately Kenki activated another rune which allowed our boat to take flight and dodge the Leviathan's toothy bite.

"Odd, that just worked a second ago." I pondered.

"It must've purified the surrounding water to such a degree that the dissolved minerals that your lightning would've travelled through were removed." Kenki shouted through the pouring rain as we both became soaked once more.

"What?" I shouted back.

"Never mind. Just try something else." Kenki shouted whilst driving the flying boat.

"This is so fun!" I exclaimed with an anxious smile.

"Speak for yourself you lunatic! I can't keep this up forever." Kenki strained.

The Leviathan lunged forward with it's large, mouth ready to consume us. Yet with a quick flash of lightning, I managed to repel it and knock a fang out in one blow.

"Hah. Take that, you overgrown bird food!"

The Leviathan answered my taunt with a highly pressurized stream of boiling water directed right at us which Kenki only barely avoided with a sharp turn nearly knocking me off.

"Quickly Robius! I can only have the rune active for so long. And if we fall in the water, we're dead."

"I'm thinking!"

Fortunately, I was close enough to the Leviathan to leap from the boat and land a powerful punch against the Leviathan's thick scales on it's head, sending volts of lightning down it's whole exposed body.

"Bolt fist!"

Yet my attack seemed little more than a minor annoyance to the Leviathan as it barely even reacted which proved that its scales were nearly unbreakable, its innards were not given that my previous blow managed to knock a tooth out.

With a swipe from one of it's long tendrils I was launched back and caught by Kenki and my new favorite boat.

"Robius! You good?" Kenki shouted as her eyes darted between me and the Leviathan anticipating out next move.

"Yeah." I strained as I looked at the Leviathan with spite.

I was a close ranged fighter yet every time I got close, I risked getting swallowed alive.

Which gave me an idea.

"Get me in it's mouth!"