Monsters

Aegon rolled swiftly forward. A tentacle swept past his back on a reeking gust and slammed into the deck.

Bang! Wood splintered as the blow caved in the deck planks.

The ship rocked again. A bead of cold sweat slid down Aegon's temple at the sight. One hit from that thing would probably kill him on the spot.

He had barely rolled to his feet, not yet steady, when more tentacles covered in fleshy growths burst through the waves and coiled around the hull like pythons strangling their prey.

The hull creaked as though groaning, and the waterline visibly rose.

Aegon's pupils contracted. If they sank in these eerie waters, they would have no chance of survival. No rescue would come, never mind that the sea was full of monsters.

He had realized that their ship was not the only one under attack. The other ships traveling with them were also being assaulted by terrifying tentacled monsters. He even saw a smaller vessel already dragged more than halfway underwater.

Some mercenaries and sailors jumped overboard to save themselves, but before they could swim far, something seemed to seize them and yank them beneath the surface. Scarlet blood then welled up, staining the seawater.

Aegon swallowed hard. Despite all his years as a mercenary and everything he had seen, he had never witnessed anything like this.

What seemed like an eternity had actually happened in only a few seconds. With no time to think about anything else, Aegon swung his sword at the tentacles wrapped around the hull. He knew they could not let the monster keep this up. Once the ship sank, they were doomed!

His actions snapped several nearby mercenaries who still had their wits about them out of their stupor. Realizing the danger, they hurriedly brandished their weapons and joined the fight.

Blades sliced into flesh, sending foul-smelling, dark green blood spraying. The monster loosened its grip on the hull, its wounded tentacles twitching and writhing in the air.

Aegon did not know whether he was imagining it, but the growths on those tentacles looked like human faces. He could even make out different expressions, some venomous, others hateful, yet every one stared at him with malice. The sight made his skin crawl.

The other mercenaries were gradually making headway too, and everyone had just begun to breathe a little easier.

With a muffled boom, several of the monster's tentacles suddenly converged on the bow and pressed down hard. As the ship's frame creaked under the unbearable strain, the monster hauled itself onto the hull.

At last, everyone saw the monster in full!

Between its growth-covered tentacles, a split head sac exposed a hideous, bone-white mouthpart shaped like a bird's beak. Serrations like rusted steel blades lined its interior, and thick, fluorescent green saliva stretched into threads as it roared.

"Is it trying to force the ship underwater?" a mercenary shrieked amid the others' horror, his voice distorted by fear.

The monster's weight drove the bow beneath the water! In an instant, the deck became as steep as a cliff.

Some of the cowardly mercenaries hiding at the stern were even catapulted into the sea like pieces from a tangram puzzle.

Screams and cries for help filled the air.

With the ship tilted as steeply as a cliff, Aegon grabbed the railing to steady himself. A fat mercenary with nothing to brace against slid past him, flailing so helplessly that he did not even think to grab Aegon.

The fat mercenary screamed as he slid toward the bow-where the monster waited with its enormous beak open.

Fortunately, Aegon reacted in time. He seized the back of the man's collar, dragged him over to the railing, and motioned for him to hold on.

The fat mercenary stared blankly, scared out of his wits, but instinctively clung tight to the railing as soon as it came within reach.

Aegon paid him no further attention. Just now, he thought he had found the monster's weakness. When it exposed its mouthparts while waiting for food, he had seen a black orb on either side of the huge beak. Those should be its eyes, and a creature's eyes generally were not far from its brain. A strike there might seriously injure it.

The longsword in his hand definitely would not do. It was far too small compared with the monster. Even a direct hit would, at most, blind one eye without reaching the brain.

He scanned his surroundings for a suitable weapon. Not far away, he spotted a spear several meters long near a scar-faced mercenary. Some mercenary had driven it into the deck during the chaos, so it had stayed in place even with the ship tilted.

Aegon's eyes lit up. He looked toward the scar-faced mercenary and was just about to speak...

The scar-faced mercenary happened to catch Aegon's gaze and seemed to understand. "Catch!" he roared, hurling the spear over and driving it deep into the deck beside Aegon's feet. As its wooden shaft hummed and quivered, the man himself leaped forward and slid toward the monster.

"Attack together! I'll draw its attention! If we don't kill it, we all die!" the scar-faced mercenary bellowed.

As he approached one of the monster's tentacles, the scar-faced mercenary grabbed the railing. Once he had secured himself, he slashed at the tentacle. The monster lashed several tentacles at him in pain, but he proved surprisingly agile, dodging from side to side without suffering a scratch.

Aegon watched in surprise, then acted without a moment's hesitation. He let go and slid down. As he drew near, the monster's hideous beak snapped at him.

As though he had anticipated it, Aegon deftly flipped out of the way, leaving the monster's eye exposed before him.

Using his momentum, Aegon thrust the spear with every ounce of strength he had.

The spear pierced the monster's eye, bursting it in a spray of foul-smelling fluid. Pain sent the monster shaking and thrashing violently.

Aegon's gaze hardened. Gripping the end of the spear, he twisted it fiercely.

An earth-shaking shriek erupted from the monster's enormous beak. It abruptly withdrew its tentacles and rolled into the sea. Aegon reacted swiftly, pulling away and leaping back onto the deck.

As the monster retreated, the ship leveled out again. Aegon and the scar-faced mercenary exchanged a look, both breathing a sigh of relief, then slumped onto the deck and panted for air.

After only a couple of breaths, Aegon seemed to remember something. He stood again and looked toward the other ships.

The vessel he had noticed earlier, already half dragged underwater, had vanished completely. It had probably sunk. Among the severed limbs floating on the surface, a blond head suddenly struggled above the water, screaming for help, only to sink again moments later. The odds of survival were grim.

The other ships were still caught in chaotic battles. Then Aegon saw living people wrapped in fishing nets suddenly pushed overboard from each of the several large Three-Ghost Sailboats that had been leading the way! They were covered in blood but still writhing, and the instant they hit the water, they strangely floated back up.

With his keen eyesight, Aegon could clearly see that those people were utterly soaked in blood. After they fell into the sea, they stained the surrounding water crimson.

That made no sense at all. How much blood would it take to turn that entire stretch of seawater red, let alone do it instantly?

Aegon watched in confusion. What were they doing?

Feeding people to the monsters? Would the monsters retreat once they had eaten their fill?

Just then, something happened that astonished Aegon. As those figures entered the water, the chaotic sea abruptly quieted. Like sharks catching the scent of blood, the monsters entangling the other ships immediately abandoned the food before them and swarmed toward the people who had fallen overboard.

Those people still tried to struggle, but the monsters dragged them into the depths one by one. The sea grew calm again, leaving only the mercenaries' and sailors' severed limbs and fragments of the ships to tell of what had just happened.

Aegon stared at the scene, shocked and confused. What was that? A sacrifice?

A trace of suspicion rose within him. This voyage was shrouded in mystery, and there was much he did not understand.

What exactly did their employer want to do in the Valyrian Ruins, spending so much to recruit mercenaries like them? That money was more than enough to hire a large mercenary company. Why cobble together a motley group like theirs to make up the numbers?

It brought one word to mind: conspiracy.

Thinking back to the sacrifice just now, Aegon looked gravely toward the enormous Three-Ghost Sailboats ahead.

Their ragged, worn sails billowed in the wind. Their masts were covered in carved incantations that ran blue, and their hulls, coated in dark red tar, resembled tombstones drifting silently across the sea.

A vague suspicion began to take shape in Aegon's mind.