Three Spheres

Chapter 82 - Ocean

The titanic shadow that emerges makes the waters aggressive and huge waves continue to rise and break on the shore. Amadeo holds Johan and Emília close to him, enveloping their faces in bubbles of breathable air, while remaining fixed on the ground for having frozen his own legs to the polar cap.

The red sky darkens and the swirls of clouds announce a storm that will soon turn into a merciless blizzard. Yomi takes a step forward to coordinate the counterattack, but is interrupted by a movement of the Umi-bozu: Raising one of his colossal arms from inside the water, he throws a horde of humanoid creatures with scales and gills, into the field. They dive into the water that covers the soil and reveal themselves when the tide recedes.

_ Coff, coff! _ Emília coughs, finally out of the water _ What are those? Mermaids?!

_ No. _ Amadeo replies _ They're Umi-nyobo*... Umi-bozu's "wives".

With aggressive and ataxic movements, the creatures advance against them, opening their huge mouths so that their eyes are sideways like those of a fish. Emília tries to react, but the water on her clothes freezes quickly and none of the three can move well. At the same moment, Amadeo pulls off the liquid that soaks them, just enough for the redhead to jump in front of the monster and behead it.

The numbers, however, are unfair. They quickly find themselves surrounded. "Dang it, dang it, dang it!", Amadeo thinks, with his fingers cyanotic from the cold...

_ Pema. _ Yomi says.

The Yeti doesn't hesitate: She takes a few steps back and then rushes forward, running over all the creatures before her. Without delay, she approaches the Meigdan trio, puts them on her shoulders and heads back to the fort. Johan can't help thinking that Yetis are really cool. Emília crosses her arms, irritated to need to be rescued.

Pema arrives at a safe place and puts the trio on the floor:

_ Let's change our approach a little bit. You focus on killing these little monsters and protecting the fort with Sayuri, okay? We'll handle the rest. _ She gently wipes the blood that flows from Amadeo's eyes, dyeing her white fur _ Everything will be fine!

_ Amadeo... _ Johan massages his shoulder.

Still dizzy, the blonde nods and forges a Chinese halberd for Johan. Emília frowns.

In parallel, pulling a horse-shaped whistle from her pocket, Yomi says:

_ Dae-Ho, Chun-Ho, time to rock. You know what to do.

She blows, generating an extremely loud sound, but without any immediate effect. The Dokkaebi pair celebrates and prepares the harpoon shot:

_ Leave it to us, boss! _ Chun-Ho says, climbing on the tip of the giant arrow on one foot.

_ Starting operation: Bye-bye-kamui! _ Dae-Ho answers.

_ Dude, that name's kinda shit, ain't it... _ The brother replies.

_ GO!! _ Yomi exclaims, already with the knuckles in her fists.

Without delay, the harpoon flies across the sky, connected to the fort by a thick metallic cable. Chun-Ho remains balanced at the end of the arrow until he is just above the Akkorokamui. He jumps, twists his body and lands a kick to redirect the trajectory of the projectile. The arrow head penetrates deeply into the monster's flesh that brutally shakes its tentacles. At the same time, the Dokkaebi dives and lands on it, pulling out the harpoon.

Laughing, he jumps, dodges and runs around the furious monster, tying it more and more with the cable.

While decimating the Umi-nyobo, Johan watches that carefree juggling. However, his distraction costs him a deep bite on the forearm. He pierces the halberd blade on the creature, but the others that attack hold back its rod. The weapon doesn't resist the shear, once again. With empty hands, he splits the skull of the Fabulares before resorting to a new order of conjured weapon...