The gigantic head below the depths emerged, seawater flowed out from its hair, forming miniature waterfalls.

As Skadi kept the Aegir afloat, she and the other crewmembers observed closely.

However, the goliath didn’t look up or search for the ship. Rather, it maintained a steady pace heading forward to who knows where.

It was weird.. It seemed as if it had not even noticed the ship at all!

What’s happening?

Cetas inwardly thought.

It was a familiar sight—a large human head threatening to destroy the ship and kill them all. It was like the scene where Poseidon etched Dread into their very hearts.

But this time, the giant seemed undisturbed.

Jones emerged from below the deck.

"What is—"

Before he could ask any more questions, his eyes widened at the surprise of being so far up in the air.

He shifted his head towards Skadi.

"Captain?"

Skadi heard Jones’ voice and after facing towards him, she pointed her finger downward.

Jones went to the edge of the ship and looked down.

"Good heavens!"

Skadi descended down from the skies.

"Whatever that is, we are lucky that it hasn’t targeted us yet.. However," Her tightly clasped her chest, "The Dread creeping in our hearts, is deadly.. We must find a way to get back at sea and sail off from it."

She looked up.

"I can’t simply carry the ship away, something this heavy is already depleting my Zeal at a rapid pace. So we must think fast.."

She moved her head to face around the crew.

"Galkan, how’s the new Zeal Weapon holding up?"

Galkan, who was near the helm a few moments ago, descended down to the main deck.

He scratched his head, looking clear headed.

"Oh, it’s finished.."

"..!"

The crew was surprised.

"Good, now give it to Jones.."

"Oh, I already did.."

"..!"

Cetas’ mouth went ajar.

What?

The big man then raised his arm, pointing at Jones’ chest.

Hanging on the side where Jones’ heart was, is a jade brooch with intricate details. It was shaped like a flower with 7 petals, each one holding a distinct silver shade.

Except for the uppermost petal, which now had a somewhat copper coloration.

"Why didn’t you tell us?"

Skadi shook her head and let out a deep breath.

"Nevermind, it is of no matter.."

Cetas heard the exchange between the two, his mind still surprised by Galkan’s ability.

He created a Zeal Weapon in mere hours? 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Cetas focused on the brooch in Jones’ chest. Slowly, the upper petal slowly changed in color.

It’s rusting.

With that said, Galkan opened his mouth to explain.

"To keep it simple, the brooch gives off an aura where living beings see us as part of nature. Basically, Leviathans would see us as simple fish getting by."

"A disguise, huh?" Reid commented.

"Close but not quite. The brooch, also known as Friend or Foe, only alters the minds of those near it — those that the wearer considers as foe."

Galkan looked down at the Dreadspawn below.

"So to that Leviathan, we are nothing but algae and small fish.."

He looked back at the crew.

"I do have to say this though, the effects of the brooch have a limit. You see the petals on it?"

The crew focused on the jade ornament.

"Once all the petals have turned into copper, the effects will wear off and we are back to being seen as usual. The time it takes to recover is 10 times the duration it takes to deplete, which is 7 minutes for the latter, and 70 minutes for the former."

"I see, so one minute per petal of the brooch.. Then we only have.. A little more than 5 minutes left."

Galkan nodded, his demeanor filled with triumph and pride.

"Then, let’s descend for now.. Once we do, we can sail out of here quickly."

In a few moments, the ship began to slowly go down. Since they were several distances away from the surface, the crew had a moment before they could arrive below.

Cetas removed his focus on the brooch and gazed down.

The Leviathan kept heading to whichever path it wanted to go to.

Elishia then leaned on the edge of the ship and watched the Leviathan as it idly went about its own way.

"Isn’t it unusual?"

"What is?"

"A Leviathan of that caliber, being up on the surface just because.. Usually, Leviathans and Dreadspawns only emerge when they have found something to eat. So, this one is surely an odd one."

Cetas stared at Elishia, his face blank while the auburn-haired girl grinned as if she was proud to have found such an oddity.

Cetas blinked.

He looked at the Leviathan.

And then looked at Elishia.

"Doesn’t that mean-"

As he was about to speak, a loud explosion came from beneath the seas!

In the distance, sea water spouted up in the air, several times higher than Skadi’s gush of wind.

From that explosion, a spiraling tentacle created a whirling current, sucking in everything in its vicinity.

The Leviathan with a giant head let out an ear-shattering scream, vibrating the liquid near it.

Thankfully, Skadi was quick to action—she used the winds to negate its noise.

The whirlpool grew in size, heading towards the Leviathan below the crew.

"Oh no!" Elishia yelped, "We have to hurry or the whirlpool will get us!"

Even before Elishia said that, Skadi was already on it, releasing the winds carrying the Aegir afloat.

Just then, their speed increased and the winds strengthened.

"Brace!"

Cetas held on a nearby rail, lowering his body and focusing his gravy on his abdomen.

His hair fluttered quickly in the air and so did Elishia’s!

They fell down from the skies, their speed increasingly becoming dire.

If they didn’t stop or slow down right now, then the ship would be crushed instantly!

But another threat loomed over in the seas.

The whirlpool was reaching the gigantic Leviathan, once the ship descended, at this rate, they would be engulfed too!

Skadi could try to move the ship with the winds as they were descending, however its weight could not be moved that easily!

It was meant to be buoyant, not a vessel to be carried in the air!

Just as they were a few meters near the sea, Skadi summoned winds that rivaled the sheer speed that they were going at.

These clashing forces caused the ship to be cushioned, landing softly in the seawater below.

However, once they landed, the gigantic Leviathan let out another scream.

It had become trapped in the whirring current!

Its scream made the ship tremble, making the crew lose their footing.

Cetas fell on the floor completely!

As he lost his balance, the ship tilted backwards.

Cetas slid on the wooden floor, making him swiftly head towards the mast.

"Cetas!"

Close to impact, Cetas halted in place! Reid held the back of his cloak with his right hand. With the other, he held on to his blade—which was plunged into the floor.

The winds came from where the ship was tilting towards, pushing the sails at full force.

Turns out, they were caught up in the whirlpool!

But Skadi’s winds challenged it!

The new Zeal Weapon would’ve worked if the Dreadspawn they faced was akin to the school of Lionfish or the recent giant. However, this Dreadspawn was something completely different!

It affected its surroundings entirely!

Thus, making the crew get caught up in destruction.

Cetas raised his hand and firmly gripped Reid’s wrist.

He looked around, seeing the other crewmembers doing the same—holding onto each other like a chain.

Elishia and Jones tightly held on to Galkan’s right arm. Both of them could do so because of his long yet large arms.

The winds blew in their faces but none of them cared. Because at the pace that they were going, the ship would sink into the whirlpool!

Cetas felt the struggle of being weak once more.

What the hell would a Spark do in this situation!?

Well, he still wanted to try!

So, Cetas activated his Zeal and felt every droplet of water around him.

Then, as if an illusory feeling of reach came upon him, Cetas carried the seawater in the environment with every force he had.

Cetas gritted his teeth, his Zeal not being able to handle the vastness of the sea.

But he used up all of his mental capacity to carry it.

And in the end..

He failed.

Cetas immediately felt a snap in his Zeal.

In simple terms, he ran out of Zeal!

"Argh!"

The pain of the repercussions from emptying one’s Zeal in an instant was unfathomable. It was as if his existence was trying to escape out of his body.

The Zeal screamed inside of him, begging to be let out into the world. But Cetas remained astute, his will focused on one thing only—to keep himself sane!

Still, it was not good.

This sensation, this feeling!

All of it along with Dread creeping in his heart could only mean one thing!

Cetas was losing control!